WHY WE ALL TAKE PRIDE IN THIS NATION

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Why we all take pride in this nation

Today, We celebrate national patron, George, and all things English. to mark the occasion, some well-known citizens tell Natalie Derham and Tom Mack why they are proud to be English.

Sir Peter Soulsby, Mayor of Leicester

"I'm very proud of England's wonderful history and particularly its democracy."

Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organisations

"We have a great history of acceptance and tolerance and I'm proud of our liberal society and its multiculturalism."

Carl Gunns, owner of boxing club in Birstall

"I love the history of England and the great kings and queens we've had, such as Charles I and Henry VIII. I'm also proud of the film industry, particularly in the 50s."

Tom Joule owner of Joules Ltd Market Harborough

"What makes me proud to be English is the Grand National, the sound of an ice cream van in the summer and the beer garden at the pub."

Rosemary Conley, fitness guru

"I'm proud of England for its heritage, its people, its beauty as a country and for its diversity. I would never want to live anywhere else."

Canon Barry Naylor, urban dean

"The Church of England reflects some of the very best of what it means to be English.

"It values diversity yet acknowledges the essential realities that bind us all together."

KNIGHTS, CAMERAS, ACTION AS THE CITY SALUTES ST GEORGE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Knights, cameras, action as the city salutes St George

by Tom Mack

Hundreds of people gathered in the sunshine to enjoy this year's St George's Festival.

Morris dancers, stilt walkers and youngsters dressed as knights and princesses were among the sights in the city's Cultural Quarter on Saturday afternoon.

There were also performances by young dancers, a chance to learn circus skills and live musical entertainment at the area's pubs.

CBeebies favourite Mike the Knight also made an appearance.

Claire Smith, 31, of Braunstone Town, was there with her two children, aged four and one.

She said: "We came down here for Mike the Knight because my children both love him.

"We've had a really nice time and it's beautiful weather."

Gareth Harper and Hannah Winn, who live in Braunstone Town, were also making the most of the weather.

Gareth, 30, said: "It's great. We came to see the parade of knights and princesses and we've also seen the morris dancing and I had a springbok and kangaroo burger from the market, which sounds like it might be hard to keep down!"

Hannah, 26, said: "I'm looking forward to seeing Mike the Knight because I always watch it with my five-year-old son."

Sisters Georgia and Ellie Bradbury, of Aylestone, were among the performers in Orton Square, dancing with fellow members of the Studio 79 street dance group.

Georgia, 13, said: "I was nervous but we've been rehearsing a lot in the last two weeks and it went all right."

Ellie, 10, said: "It's nice to see all the little children dressed up as knights and princesses."

The annual performance by Leicester Morris Men marked the beginning of their year of 60th anniversary celebrations. Dick Allsop, of Knighton, who danced with the group, said: "It seems the crowd is getting bigger and the weather is getting better each year."

Susan Shirley, 51, of Aylestone, was among the spectators.

"We're having a great time," she said. "I love the Morris dancing. It's a great tradition."

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby was also enjoying the show.

He said: "There's a great mix of things going on. In the past, there have been one or two years when the crowd hasn't been very big. Of course, the weather helps a lot."

During the afternoon the nearby Phoenix cinema hosted live music from 12 young singer-songwriters and there were folk music sessions at the LCB Depot.

The Cultural Quarter festival ended with a ceilidh hosted by Leicester's Red Fox Band.

Elsewhere in the city centre on Saturday, the traditional battle between St George and Dragon was put on by the market's stallholders at 11am and 1pm.

ST GEORGE PUTS DRAGON TO THE SWORD IN CITY CELEBRATIONS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

St George puts dragon to the sword in city celebrations

St George, England's patron saint, slew the evil dragon as shoppers cheered in Leicester market place.

The scene was re-enacted by city group Crusade, which has links with the University of Leicester, as part of the city's St George's Day celebrations.

Apart from the re-enactment of the St George legend, there were displays of medieval crafts and weaponry.

Tony Linthwaite, of Crusade, said: "We re-enact various scenes and battles from the 12th century onwards.

"We were delighted to be invited to stage the story of St George rescuing the damsel in distress from the dragon."

The four hours of re-enactments and displays in the market brought to a close a weekend of events which included parades and music.

St George, a Roman soldier executed in the fourth century for refusing to give up his Christian faith, is also the patron saint of Russia, Portugal, Georgia and Ethiopia and the cities of Barcelona and Moscow.

BY GEORGE! WE KNOW HOW TO CELEBRATE PATRON SAINT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

By George! We know how to celebrate patron saint

A bumper weekend of events to celebrate England's patron saint is to take Leicestershire by storm – whatever the weather.

St George's Day will be marked on Saturday with an afternoon of music and activities in and around Leicester's Cultural Quarter.

This year's theme, Kings and Queens of England, is to herald the forthcoming celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Youngsters dressed as knights and princesses, craft events, maypole dancing and circus skills sessions will feature as part of the festivities which centre on Orton Square, outside Curve.

Assistant city mayor Councillor Piara Singh Clair said: "This will be a wonderful celebration in the city and I'm sure lots of people will enjoy the attractions on offer."

The celebrations will be launched at noon by Leicester's Lord Mayor, Coun Rob Wann and a performance from the Leicester Morris Men.

Walkabout characters, street arts and performers, a ceilidh hosted by Leicester's Red Fox Band and dancers will also be in the Cultural Quarter.

Musicians of all ages can bring instruments to join in a session at the LCB Depot, in Rutland Street.

A prize dragon hunt will take visitors to all the venues, key sites and main events in the area.

In the county, Hinckley will host a children's craft workshop, street theatre featuring St George and the dragon, morris dancing and a town centre Find the Flag hunt.

Coalville's celebrations include St George, his dragon and damsel in distress in the Belvoir shopping centre from 10.30am to 2.30pm, tunes from Leicestershire Co-op Brass Band and a dragon mask-making workshop.

In Loughborough, all-girl morris dancing group Bare Bones Morris will perform at the market.

On Sunday, two Scout groups will parade in Leicester to renew their promise, in honour of their founder and to show respect to the Queen.

Celebrations continue on Monday at Leicester Market from 11am, with displays, a knight tournament, medieval craft demonstrations, authentic medieval games and a re-enactment of St George rescuing a maiden from the dragon at 12.15pm and again at 2pm.

Andrew Cardwell, 37, of Thurmaston, said: "It's good to see so many things organised for St George's Day. Compared with St Patrick's Day, there is usually nothing at all."

David Garnett, 60, of Oadby, said: "I'll probably wear a red rose and go down to the pub and celebrate."

ST GEORGE'S DAY CAN HELP BIND OUR COMMUNITIES

This press release has been issued today by the Federation of Muslim Organisations.

  

St George’s Day can help bind our communities

The Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) has repeated its calls to make St George’s Day, an annual public holiday for England.

Suleman Nagdi, spokesperson for the FMO said, “The legend of the patron saint, St George, is celebrated throughout the world including in India, Lebanon, Palestine, Russia and many other areas of the world. The legend of St George can be a way in which we can all demonstrate our commitment to each other. I support calls for a public holiday so that space is created to have celebrations and events throughout the country including the communal sharing of food, sports such as Football and Cricket which are English inventions and other entertainment”.

Mr. Nagdi added, “It is sad that some groups have attempted to hijack St George’s Day for their own narrow, prejudiced purposes. I firmly believe in the good character of English people reside in their values of justice and fair play. The Muslim community would be supportive of any celebrations and participate in the discussions around how we can all properly mark St George’s Day each year. In this Olympic year with our Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, I would go a step further and encourage national government and their partners to look into creating a United Kingdom Day of celebration which unites England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales”.

I've written before on this blog about the good job Leicester City Council has done the past few years, in appropriating the weekend of St George's Day, filling it with multicultural, family-friendly activities and leaving no room for extremist groups to muscle in. I've commended them on that on different occasions, especially in the context of repeated visits to Leicester by the English Defence League. I'm glad to see that theyr'e following the same course this year as we can see in the posters all round the city.