Not actually true. Ignoring the long history which separated Cornwall from England, nowhere else is a “Duchy”. On top of that the people have been recognised as a national minority, giving them the same status as the Welsh, Scots and Irish.

It might seem inconsequential to you, but to many here it’s an important step towards more autonomy.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

Lancaster is a town. The county is Lancashire.

There is no Duchy of Truro.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

But not a County, which is what was being discussed.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

Just seen this thread and I laughed out loud.

Can you not see what a contradiction that is?

If you can't become Cornish, then by the same logic you can't become English.

I don't think the science of all this is really the defining point of this argument.
What is clear is that most people on Earth are allowed to hold their culture, heritage, identity and race in high esteem, except it seems for the English. Perhaps most of Northern Europe suffer from this to a large degree.

If you are White and a bit pasty, it seems that the left and some of their minority friends want to condemn and vilify any sign of nationalism or any pride in or ownership of identity whatsoever.

This is clearly prejudice in the purest form.

You try to perpetuate this attitude with the ridiculous self hating nonsense you post on here.

As for your French grandmother. You are part French. You have some French Heritage. Seems fairly simple. You are also mostly English, presumably.

You are apparently not Cornish despite living in Cornwall, however I have never lived in Cornwall but have a lot of genetic heritage from that area.
Despite that, the locals would not accept me as Cornish I'm sure, just the same as I won't accept someone from pakistan as English.

Fairly straight forward.

its a tricky question.

My favourites are the ones who can fully pass themselves off as English while also being able to pass themselves off as a different identity. I know some Hungarians who speak London English and also perfect Hungarian......are they English ?

In London there are many Welsh, Scottish & irish who get confused for English....The accent is not always a giveaway...Tony Blair, Terry Jones, or Shane McGowan being three examples.

Foreigners living in London have zero interest in the subtle differences between peoples from the British Isles and daub us all with the English brush.

That French Actor in 'The King' did a perfect plummy English accent...and increasingly more and more 'foreigners' can speak better English than the rest of us.

Richard Dawkins isnt English.....even though he sounds English. There are many others.

Charlize Theron can sound fully american or English.....and she is neither. Englishmen from Tyneside, the Mersey or other places can be incomprehensible to understand.

Poshest accent i ever heard was a bloke brought up in Dubai - he identified himself as Scottish.

in summary....there are people who seem very English but are not. and other people who ARE English , much to the confusion of many. and yet my answer deliberately avoided the minefield of Ethnicity & living in the UK.
Its confusing. Anjem Choudary is more English than Pierce Brosnan - and yet the latter played James Bond.

first attempt .....DNA ? i know families where the older kids have one nationality and the younger kids a different one. The Van Tulleken brothers have not one drop of British blood, and yet you would never guess.

Sadiq Khan ? yes he is English. More English than Andrew Sachs.

so DNA doesnt answer the question.

second attempt.....a link to the English working classes. Yes, better. Cos any git can talk posh, but a good Croydon accent & network of family and friends. It cannot be fabricated.

identity. Marxists are trying to tell us that a Martian, landed 5 minutes ago at Dublin Airport is 'new irish'. Something similar happening in Germany - new Germans.

English ? how about the London 7/7 bombers ? Or the blokes who murdered Lee Rigby.

third attempt....passport, National insurance number, & paperwork. Shemima Begum fell a cropper. Martin McGuinness was not British, and yet he also was.

fourth attempt....Allegiance. Jack Grealish wore the football shirt of two nations.....is he still fully English ? Noel Gallagher says he talks Mancunian but he is irish.

fifth attempt....place of birth, so is Joanna Lumley not English ?

sixth attempt.....time spent in England, especially at a young age. Is Andrew Sachs really German ? and Prince Phillip really Greek ?

Final Answer : Vindaloo and Sticky-back plastic. Plus the ability to form an orderly queue at a bus-stop.

Edited by PalazioVecchio (15 Jun 2024 12.43am)

Edited by PalazioVecchio (15 Jun 2024 1.03am)

Kayla did Anfield & Old Trafford

So are they Cornish or English?