No it’s not the spitting on a British passport I object to. It’s the act of spitting itself
maybe she should have spat it out…
She could simply have handed the British passport back or torn it up. My understanding is that she has a French one.
Sounds like the Americans and their at times sinister obsession with flags and anthems and such that sadly has been utilised by recent governments with their ‘flag shagging’ and portraits of the Queen, as if anyone with more than 3 brain cells would truly think physical objects in any way demonstrate such things 
But people get swept along in the noise of it all. Just as how anyone who doesn’t display a poppy from around August to December is almost labelled a nazi sympathiser these days purely because they don’t have a cheap bit of plastic and paper attached to their clothes. They could have built a dozen hospitals for injured servicemen for all people know, but not displaying a poppy apparently shows they have absolute contempt for anyone connected to the armed forces
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It is the act of spitting I dislike; there are many other ways of expressing oneself.
Yes, there is far too much flag waving on the Right and Left.
But the poppy is an expression of respect for those poor sods who died in WW1 and 2. Have a wander round the WW1 cemetery at Etaples in the Pas de Calais, it is shocking and moving. And those were just the folk who died of their wounds after being transported away from the Front.
So many were still kids!
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South American men are disgusting like that (or were in the 70s) one had to walk round gobs of spit on the pavement in Brazil and Argentina. 
I haven’t thought of that for over 40 years - I’d rather have not been reminded now!
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The issue I have with it (or rather the issues that @kirsteastevenson mentioned) is the sort of weird patriotic groupthink that can take hold.
I am all for remembering and respecting those who died but it has to be on all sides, otherwise the reasons for war are oversimplified and more often than not repeated. So for me there is nothing controversial about a white poppy or wearing both a red and a white one.
You could draw some very grim parallels between the jingoism of the first world war and the bluster and lies of the utter idiots in charge of the UK now. The generals drinking wine in chateaus and sending innocents over the top shouldn’t get a free pass. Don’t forget it is all the mistakes and tragedies of the the first world war that led to the second. The first world war was entirely unnecessary.
I cycled up there from Le Touquet aerodrome and, as you say, it’s very much an experience - as is the memorial at Oradour-sur-glane 
I find all such memorials intensely moving - not just to war dead, but also to slavery, kindertransport, concentration camps, etc.
But the red poppy (unlike the white) is rather different - it was politicised, and became associated not just with remembrance, but with nationalism and militarism - which is precisely why the white poppy was introduced, and red poppies were banned from international football etc as ‘political’ symbols.
The coercive nationalism making their display almost obligatory now for UK public figures, noted by @kirsteastevenson and @almondbiscuit , has become much worse over recent years, probably an aspect of the same right-wing culture wars that also gave us brexit, etc…
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Did you read the article? She has lived in the UK for over 40 years - her family, job. home, etc, are all there; she never wanted to become a British passport-holder at all - she did it only because she felt she had to - it was the only way she could feel secure there now.
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why would she… usual knee jerk random madness from an aptly named individual 
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Actually I did. My point was about certain unacceptable types of behaviour
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Graham, hands off my knees if you dont mind!
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Just by chance received this from one of the strikers - the untold story as far as the UK media is concerned…
Three years ago we accepted a 0% pay rise, two years ago we accepted a 0% pay rise. But this year they came to us with a 0% pay rise plus over 2500 redundancies, changes to terms and conditions. An increase from 28 weeks of nights to 39 weeks of nights. An increase from 32 weekends worked to 39 weekends worked. Currently for a night shift we get time and a quarter, for a weekend turn we get time and a half. They wish to cut both of these to time and a tenth. So that’s a 15% pay cut on every night shift and a 40% pay cut on every weekend turn. But they want us to work more of them. This is their modernisation they talk about. Not technology, we embrace technology and have seen more and more of it in recent years. They also wish to fire and re-hire the operative grades and bring them back under a new job title but on £9000 a year less. They also want them to use their own vehicles to get to work sites, this when fuel is at its highest. They will also be pooled when currently they are part of the team. The press are painting this to be about pay above all else. It is not. But now we’ve said sod them we are going to demand better. I wish everyone could see past the government controlled media smear.
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Good post Geof. Pity Starmer hasn’t the balls to back them up.
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I didn’t read this thread until now coz I guess I’m not embarrassed to be Scottish which is sort of British, though definately UK? To my mind the embarassment lies strictly with the English? (OK maybe the welsh too for sucking it up…)
However I’m glad I did read it when I reached your post! We all suspect the suspect (actually he’s the convict now) and here’s the evidence! Level down!
Not even a dicky bird on the T&C details from C4.
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Thanks Larkswood. You’re right about Scotland too - it’s England, and especially Westminster, that is the source of the embarrassment
Many Scots might say that Nicola Sturgeon is an embarrassment too!
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Given the choice I would prefer Sturgeon than Johnson.
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