An interesting debate has opened up about Englishness and English identity. This seems particularly strong in the north of England. There is an anti-establishment viewpoint, not very friendly towards either the monarchy or London. Well, being London born (although with a Lancashire mother), maybe I'm not an average northerner, but I'd ask everyone in the north to think carefully, that's England's capital your against, and England's queen. There's a lack of royal connection to the north, all of her palaces are either in southern England or Scotland; maybe we need a few more visits here. On the subject of devolution for the north, the idea of a regional assembly was dropped because of a total lack of support. We now have "Local Authorities Leaders' Boards", not a very inspiring name, but at least it means that the spending of Lancashire's share of government money is decided by Lancastrians, not by Geordies or Yorkshiremen. On the subject of Yorkshire, that county seems to me the epicentre of such anti-establishment feelings, based on the origins of many of the posts. Doncaster, as far as I know is the only place to have elected an English Democratic party mayor, although he was later sacked for corruption. Lancashire ( I include Manchester and Merseyside i.e. pre-1973 Lancashire) shares some of those feelings but with a little more humour and less venom than Yorkshire, maybe it's because we have one of the two big cities outside London, a large international airport and three major football teams, which Yorkshire lacks. There are also distant echoes of the old kingdom of Northumbria with it's capital of York and Danish-Viking heritage, echoes which can still be heard in the Leeds United chant of "Yorkshire Republican Army". On things like the Barnett formula, maybe change is needed, but there are several ways of viewing it, don't forget that we still benefit from "Scottish" north sea oil. Also, in answer to the charge of non-English voting on English matters that cuts both ways, the Scots chose neither the Tories nor the Libdems. Turning to London again, they already have an "English regional assembly" of sorts, and a greater degree of immigration than anyone else in England or the UK for that matter; let's hear some of their views. Last year I started a thread regretting that we have no national costume. I suggested clogs, Arthur suggested a form on morning dress but on more careful thought, neither seemed to me satisfactory. I thought about what makes the Scottish kilt impressive, it's humorous without being completely ridiculous and is based on a genuine costume once worn by anti-government rebels, and is unmistakably Scottish. England needs something similar. I pondered for a long while and then it hit me, a Robin Hood type of costume, complete with leather pouch for carrying gold pieces! That's not a bad idea for something to wear next time you're invited to a wedding or "posh do" north of the border. Also, Nottingham is just down the road from Yorkshire, and certainly not southern. What say you men of England, speak now you dogs or forever hold your tongues? The only alternative I can envisage is a mental image of a morose Yorkshireman wearing a nylon replica England shirt telling eveyone to get stuffed.
and pigeon racing.
Originally Posted by jamieXXXmaria
