Happy St George's Day

[Lucky Star]

Happy St George's Day to all my English friends and anyone else who feels like celebrating it. A good excuse for a few beers methinks.

[Yak]

Now I will have Major Gowan's voice in my head all evening:

'St George's Day, old boy!'

[Yak]

Boy, I sure do know how to kill a thread, don't I?

[Lucky Star]

At least you responded. Twice! Doesn't anyone else have time for poor old St George? Would you all have preferred the dragon?

[Spitfire]

Poor old dragon. There he was, living modestly in his lair, gobbling up the occasional princess and minding his own business (and let's face it, the old legends are so full of beautiful princesses, who's going to miss a few? They're usually pretty useless, anyway)... and then along some some jumped-up, interfering, pompous glory-hunter desperate to make a name for himself, and kills the poor old dragon dead!!

[Katharine]

It wasn't that your good wishes were appreciated, I was afraid that if I responded it would spark off some kind of racist debate. There seems to have been the feeling in the media that if someone celebrates being English it's seen as being anti other countries.

I seem to remember when I was at junior school we could wear our guide or scout uniforms to school on St. George's day.

[Daisy]

It is sad that so little is made of our Saint's Day when the other members of the UK -Irish, Scots and Welsh all seem to celebrate their Day in some way. It seems to have died out in the last 20 years or so. Uniformed organisations such as Scouts and Guides used to parade on the nearest Sunday, but I think there are very few such Parades still taking place.
Go to Wales and we can have a dragon John!
Sadly Katharine I think you have a point.

[Francis]

It reminds me of the day my wife and I were lost in cairo and she broke a heel on her shoe. We wer in a myriad of streets and we were surrounded by a crowd who pulled us into a dingy alley and into a door. We realised we were in a room which doubled as a cobbler's shop. We joined the queue and eventually handed the shoe to a cobbler who expertly repaired it and charged 8 pence. He smiled and pointed at the wall where we recognised a wall painting of St George killing a Dragon! He was a Coptic Christian and i have always had a special feeling for St George ever since.

[Katharine]

There are several St George's parades in the area here, involving local scout groups. This is the first year for 7 years that we didn't attend it. My son left scouts recently, and although he now helps with a local group, he didn't think to tell us they would be parading last weekend. I felt quite disappointed we'd missed it.

[Francis]

It's interesting that St David's Day, St Patrick's Day and St Andrew's Day are celebrated much more than St George's Day.

[Yak]

I agree that it's a shame because it isn't racist to be proud to be English or to celebrate St George's day. Unfortunately, the Far Right have done too good a job trying to hijack the St George flag

[Francis]

Nothing wrong with Nationalism combining with Socialism as long it doesn't become National Socialism! Some early members of the Nazi Party believed in soialism but they were purged in the 'Night of the Long Knives'.

[Moonraker]

Happy St George's Day!

Forever England!

[pete9012S]

Thanks for the reminder.
I didn't know that...

St George: Saint of all sorts

As well as being the patron saint of England, other countries that celebrate St George's Day include: Canada, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republic of Macedonia.

He is he patron saint of soldiers, archers, cavalry, chivalry, riders, saddlers, farmers and field workers and people with leprosy, the plague and syphilis. George is also the patron saint of Scouting as he "was typical of what a scout should be".

[Julie2owlsdene]

I only remembered because it was on the TV news this morning!

Happy St George's Day, everyone.