Why we should celebrate England!

For most of my life St George’s Day has been on no consequence or importance. We haven’t marched, got any more drunk than usual or waxed lyrically about the wonders of England (to be absolutely honest we did march and wave flags – St George’s Day was always an important occasion for Scouts).

Suddenly – and delightfully – after generations of subsuming Englishness into the nebulous nothing that is “British” we have rediscovered that there are awesome, incredible, creative, big, cheering, tuneful and traditional things about being English that those poor, shivering Celts don’t have. And we should celebrate…

…we should celebrate:

Pies, puddings, pork scratchings, pints of foaming ale.

…we should shout out loud about:

Duck races, scarecrows, country houses, cockney rhyming slang

…and we should dance and sing to:

Morrismen, hornpipes, skipping songs and Elgar

Above all this we should stand up proud, drink our beer and cider, smoke our cigars and remember how bloody lucky we are to be living in England. Ignore those PC, hand-wringing naysayers. Stick two fingers up at those who see pride in place as something to be sniffed at. Celebrate the myths of England! And recite Kipling's "Charm":

“Take of English earth as much
As either hand may rightly clutch
In the taking of it breathe
Prayer for all who lie beneath.
Not the great nor well-bespoke
But the mere uncounted folk
Of whose life and death is none
Report or lamentation

Lay that earth upon thy heart
And thy sickness shall depart!”

So we have a mythical, dragon slayer for a patron. I remain a proud Englishman. And grateful at last to say how magical are the places of England – beyond compare, places of wonder.

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