When you cross the border from England to Wales there is a real feeling of entering another country - there is even a border control of a sort - you have to pay to get in across the bridge!! At least you do to get in - they let you go back out for free.

If you are listening to the radio in the car the wavelengths go fuzzy, and if you press the 'go seek' button you can get a Welsh language station, and the signs and traffic instructions are bilingual. You get, for instance ARAF as well as SLOW painted on the tarmac as you approach a bend etc.

I used to go into Wales on the canals, to Llangollan. I did know a bit of Welsh at one time, but if you want to inflict pain on the Welsh try speaking their lovely lilting language with a Yorkshire accent.

It is, I suppose the difference between a kingdom and a country, the Union Flag is the combined flags of the kingdoms - so Wales, being a principality, is not represented.

There are some ancient bits of politics still around here - Jug ears - sorry, his royal highness Prince Charles, is Prince of Wales and also Duke of Cornwall.

Cornwall - that's the long bit under Wales is still more separate from England than other counties and maintains that, - it is the Dutchy of Cornwall to most of its inhabitants, and visitors are emmets (ants).

Wales has its own flag, the red dragon, or draig, for when it is being Welsh, and the Union Flag for being British, and I expect there are a few European Union ones for when it is being European.

We Brits are subjects of the same monarch, but are citisens of our own countries, each with the right to abide anywhere within the United Kingdom yet usually we maintain old allegiances. I am aware of my origins being the ancient Kingdom of Elmet and have books on the ancient origins of the British people, alongside the French language Linguaphone disks.