Ahhhh, that’ll be Lord Of Man (also known as Queen Elizabeth II).
And the title comes from the original name, Mona Island.
Mini-quibble: It’s simply York Minster.
It’s the G-8 now. They let the Russians in (although the G-7 does still exist as a sort of side item for G-8 summits.)
The UK is only on the UNSC because we were on the winning side in WWII, and we set up the UN so we’d always be on there. The fiver permanent members aren’t really a fair representation of strategic, economic, or political influence.
Frankly, if you want to know what’s still Great about Britain (in a non-size sense), look no further than your own government, wherever you live (unless you’re a citizen of, say, North Korea). The basic principles underlying modern representative democracy are almost entirely British in origin.
Mycroft H.
Thanks for sharing, it’s good to hear from someone who is in MN, and previsouly lived in the UK. There’s not many of us here in the Twin Cities area.
I always tell people to visit London, but I never advise them to live there.
There cetainly are some things that I miss very much. It would be nice to warp over to England sometimes. Food being the biggest catagory.
American candy is awful, even M&M’s don’t taste right here in the US, I miss Galaxy Minstrels, Marks and Spencer sandwiches, and good beer like Stella Artois. I’ve had a hard time finding Stella here in MN. Chicago has more variety.
Music: I miss British pop music. The top songs of the week with Dr. Fox on Capital FM cannot be replaced.
Stuff I don’t miss: High Gas prices, narrow roads, crabby people, our drunk neighbours and Skodas (man those little cars aren’t nice).
Right. United. I.e. in one kingdom, not two. That’s why it’s called the United Kingdom.
Previous to 1707, the monarch was king/queen of England and of Scotland (much like the present Queen is separately Queen of the UK, Canada, Australia, etc.)
Subsequent to 1707, the monarch was king/queen of Great Britain. After 1801, the monarch was king/queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
The point is that England and Scotland no longer exist as separate kingdoms with their own thrones (occupied by the same person). They did (at least de jure) until 1707.
Just to further complicate…
The British Isles is “The archipelago off the west coast of continental Europe” and it should only be used to define a geographical area.
While part of the British Isles, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands***** are not part of the United Kingdom. They are largely self-governing with their own legislative assemblies and systems of law.
However, the British government is responsible for their defence and international relations.
And then we can add the term “The British Islands” which is used to indicate any land within the British Isles which is inhabited by the British, (so the UK, Isle of Man & Channel Islands), but “The British Islands” is not interchangable with “The British Isles”. heh.
*****The Channel islands should not really technically be considered part of the British Isles, as they are geologically not part of the archipelago, but we include them anyway. 
Then the Channel Islands get further divided amongst themselves…
Jersey & Guernsey are UK Dependancies (but parliamentary bailiwicks), whereas Alderney, Sark, Herm, Brechou, Jethou and Lihou are Guernsey dependancies.
Then there is “The Home Nations” which is more or less the same as the UK.
And finally, historically the Cornish are distinct from the English although they are generally considered to be part of England, despite being a seperate duchy (which includes the Scilly Isles).
And as a final note of interest, the Isle of Man’s High Court of Tynwaldis said to be the oldest parliament in the world.
RAR!
Stella is Belgian and Skodas are Czech - it seems a little tenous to judge a country by the consumer products sold in its shops.
Thank you for pointing that out, and you’re probably going to say French Fries are French? I suppose my VolksWagen Jetta that is manufactured in Mexico is also German. What’re you getting at?
Pls. don’t chastise me for judging a country a country for what it retails. I clearly stated “There cetainly are some things that I miss very much”
My post was a response to Mycroft H. who like myself currently lives in Minnesota, United States after having spent some time in England. Did you even follow the thread?
What I was getting at is Stella Artois Lager isn’t widely available in Saint Paul, MN as it is in England. In any case the last Stella that I had was in Chicago and it was brewed in the east coast of the US. So much for it being from Leuven, Belgian. The same goes for the British version of the beer it’s probably easier to get a domestic brew of Stella than it is to get the authentic Belgian version with the perfect hops etc.
Skodas aren’t very popular vehicles in MN either…thankfully!
<b> Again I am not judging a Country or a Culture because of what they have and they don’t have. Thankyou. Please let me know if this is a theme in my posts I will be happy to rectify the situation, and change my repartee or leave your boards. The last thing I want to do is create a stink or offend anyone esp in guest status. </b>
PorkChop47,
You are most welcome. By the way, a belated “Welcome to the Boards” to you as a guest. This is an amazing place with a lot of wise and witty people. I hope you decide to become a member.
As you can tell, I do have a great love for the United Kingdom and admit I had a great desire to come to her defense, especially as a fellow Minnesotan. I recognize that different people have different tastes. But, I could envision a lively discussion if someone asked the question “Given the non-united attitude of Americans over subject x, how can it be called the United States?”
As far as your OP (opening post) is concerned, the factual reason for the “great” in Great Britain did get answered, with a follow up from personal attitudes. I’ve been quite intrigued with where the ‘conversation’ has led. Plus it gave me the change to remember fun trips, even if I can’t correctly type the name of one of my favo(u)rite places. :smack:
Out of curiosity, what place in the world do you consider “great”?
Good luck finding a place with decent Stella Artois!
Mycroft H. (aka fellow Minnesotan)
Thanks for your cheerful post. Without doubt, there’s some amazingly intelligent people on the Straight Dope boards. We are indeed fighting ignorance in this place! Thank you for the welcome. I’m sure I’ll be signing up and forking over the $14 bucks. I never thought I would pay for a message board subscription. But, we shall see.
Yes, we (I) have digressed a little from the original post of “greatness” Britain.
Places in the world I consider great. By the way I have been to or lived in the below places. I don’t belive in the glossy magazine pictures found in lonely planet books, conde naste, or travel channel.
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Watamu (a tiny town near the Mombasa coast in Kenya). The Indian ocean looks great from here.
- Salzburg, Austria
Take care!
Umm, this is a strange coincidence, but the malt that goes into Stella Artois comes from the village Great Ryburgh - a village I mentioned at the beginning of the thread!
Small world.
Oh, and it’s brewed in South Wales and some is exported to the continent.
That is brilliant! 
And yes, for those who wonder, as I did, about a ‘Belgian’ beer being brewed in Wales, a Google search turned up:
from http://www.interbrew.com/content/news/whitbread.html
The things I learn on this Board. Wow!
True that!