h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What's the point in Football/nationality/national football teams not sure which you mean SWL

I think there isnt much point in any of them but some people do take them seriously so hey-ho we sort of have to work with these peoples sensitivities. As the saying goes "Life is simple then people go and make it complicated"

Strangley here is a short list of famous British sports stars.

Cyrille Regis
Greg Rusedski
Adam Hollyoake
Kevin Pettersen
Basil D'Olivera
Lennox Lewis
Spke Milligan

Guess which is the odd one out (easy) and why (harder).

Sorry but its not to make things complicated for you Strngely, but as (black) person I have always since I can remember being able to form the words called myself English/British. So please dont imagine you know what to think about a whole bunch of people with different ideas based on the few people you know.

one love

Spike Milligan was a sports star You'll be telling me that Steven Georgiou isn't an English singer next.

But why was he the odd one out?

Cos his Daddy was Irish

Ooh you're warm SWL.

Why thank you Blicky, I didn't know you cared

Could it be he was born to an Irish father in India before the war and was an Irish citizen, despite fighting for the British Army. Could it be he was turned down for British citizenship umpteen times.

Silly sod. He should have just gone abroad on holiday then "lost" his passport on the way back.

He wasn't a British citizen, or something?

Yes fittingly there was an absurd irony about Spkes nationality.

All the Britishnes boxes he could tick and in the end he went round defiently declaring his Irishness despite being a living British icon and vitually singlehandeley creating a whole Bitish instituion by himself.

While all the others were allowed to be British with much less fuss. Even the Black ones

"defiently declaring his Irishness "

He tried a number of times to become a British Citizen. He became incredibly embittered about it.

Yes he did, I saw it on a TV interview. I wasnt aware until you said about him wanting to become a British citizen, Id assumed he was just being a bit cantankerous about being mistaken as british by the blundering interviewer. Inlight of what you say his attitude about the confusion seems all the more understandable to me.

Now, is this positive or just a ratings grab?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6210324.stm

Partly it has to do with cultural identity. Did Cat Stephens see himself as English? as British? as British Greek Cypriot? Or did he (like me) not care very much? I don't know. Do you? Then stop pontificating. (That's an indefinite /you/, by the way. I'm not picking on anyone.)

There's a lad of Irish descent playing in England who was being discussed on Irish radio a couple of years ago. They said he wouldn't be asked to play for Ireland, although he technically qualified, because he didn't see himself as Irish. Fair enough, no?

TRiG.

>>Now, is this positive or just a ratings grab?<<

It's a totally brilliant idea and entirely in keeping with C4's tradition of 'contraversy' in its Xmas speech, in opposition to the establisment yawn bore the Queen does on BBC. Nothing wrong with something being 'just a ratings grab' in any case. It's what all commercial TV does as a matter of course to stay in business at all.

Actually...Spike was asked to apply for British citizenship, because of his parentage. Having considered himself British his whole life, and having fought in WWII, and since his father was a career soldier in the British army since before 1921, he told 'em to off. The Irish govt. told him "Sure, have a passport."

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IMHO anyone who states that someone cannot be english if their parents were not can only be described as a racist. And an idiot.

Wonder if I can join you in the yikes book EtB?

Moving on, before I bore everyone to death.

The list of C4 ratings grabbers in full:
1993 - Quentin Crisp
1994 - Rev Jesse Jackson
1995 - Brigitte Bardot
1996 - Rory Bremner (as Diana, Princess of Wales)
1997 - Margaret Gibney, a Belfast schoolgirl broadcast a plea for peace in Northern Ireland
1998 - Doreen Lawrence and Neville Lawrence, parents of Stephen Lawrence
1999 - Ali G
2000 - Helen Jeffries, mother of a CJD victim
2001 - Genelle Guzman, World Trade Center terrorist attacks survivor
2002 - Sharon Osbourne
2003 - Barry and Michelle Seabourn, a Merseyside couple who appeared on Channel 4 reality show Wife Swap.
2004 - Marge Simpson
2005 - Jamie Oliver

It's traditional, innit? The only one I've ever watched was in 1993. My hero, the stately homo of England.

1437 and 1440 are actually properly hidden. Were they yours too Ed?

Of course, Winston Churchill was really American and Prince Charles is Greek.

Why, yes. I do believe that 1437 and 1440 were mine. I think they might have included thw words 'racist' and 'eejit'. I can't be certain because I've not had a Yikes post and nobody has owned up to them.