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

One of your first actions as President would be tricky, renaming our country, obviously United Kingdom is gone and Great Britain excludes the Northern Irish so any suggestions. If us Brits are so reluctant to changing our currency, I can't see disposing of a centuries-old name going down well. Copying Cromwell and using the Commonwealth is an idea, except the Commonwealth now represents the monarchy keeping ties with former colonies (apart from Mozambique and Cameroon)

Yes, it's obviously tricky to even be sure of the extent of one's realm when one says "to become President of the United Kingdom ... [you] need not be British. After all the UK has been ruled ... by ... Scottish ... interlopers."

Now call me picky, but (nationalists excluded) doesn't British include Scottish as a subset? (Whatever it is to be 'British' anyway!) And doesn't 'UK national' include 'British'? (although I agree, the definitions of 'Britain' and 'British' are usually vague. So a Northern Irish person could rule without necessarily counting themselves 'British' yet still be a 'UK National'. And a ruling Scot is surely no more an interloper than a ruling Welshman/woman.

But I don't want to start a Scottish Nationalist debate here, just obsessing about definitions and details.

'picky' rooftiler

I think the standard way of subdividing is to start at the UK, which includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Then you go to (Great) Britain which is the largest island and consists of England, Wales and Scotland and then you go down to individual 'nationalities' How about Albion?

People in West Bromwich would probably vote for that.

Yeah but probably no-one else, it sounds kinda stupid. If our country was called Albion what would our nationality be? Albions? Albionese?

You are ignoring the fantastic possibility that we could become a nation of Albinos...

Pink-eyed Judge

So we'd have to dye our hair blond. Perish the thought!

I think that you would have to be carefull with albion
As Alba is the old name for Scotland.

I didn't know that, we could always copy Prince and use 'The Republic formerly known as the UK'

Go into Word. Type Albion. Call up the Thesaurus and it has no suggestions of synonyms but the first alternative words on the list are...

















"a laugh"
We must be having one!