tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post5129281708918161838..comments2024-03-24T09:13:28.758+00:00Comments on The Plashing Vole: Quiet Is the New LoudThe Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-67513357732444528282011-08-02T10:39:58.092+01:002011-08-02T10:39:58.092+01:00Thanks Jason. I was being deliberately facetious i...Thanks Jason. I was being deliberately facetious in ignoring the hundreds of years of complicated history separating the nations!The Plashing Volehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-6208822293061712822011-08-01T21:48:37.664+01:002011-08-01T21:48:37.664+01:00Your theory about how Britain would have turned ou...Your theory about how Britain would have turned out if we'd become Scandinavian is an interesting idea. Personally, I'm a bit resistant to straightforward accounts of history. There is, for example, a strong Scandinavian influence on place names in the North-East of England. The name Sanderson, which is popular in the Scottish borders, is derived from a dialect word for 'stranger's son' - the original Sandersons were Scandinavian immigrant labourers who didn't return (just imagine if they'd had the <i> Daily Mail</i> back then). Before Britain joined the Common Market (as it was then called) we were part of EFTA, a non-aligned group formed by the Scandinavian countries. <br /><br />The Scandinavian influence on Britain may be greater than we realise, and yet our cultures seem so different. Or perhaps they aren't. Reading about the response of the Norwegian government, I thought about the German bombing of Coventry during WWII. The <i>Daily Express</i>, predictably, called for retribution. Many inhabitants of the city responded with an open letter urging reconciliation.Jason D Jawandohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04476344139659491394noreply@blogger.com