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

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6721239.stm

So, ministers are concerned over loss of identity? I think the Scots, Welsh and Irish are proud of their nation and have a strong sense of identity.

The Welsh celebrate St David's Day, the Scots celebrate every day, and the Irish (and most of the rest of the world) celebrate St Patrick's Day, so -

Isn't it about time that the English celebrated St George's Day properly? Marked it as a national holiday to celebrate their history and pride?

The Australians have holidays on Australia Day AND ANZAC Day, the Americans have Independence Day, so surely to bring back a notion of national pride and identity the English need to celebrate their heritage on a day that means something more than the birth of Churchill or the defeat of Napoleon...

I hate to pick, but St George isn't much closer to England than Winston Churchill really is he? Nonetheless, it works in principal as an idea. Clearly we need to learn a lesson from the Irish Marketing department here- some sort of alcaholic beverage needs to be associated with this day for maximum impact. What would be the appropriate drink?

If the establishment wants the English to have a sense of identity, they should take the lead. They could start by junking our bloody awful national anthem and replace it with something less fawning and which actually says something about the people who live in in the UK and what they stand for.

Spitfire Ale from Shepherd Neame. Celebrates the Battle of Britain, and is a nice drop.

So I guess if we want a Britain Day why not June 30 to honour the beginning of the BofB?

hmm, 'Walk On?'

Serious point though. But not sure how it'd go down with th Royalists...although Channel 4 don't seem to care about that kind of thing.

Something written to the theme of the Dambusters would be stirring me thinks. But that's just me I guess.

What do the English think is good about England? Who do we think we are? God save the king/queen is a song for a nation of people who are both royalist and religious, and I suspect most people aren't, certainly not both. It's awful as a song, but more pertinently it is irrelevant to huge swathes of the population. Does anyone here believe in God, and do any of those people want him/her to make the monarch his/her top priority?

The Ying Tong Song. To be sung by ALL players at ALL sporting events.

http://www.pcplanets.com/videoyoutube-The-Ying-Tong-Song-The-Goons.Nebe1zuEtbc.shtml

hey ho.... Britain day,... AS opposed to United Kingdom day.. An 'England day' woud be an contradiction in terms.. 'Patrionism' to the country is generally seen as a bad thing and not to be encouraged, unless I guess you happen to be one of the people who enjoys goign to the pub to watch a England Vs whoever football match, drinking ten pints of whife beater and then probably trashing a couple of cars or at the very least starting a fight afterwards... Maybe this is a new government inititive to counter 'anti social' behaviour... tell people that we want them to behave antisocially, and by the lore of contradictonaryism they'l do the opposite and behave like normal people who're part of the same species as the rest of us Anyhow, I thought we trying to reduce 'extremism', not encourage it A 'English' day in the vein of St paddys day would relaly be about the most un-english or British thing one could imagine

Don't be silly. This is England. The only tradition we have is trying (and failing) to get along with other countries!

oh, and inventing sports that everyone else is better at...

Oh yeah, that too! Still, at least we can still shock the world with our crap logo designs.