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[UncleUB]

Send for the CD,answer a few questions,then benefit system here I come. These people have no interest about being British,all they want is a way into the good old British benefits system.

[mr_chris]

I failed too

Does that mean I have to leave?

[HPsauce]

Waking up an old, but vaguely relevant, thread I saw something the other day...


"British tomatoes" which we purchased in Sainsbury's.

The label actually revealed they were grown in Guernsey. 

Now to my mind Guernsey is NOT part of Britain, so is this valid labelling?
Or is "British" one of those meaningless ill-defined terms that can apply to almost anything? 

[oldfogy]

They can get around that by "Packaging in Britain"

[scottiesmum]

Guernsey is a Crown  owned dependency !   like Jersey  and Isle of Man  .....   so therefore  British  !

[HPsauce]

And the Falklands?  

And what about St Helena, etc......?

So what are the British Isles? That seems to include the whole of Ireland (controversial?) 

I found this definition in (for what it's worth) Wikipedia:

British Islands is a term in British law which refers collectively to the following four states:

the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
the Bailiwick of Jersey;
the Bailiwick of Guernsey (including Alderney, Herm, and Sark); and
the Isle of Man.

[sevenlayermuddle]

If you think it's hard (for us) to understand the definition of 'British', have some sympathy for foreigners.

A few years ago, in the US, I shared a taxi to the airport with a seemingly well-educated and intelligent US native.  It was just after St Patrick's day, which they make a big thing of, and he asked to clarify the differences between Irish, Scottish, English and British.   

By the time I'd explained that Ireland is comprised of a politically very different North and South, and that Scotland is not part of England, and neither is Northern Ireland or Wales, yet the 'United Kingdom' is that of 'Great Britain and Northern Ireland', as opposed to of 'England, Scotland, Wales and NI'... well, I could sense the poor man's head was in quite a spin.  In fact, so was mine.

[HPsauce]

Yes, I find non-natives struggle with all that and when you throw in The Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark (a feudal state?) Herm, Jethou etc. they get totally lost, especially as none of those are even in the EC!

And isn't there some gun battery out in the Thames Estuary that is allegedly independent?

And then there's Rockall................
(part of Scotland maybe)