As if a raging hangover wasn't enough to deal with, yesterday I had the annual misfortune of witnessing the sorry sight of the so-called 'March for England' spilling onto the streets of Brighton. They don't have any support in such a diverse city as ours so I don't understand why they do this - they mostly arrive on the train from elsewhere so I suspect they choose Brighton for their march because they know there'll be a lively counter protest and because they're looking for a fist fight in the name of 'patriotism'.
Perhaps now it's best for all concerned that St George's Day slipped away quietly into the history books and the red and white bunting was popped into that box in the loft along with the fondue set and the Betamax player. I am not in any way trying to imply that all those who want to celebrate St George's Day have the same motives as those who march for the EDL or other such groups - I am just suggesting that the very notion of St George's Day has been used and probably forever tainted with images of drunken shaven-headed men with iron cross tattoos swaggering their way through the streets at 11am and yelling racist abuse at anyone they deem not to be 'English' enough.
For a national day to be successful and to not be given a lingering air of jingoistic racism by extreme groups it needs to be whole-heartedly embraced and promoted by the government of that country - and preferably have some sort of unofficial booze-related sponsor, other than lager that is. Perhaps if St George's Day had received this treatment for the last twenty years or so then these comparatively tiny actions by groups such as the EDL would hardly be noticed. However, instead they make headline news because nothing else of note is happening.
Because its name has been dragged through the mud somewhat, I wonder if St George's Day might simply be a bit of a write-off. A bit like the whole Dwain Chambers argument making headlines at the moment - is it really worth the hassle of tarting up a previously disgraced drug cheat to represent your nation in the Olympics, or would we just be better off telling him "thanks but no thanks" and finding someone with a less sullied image to run for us? The latter would probably be better all round.
The other trouble with St George's Day is that it tends to conjure up images of middle aged, middle class, flag-waving twits - commonly seen sobbing on the Last Night of the Proms passing little hankies around and lamenting the departure of days when schoolroom globes were largely pink and Britannia ruled the waves whilst helping to spreading our sturdy railway systems (and syphilis) around the ungrateful colonies. Actually, those days possibly aren't something to be too proud of depending on your viewpoint. Also, it really doesn't help that as a nation we have largely disgraced ourselves in the international football arena - the seemingly endless World Cup footage of groups of 20+ stone men with their faces painted white and red yelling abuse at foreign policemen before throwing up the lager they had for breakfast into the gutter can't really be classed as A1 promotional material. Nor does the fact that to the outside world, a 'holiday' for many English people seems to involve putting on their best England football shirts and gold chains, hopping on an Easyjet flight to some used and abused Spanish seaside resort before tying a St George's cross towel to the hotel balcony and then spending the whole week wandering between numerous English bars (but only after sampling some of the finest English breakfasts that "Dave's British Cafe" has to offer). Of course this isn't true for most people but it is unfortunately the image we have acquired.
Perhaps now it's best for all concerned that St George's Day slipped away quietly into the history books and the red and white bunting was popped into that box in the loft along with the fondue set and the Betamax player. I am not in any way trying to imply that all those who want to celebrate St George's Day have the same motives as those who march for the EDL or other such groups - I am just suggesting that the very notion of St George's Day has been used and probably forever tainted with images of drunken shaven-headed men with iron cross tattoos swaggering their way through the streets at 11am and yelling racist abuse at anyone they deem not to be 'English' enough.
For a national day to be successful and to not be given a lingering air of jingoistic racism by extreme groups it needs to be whole-heartedly embraced and promoted by the government of that country - and preferably have some sort of unofficial booze-related sponsor, other than lager that is. Perhaps if St George's Day had received this treatment for the last twenty years or so then these comparatively tiny actions by groups such as the EDL would hardly be noticed. However, instead they make headline news because nothing else of note is happening.
Because its name has been dragged through the mud somewhat, I wonder if St George's Day might simply be a bit of a write-off. A bit like the whole Dwain Chambers argument making headlines at the moment - is it really worth the hassle of tarting up a previously disgraced drug cheat to represent your nation in the Olympics, or would we just be better off telling him "thanks but no thanks" and finding someone with a less sullied image to run for us? The latter would probably be better all round.
The other trouble with St George's Day is that it tends to conjure up images of middle aged, middle class, flag-waving twits - commonly seen sobbing on the Last Night of the Proms passing little hankies around and lamenting the departure of days when schoolroom globes were largely pink and Britannia ruled the waves whilst helping to spreading our sturdy railway systems (and syphilis) around the ungrateful colonies. Actually, those days possibly aren't something to be too proud of depending on your viewpoint. Also, it really doesn't help that as a nation we have largely disgraced ourselves in the international football arena - the seemingly endless World Cup footage of groups of 20+ stone men with their faces painted white and red yelling abuse at foreign policemen before throwing up the lager they had for breakfast into the gutter can't really be classed as A1 promotional material. Nor does the fact that to the outside world, a 'holiday' for many English people seems to involve putting on their best England football shirts and gold chains, hopping on an Easyjet flight to some used and abused Spanish seaside resort before tying a St George's cross towel to the hotel balcony and then spending the whole week wandering between numerous English bars (but only after sampling some of the finest English breakfasts that "Dave's British Cafe" has to offer). Of course this isn't true for most people but it is unfortunately the image we have acquired.
What works for shiny new countries like Australia, or the historical underdog countries such as Ireland won't necessarily work for an aging colonial power with an arguably chequered past like the UK or, if you want to be specific, England. If we have to have a national day then it needs to have some damn clever marketing behind it to avoid it looking a bit like one of those YouTube videos of laughing American soldiers urinating on the dead bodies of Afghan villagers. For example, is it really St Paddy's Day that most people care about, or is it just a brilliantly fun excuse for a midweek piss up that might as well be renamed International Guinness and Leprechaun Hat Day? Maybe a 'let's all leave work just after lunchtime for a belly full of gin and little triangular sandwiches with the crusts cut off day' would work well for us on the international market?
I'm not sure how much of a place that nationalism really has in an ever diversifying world. I find it ridiculous that so many Brits are so impulsively set against the idea of a unified Europe when history has so horrifically proven what can happen when it exists as a collection of nations. Plus, culturally we have so much in common with our European neighbours that most of the nationalistic arguments just don't make sense. Massive countries like China, India, Brazil and Argentina are all steadily growing in power and influence so Britain and, even more so England, are becoming smaller and even less significant as each year passes. Perhaps our time as an individual nation is coming to an end and a far more prosperous and secure future exists as a fully committed member of a reworked European Union (once they've sorted out the financial mess that is).
Just my personal view of course - Happy St George's Day if that's your cup of tea. I think I'd rather stick with an actual cup of tea and an episode of Murder She Wrote. Today Jessica visits the Amish to buy a quilt and finds they are not immune to murder...
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