Has anyone been watching the BBC 4 programme How the Celts Saved Britain? Peter Snow's son Dan is the presenter and he maintains St Patrick saved the British (that's the English) from the wild, savage Picts (that's the Scots) and pagan godless chaos after the nice orderly Romans left.
Like Lesley I too have trouble watching the programme. Why? Dan Snow continually refers to England as Britain when the BBC 4 map clearly shows the divides between England and Scotland. It's rather comforting to know I'm not alone in my irritation at this British nonsense and that one of our top broadcasters feels the same.
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Haven't listened to LR for a month or more. I'll have to listen to this one.
I remember in the early eighties watching BBC Scotland reporting on English legislation as if it affected Scotland, apparently unaware that Scotland had a separate legal system.
Same old same old.
Scunnert, this is a BBC 4 TV programme not a radio programme.
I'm tempted to email her and ask if she's complained. Honestly scunnert, it grates on your nerves every time he says Britain when it should be England. Kind of insults the English too.
Complaining about the BBC is like saying that Bears should not shit in the woods. It's what they do.
As we all know, "England" was a generic term for the British Isles as recently as WW2. The BBC has a problem with the word "England" because it does not fit into their worldview.
I have said it before and will say it again. If you threw your telly away and stopped paying your licence fee, there would be no "English" BBC.
As an Englishman, a proud Englishman living in Scotland, I actually find it quite funny that they ignore/condescend to Scotland, because one day, and soon, they will wake up and see that Scotland has left the rest of the UK behind and is doing rather well thank you.
Auch WW, I see you acquire more Scottish characterists every day :)
Aye, I know Lesley personally, met her more than a few times when I was campaigning in Scotland against this or that sort of thing. My respect to the lady. The BBC and other media in Scotland have under used her abundant talent, that's for sure.
...and she has the moral ethics and common sense that is some what lacking in many others in her profession.
Nor is she tainted like yon Wark creature.
Mair power tae yer elbow, Lesley.
...and mine's a double malt.
.
I don't know her Tom, but I believe she had a wee fall out with the BBC a few years ago and now she seems able to name her price.
Good on her and yes I agree, thankfully she's never become part of the Wark mafia.
I flicked through the program, didn't see too much to complain about except the occasional lapse from Britannia to Britain. (And the assertion that the Saxons slaughtered the Britons - nowadays the analysis is more subtle.) Britannia was the Roman name for everything in these isles under their control: it didn't include Caledonia or Hibernia.
McChatterer, I think I counted 7 times he mentioned Britain when it should have been England. Then I gave up.
No, it should have been Britannia, not Britain. But at least that was better than England (which didn't exist then).
But I suspect we are dancing round semantics, when the meaning of these words meant different things at different times.
If the Beeb weren't so Romano-centric they could have used Albion and saved all the confusion!
Ah McChatterer, that's what I heard yesterday from someone who, like you, has a deep interest in history.
Anyway I'm not going to lose sleep over the determination of the BBC and its presenters to insist that any part of the UK is referred to as Britain purely for political reasons. It just irritates McChatterer, but then again so does cold toast. ;)
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