Unfortunately, the British Isles moniker was allocated when the British government was crayoning (note oblique creta/preta reference) in pink all over the map. There was a book recently called "The Isles" which tried to avoid the problem this has led to. It's rather difficult to think of a suitable name to encompass the geological/geographical grouping of rocky chunks without conflating it with a political non-reality.

And, cait, the issue of racism is primarily about not attributing characteristics to large groups of people which may or may not be derived from members of that group, and then insulting all members of that group as though those characteristics apply to all of them. If you accuse all the British, or English, of being the most non-PC nationality, what does that make you? Even if you have met some unpleasant representatives of this island, you don't know all of us. As I don't know what nationality you belong to, I can only judge you on your own characteristics, which is as it should be.

I've come across some extremely unpleasant and selfish Americans, and had to read a lot of racist slurs - it does seem that it is not only not racist to slag us off, but also politically correct to do so to some people - but the Americans here will testify that I've never applied the attitude I could have got from that to them. (I've met far more decent ones, anyway).

I agree that we have some dire press, but check out The Independent (www.independent.co.uk) and The Guardian (www,guardianunlimited.co.uk) for something a bit better.

Penny, who won't be told not to go on