I noticed something this weekend that finally had me thinking about this whole devolution thing in the UK. It’s been all around me, I’ve read blogs and comments from the English who are decidedly against devolution (or want it to be a complete detachment), but it never really struck me.[ad#ad-1]
Just a brief geography and history lesson. Great Britain is the big island comprising England, Scotland and Wales; whereas, the UK is Great Britain, Northern Ireland and all the other islands. Now, Jersey and Guernsey have their own “government”, but it wasn’t until 10 years ago that NI, Scotland and Wales had their own separate government (devolution). This happened after my husband left the UK, so even he has been unable to fully comprehend the implications.
Well, we were at a gymnastics meet, and they were selling the usual: leos and athletic gear. One of the items was a gym bag with the English Gymnastics logo. English Gymnastics? I had not heard that term before. As far as we know, our daughter belongs to British Gymnastics.
But, it did make me wonder why there was no English Gymnastics? I had never really questioned it before. Never mind that when I tried to find a club in Wales or Scotland (when we had considered moving to either of those countries) under British Gymnastics, I couldn’t find any. At first, I thought that neither country cared for the sport. I later read in a magazine (at the gym) about Scottish Gymnastics and how some British members competed there. That made me search for clubs under the Scottish Gymnastics and Welsh Gymnastics and I found them. Still it never made me question English Gymnastics.
There is no English Gymnastics. It’s British Gymnastics. Why is that? Is England not important enough to have its own? But, British Gymnastics does not incorporate Scottish or Welsh Gymnastics. Or, perhaps it once did, but devolution has now affected sports as well. (I know there was a big row about having a national team for the Olympics and World Cup, etc., because each country wants its own team, but I believe there’s some ruling about having a single British team.) So, if Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own clubs, will British Gymnastics change its name to English Gymnastics, or does England no longer exist except as part of the entity of Great Britain?
As a Brit moving over to texas to get married I am sure you have already faced many of the hassles I have coming my way, not the least of which is culture shock…. I am a typical down to earth englishman, which means I am goign to be way out of my depth in Austin!
The entire British/English situation is very complecated, and is based on no logic. The United Kingdom itself does seem to have been reduced to a mini EU, leaving nothing of importance other than a currency!
This is a shame, because I like the United kingdom itself, Scotland is beautiful, Ireland is Fun, Wales is… Well… Unique. I love it all, including my home country of England. the rst seems to be politics, and with the imbeciles in charge which we currently have, there is not a correct decision to be seen in sight over the last century.
Gone are the days of the power of Britain, the outlook to economic expansion, the growth of the country. Instead we have teh conservatives and labour squabbling over votes to see which group of private schooled friends gets to be in charge. The Lib Dems, who like to think they have a chance. The Greenparty, who in co-operation with their groups overseas have reduced world farm food production by 20% in the name of bio fuel have created revolts in 13 countries, increased the price of food (not helping the recession)and severely pissed off all of london with the congestion charge. And the Others party, which I would be interested in, except it seems impossible to find out what Others comprises of.
The beautiful thing is that none of these parties can agree on what Britain, does, let alone SHOULD, comprise of. Yet they all seem to think themselves knowledgable on the EU (Which we have been royally shafted on (Thanks Mr Blair, we now support French Agriculture)
Sometimes I feel glad to be going to America, although I much prefer australian politics, where the political parties are clearly divided on any subject, including but not limited to, the best brand of beer, Whether boy bands are completely made up of gays, Brand of Cigarettes, and opinion on Jonny Cash.
Anyway, Rant over!
Welcome, Oli,
It’s OK to rant. We’re all here to share our culture shock experiences. Still watching the political scene – not much has changed recently.
Who cares about Gymnastics in England? As long as there is an England football team, how many Englishmen actually care? England itself isn’t going anywhere, and Gymnastics is something women and funny foreigners do, isn’t it? LOL