£230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

This is disgraceful. They take no interest in our own national holidays no more. Bloody disgraceful!

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/2008061...o-5b839a9.html

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

That's £230 more than they spent on the prevention of cruelty to Dragons.;)

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Maybe we should name our national holiday after something better

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Anyone actually think it's a good thing that, for a change, the government hasn't been spreading taxpayer's money around like confetti?

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

<raises hand>

Me :)

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

How much did they spend promoting St David's Day?

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

OK, OK... If we spend a few grand on St. David's day each year, can we have free prescriptions too? :)

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

St. George's Day isn't a national holiday and why is it the government's role to promote national holidays anyway? This isn't a banana republic where we all get prodded out to salute the Great Leader and neither do I want it to be.

George Orwell puts it rather better when discussing the British character back in the 1940s:

http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/ess...d-unicorn1.htm and it's well worth reading.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

You've got your own government to give you that :D

Don't forget the free hospital parking too ;)

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Well considering that St George's day is the birthday of Shakespeare I'd rather celebrate the birth of the Bard myself.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Yeah nothing should be spent promoting St Georges day in fact when it comes to the English can they please shut up keep paying the majority of the tax and get the least benefit for it thank you. Thats how this government would like it and personally i am getting a little sick and tired of it.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

If we didn't spend it on St Patricks day then yes. But surely we shoud celebrate our own heritage before that of our neighbours?

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Wonder how much Red Ken spent on St Patrick's day celebrations in London. Labour are a joke and the general public, particularly English people are the punchline!

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

It's not about celebrating Irish Heritage, it's about people liking to get drunk as well as well the whole Irish theme there is. No one cares about Saint Georges Day because there is no festival or theme to it. So who cares? What are you meant to do on Saint Georges Day?

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

:rolleyes: Yes, because you can't see people getting drunk any night of the week in any major UK town can you, they need an excuse for it. Nothing like this government for stupidity, 24 hour opening one year, then a year later having to run expensive ad campaigns to point out to people drinking too much will kill them.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

24 Hour drinking was an attempt to stagger closing hours to avoid people spilling onto the street, which has had mixed success. Although this topic is not about drinking it is about national holidays.

People will only ever bother if there is something enjoyable to do. To most people enjoying yourself is more important than expressing pride in the nation. So make our national day 1) actually based on something we can be proud of 2) something fun.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

See I have a theory that, despite what they say about health and the environment, HMG quite likes people to drink loads of alcohol and buy lots of petrol....
Can't think why that'd be..........

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

What could we do on St george's day how about display our flag and not have to worry about being labellled racist by some prat with nothing better to do with his or our time. How about highlighting English history and heritage giving a reduction for people to go see historic landmarks and suchlike. Or and i personally would love this one make it the day England gets it's own parliament and can free itself of those from other parts voting on our issue's.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

RizziyKing. well said sir! always have some difficulty signing in hotels, etc as English `but you must write British`bet no one mentions that to a scots,irish or welsh person.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Not exactly what the majority of people want to do, fireworks? drink? food? sure but waving a flag around is not going to generate mass-support. Especially in a country like this were people don't identify with their flag/country as much as some countrys (i.e Some Americans).

We do have a lot of historical figures we could honor, and events we could honor, yet we choose to use St George killing a dragon.

The lack of attention to St Georges day is not because of the government nor political correctness but because people simply do not care that much.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Dont care or haven't been educated to??

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Damien we are not allowed to get enthusiastic about England it's bad and will lead to who knows what hence why it has disappeared from the education system and why our kids today know nothing about their damn country and then we wonder why they are disruptive and seek the identity of foreign countrys. Teach the kids about the country they live in and maybe with a real sense of identity they will have that pride which some say is lacking.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

On this coggy we're in full agreement:) Shakespeare would be a great figurehead to celebrate England's national day.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

How about spending some of our money on the pensioners who have worked all of their life, fought in wars and generally have to put up with **** from the teenagers nowadays and get not very much from us or the government by way of a thank you.:( How about a " Treat a pensioner day" to show we still care.?:)

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

I really don't think the English should be allowed to celebrate St George's Day, or even have such a dedicated day anyway. It just sounds too much like racism to me. The celtic nations however have long since been oppressed by England so we should be allowed to celebrate our national saint's days. If you're English and you don't like that then sorry but blame your oppressive and destructive forefathers.



Yes.....you'd like someone to say all that wouldn't you! Needless to say I am only joking, if something makes you proud to be English then by all means wear your flag with pride, I know I do. It's not tribalism, it's a celebration of your country, culture and identity.

The only problem I can see is too many of you blur England with Britain and as a result the BNP will no doubt end up involved somehow and hijacking the whole event and a political stunt and ruining what was started out as a great idea.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

The Welsh seem to have done ok:

http://www.wda.co.uk/index.cfm/devel...ds_day/en12506

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

That's not quite the UK government though is it?

And in answer to your next question, "From EU grants".

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Well these EU grants come from the taxpayers at the end of the day don't they? Why do we not see English politicians jetting about the world to promote St George's Day on EU grants?

To be honest I think the Welsh are just a lot more patriotic than the English about things like that anyway.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

My theory about that is that it was a way to be subversive in the days when English rule was a whole lot nastier than it is today.:erm:

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Yes they do, from taxpayers all over Europe. Not just the English.

Perhaps that's because England is far more well known around the world?

No I don't think we're any more patriotic than you, it's just we're allowed to be more patriotic.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Well obviously, the point is EU taxpayers money is used to promote St David's Day and not (as far as I'm aware) St George's Day.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

There's no real rule on how the money is spent. If the WAG wants to promote Welsh business interests around the world by telling it about St David's Day then they can do so. If the UK government wants to do the same but for St George, it will rightly come up against protests from the rest of us.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Yes I agree. It sort of strengthens the argument for an English body to look after the interests of the English in such matters doesn't it? As you rightly say, there's no way the UK government could do it without protests.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

OK, I know your joking, but although they will be people who think that, there's people who think we shouldn't chant "Come on England!" in a football match because it discriminates the opposing team.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A37086834

http://www.myfootballforum.com/showthread.php?t=11693

Now that's how bad things are getting. Sorry, I can't find the proper article.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Maybe because it's not true? Something like that would never be genuine, even coming from Mr Platini and Mr Blatter.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

What are you meant to do on StPatricks day, watch a parade and get drunk, what do the scots do on St Andrews day? Watch a bagpipe and kilt parade and get drunk, hmm, now lets think of a theme for St Georges day. I know watch a parade and get drunk?

What do the Americans do on 4th July, light fireworks and have BBQ parties. The country could close the streets hand have street parties like they did for the Queens Silver Jubilee

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Unfortunately I think you're probably right Russ. :(

Flag waving and patrionism are often used by the less savoury fanatics in our society to further their own ends.

I don't think though that you can compare St Patrick's day with any other patron saint's day. St Patrick's day is a Global phenomenon celebrated in every major city in the world.

Here in Scotland, St Andrew's day passes by hardly being noticed, but St Patrick's day is widely celebrated.

Personally, I think we all benefit from living in a multi-cultural society, but we should still celebrate all the good things about our culture.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

Boesn't Scotland actually celebrate it's own bard rather more than it does it's patron Saint.

Which is why I think we should use the 23rd of April to celebrate the birth and death of Shakespeare and leave a dubious saint out of the matter whom is barely taught about in school.At least most of the population have heard about,read and spoken Shakespeare's words.:)

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

I think a more appropriate choice would have to be Roy "Chubby" Brown.

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

you only read the sanitised versions of Shakespeare, then ;)

Re: £230 spent on Saint Georges Day over the last 5 years!
 

"Love's Labours Lost" is absolutely filthy! ;)