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Old 12-20-2004, 09:52 AM   #12
johnfowles
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: New Jersey U.S.A. ex UK and Canada
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quote:Originally posted by SilverHeels:
[B] so I am not sure myself what Britain means! But I live in England, I am very sure of that.
B]
How very true Bru (True Blue geddit?!
OK I feel it's time for a few ethnic jokes here.
one of my favo(u)rites is how do you confuse an Irishman?
You put him in a room with a spade fork and shovel and tell him to "take your pick"
Actually I am probably as guilty as anyone in that I might say "England" as a generic term for the entire British Isles (when I should be saying "Britain") which sure as hell annoys the Scots and the Welsh... eh Mair?!
On the other hand the terms Britain and British Isles are often I believe used and/or interpreted as meaning the whole shebang including the Republic of Ireland which sure as hell annoys the Irish!!
part of the confusion stems from the fact that the "U.K." is the TLA (Two Letter Acronym) for:-
United Kingdom: in full, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and it is all too easy to ignore the "Northern" bit.(unless you have just listened to the stentorian tones of the Reverand Ian Paisley)



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