Hmmmm..."LOL" or not, I think I'm going to use my get out of jail free card and disagree with you on this. Assuming Boomer's info is correct and updated, he resides
in Wickford England on the Island of Great Britain. The Island of Great Britain is definitely in Northwestern Europe regardless if it's resident government is in the European Union
or Common Market or NATO or whatever political/military entanglements the residential government decides to be in of or out of. Excessive tectonic activity whereby the splitting
of the Eurasian plate takes place is the only thing* that can change that.
*Well, a bribe of proper proportion to a world geography body/association might start the ball rolling to a multi-decade debate which might change things eventually, since the whole thing about continents is defined by humans anyway. I mean if you look at a globe, we all live on islands, some are just a lot bigger than others.
However, I do think Europe got some cool colors that we here in the U.S. would have liked. I think that Dark green they got in 2011 would get me to trade in my 2010 model if it were to become available here in 2021.
I think we'll save that get out of jail card for another time...
I think it depends to whom you speak with whether the UK is part of Europe. If you speak to me then it will never be part of Europe and never has been. If you are talking geographically and in the continental shelf scientific sense of being then I can't argue with that fact. Calling me or any Englishman a European would probably elicit a somewhat negative response from said fellow that would not be nice and could get me thrown in jail. Same could be said of calling a German a Frenchman or a Belgian a Frenchman. Not picking on the French here, it's just an example. A Belgian, a Frenchman, a German walk into a bar and someone says 'Welcome, Europeans!'. I don't think anything ill would come of that except maybe a raised eyebrow or two. But if someone were to say that to me as I walked into my favorite German bar then a few choice words would be said (come to think of it I probably have said them as the owner insults me as much as I insult him), mind you. All in good fun as that is one German I would do anything for. But again this is all personal feelings and not based on anything scientific. I fly three flags outside the house, US, St. George's, and St. Andrew's.
Flying the US and St. George's flags are obvious but not so much the St. Andrew's. A Scot did me a very kind thing last year and unfortunately he succumbed to the virus which has endeared to me to those peoples. Which reminds me, I need to get a German flag as well.
And whilst we're on the subject of nations, I think the world is a lot better place having all these different peoples with different ideas on things...especially different foods and alcohol. Even with our differences.