I was born Bulgarian, am legally Austrian, have spent most of my life in the UK and I self-identify as European. So let me tell you about Englishness.
It strikes me as highly amusing that the English – and, frankly, from Newcastle it looks more like just those south of Watford – are having an identity crisis prompted by Scots’ desire for independence. It feels like they are waking up to realise that not everyone on this island is English after all. But if they’re not, then what is it that makes English people special and unique? Well, as an outsider, more-or-less, who has spent a substantial amount of time in this country, I have some thoughts on how “Englishness” relates to Britishness and other national identities of the UK.
Read more at the Scottish Times.