English Nationality

It's typical of the Brits to complicate matters for historical reasons, and quite usual in other countries such as Spain, but the difference between England, Britain and the United Kingdom a constant source of aggravation for an expatriate such as me.

For instance, the SEF (immigration authorities) know the difference, as do the notaries. But the Portuguese National Elections Council only allow "English" when you register to vote. Can't see many Scots registering if they find that out!

Even Miguel Portas, Portuguese Euro-MP for the Bloco da Esquerda, didn't know the difference when interviewed prior to the last elections for the European parliament. He blamed the English for blocking a particular resolution. Despite his ignorance, he got elected anyway - that's the advantage of the crony system for defining lists of candidates.

The other night, the Portuguese version of Trivial Pursuit Family Edition came up with "What was the nationality of the writer William Golding?" Answer: "English". My younger son duly informed me that my answer "British" was not worth a piece of pie!

Interestingly, the Portuguese Wikipedia article on William Golding refers to him as an English writer, while the English article states "Nationality: British "! I give up!