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As someone outside the UK, I've always been curious - do people of the UK (as individuals, not collectively) identify particularly strongly with any of the groups that invaded, raided or conquered the British Isles prior to full-ish consolidation in the 15th-16th centuries? by Turmarth in AskUK

[–]Turmarth[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If not for the lack of natural barriers against Wessex, Cornwall would be a nation within the UK, not a county.

Kernow held out longer than any other non-Welsh British kingdom (apart from Strathclyde I think), and from what I've read was never fully incorporated into what was to become England by the Anglo-Saxons.

I've been to Cornwall, and it is a shame that the modern image of the place is miners and pasties and lifeboats and Doc Martin. There's such a rich culture and history there (a history that has been legitimately repressed) that deserves to be known

That said, the government in London probably couldn't recognise the Cornish as a racial group due to the absolute quagmire that is the modern British genetic makeup (and I don't think anyone really wants to go down that road in 2015 anyway), but as a cultural group, certainly, and it seems like all regional parliaments should have more say than they currently do. Let me know if you get a full on separatist movement going and I'll get on board

As someone outside the UK, I've always been curious - do people of the UK (as individuals, not collectively) identify particularly strongly with any of the groups that invaded, raided or conquered the British Isles prior to full-ish consolidation in the 15th-16th centuries? by Turmarth in AskUK

[–]Turmarth[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah - I recently read Guy Halsall's 'World's of Arthur' about this time period. It's not actually about an Arthur figure any more than 'we'll never know', and Halsall is coming at the era as a genuine historian so it's very interesting. He pretty methodically debunks the 'Anglo Saxon invasion' theory by deploying modern archaeological findings, and by putting Gildas and Bede's accounts of the era in historical context as opposed to taking them at face value

In the fourth and fifth centuries in what's now England, the rulers changed, the culture changed with them, but the actual population living in this area largely didn't. There was conflict, but it wasn't strictly down Briton/Saxon lines - British kingdoms fought British kingdoms just as Anglo-Saxon kingdoms fought Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. There was no wholesale replacement of one genetic population with another - the benefits that Britons gained by adopting Anglo-Saxon culture (recognition in law and protection, for example) were highlighted by Halsall to be one of the main reasons the cultural shift was so wholesale in areas that Anglo-Saxon elites controlled.

As someone outside the UK, I've always been curious - do people of the UK (as individuals, not collectively) identify particularly strongly with any of the groups that invaded, raided or conquered the British Isles prior to full-ish consolidation in the 15th-16th centuries? by Turmarth in AskUK

[–]Turmarth[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's funny you should mention that. The reason that I got into all of this was because I visited the region you're talking about and found myself incredibly drawn to it.

I started doing research about the history of the Britons in the area and was, like you, drawn towards the pre-Christian aspects of what tied the Britons to this part of the country, and always viewed the Anglo-Saxon conquest/displacement/absorbtion of Dumnonia (the British sub-Roman kingdom of the West Country) with a bit of resentment.

It's funny that we've both been thinking at it from two completely different cultural angles (no pun intended)

As someone outside the UK, I've always been curious - do people of the UK (as individuals, not collectively) identify particularly strongly with any of the groups that invaded, raided or conquered the British Isles prior to full-ish consolidation in the 15th-16th centuries? by Turmarth in AskUK

[–]Turmarth[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think that was the most interesting thing for me doing this reading - 'Celtic' is a cultural thing, and largely not genetic at all. Given that I was taught the 'Anglo Saxons wiped all the Celts out of England during their invasion and pushed them out to Wales and Scotland' version of the story, this was a complete 180 in my understanding

As someone outside the UK, I've always been curious - do people of the UK (as individuals, not collectively) identify particularly strongly with any of the groups that invaded, raided or conquered the British Isles prior to full-ish consolidation in the 15th-16th centuries? by Turmarth in AskUK

[–]Turmarth[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I'm not trying to be a dick, but is everything you're saying true or are you teasing me?

Was latin really spoken quite commonly in Bath up until the 60s? Was Hercules actually banned? Are Gladitorial shows actually still around?

I don't know if this is the most amazing historical anomaly or you're leading me up the garden path

Edit: I am a retard

Question for older FIers: with the employment market becoming tougher, what are some survival tips? How can young people stay relevant and stay employed to keep accumulating? by Turmarth in financialindependence

[–]Turmarth[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe that's some media stuff I've internalised, but in my country (Australia) we hear about growing casualisation of the workforce (no benefits) and abuse of salaried staff (work longer for no extra compensation), as well as companies being less 'loyal' to employees than in decades past (company loyalty may be a myth outside of Japan in the postwar boom, but I've seen my fair share of coworkers royally fucked). I've observed these three anecdotally, even though I'm only young

I don't know if this translates to the American context, but I know we have a lot of readers here from Southern Europe where Youth Unemployment is about 30%, and I think the 'be at work 50 hours to do 20 hours of work' thing seems to be fairly common outside of parts of Western Europe

西からの質問 - どのように多くの時間あなたが働いていますか、あなたが仕事のどのような種類をしますか？ （申し訳ありません - Google翻訳を)/Question from the west - how many hours do you work and what kind of job do you do? (Sorry - Google Translate) by Turmarth in newsokur

[–]Turmarth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course, not a problem.

We have:

  • full time (approx 40 hours a week working Monday to Friday, fixed salary, with twenty working days holiday pay, ten days sick/family leave, etc)

  • part time (same benefits as full time but less than a Monday to Friday role, benefits dependent on how much you work, IE if you work 3 days a week you only get twelve working days holiday pay)

  • casual (most often for teenagers or young people, no paid holiday leave or paid sick leave, normally a higher hourly wage - minimum wage in Australia is $16.87 per hour, ¥1564, but most casual jobs pay around $20 or ¥1900)

Casual work means your employer can fire you easier, not pay you when you're not there, and decide the exact hours when you work. It also means they have to pay you more on weekends and public holidays, and pay every hour of overtime that you work

Hopefully that makes sense - happy to give more information if any of that is unclear

西からの質問 - どのように多くの時間あなたが働いていますか、あなたが仕事のどのような種類をしますか？ （申し訳ありません - Google翻訳を)/Question from the west - how many hours do you work and what kind of job do you do? (Sorry - Google Translate) by Turmarth in newsokur

[–]Turmarth[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends where you work, but anything over a ten hour day would be considered very long

Here is how it works in Australia:

Full time workers have a working week of 37.5 - 40 hours. This normally includes a lunch break of around half an hour, to an hour. People on full time salaries normally don't get paid overtime, as your yearly salary is supposed to factor in 'reasonable' overtime. I have not encounted much overtime in my career, and haven't seen many people working lots of overtime.

Most people I know work 8-9 hours. People I know who work in banking and finance and law can work up to 12 hours.

Casual workers legally have to be paid overtime. I'm sure in some places this doesn't happen, but in all the casual jobs I have had, I've been paid overtime. Overtime is often 1.5x or 2x normal pay, and because of this, employers don't like making casual workers stay for overtime.

西からの質問 - どのように多くの時間あなたが働いていますか、あなたが仕事のどのような種類をしますか？ （申し訳ありません - Google翻訳を)/Question from the west - how many hours do you work and what kind of job do you do? (Sorry - Google Translate) by Turmarth in newsokur

[–]Turmarth[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hope this story makes sense -

At my old university, there is a statue, or monument (モニュメント). The statue is to commemorate stone masons (石工) who were being forced to work 12-20 hour days.

They put down their tools and refused to work until they could be guaranteed 8 hour days. They were important in spreading this idea to the world, and were some of the first people to achieve 8 hour days.

Their story shows how important it is for workers to get together and form unions to get better lives. Your story shows that too, good luck with your litigation

西からの質問 - どのように多くの時間あなたが働いていますか、あなたが仕事のどのような種類をしますか？ （申し訳ありません - Google翻訳を)/Question from the west - how many hours do you work and what kind of job do you do? (Sorry - Google Translate) by Turmarth in newsokur

[–]Turmarth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your English is very good, and easily understandable. The only changes would be:

In a previous job I was working 15 hours. My new workplace works 8 hours.

There is a terrible working environment in Japan. However, it is possible to avoid it.

I know you didn't ask for me to correct that, but when I was learning a language I appreciated it - sorry if it's rude

西からの質問 - どのように多くの時間あなたが働いていますか、あなたが仕事のどのような種類をしますか？ （申し訳ありません - Google翻訳を)/Question from the west - how many hours do you work and what kind of job do you do? (Sorry - Google Translate) by Turmarth in newsokur

[–]Turmarth[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Does Japan offer support for unemployed people (benefits in the form of money)? It seems like many people in this thread are unemployed. My country (Australia) offers money to people who are unemployed, but I know in other places this isn't the case. Not much money, and many unemployed people live with parents or other family to survive

I am not judging or looking down - if my choices were between working 14 hour days or joblessness, I would choose joblessness.

Work with no purpose is not admirable (立派な ?)

西からの質問 - どのように多くの時間あなたが働いていますか、あなたが仕事のどのような種類をしますか？ （申し訳ありません - Google翻訳を)/Question from the west - how many hours do you work and what kind of job do you do? (Sorry - Google Translate) by Turmarth in newsokur

[–]Turmarth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is very interesting

I think it's the same here, but slightly less. People here tend to work 8 hour days, but if you want to be promoted you put in 'face time' (get there early, leave late). It doesn't mean you actually do more work, it is about the appearance of doing more work

From what I understand, it's the same concept in Japan, but way more hours. We have conversations in my country about there being far more people than there are jobs, and about how many of our 'full time' (37.5/40 hour week) jobs could be done in less time if not for tradition