The 'bloody foreigners' thread.

[Bledlow]

... the Cornish, a people almost wholly dependent on tourists whom they despise.  They even have a little Nationalist Party and their own language. 

A language of which the last native speaker died long before the current language came into being. Modern Cornish is based on a very small literature, & the speech of a few people who also spoke English - and mixed the languages.  Because of the limited vocabulary which was recorded, the revivalists added words from Breton & Welsh. The pronunciation is also pretty arbitrary, as nobody systematically recorded how it was pronounced before it died out.

[Panoramix]

I am a Breton made out of salted butter who grew up in Brittany. Although there are some traces of Irish and Italian bloods in my veins my parents had done OK. If there was a French edition of the daily mail, I could just about buy it.

But then Mr Sarkozy, I have to kneel down and admit that for my daughters I have completely messed up: 50% Colombian blood, one born in Oxford, the other in Bristol. I promise in my next life I won't mix up bloods from various origins, I know it is very bad for the country; now that I have been enlightened by your speeches, I understand that the unemployment rate and the country debt would be much lower if people hadn't started this non sense of moving around. I am sorry Mr president, I just did not think properly!

[Frenchie]

I am a Breton made out of salted butter who grew up in Brittany.

 

... but my daughters are 50% Brazilian!

[pcolbeck]

in England , the divide is between North and South.

Damon.

Careless talk costs lives. That's how wars start you know Damon. 

I actually don't subscribe to the North/South divide, England is more defined by Caird's Line, the East/West divide between upland stock farming in the West and the flatter arable East. It's a bit complicated by Lowland Lancashire being able to grow grain, but it's more valid for someone who works in the countryside than the North/South model.

Damon.

Also don't forget that the eastern part of North Yorkshire is hardly flat. What with the Yorkshire Wolds, the North Yorks Moors and the Howerdian Hills.

[Panoramix]

I am a Breton made out of salted butter who grew up in Brittany.

 

... but my daughters are 50% Brazilian!

Thanks god I am relieved to see that I am not the only one!

[clarion]

and the Hambleton Hills, pcolbeck

[pcolbeck]

How did I forget those !

[Deano]

If we're being that pedantic, then you're also missing out the Cleveland Hills...

[Really Ancien]

in England , the divide is between North and South.

Damon.

Careless talk costs lives. That's how wars start you know Damon. 

I actually don't subscribe to the North/South divide, England is more defined by Caird's Line, the East/West divide between upland stock farming in the West and the flatter arable East. It's a bit complicated by Lowland Lancashire being able to grow grain, but it's more valid for someone who works in the countryside than the North/South model.

Damon.

Also don't forget that the eastern part of North Yorkshire is hardly flat. What with the Yorkshire Wolds, the North Yorks Moors and the Howerdian Hills.

That would be this Yorkshire Wolds.


Caird's line is about the capacity too grow grain, largely down to the rain shadow of the Pennines in the North of England.

Damon.

[David Martin]

Caird's line is about the capacity too grow grain, largely down to the rain shadow of the Pennines in the North of England.

I'll have to tell the farmers of Strathmore that they should stick to growing blackcurrants and raspberries as they are not allowed to grow grain then!

The north/south divide is more about bricks and stones. The south is made of brick, the north is made of stone. Parts of the southwest are honorary north.
I suppose it is the norman/saxon vs vikings/celts divide (though normans are third generation immigrant vikings anyhow.)

[Bledlow]

But then Mr Sarkozy, I have to kneel down and admit that for my daughters I have completely messed up: 50% Colombian blood, one born in Oxford, the other in Bristol. I promise in my next life I won't mix up bloods from various origins, I know it is very bad for the country; now that I have been enlightened by your speeches, I understand that the unemployment rate and the country debt would be much lower if people hadn't started this non sense of moving around. I am sorry Mr president, I just did not think properly!

Lemme see - Nicolas Sarkozy, full name Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa. Father Pál István Ernő Sárközy de Nagy-Bócsa, from Hungary, mother Andrée Jeanne Mallah, daughter of Aron Benico Mallah, from Thessaloniki (now in Greece, then in the Ottoman Empire) & Adèle Bouvier. Currently married to Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi, from Italy, daughter of Marisa Borini & Maurizio Remmert, an Italian-Brazilian.

Ah well.  

[Bledlow]

The north/south divide is more about bricks and stones. The south is made of brick, the north is made of stone. Parts of the southwest are honorary north.

What about the whole south-west - starting at Oxford? And how do you count the Midlands & East Anglia?

[pcolbeck]

Caird's line is about the capacity too grow grain, largely down to the rain shadow of the Pennines in the North of England.

Damon.

Oh yes we grow lots of grain here on the Wolds. its the most productive grain area in the UK. Lots of oil seed rape too. Here is a picture of Westow (where I live) cricket pitch from a few years ago.

[andrew_s]

Here is a picture of Westow (where I live) cricket pitch from a few years ago.

How long does it take to find the ball if someone hits a 6?

[pcolbeck]

A long time:



The pitch that year looked so startling that they actually sent out film crews and it was on the local news.

[Regulator]

So what about us dual-nationals?  Are we bloody foreigners?


I come from a mixed, international family.  We have one Scottish, one Irish, one Welsh and one English grandparent.  The family also has French and German ancestors.

My eldest sister was born Nyasaland (now Malawi), the middle sister was born in South West Africa (now Namibia) and my little sister and I were born in NZ.  We children are all dual UK/NZ nationals, as well as having quite a collection of (possible) passports between us... 

[border-rider]

One English Grandparent, one Scottish, one Irish - and my maternal grandfather was from Aleppo.

Now living in Wales and married to a Welsh person

[pcolbeck]

I'm something like 1/3 Irish (My maternal grandfather was from Mayo and my dad is part Irish but he doesn't know how much) and 2/3 Yorkshire. I could have an Irish passport should I wish.
My sisters kids will have  hell of a job working out the percentage as her husband is half Irish.

[Bledlow]

English born & bred - but with some Danish ancestry, & my mothers mothers (you get the idea) etc. mother was Welsh, & my earliest ancestor with my surname seems to have been (though not proven yet) from Scotland.

However  . . . . my family includes Japanese, Bengali, & Punjabi, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Anglican, Lutheran & Catholic. Last family funeral I went to was an Anglican ceremony, but at least half of those present were Hindu or Muslim.

[clarion]

My mother's a Scouser, but I've forgiven her