More about the UK
Trip Start
Jun 17, ????
1
6
36
Trip End
Ongoing
West Sussex,
United Kingdom
Wednesday, January 27, 1982
ISLE OF MAN
Apparently "Under British law, Man is not part of the United Kingdom. However, the UK takes care of its external and defence affairs, and retains paramount power to legislate for the Island."
and
"There is no separate Manx citizenship. Citizenship is covered by UK law, and Manx people are classed as British citizens"
This is very interesting, but not very categoric in the "is or isn't it" stakes. Maybe I'll put it on my Ambiguous List (the items are ambiguous, not the list itself) and fit it in at the end, if I feel that I can be arsd.
CHANNEL ISLANDS
As I suspected, there are two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey.
"Both the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey are British crown dependencies, but neither is part of the United Kingdom. "
OK, so that is pretty much what I thought and fits in with my plan to include the Islands..
"The Bailiwicks have been administered separately from each other since the late 13th century, and although those unacquainted with the Islands often assume they form one political unit, common institutions are the exception rather than the rule. The two Bailiwicks have no common laws, no common elections, and no common representative body (although their politicians consult regularly). There is no common newspaper or radio station, but a common television station, ITV Channel Television."
Bggr, I think that this means that I might have to visit Jersey. Just to be clear, I am perfectly happy to visit Jersey, I've heard that it's lovely. But I don't need my list to get longer - I've got a deadline to meet. Also, I do work full time, so I need to make full and effective use of my annual leve to get all the trips in (as well as the skiing / sunshine trips that need to go on every year).
More importantly, the mere mention of Channel Islands TV has reminded me of Oscar the Puffin, whose antics I greatly enjoyed when I was on Guernsey in 1982. I actually bought an Oscar, and he is upstairs in my spare room even now. (My mum bought one too - he was very popular in our family). I just did a quick Google search to make sure that he was definitely on Channel Islands TV and not some local BBC channel, and do you know, he is still going! There's even a picture of some small child clutching an toy oscar and it looks identical to mine. http://puffin.channelonline.tv/default2.asp I can't believe he's still going after all these years. And he has a podcast too. How mental is that?
NORTHERN IRELAND
Well, straight off, it is a part of the United Kingdom. Bit more straightforward than these Ballythingies and the like.
Northern Ireland consists of six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster. In the UK, it is generally known as one of the four Home Nations that form the Kingdom.
So, it is a province and it is thought to be a "Home nation". Definitely on the list.
Of course, I know that separate laws exist in NI, IoM and CI because the UK is my home and I'm familiar with the bits of it that aren't England, even if I did need to clarify their exact status. I also know without checking that the Isle of Wight is English (even Brading). When it comes to other European countries, will I end up trying to find out about every last island, in case it has separate status? That sounds quite dull - I'll probably stick to the larger islands, but who knows how pedantic I might become!
