h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Did anyone see this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6580997.stm

Maybe i we keep campaigning it will happen.

I sign up to the Charlie Wells one every year...

I think I did arrive at 16:05 GMT..hmmm once again one of those improbability mishaps

Lets KEEP the Mayday holiday AND have St Georges/Shakespeare's birthday/death day as well.


And Trafalgar day too..and a Churchill day..

one official Bank holiday a month would be terrific.

...as long as there is no slaying ...

* pondering about how to put all the isle into a big bonfire*

Well don't think of it as dragon slaying day think of it as the Bards special day.

I think I'll be going to this coconut record attempt in Trafalgar Square. Seems an English enough a thing to do.
Just hope the legendary black beast of arggghhhh won't be joining us

Happy St.Georges day to all folks of English origin,be proud of it and wear the red cross(I have mine on).Tell the EU (ewwww!!)to go and annoy someone else.HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

* thinking of big bonfire in the honour of the Bard *

you've also got St. Edmund who used to be (and possible still is, sort of) patron saint of England. Nov 20th was his day.
There's also those that argue that St. Alfred the Great should be a patron saint too. If he wasn;t one anyway.

Mind you, aren't a lot of these Catholic saints?

I bought my red rose this morning from the flower stall at Charing Cross station. I wore it to my local café where I get my coffee in the morning. I wore it to work. I am wearing it now.

2 observations:

The girl who sold me the flower (clearly not English) had no idea of *why* I was buying it, and had missed the opportunity to place a horrendous mark-up on single red rose buttonholes...she appeared mystified that so many people were asking for them.

No-one I have met today (I work in a fairly cosmoplitan office - the department I'm in contains the following nationalities: British, French, Belgian, Swedish, Indian, South African, Nigerian, Bosnian, Spanish) has commented on it so far.

I'm not sure what this signifies, if anything.

RF

St. George's Day today? I'm going to go and duff someone up...

, but that would be boxing, not a pub brawl or any sort of yobbery. Although I might be convinced to go to the pub after if there's cheap drinks or something.

I did my celebration yesterday in the most boring part of the year for any member of the Scouting movement. the reason Scouts celebrate St. George's day is because as well as England he is patron saint of Scouting.

I have spent the day sporting my (cost £1:50) which was an authentic English rose. The florist was really pleased someone was making the effort. I am also sporting my England (St. George flag) cufflinks. Unfortunately I only saw one other person sporting a red and that was plastic.

Having had a think about this and done a little research Im still not sold on the idea of celebrating "St Georges" day.

What Ive seen on here aside from the "other people do it so why dont we" attitude which to me sounds like the whining of a brat, is stuff about "our past". This is a bit hypocritical or atleast inconsistent from a country that Ive been assured doesnt need to apologise for things its done wrong, because we today didnt do them. Yet there are some of the same people who think its important we get excited about good things from our past that we werent around to do.

It seems just as daft and meaningless as father christmas amongst the myriad legends and slightly differing "histories" of St George Ive seen images of a man dressed in armour from a time hundred of years after he was allegedly born slaying a dragon. That's *Dragon* by the way, he is it seems principally remebered for slaying a dragon. Im more inclined to buy into St Patricks day much as the story of him casting the snakes out of Ireland sounds dubious atleast we know that snakes actaully exist, but dragons...When are we going to get a national day off and party for Peter Pan and Harry Potter why stop there Toad of Toad Hallmas, why not?

As for celebrating Englishness the main thrust of that seems to be about Now as a rugby player you have to understand just how strongly I feel that is essential to any kind of understanding of English life. Not that you *have* to drink it to be English mind, but just bare the effects of in mind when your are trying to converse with one of us after 9.30 on any evening in the weekend. However given what Sho has said about reclaiming the flag and the sometimes not so great image of drunk Brits abroad cant we think of something with better PR and more edifying than just drinking because its our national day?

one love

>>Toad of Toad Hallmas, why not<< Excellent idea. Suitably eccentric and creative to sum up us English. Oh those silly little Scotsmen with their St Andrew's day and the Welsh with their daffodils and leeks. Oh hang on leeks and daffodils are also quite funny, as are cabletossers. And Paddy's day is also quite humerous. Yes viva the individuality of the funny countries of the UK and the Republic of Ireland

Great Britain day save us from that please.

I went out to a rather nice French restaurant with my parents. I had a lovely time. Not a cross of St George in sight. But we toasted him and the French waiters looked on in amusement. You could almost read their thoughts. "Sacre bleu, zoz funnee Inglees!"

Apologies should read *cabertossers* The message was orinally censored because of profundity and I mispelt it subsequently. I was racking my brains to think what I must have said. I thought surely it wasn't the anachronistic "Sacre bleu", but you never can tell with this place these days.....

I never did have my fish and chips but I managed a bacon sandwich and a cup of (, of course, grows in abundance in England )

I don't disagree with celebrating 'Englishness' but I don't feel the need to either. I am English every day. I am amazed by the history and culture that my birth-country provides me with, but I am happy to appreciate it (every day) without shoving it in anyone's face. Is that British reserve?

Yesterday was also the feast day of Adalbert of Prague, if anyone is interested.

Van

"amongst the myriad legends and slightly differing "histories" of St George Ive seen images of a man dressed in armour from a time hundred of years after he was allegedly born slaying a dragon."

That's OK Blicky, the dragon slaying wasn't attached to the legend until hundreds of years after he was born either, so it does sort of match up.

Another St Georges Day passed by without me noticing it until after the event
I celebrated my Englishness (or at least that part of me thats English did) by not making a terrible fuss about an unimportant thing like nationality. Seems to me that would be a very Unenglish way to behave