St.George's Day

[Richard Ruck]

Anyone celebrating St.George's Day?

Not sure what's happening here in Horsham, but I think the morris dancers will be doing the rounds of the pubs at lunchtime.

I'll probably nip over to the florist for a buttonhole and then have a quiet pint or two.

[jtaylor]

Google are certainly celebrating - see their logo today!

[Katharine]

Not really appropriate for me here! The Welsh are quite fond of their dragon and tend not to like people who do nasty things to dragons!!!

[J.R.]

Nothing too special.

Popped over to Sandhurst this morning with the Dorking Senior Girls and Dorking thrashed 'em 0-5, so not a bad start to the day.

On the 60 mile round trip, there was hardly a sign of any red crosses of St George being displayed, but I suppose we musn't upset the immigrants and illegals. (I couldn't find my flag of the Red Crescent !) Didn't bother to drive past the Woking Mosque on the return trip, though I'm sure they were flying the glorious Cross of St. George - NOT!

[graham]

It's my birthday, so of course I celebrate.

We had a St George's day party on Friday night (sunday didn't work) and I had all my friend's wearing red and white. Maybe it'll catch on out here first. That's what happened with paddy's day - it's a US holiday more than an Irish one.

[J.R.]

It's my birthday, so of course I celebrate.

We had a St George's day party on Friday night (sunday didn't work) and I had all my friend's wearing red and white. Maybe it'll catch on out here first. That's what happened with paddy's day - it's a US holiday more than an Irish one.

I trust you're enjoying your day.

[Hendrik]

On the 60 mile round trip, there was hardly a sign of any red crosses of St George being displayed, but I suppose we musn't upset the immigrants and illegals. (I couldn't find my flag of the Red Crescent !) Didn't bother to drive past the Woking Mosque on the return trip, though I'm sure they were flying the glorious Cross of St. George - NOT !

or maybe people have woken up to the fact that blind patriotism is defunct and only the brain-dead would give it the time of day...

...so to speak...

and let's not forget that St George was, errr, born abroad, err, died abroad, never visited our green and pleasant land, nor gave it any consideration. oh yeah, and his mother was PALESTINIAN!
infact, giving that he spent his time playing in the sand somewhere near the euphrates, i don't see why it would upset our middle-eastern friends. especially seeing as the muslims invented him first...



perhaps more relevant is International Workers Day

[jtaylor]

Isn't there something though about having a unifying cause??
We all went to CH - we have a natural bond and affinity - but not at the expense of others?
Patriotism doesn't have to be to the detriment of other nations?

[Laura M]

Personally Hendrik you can call me a blind patriot all you like but to be honest, yes our country does have its faults, many in fact and yes, they do need to be dealt with. But what country doesn't. I will always feel proud to be British (can't say English as am half scottish) we are a great nation with a proud history no matter how much Tony Blair and his cronies would like us to feel otherwise. This constant apologising for who we are sickens me, and feel very sad that someone who chooses to display their national flag on home soil should feel like they are in the wrong.

Now I expect that people with have something to say about what I just said and if its your opinion then fine.

[Richard Ruck]

Patriotism doesn't have to be to the detriment of other nations?

Too true!

It's quite possible to celebrate what is good about one's own country without nationalism raising its ugly head.

The world doesn't seem to have a problem with leeks being waved around on St.David's Day, silly green hats being worn on St.Patrick's Day, or bagpipes being brandished on St.Andrew's Day, so I feel that I should be able to enjoy a few pints of ale in a nice country pub, perhaps eating some (increasingly available) good local food, and watching blokes with beards and bells tied to their trousers leaping around and trying to avoid braining each other with big sticks.

It's NOT a nationalistic thing - unlike a lot of our transatlantic cousins, for example, I never feel the urge to wave the flag and tell everyone that we live in the best country in the world, while remaining blissfully ignorant of everyone else's cultures.

It's just that England has its own history and culture (well, quiet a few cultures, actually). Enjoying the good bits sometimes makes the crap bits more bearable.

[Hendrik]

Personally Hendrik you can call me a blind patriot all you like but to be honest, yes our country does have its faults, many in fact and yes, they do need to be dealt with. But what country doesn't. I will always feel proud to be British (can't say English as am half scottish) we are a great nation with a proud history no matter how much Tony Blair and his cronies would like us to feel otherwise. This constant apologising for who we are sickens me, and feel very sad that someone who chooses to display their national flag on home soil should feel like they are in the wrong.

Now I expect that people with have something to say about what I just said and if its your opinion then fine.

and of course, having patriotism drummed into you by the armed forces has nothing to do with it.

ahhh. on the defensive it seems:

i said blind patriotism. blind beliefs of any kind are idiocy, something which CH really should have taught you.
take faith for example, i have none, but there are many on the forum who do. there are also large groups of people who have faith residing in the american mid-west. one group is an extreme right-wing Bush voting problem, the other is quite pleasant. one group has blind faith, the other has considered their faith.

another example: my uncle is a morris dancer, has painted pictures of st george, and probably has a flag in his window on st georges day. come to think of it, he named his son george.
there are many (MANY) more of the other sort of flag-wavers. i'll try not to labour the point as we all know which types i'm on about.
one type of person are generally quite nasty in their sort of 'patriotism' (yes, generalism, but a true one), the other just likes the tradition and knows that none of them really mean anything, or are connected to each other in any way. i would call one blind patriotism and the other not.

which side you say you are on, Laura, is entirely up to you.

when does Tony ever tell us to be ashamed of Britain? he's one of the biggest flag-wavers of them all!

proud history?! you might need to elaborate on that one....

i posted what i posted because i thought J.R.s post was a bit thoughtless and not very nice.

[Laura M]

The armed forces has not drummed patriotism into me Hendrik I have been proud of my country my whole life and I don't think thats likely to change. You know perfectly well that armed forces does not drum love thy Queen and Country into you, thats the Scouts job if anything (apologies to all Scouts out there I love you really). Certainly patriotism is a factor but the CCF is so much more than that as is the forces in general.

Tony Blair, no not directly he does have a rather good relationship with our monarchy etc, I guess I mean certain members of his party.

As for out countries proud History, if you can't see anything good or honorable in our past without me having to point it out to you then one obviously a classicl education was wasted on you and two perhaps you should consider emigrating.

[J.R.]

when does Tony ever tell us to be ashamed of Britain? he's one of the biggest flag-wavers of them all!

i posted what i posted because i thought J.R.s post was a bit thoughtless and not very nice.

I'm sorry if you thought my post a bit thoughtless

We will have to accept that the great difference in our ages must account for it.

Tone Bliar is NOT a flag waver, when seeing that he is far more right-wing than Sir Winston Churchill, perhaps he should be.

I happen to think that powers that be that ban Christmas decorations because it might upset the..............................

and

Not being allowed to fly the flag of St George from your house because it might upset the..............................

and

Restricting exactly how much CofE religion is actually taught in schools because it might upset the..............................

is also THOUGHTLESS, and, if I might say so, downright anti-nationalistic.

Check out the numbers of convictions and prison sentences issued to so called asylum seekers, (ho-ho-ho), over the last five years, AND for what crimes, then tell me I'm being thoughtless.

......... and while we are on the subject of living in a decent country, lets re-introduce the death sentence, or at least have LIFE to mean LIFE. A previously convicted man who was the subject of a probation order repeatedly rapes and defiles a pre-teenage girl and gets an open sentence, which in fact means probably being eligable for parole after 5 years ?? I DON'T EFFING THINK SO. Hand him to the parents, relatives and friends of the little girl concerned and then we would see true justice.

At least our Eastern cousins of warmer climes have a more sensible and reasonable attitude to making the sentence fit the crime, though maybe with the exception of women who commit adultery. (Well !! - They can't get everything exactly right, after all !!)

[Mid A 15]

Here's my tenpennorth.

There is NOTHING wrong with celebrating your identity and heritage as a general principle.

However in late 20th Century early 21st Century Britain two disparate but equally vile groups have hijacked the Union Flag and St Georges Cross for their own political ends.

One lot is the PC Lobby many of whom are employed very nicely thank you at the taxpayers expense as race relations consultants or whatever. A cynic (like what I am sometimes) might think that if there was no conflict then there would be no need to employ these people. They therefore have a vested interest in perpetuating and stoking up conflict and resentment by banning the flying of flags and other oppresive measures against the indigenous population.

The other mob are the National Front BNP or whatever they are calling themselves at present. They have vile mantras such as there aint no black in the union jack and the like. They also like to foster hatred and feed off the resentment caused by the PC lot.

Ordinary Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs whoever have no problem with St Georges day or anything else. It is the zealots and bigots referred to above who cause the problems.

[Laura M]

I agree I think it is terrible we have to feel guilty everytime we want to celebrate who we are, god forbid we try to ban another ethnic group celebrating who they are.