It's the Little Things

That remind you of the complexity of our nation. Or maybe it's just very simple. Clearly Muller Rice were delighted to have a player called Rice participating in the Euros and have a series of adverts featuring him. Presumably looking to attract the attention of football fans who recognise the player. Except, he plays for England and so why would his image have any traction in Scotland, who are also at the Euros (albeit probably not for very long)? Presumably it's a UK-wide campaign, which must be why there are so many versions of it on Edinburgh's bus stops. But did no one stop to think, oh it's an England player, that might not go down well in Scotland?  Is it worse if they did think that and decided to go ahead anyway? It's the assumption that England = UK that happens so many times, in so many contexts. Why is the UK's national bank called the 'Bank of England'? We are stuck with neither one thing nor another - it is no longer a union of equal partner nations but it isn't a single nation with the same legal, health and education systems, and sports teams, either. Should the real choice in the independence referendum have been "Scotland or part of England"? An independent nation or a completely subsumed one?

Postscript: Scotland managed a 1-1 draw against Switzerland and so will remain in contention until the last group match. We will probably still need a win against Hungary who are ranked several places above us, albeit not as high as the Germans or Swiss.