Location: The Burrow, N53:48:02 W1:48:57, The Tin Tent - EGBS, EGBO
Posts: 2,094
The Re-Naming of Places
Avert your eyes Mr Draper. I have just seen an item of news on BBC Look North in which we were informed that there is a proposal to rename the East Coast of Yorkshire as "The John Paul Jones Coast" Why? What is this apparent mania for changing age old place names? Does anyone else find this craze as pointless and irritating as I do?
Yup, let's go back to the original names. Like Londinium, New Amsterdam and (for the aviation input) Idlewild Airport. While we're at it, let's crawl back up the nearest tree, undress and grow long hair all over our bodies.
John Paul Jones?he were a half cast Scots Welsh turncoat traitor scallywag and all round bad egg weren't he? had we nabbed him he wudda swung at execution dock,swung I say! one can't see Yorkshire folk standing for that one can't,they may be a tight fisted mercinary lot who would sell their own grannies for ale, but they has their pride.
They can change it to whatever they like, and no-one will take a blind bit of notice, luckily. The British are sensible in some things, at least. On the other hand, there are millions of people who've spent their whole lives in Madras, only to find they've been living in Chennai all along, and others who were born in Burma will die in Myanmar. The politicians can make problems not only for atlas makers but for ordinary citizens of their countries. As for JPJ, as an American I'm naturally glad to see him get some credit in the old country, but I think you've flagellated yourselves quite enough lately with apologies to ex-colonies, descendants of slaves, etc. Take a rest. You don't really have to celebrate an American hero of our Revolutionary war.
Interestingly JPJ went to work for Ivan after the cousins sacked him, he was then sacked by them also, one gets the impression he was a bit of a loon, then went to France and nobody would give him a job, now yer got to be bad if even the French won't employ yer to fight forrem, he died in povety and obscurity in Paris,Twas Roosevelt I think who had him resurrected as a nation hero had him dug up and shipped back to the USA, I understand he now lives in a box at Annapolis,in a cupboard under some stairs until the cousins decide exactly what to do with him. He shudda come to England as stated in one's first post, we would have given him a good send off. I will say this for Mr Jones, apparently he would have nowt ter do with the new fangled Star and Stripes flag, he insisted his ship fly the Grand Union Flag which of course had the Union Jack in the top left hand corner.
On the other hand, there are millions of people who've spent their whole lives in Madras, only to find they've been living in Chennai all along
Actually they were always living in Chennai. Madras was the new name given to the port by the British when they occupied/invaded/sacked the country. It was taken from the name of a small village near the troops barracks at the time called Madrasapattnam.
On the other hand, there are millions of people who've spent their whole lives in Madras, only to find they've been living in Chennai all along
That was where Napoleon would have been exiled to except the ship that dropped him off didn't know where they were going. On landing, Napoleon was heard to say that the skipper didn't know his Madras from his Elba...
Well now you mention it; Bombay was settled by the Portuguese. They named it Bom (good) Baia (bay) because it was, well, a good bay. When we acquired it, we kept the name and Anglicised it.
The Re-Naming of Places
If you're in East Yorkshire, then it would be obvious what you're talking about, n'est pas?
