Tuesday 23 April 2013

Happy St George's Day

By Steve Webster [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I've always found it slightly... erm, odd (yes, I'll go with odd) that English people celebrate St Patrick's Day in March but don't know when St George's Day (the patron saint of England) is. In case you've just woken up and you're not sure of the date, it's 23 April.

Okay, I know the Irish have Guinness, but England have cider and real ale.

If I didn't know most of my blog visitors were in the middle of the A-Z Challenge, I might have considered a bloghop, but instead I'm going to ask just one question:

What does England mean to you?


47 comments:

  1. Hmm, hard to say, since I haven't been to England, except for one time when I stopped at Heathrow to switch flights. But I didn't get to actually step outside of the airport, so I don't really count that one. England also makes me think of this British guy I briefly dated, and I'd rather NOT think of him. But I do like other stuff associated with England, like Jane Austen and her books.

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    1. Lol, I hope your ex-boyfriend won't put you off England forever! Jane Austen is a great English woman.

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  2. Happy St. George's Day, Annalisa. England to me definitely means home! I love to travel and see the world but England is where my roots are :)

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    1. Yes, I agree. There might be some aspects of England I don't like at the moment, but I couldn't imagine leaving it.

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  3. Happy St. George's Day. I have traveled quite a bit but I am English through and through. I love all the Pomp of Royal events and all the historic castle's which many other countries do not have,

    Yvonne.

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    1. Our castles are fantastic, aren't they? I went to Windsor Castle years ago but my son was an 18 month old whirlwind at the time, so whistle-stop is too slow an image for the speed we zoomed through it!

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  4. England means home to me. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else :)
    Happy St. George's Day!

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  5. Very cool, I didn't know this either. there's a city in Utah called St. George. I think I'll look at it differently now. What does England mean to me? It's #1 on my list of places I want to go someday :)

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    1. Definitely come over - I can let you pitch a tent in my garden :-)

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  6. England means friendship to me. I'm in Texas, but have met so many nice people from England via blogs. My family's originally from England on my Dad's side, so the country is in my soul. I love your humor, your proper English, and the Queen.

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    1. Have you ever/will you ever come over to see where your family came from?

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  7. Oh, I love this post Annalisa!! England brings to mind lots of things for me(1) My dad. He is a fine example of an English gentleman- and I've ALWAYS wanted to go see where he came from and visit there.
    (2) I also think of friends, because so many awesome bloggers I love come from England.
    (3) Prince Harry. He always looks like he's been up to no good and I can't help myself from loving that ginger-haired devil. :)
    (4) I also think of tea and scones and fish and chips. Because my mind always, always, finds a way to circle back to food. Cheers!!

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    1. Hmmm yes, tea and scones... My blood is actually 50% tea :-) I think Harry's great too.

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  8. Not to sound shallow but, to me, England means Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher (who I thought was great, I don't care what anyone else says), fish and chips, Doctor Who, The Avengers (Steed and Ms. Peel), The Prisoner, Big Ben, hot tea (never iced!), Benny Hill, James Bond, and a ton of other cool things you all have shared with us.

    Not The Spice Girls though....never The Spice Girls :P

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    1. Definitely Doctor Who, and oh I loved The Avengers. I caught a repeat on TV a couple of weeks ago with Purdy, although Mrs Peel was my favourite too. Great list Mark, thanks :-)

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  9. Oh, and by the way, I'd definitely do a blog hop based on your question...just not this month :D

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  10. England is like extended family. Only ya'll talk funny ;)

    Here's what you need to do...get America to start celebrating St. George's Day. Hate to brag, but St. Paddy's Day wasn't really the party it's turned out to be until we got hold of it.

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    1. You'll have to be my St George's Day ambassador for the US next year then... you just volunteered :-)

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    2. All righty!! I'll start planning the party now.

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  11. It isn't odd at all, Annalisa - it's just another manifestation of the stiff upper lip! Seriously, though, I posted a dragon on FB today, and there were others saying Happy St George's Day. The Irish just can't miss a chance for a party.

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    1. Actually, I noticed that people on FB were striving to prove me wrong, there were indeed lots of mentions.

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  12. Happy St. George's Day!
    England is rich history to me. And castles. Dig the old castles.

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    1. I adore our history. Visiting castles and stately homes are the best way to spend a weekend.

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  13. England to me means the lush green spaces you see when you come into land in a plane. To me, England is wrapping up in winter with the wind biting your cheeks and walking in the countryside. It's picnics in the drizzle, it's looking at the sky and saying "The clouds are high, I think we'll be all right," when planning a day out. It's scones, jam and clotted cream, the Royal family, London, windswept beaches, endless cups of tea, stately homes and crumpets with cheese and celery. When I think about England, the hymn Jerusalem always plays softly in my head as a background to the images. It's soaring cathedral spires and standing patiently in a queue. I love England, just don't get me started on the Government though! Thanks for asking, Annalisa!

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    1. Yes to all of that Linda, apart from the clotted cream - I'm bad press for Devon and Cornwall, not keen on clotted cream or pasties :-/

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  14. For me, England=London, one of the most vibrant, cosmopolitan cities...
    It also means The Underground, theaters, theaters and more theaters...
    (I had the opportunity to visit London, many many moons ago...)

    Writer In Transit

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    1. I've only been to London twice. Love the theatres, but hate the Tube - too many confusing routes, and I get lost in much less complicated situations.

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  15. Oh, I almost forgot, Happy St. George's Day!

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  16. Happy St. George's Day! The saint fighting the dragon. Love it. Now I have never been to England however, my good friend loves, loves, loves it and whenever she calls and tells me about her latest Royals acquisition she sends me into hysterical giggles. So, England means Heidi to me. Oh and scones! Love scones!

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    1. I'm picturing your friend surrounded by lots of novelty Royal teapots!

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  17. It is odd, isn't it? I was wondering if it was national guilt for the past? :P

    (I was born in England so...yeah)

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    1. I might have to look back and see when it started to change. Wave that flag, Trisha :-)

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  18. The English accents - I absolutely love them! And I'm dying to vacation in England, so I can meet my cousins and bloggy friends who live there! :)

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    1. There are so many accents - do you hear the differences, or do we all sound the same to you?

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  19. Happy belated St. George's Day.

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  20. I'm so fascinated by England. So beautiful and so ancient! The current novel I'm rewriting is actually set in Salisbury, which I visited two years ago. I'd love to back there again.
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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    1. I've never been to Salisbury, just passed through it. It's cool you're writing about it.

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  21. I missed it!

    England means one of the best trips I've ever taken.

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    1. Glad you had a great here. And now you've got 364 days' warning until the next St George's Day :-)

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  22. Happy St. George's Day!

    England is on the top of my list of overseas places to visit. I'm sure to meet the Doctor while I'm there, right?

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    1. Of course, the Doctor will definitely be here - he'll be saving us from some weird aliens :-)

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  23. Much like Christine, England is atop my travel bucket list :)

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    1. It's worth coming over here a lot sooner than that :-)

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  24. Hi Annalisa .. home sweet home .. but I'll do British too .. and St George's day marks quite often the start of asparagus season .. and I'm rather partial to that delicious English dish ... cheers Hilary

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    1. I'm not sure I've ever tasted asparagus - well, not knowingly anyway.

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