What a great summer this has been for British sport;  cyclist Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France, the phenomenal success of our athletes in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games and finally, tennis player  Andy Murray winning the US Open title earlier this week. Of course, in Murray’s case the Scottish Nationalists, in the form of Sir Sean Connery, had to make the point that Murray is Scottish and not British.

Well, actually, Sir Sean, Scotland (whether you like it or not) is still a part of the United Kingdom and the Scots like the English are collectively (and correctly) referred to as British. By way of illustration, the majority of Team GB gold medal winners in the Games were English but we English can still refer to them as British without any loss of national pride. I suppose, though, that the lack of a heavy weight on our shoulders is something of an advantage here.

We all know that Murray is proud to be a Scot and why not? We should all be proud of our roots whether we be of English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish extraction. The fact is, however, we are still part of the Union and as long as we are the term ‘British’ can be used proudly by us all.

It’s funny isn’t it that Connery seems quite proud to use the title of Sir even though he quite clearly despises the authority who bestowed the honour upon him. A bit hypocritical, Sean, don’t you think? Oh, one more thing, Sean, today is the anniversary of the battle of Homildon Hill (September 14^th, 1402) when the Scots were routed by the English. I don’t suppose you and your nationalist cronies will be marking the occasion. No? I didn’t think so.