Yeah right ...

[Marco]

The English had no option since the French and Spanish were always trying to invade us. Most of the Empire was acquired not because of any intended territorial desire but in a bid to keep the continentals from taking the places for themselves and so becoming too powerful.

People pay far too much attention to lefty, revisionist, back-of-a cornflake-packet history these days. I've no idea why but it seems to get worse as time passes. The way it's going in another 20 years they'll be telling us that the British started WW2 in order to conquer Germany and Hitler wasn't a mass-murdering lunatic bent on world conquest but a brave freedom fighter making a stand against English imperialism.

It was a little bit different though, on home soil, with your battles against the Scots and the Welsh...

Marco.

[Macca]

It was a little bit different though, on home soil, with your battles against the Scots and the Welsh...

Marco.

That was six of one and half a dozen of the other though. And it was the middle ages, everyone was fighting everyone.

You got to bear in mind that these days the rich have a lot of potential entertainment possibilities but back there was bugger all to do with all their spare time except going to war against someone.

[Marco]

Mmm... Best leave that one there, I think, as we're not going to agree on the matter, and most likely strongly disagree!

Marco.

[Macca]

Mmm... Best leave that one there, I think, as we're not going to agree on the matter, and most likely strongly disagree!

Marco.

I was joking but history is always more complicated than you think. It's very rarely goodies versus baddies or us against them. Did you know for example that more Scotsmen fought with the English at Culloden than fought against them?

[Marco]

Yesh, they were traitors!

Marco.

[Macca]

Yesh, they were traitors!

Marco.

Lol. people tend to act in their best interests both now and then. All this high fallutting nonsense about fighting for freedom, or principle or for king and country or whatever is complete bollocks and always has been as anyone who has read a bit of history will know. It's all make-believe just to get the rubes fired up and ready to die. And it works!

[Pigmy Pony]

Is it true that during WW2, Italian army tanks were fitted with five reverse gears? We've all heard the jokes, and some are actually funny. But regarding attitudes to other nationalities and cultures I agree with Marco (#55) that you take people as you find them, as they have absolutely nothing to do with what happened centuries ago, and possibly what may be happening now.

Last line of Marco's post contradicts this somewhat - I'm English and I don't want to fight anyone (unless there's five of us and only four doughnuts)

Forty years ago I had an Armenian friend who told jokes about the Kurds, and they were just the same as the jokes English told about the Irish. The humour didn't work very well, as none of us knew anything about Kurds, or Armenians for that matter.

[Macca]

Is it true that during WW2, Italian army tanks were fitted with five reverse gears? .
.

I think it is about as true as the advert that appeared in The Times in September 1940'


'For Sale - 2 million French rifles. Never fired, only been dropped once. '

[Joe]

Forty years ago I had an Armenian friend who told jokes about the Kurds, and they were just the same as the jokes English told about the Irish. The humour didn't work very well, as none of us knew anything about Kurds, or Armenians for that matter.

Even the Irish tell jokes against the Irish, claiming that people from 'the [Irish] Midlands' are really thick.

[Beobloke]

Even the Irish tell jokes against the Irish, claiming that people from 'the [Irish] Midlands' are really thick.

I can't remember who it was but one comedian turned this into a whole routine, the general gist of which was that:

- People in the world generally make fun of the Irish for being a bit daft.
- People in Ireland made fun of the people in a certain area
- The people in that area made fun of the people from a particuar town
- The people in that town made fun of the people from a particular neighbourhood
- The people in that neighbourhood made fun of the people in a certain street
- The people in that street made fun of the people in a certain house and the people in that house made fun of one bloke in an upstairs room.

His conculsion therefore was that the Irish having a reputation as being thick was actually all down to one bloke...