Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The English are not Eurotrash

“We treasure our insularity"

England is England, the Continent is the Continent. - Image by Rick Geary
England is England, the Continent is the Continent.

Dear Matthew: My colleagues and I are at a standoff as to whether England is considered a part of Europe or not. They say it is, but I disagree. I recall that in college it was stressed that Great Britain is separate from Europe, and that the British people take exception to being referred to as “Europeans,” when, in fact, they refer to Europe as “the Continent.” Who’s correct? — Steve Jorgensen, Escondido

Sponsored
Sponsored

Matt: If the English drive on the left, do they also walk on the left side of a sidewalk, passing right shoulders — the opposite of America? If I go to England and keep to the right when I walk, will I keep bumping into people? — A Pedestrian, San Diego

Nigel F.J. Crumpet-Wicket, staff Anglo-whiz, harrumphs something that translates to, “The English don’t walk on sidewalks, they walk on pavements.” That vocabulary detail out of the way, he says there’s a “slight but noticeable tendency” to walk on the left, but it is “neither universal nor expected.” We get considerably more harrumphing on the other question. As a small island, nation and one-time dominant world power with a long history of assaults from the mainland, the British do not consider themselves Europeans. “We treasure our insularity. When we talk of Eurodollars and Eurotrash, we wouldn’t think for a moment that we are including ourselves,” sniffs Nigel. England is England, the Continent is the Continent, and it will take more than the chunnel and the EEC to change that. Any geographer, of course, would say the British are delusional, and there’s no question that Great Britain is part of the European continent. A crisis of loyalties for British geographers, it seems.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Next Article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
England is England, the Continent is the Continent. - Image by Rick Geary
England is England, the Continent is the Continent.

Dear Matthew: My colleagues and I are at a standoff as to whether England is considered a part of Europe or not. They say it is, but I disagree. I recall that in college it was stressed that Great Britain is separate from Europe, and that the British people take exception to being referred to as “Europeans,” when, in fact, they refer to Europe as “the Continent.” Who’s correct? — Steve Jorgensen, Escondido

Sponsored
Sponsored

Matt: If the English drive on the left, do they also walk on the left side of a sidewalk, passing right shoulders — the opposite of America? If I go to England and keep to the right when I walk, will I keep bumping into people? — A Pedestrian, San Diego

Nigel F.J. Crumpet-Wicket, staff Anglo-whiz, harrumphs something that translates to, “The English don’t walk on sidewalks, they walk on pavements.” That vocabulary detail out of the way, he says there’s a “slight but noticeable tendency” to walk on the left, but it is “neither universal nor expected.” We get considerably more harrumphing on the other question. As a small island, nation and one-time dominant world power with a long history of assaults from the mainland, the British do not consider themselves Europeans. “We treasure our insularity. When we talk of Eurodollars and Eurotrash, we wouldn’t think for a moment that we are including ourselves,” sniffs Nigel. England is England, the Continent is the Continent, and it will take more than the chunnel and the EEC to change that. Any geographer, of course, would say the British are delusional, and there’s no question that Great Britain is part of the European continent. A crisis of loyalties for British geographers, it seems.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Next Article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader