Wasn’t he a terrorist? Seems to be a byword these days for anyone who carries out a violent anti-government act.
Arthur Scargill, Emily Pankhurst - terrorists all!
[quote=“Spack”]If they are all from Great Britain (nice oxymoron btw, just like the United Kingdom)
Who’s the dude with the top hat? He looks great anyway.[/quote]
(Sigh) ‘Great Britain’, from the french ‘Grande Bretagne’, meaning "greater Brittany’ ie a larger extension of the area they named. The great is a geographical term, not a value judgement.
United Kingdom. Ever heard of the Act of Union? The elected representatives of the people enacted the will of the people and agreed to be united under their king. Even the Irish. Seems pretty clear to me, even if some of the people involved were probably morons. (They were politicians, after all.)
The dude in the top hat is Isambard Kingdom Brunel, architect of the Great Western Railway, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and the SS Great Britain - all of which can still be experienced in Bristol.
Brunel may not have been as influential as Newton, but he achieved a great deal more in practical terms. He would probably get my vote, although William the first was a pretty high flyer too. How many other people have conquered Great Britain since then? (except Diana, who cheated by enlisting Rupert Murdoch.)
John Lennon? He is American! I think that Bradd Pitt gets my vote for Best Brit! Did you see him in Snatch!?
tmwc: well thanks for wet-blanketing my poor attempt at wit!
You’ve got to admit though that Britain is not great, and tthe UK is not particularly united.
More USSR than USA, eh ?
When IS Scottish devolution going to happen anyway? I can’t wait. Those Welsh sheep shaggers can bugger off as well. In the end, they’ll all want to come running back with their tails between their legs, you mark my words.
So now I’m a wet blanket, eh Spack?!?! Well thanks for welcoming a newbie.
Is this kind of treatment reserved for people who grew up in Wales? Or can anyone who takes their teacher status too seriously expect to be reminded about keeping a sense of humour?
There’s nothing wrong with sheep-shagging, as anybody who’s tried it will testify. And until you bloody puritans give it a go there’ll never be any real unity in the UK of A. Go on, you know you want to.
The worst of it is that you’re probably right. I haven’t been back to Blighty since '94 and don’t have any urge to. The names are inappropriate and the whole mess is a real pain for English teachers of mixed origin to explain.
We need a new name, something that is simple, accurate, easy to spell and pronouncable in any language. Something catchy, perhaps with a pithy tagline accompanying it.
How about “Sycophantia - We’re with you Dubyah!”.
Might be worth revamping that flag too, although it’s a valuable trademark.
And definitely a new National Anthem. Nothing mournful, or overly jingoistic - and still suitable for wailing guitar solos. Billy Connolly proposed the theme to the Archers as a viable alternative, but I think we should commission Elton John to write a new one. On the other hand I believe Meatloaf has been resident in the UK long enough to qualify as one of us. I’m sure he could come up with a decently stirring ditty. He would probably even wear a Brunel-type top hat if you asked him nicely.
Oh, and Charles (much as I love the old duffer) should make way for Pierce Brosnan. Brittania needs a real man’s hand on her arse.
Hope this helps
Forgot to say:
The best brains have now left the UK and are here in Taiwan … aren’t we?
It has to be Will. Who else has contributed more to our national greatness?
And as good a lass as I’m sure she was, Diana shouldn’t even be in the top hundred.
Oh, and the biggest divide within the U.K. is the class one.
Hex you’ve become an orange - change it back immediately - PLEASE!
By the way, I was under the mistaken impression that Di had won when the results haven’t been announced yet. Silly me. Apparently the Burrell case has set her back to 2nd place.
What d’you lads and lasses make of that man Burrell anyway? What’s the world coming to when butlers get stretched on the rack for swiping a few (ok, 300 odd) trinkets from a member of the royal family?
But he is a mandarin goddamit!
New national anthem? Easy…“Anarchy in the UK”.
Great Briton? No problem…Johnny Rotten.
Elected meant a different thing in England and Ireland.
Act of Union was brought in after the 1798 rebellion in Ireland to establish more direct control after some of the parlimentarians showed too much of a native bent. It was in the middle of the penal law period when Irish people were not allowed own land, practice their religion, to be educated, to use Irish or to vote against the landlord’s direction. They don’t teach that in your history books.
I think it’s sad that the Irish can’t be educated. 
Why doesn’t the UN do something? WHERE IS JUSTICE???
Justice is having better beer and not having a minging royal family as your head of state.