April brings us many things – April showers, the flowers start to appear, the birds start singing and it smells like summer outside again. There are also some notable days: - April Fool’s Day (did you get caught out by the practical jokers?), Good Friday and Easter Sunday (hope the Easter Bunny delivered some yummy chocolate) and St Georges Day, the national day of England.
Oh, and so you don’t forget St Georges Day is tomorrow, Monday April 23rd!
St Georges Day always seems to pass by with little pomp and ceremony and, for large sections of the population, with little recognition. Whilst others of the home nations - the Scots, Irish and Welsh - actively celebrate their National Days, us English tend to just get on with our regular days.
My own ethnic background is Mauritian which I cherish fully but I am English born and bred and embrace my Englishness but what does it mean to be English in the 21st Century?
The English were once renowned for their cold politeness; their displays of courteousness; the stiff upper lip and their quirky way of standing in queues graciously waiting their turn. However, if foreigners were asked today they would properly describe us as rude, drunk, self-centred and lacking respect. But can this really be true?
Most definitely not..........
I believe that the increasing ethnic diversity in England means that it is often difficult to define what makes someone English. However, there are many shared characteristics within this diversity that should be acknowledged, celebrated and even cheered about. So let’s start waving the flag for all that is good about being English:-
* A get-on-with-it nation who does not shy away from hardship (many of us are weathering the current economic climate);
* A giving nation who does not back away when charity comes calling (record amounts given to causes such as Sport Relief when our own personal finances are being squeezed);
* A working nation of shopkeepers which has evolved to that of a nation of true entrepreneurial spirit (think Lord Sugar, Phillip Green, James Dyson, Simon Cowell);
* A get-up and get-on-with it nation (think of the many people who cleared our communities after the minority took to the streets in the riots);
* An unusual nation of eccentricity (think of all the people who readily jump in baths of beans, walk backwards for miles or someone closer to home who beats to the sound of their own drum); and
* A just nation which works on principles, freedom, diversity and fairness.
So may I suggest on Monday we celebrate St George’s Day and own unique Englishness!
Happy St. George’s Day one and all..........
