I already addressed this.

If anyone wasn't aware, you literally can see the white cliffs of Dover from Calais.

I only found this out within the past year or so.

Pretty cool imo.

& There'll be Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover is such a good song. I just remembered it.

I knew about this for years so you're an ignorant cunt.

True but it''s just one of those things. Had never heard it before. It sounds like one of them 'facts' that could be repeated often but not actually true though.

I bet MLM would feel threatened if he could see the cliffs and they weren't white.

I just want Britain to be back British.

"Would you like to see Britannia rule again, my friend?
All you have to do is follow the worms.
Would you like to send our coloured cousins home again, my friend?
All you need to do is follow the worms."

Roger Waters

^ Yeah, patriotism is a sentiment that you have to monitor so that it doesn't fester into xenophobia. With that in mind, MLM is absolutely right:-

Released in 1942, this song must've ripped the hearts out of the thousands of homesick British troops fighting overseas. If you are of an emotional disposition, even today you may want to get the tissues out before you click on this:-



^ :laughing: Good to see someone so openly acknowledge that regardless of how sophisiticated and fair-minded we try to sound, the rivalry of the school playground is never far behind !

^ Oh, they pretty much stay white, as they have for thousands of years. They are regulary washed by rain, as if Mother Nature were blessing them with tears of innocent joy every time she contemplates the blissful vista of the British Isles, etc, etc...

Thanks for posting Lisna, really is a fantastic song.

Aren't they made of chalk or something like that?

^ Absolutely, Trollheart ! And your question gives me just the excuse I need to post:-

https://i.imgur.com/bYmzd.jpg

They run for miles, and are glaring, iceberg-white except where they go off the vertical and a bit of grass gets a chance to grow. Coming by boat from France, they are a welcome sign that you're back in Blighty!

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20150812231034

It's beautiful.

^ yeah! It needs a sunny day to really get the white colour, but I love the way they show the ups and downs of the grassland behind, as if someone had just cut through the hills with a knife.

What's the coast like near where you are, MLM ?

In the Midlands? :D

Clear, I would imagine.

oops ! :o:

Even so, you live on a small island, so the sea can't be that far away.
Fun Fact: the place on planet earth that is furthest from the sea is Urumqi, capital of the Uighur region of China. It's 1, 400 miles to the nearest coastline. My guess is that even the middlest bit of the Midlands is only about 100 miles from the sea.

I suppose every big inland city has a nearest-accessible beach resort. From London, people used to choose between Southend or Brighton, both of which had the added attraction of a pier.


Where do people in Birmingham go for some sea air and fish 'n' chips?

Wales usually. Not far at all, the landscape, villages and beaches are all nice. A guy said to me that he was treated like a twat in Wales because he is English. I've heard some horror stories. Never experienced any hostility myself though. Must have just been acting like a twat.

So someone ****ed him? :D

Yes, I suspect Wales is very attractive, though rather wet. I've also heard that they don't like the English. A friend of mine spent a year there, doing industrial training as a university student. He said that in the pubs, they would speak in Welsh, but when he walked in, conversation would stop dead, then restart in English. Of course he was a glaring full-on hippy at the time which probably didn't sit well with the locals, but it's always made me think of this pub scene:-

Must of been the north, in my experience they barely speak Gaelic in the midlands or the south of wales.

^ I didn't know that, Akai.

In Mexico they have indigenous languages as well, spoken mainly in the rural areas. Maybe that's true in Wales too; head out of town and into the hills and things are different.

And how about you? As a Midlander, were people friendly to you in Wales?

I know a few Welsh people and honestly I reckon the hating the English thing is not as bad as is often made out, I think it's really just limited to sport, particularly Rugby. I only know one who is even a pro independence nationalist. A few are quite happy to support England in sport though most just aren't really concerned with it. In north Wales you have the most people who speak the Welsh language, signs are in Welsh, the nationalist movement is strongest, and even when I've been in the villages there I've never been treated badly.

I would say the most hostility toward English people (in this country) comes from Scottish nationalists. I'm not sure if even the Irish are as bad as them.

^ I like to think that some of these traditional rivalries are exaggerated. When I was at primary school about a quarter of the class were Irish, with names that even schoolchildren could identify (O'Shea, O'Dee, Murphy, O'Malley etc) but as young children will in the right circumstances, we all got on just fine. There was no kind of factional divide at all.

Same mate not too different here, two or three of the areas next to mine are Irish hotspots, most families were born here but of Irish descent. It doesn't seem like a foreign country when you've grown up around it if that makes sense. Cos pretty much everyone will have a parent or grandparent who is Irish and moved here to work.

Bumped for relevancy

Europe, as in the cultural region? Yes.

Europe, as in the western part of the Eurasian continent? No.

What's the difference?

^ Well, one is about culture and people, and the other is about the physical land - at least I imagine that's what Isbjorn is refering to.

Reposted, not so much for relevancy, but because it's a beautiful map that makes you rethink the geography of the British Isles:-

Yes, that's what I'm referring to. The British Isles are not connected to the Eurasian landmass.

Culturally, yes.
Politically, no.
Geographically, no.

Geography yeah that picture proofs it

Polotical ehhh maybe not

England used to straight conquer parts of europe parts of france belgium and germany ..but i guess over time the got the boot outta the mainland europe

but they did leave the EU so Britian has had a long stance on keeping euro divided while they chill on there island and control there empire

sadly the empire is gone and now most of europe is united

The european union does not equal Europe.

England and the British Isles are part of the eurasian plate and part of eurasia. Thousands of years ago when there was a land bridge between England and the european mainland, it was settled by people coming from the mainland. Later on, it's been settled or invaded by romans, saxons (germans), danes (vikings), normans (french/vikings) and many more. They've been at war with France, Spain, Denmark, Germany and more I'm sure. There's been constant trade and cultural exchange with the European mainland as well as some royal mixings and whatnot.

So is this thread because of the little brexit blip in what's otherwise a long, complicated and continuing story of England's place in Europe?

Of course England is part of Europe. What else would it be? We're just sad it seems to be turning into shayt.

Thank you, why is this even a debate smh

*cackles*

I think he's on some sovereign citizen ****. What a maroon.

I just resent the fact that now, with Brexit, anything bought on Ebay, Amazon etc from the UK gets Customs VAT added. So you have your price, your postage AND your Customs charges. As Jesus once said, **** that. I'm buying from Europe, or if I have to pay VAT I'll make it worth my while and buy from the former democracy to the west of me. At least I expect to pay tax from 'Murica.

Norg's QED

I wonder what was the thought that propelled this thread.
I mean...what do you mean by "Is England part of Europe?"

The thought was: "Is England part of Europe?"

Woah, Ori. No need to get all abstract on us. Chill.