Good bye Team GB ?

The dust is settling on the sporting glories of the rather irritatingly entitled British Olympic sports team - 'Team GB' and politicians and celebrities have jumped on board the few moments of fleeting fame to be had on the return of the successful sports men and women to Britain.

The Olympic flag has been passed from Beijing to London and the bumbling London Mayor, Boris ' the Morris Dancer' Johnson, clumsily accepted it in readiness for the 2012 Olympic Games to be hosted in his City.

There was much coverage of the good that the games will do but for where ? Certainly, London may benefit and probably the wealthy south east of England, but the rest of Britain ?

We are promised a spectacle of 'hoodies' amongst the display of British or should one say, English culture. Is this the best that can be offered when the the ancient and once again thriving Celtic cultures, barely recognised by the Anglo-centric Westminster government, offer so much more richness and diversity ?

The timing of these Olympic Games in 2012 is going to be a fascinating comment on 'Team United Kingdom'. Held post the 2010 Scottish Independence Referendum, will there be a 'Team GB' or by then, will Scotland have negotiated its right to enter a 'Team Scotland' as it does with the Commonwealth Games and other sporting events ? And if it does, where does that leave Wales, again a Nation with its own proud sporting heritage and clearly defined teams ? One would hope sporting autonomy be the case for both Nations in their bold march to independence.

Already, Prime Minister Gordon 'Britain' Brown's plans appear to be unravelling despite the best efforts of Lord Sebastian 'I'm proud to be English' Coe, the failed Tory MP who was parachuted into a Cornish constituency and promptly booted out after one term by the discerning Cornish electorate who fast through his thin veneer of celebrity.

For, what about a British football team ? Well, despite 'Britain' Brown's best efforts, those annoying people from the so called 'Celtic fringes' appear to be rejecting his best efforts to create such a thing. Brown, an out of touch Scotsman who has sold his soul to the concept of a fading and failing Union of Great Britain, may have met his match and in his floundering attempts, be blighting others, including Coe.

There has already been an outcry from Scotland and now Wales about the prospect of a British football team. As most will be aware, it will comprise mainly English players with a few 'bolt ons' from the Celtic nations and with England's dreadful track record on football, who will want to know ? Yes, England did win the World Cup in 1966 and yes, the faithful, albeit misled fans still wear their undersized football shirts over 40 years later stretched across their English beer bellies and support their celebrity players but a 'British' football team - surely not ?

Judging by a number of on-line petitions, the thought of another artificial creation of the British, or should I say 'English' state may be a step too far in a fast crumbling United Kingdom even if sporting figures from Scotland, Wales and indeed the north of Ireland could be convinced to nail their colours to the mast of a fast sinking ship, HMS 'U.K.'

On line petitions against this cobbled up creation may be found at:

Scotland/Alba:  http://www.petitiononline.com/RE3010/

Wales/Cymru: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/welshsport/

Signatures on the latter on line petition have been growing at a quite phenomenal rate underlining the strength of public opinion on this issue.

It is heartening to see much Celtic solidarity on these petitions as many Cornish people who form the much forgotten and repressed fifth Celtic Nation of Britain, Cornwall/Kernow, are also signing the petitions perhaps in protest at the absolute denial to them of any International sporting representation. This is one thing their Duke, Charles Windsor, cannot control perhaps ? More of that separate and substantial story can be found here:

http://duchyofcornwall.eu/

C.T.