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April 23, 2007

Comments

Matt M

Complaining - while doing nothing productive - is far more fun, and far more in keeping with the English character.

Political umpire

I think it is a bit un-English to draw attention to oneselves. And in the old days, no-one felt the need to.

Well done on the tele the other night, though why they keep asking that awful Odone back I don't know ...

Tom Freeman

I agree with Matt: we like idly moaning.

And imagine if Blair had heeded the man Dave saw: a government-led nationwide flag display. It probably wouldn't be ready until mid-May, and even if it did work out, we'd all be bleating about the nanny state forcing invented traditions on us.

It's this comfy-armchair-critic type of nationalism that's prevented us from having mass revolutions like those odd ideological types on the continent.

Big Chip Dale

I'm with Political Umpire on this one. Perhaps it's good old fashioned reserve, which has been sorely lacking these last few years as too many people seem to think they're American and need to whoop about everything.

Jane Henry

I think I've always felt English, mainly because it was a standing joke at my school that there were so few true English people in the class, the majority of whom were Irish descent. Having said that, how do you define Englishness anyway - we're all hybrids - I can name Scots/Irish/Celts in my antecedents as well as an exotic Polish dancer... Most of us probably can. The real English are all Welsh anyway. I've always thought the BNP have been on a sticky wicket with that one - I wonder what we'd find if we DNA'd them, hmm...

I did used to sport a red rose on St George's Day when I was school, mainly as a response to the Wave of Green that overwhelmed the school tsunami like on St Patrick's Day. But I usually felt a tit for wearing it. Which I suppose means I must truly be English...

love Janex

PS Ooh yes, I HATE all that over emotional guff we've got into in recent years... NOT at all English, that.

kris

My beef is that as an immigrant, I can only be British and not English.

rivergirle

just for a moment there, chris, i though you were talking about imported beef!

Zinnia Cyclamen

I too feel very English. But I don't feel particularly proud of being English. I think I'd need the pride, as well as the identity, to want to fly a flag.

molasses

I feel English and I am proud to be English. Still wouldn't fly the flag though.

Margi (juliansdaughter)

Government led anything should be avoided, they'd just make a hash of it and use it as a vehicle for whatever PC nonsense is in fashion. It would be nice though if more people hung out a St George's Cross, had a "do" somewhere, wore bluebells (red roses having been hijacked too). I'm Scottish and our parliament is trying to "officialise" St Andrew's Day and doing it no favours; most of us will just go on celebrating 26 January and thinking Rabbie Burns is our patron saint :-)

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