Great Britain

 

Great Britain

                                         Image of British Isles

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

I live in England but on official forms I have to declare myself to be British, never English. I am a Briton, never an Englander. That is a word used by German, Danish and Saterland Frisian languages.

 Saterland Frisian is one of the smallest language groups in Europe. Saterland Frisian is spoken in the municipality of Saterland in Lower Saxony, North Frisian is spoken in Germany and West Frisian in the Dutch province of Friesland.

 People in Wales are Welsh and Irish people live in Ireland, north (Ulster) or south (Eire). In Scotland the people are Scots, occasionally Scottish and definitely never Scotch, though they drink Scotch and indulge sometimes in Scottish dancing. All these citizens have their own languages, though not all can speak them, but they also all speak English.

The residents of these countries are also Britons.

 Do I live in Great Britain, the British Isles or the United Kingdom?

Great Britain is an island, the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth largest island in the world, which I find quite astonishing, considering the size of some of the other islands – Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar. Politically, it encompasses the entirety of England, Scotland, Wales and their offshore islands. It does not include Northern Ireland.

 The British Isles consists of two main islands, Great Britain and the island of Ireland and a great number of smaller islands, like the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands to the north of mainland Scotland and the Hebrides to the west of Scotland. It also includes the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

The United Kingdom refers to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and its capital is London, which is also its largest city. It is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own devolved governments. The Northern Ireland government has not functioned for three years.

So, I am a Briton, and I live in England, the United Kingdom, the British Isles and Great Britain.

The Keirin

The Keirin

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Great Britain is doing extremely well in the Velodrome. 

The Keirin is a fascinating discipline. It is led out by a man on a derny – a motorised bike. He gradually increases speed until he reaches 45 kmh/28mph then peels off and the race proper starts.

The man on the derny is sombrely dressed in black and rides the bike in what I can only describe as a ‘country manner’ – legs widespread. He is very serious about his task, a true professional, but I think a string of onions round his neck would complete his Gallic image. The photos below, taken from the television screen, are not good quality.

ABC Wednesday Q is for Quebec

This 1797 engraving is based on a sketch made by Hervey Smyth, General Wolfe's aide-de-camp during the siege of Quebec. A view of the taking of Quebec, 13th September 1759

Library of the Canadian Department of National Defence

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Battle of Quebec, otherwise known as The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham or Première bataille de Québec was fought during the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War in the USA) which took place from 1757 to 1762.

It began on 13^th September, 1759, between the British and the French on a high plain outside the city of Quebec in Canada. The land originally belonged to a farmer called Abraham Martin and gave rise to the name the Plains of Abraham.

The French, Canadian and Indian forces were commanded by Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm and Major General James Wolfe led the British and American soldiers. Montcalm’s men numbered 5,000 with three guns while 4,500 of Wolfe’s force went into battle on the Plains of Abraham with one gun.

On the night of September 12^th Wolfe’s force rowed along the St. Lawrence River towards Anse de Foulon where they intended to disembark. They drifted slightly off-course and landed near a slope. The 4,500 men scaled the cliffs and assembled on the plains in a single line of battalions.

Montcalm was unaware of their presence until the morning of 13^th September. At 10:00 am his troops began their advance. The British lines held their fire until their opponents were within range then loosed two volleys which destroyed the French attack. The British then advanced and forced the French to retreat from the field of battle.

The encounter lasted around fifteen minutes and was a pivotal moment in the conflict between France and Britain over sovereignty in New France, ultimately leading to the creation of Canada. French forces continued to battle and were victorious in several skirmishes but within four years most of France’s assets in eastern North America had been relinquished to Great Britain. In effect, the victory at Quebec marked the beginning of the end of French rule in Canada.

What of the generals?

General Wolfe had moved to a high point to see the battle action. Earlier he had been shot in the wrist but had wrapped it and continued to fight. Now, within moments of the order to fire the volleys, he was shot in the stomach and chest and carried to the rear of the battle field. One of the soldiers near the General shouted out, ‘They run, see how they run.’ Wolfe, who had declined medical assistance, asked what had happened, gave orders for following action and said, ‘Now, God be praised, I will die in peace.’ It was reported that he then turned on his side and died. He was 32.

Meanwhile, the Marquis de Montcalm had been shot in the thigh and lower abdomen while retreating but was still mounted. He was carried along with his army and eventually taken from his horse into a nearby house where he died the following morning. His body was buried in the Ursuline chapel in a crater left by a British shell. He was 47.

The Plains of Abraham are preserved in The Battlefields Park in Quebec City.

This meme is hosted and organised by Denise Nesbitt and her team. Click here to see more Qs.

Invasion!

Great Britain has been invaded and can expect to remain occupied for at least six weeks. It's the Europeans again! Through the centuries we have suffered from assaults from Romans, Vikings, Normans – even the Germans declared intent to overcome but were repulsed before reaching these shores.
This time it is ladybirds that have marched or rather, flown into parts of Norfolk, on the East coast, and Somerset, in the South-West. The spotted hordes have swarmed in because of a glut of aphids that has resulted from the hot, wet weather. Cars, roads and buildings have been covered in layers of the brightly-coloured creatures – I didn't know aphids could be found in those locations – maybe the ladybirds know something the rest of us don't.
It is the most extreme invasion since 1976 though we always have some ladybirds flying across the Channel to holiday in these fair isles.
The name ladybird has been in use for centuries and was originally a reference to the Virgin Mary – Our Lady – because she was often portrayed wearing a red cloak.
The collective noun for ladybirds is a 'loveliness' and folk lore holds that they can predict the weather. If one falls off your hand that means it will rain but if it flies away the weather will be fine. Be careful, though, for they can nip. The intruder Harlequin ladybird has a more unpleasant bite that can cause mild skin irritation.
If a ladybird lands on your hand you may make a wish and then blow it away.
Unlike humans, who develop 'age spots' as they grow older, ladybird's spots fade as age. They live for just about a year but in that time will consume more than 5000 aphids, justifying their reputation as the gardener's friend. If plenty of food is available the female will lay more than 2000 small yellow eggs. These are laid in the same locations as their prey so that the developing larvae have a convenient source of food. However, they don't like cooler weather and will not fly if the temperature drops below 12.7c (55f)
The unfortunate human holidaymakers who have witnessed this influx may find themselves reciting the old nursery rhyme with some intensity:
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
All except one, and that's Little Anne
For she has crept under the warming pan.
Naturally, when I hunted in the garden there was not a single ladybird to be seen. I suppose they've all packed their bags and joined their friends and relations at the seaside.Common Seven Spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) Image from Wikipedia

Exams and holidays

August is the month of 'news' items about examination results and where the Great British public decides to take its holidays.
It's the same every year. For the exam slot a few nervous teenagers are rounded up and plonked in front of a presenter with a microphone and a camera man. They are asked the routine questions:-
1: What are your predicted grades?
2: What are you planning to do in the future?
3: How confident are you?
The teenagers answer modestly and articulately knowing that later on in the piece they will be quizzed about their results. Sometimes they have to open the results envelopes on camera. The questions now are:-
1: Did you get your predicted grades?
2: Are you pleased/disappointed? (depending on the first answer)
3: What are you planning to do next?
I wonder how the participants are selected. Is there an in-depth interview with the head teacher, year heads, subject specialists so that the students most likely to be successful are chosen? Does the presenter ask for volunteers? This would be a potentially dangerous approach given the volatility and unpredictability of some young people. Are the teenagers primed? They must be for never a swear word is heard on-screen though there is quite a lot of mild blasphemy which seems to go unchecked these days. (Can blasphemy ever be mild? Sounding really grouchy and puritanical here!)
Whatever the process the interviews proceed smilingly, some disappointed youngsters maintaining a stoical approach.
Today it was Scottish Highers results. Later on we will have a repeat performance with different participants for GCSEs and then A-levels. So far we seem to have been spared AS-level results or have they finally been abolished? Education spins round more frequently than a tumble-dryer and if one waits long enough abandoned theories and practices surface again rebranded and shiny.
Following that, viewers were treated to shivering presenters eating ice-creams on deserted windy beaches as the subject of holidays was posed. Apparently the recession is causing more Britons to take their holidays in these damp but beautiful islands. The word that has been coined for this phenomenon is 'STAYCATION' - get it? Clever isn't it? We now have yet another lazy shorthand way of expressing an idea - it will be thrashed to death in the media and no doubt will appear in the OED in years to come. I know language evolves and it is essential that it should but some new vocabulary really should be strangled at birth.
While the worthy, entirely predictable subject of tourism in Britain and the revenue it brings was being explored there were information strips running along the bottom of the screen. These give bullet points of news relating to the subject on-screen. One in particular caught my attention: '13% of Britons have in a staycation' Who prepares the information banners? Was s/he not thinking as the words were typed in or perhaps the person relaying the information was not enunciating clearly. I suppose it doesn't matter as the authors of these snippets are anonymous.

In the Red

Have you ever been overdrawn? Have you agreed an overdraft with your bank which legitimises being in the red? If or when you overreach that limit does your bank charge you?

It's not a pleasant feeling, knowing that you are incurring the displeasure of your bank manager. Actually it's more likely to be a computer that clocks the fact that you've overspent again and then a human is alerted and sends you a standard letter.

Well, imagine how Gordon Brown must be feeling. That huge piggy bank called the Treasury is empty; more than that it is overdrawn to the tune of around £17.5 billion. That's £17.5 billion. Time to pull in the horns, tighten the belt, hold on to the purse strings, count every penny, make £1 do the work of two and all those other useless and overdue bits of folk wisdom.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer GB was doing a grand job, or so we were told repeatedly by Tony Blair. Perhaps he knew the mess canny Gordon was getting into and maliciously allowed him to continue knowing that he'd get his just rewards once he became the unelected successor to the Prime Minister. Maybe he didn't know. Possibly he didn't care.

Whatever the circumstances of the downslide the net result is that Great Britain Limited is severely strapped. Don't worry though, GB – that's the man, not the country – will pull something out of the hat just as he has before, but it will undoubtedly be a short-term remedy to try and drag his government out of the mire and spray them with rosewater before the General Election.

Meanwhile the Civil Service has been guaranteed huge pensions that are on average six times the size of pensions of people in industry. Unlike industry pensions which are already funded by employees paying into their funds, Civil Service pensions are not already financed but are funded later on through tax revenues. Add to the equation the fact that Civil Servants can retire early, even at the age of fifty, on full pension. This creates an enormous problem for the country in years to come.

Gordon Brown has made matters worse by raiding funds in the private sector; he has taxed pension accounts leaving a problem for industry which faces reduced pensions. In not too many years from now there will be a very large aged poor population and how will they be supported?