to wish the BBC would stop calling Scotland 'Northern UK'??

[CocktailQueen]

Was reading the BBC weather website yesterday about the weather bomb that hit northern UK.

Drives me mad! Separate country ... it's never been 'northern UK'. Grr.

Bit of a brackets fail there.

YABIgnorant. You realise one side of Berwick doesn't have a separate weather system to the other, right? And the weather in Gretna is probably going to be fairly similar to Carlisle? They were talking about the northern (a simple geographical term which has no political connotations) part of the UK, not just Scotland. Are you actually Alex Salmond?

Scotland is north in the uk surely - it isn't northern England but it is north within the United Kingdom whilst still being Scotland.

Scotland is not a separate country - it is a component part of the UK. As the recent referendum showed (hurray!).

The OP sloped off some time ago in a puff of slightly indecipherable indignation, thread newbies. We're still not entirely sure what her objection was since she wasn't actually in Scotland...or even in the north for that matter...

Scotland is a country.

If there's going to be separate weather I might actually have to move south of the border - it is freezing here just now!

And like many other I assumed northern UK was quicker to say than 'quite a lot of Scotland and the north of England, plus northern Ireland'.

Personally, I was more annoyed by the term 'weatherbomb'. I know it has some precise technical definition about pressure and timings and such, but it would have been more informative to talk about 'really strong winds', 'lots of rain' and 'f'ing freezing'.

Technically it might be a country but in practical terms isn't it just a part of the UK along with England, Wales and NI? Why do so many of us seem so ready to take offence at absolutely everything? It's perfectly clear what "northern UK" means. It's not some put down dreamt up by the BBC.

I suppose. I was watching the weather and they had a big graphic, so it was more clear, but if people were listening only then it might be. Although if it is a weather front that is just affecting the highlands, I think they generally say so. I live in the central belt of Scotland, and if someone says 'northern parts of the UK' I would assume most of Scotland and the north of England were covered, if it was just parts of Scotland I would expect them to say so. In the same way as forecasters refer to the east coast or the west coast.

Fucking hell. Really?

It's a country.

Just like every other country within the union that forms the UK.

There's no 'practically speaking' about it.

So if there is a particular weather event that is going to impact Wales and part of England how is that described? Within the short timeframe that the weather forecast has.

Do we really have to make an issue of this as well as so many other things?

Well, it might be your country....mine's the UK. The sooner we all just pull together and forget all the "them and us" and chips on our shoulders the better, as far as I'm concerned.

I wish we could all pull together JohnCusacksWife but at the moment that isn't really happening. I'm tempted to move to a different part of my country (the UK) quite frankly.

The OP sloped off some time ago in a puff of slightly indecipherable indignation, thread newbies. We're still not entirely sure what her objection was since she wasn't actually in Scotland...or even in the north for that matter...

And why would I have to be in Scotland for this to have bothered me? And what was 'slightly indecipherable' about my indignation? You are a bit bonkers.

Have just been out for dinner with friends ... didn't realise I had to sit pinned to my computer every time I start a thread unlike some of you lot

And yes, of course Scotland is a separate country to England! Am stunned at some of the ignorance on here. Wales, Northern Ireland, England... all separate countries. That's why they have different names, FFS. Of course they're all part of the UK too.

Do we really have to make an issue of this as well as so many other things?

Well, of course we don't HAVE to, no. But if people only posted about life-changing things on Mumsnet it would be a much quieter place. And also, you don't have to be on this thread or reading it, do you? Don't read it!

My original objection was that it was inaccurate. But as you all seem determined to make this out to be some sort of anti-UK, pro-referendum post, I will bow out. Jeez.

Cocktail, perhaps my comments about Scotland not being a country were misleading. I fully realise that technically it is a country in its own right but I guess what I'm trying to question is why we still view ourselves that way? After hundreds of years of union I don't understand why we still have to maintain this "separateness". I wish we could just celebrate our regional differences but view ourselves as one country and work together instead of sniping and taking offence where none's intended. It's embarrassing.

"My original objection was that it was inaccurate"

But you haven't explained how it is inaccurate! So you are forcing people to project and assume.

Don't "bow out", why not explain first? How is the term "northern UK" inaccurate when referring to..er...the bit of the UK nearest the North Pole?

Oh, and your failure to explain how the term is inaccurate is what was "slightly indecipherable", by the way.

I can assure you that the north of England was definitely affected - if one sees one's local harbour in the national newspapers, this is confirmation. So "north of the UK" was indeed a handy abbreviation.

Oh, for the person who asked, the Channel Islands are Crown Dependencies (so not part of the UK, but do tend to be considered part of the British Isles, even though not actually part of the archipelago).

Just listening to the skiing forecast - talking about the Alps and Scandinavia. I wonder if people there are frothing about being lumped together.

The guy doing the half 12 forecast on News 24 referred to 'the southern part of the UK' - wonder if he is a MNer??

Bloody whining Scots, never happy it IS the northern U.K. (I'm in Glasgow btw).

OP: AIBU?
Every reply: Yes, YABU!
OP: No, I am not!

Genuine question, why ask AIBU if you have no intention of taking on board what people have said?

My original objection was that it was inaccurate. But as you all seem determined to make this out to be some sort of anti-UK, pro-referendum post, I will bow out. Jeez.

But can you not see it was your original objection that was actually inaccurate? Northern UK also refers to Northern Ireland and parts of Northern England; not just Scotland.

I live near Carlisle and we were definitely hit by the 'weather bomb'. I also travel to Newcastle daily and my entire journey across the far north of England was affected by the same weather system.

So, on this occasion, the forecasters were completely correct in using the term Northern UK.

I don't mind that they call Scotland Northern UK- it is after all. What annoys me is referring to "THe North" as everywhere from Luton upwards.