British Expatriate Network

http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4611682.stm

Read this today on the BBC site. I always thought we done that on St Georges Day.
That all got shoot down during the 80's because we did not want to offend anyone.
Funny how we celebrated St Patricks day with no problems.

If this gets off the ground, some 10 years later, the PC crowd will shut it down again.

One of the things I like being here is that no one is afraid to fly the flag, but then again I have seen that change over the short time I have been here.

St George is not the patron saint of Britain :roll:

...and I can't say I've seen many St. George's Day celebrations outside of the church parade.

I thought St George was Greek anyway.

...and what's more British than a nice Greek-Cypriot-made Doner Kebab? lol

Wiki says Turkey.

/Patron saint of kebabs

I knew I should have run a sweepstake on the first person to mention Turkey! :lol: Admittedly I was expecting it from the doner kebab angle......

No, we all didn't do that on St George's Day. George is the Patron Saint of England.

I'm curious though, did you really celebrate St Patrick's Day before you came to the U.S.? :wink:

Celticana I sure did celebrate St Patricks Day First wife's parents were Irish. It was a good crack as they say lol.

I have always been told St Patrick was welsh lol. Just to add to the St George with greece andt Turkey talk.

I thought St Paddy was supposed to be English?

Now I'm just confused... so the turkish dude is an english saint, the english dude is an irish saint, what about the welsh geezer? Will he be from Uzbekistan or something?

Anyone know where I can get a recipe for a doner kebob?

:mrgreen:

No one knows if he's Welsh or English. The village he names in his writings has never been identified but its known to be somewhere on the west coast of Britain.

St Andrew was from Israel, or whatever it was called then.

Say no more, Goose. It doesn't do to mention the exes. LOL

St David was definitely from Wales. :wink:

I've celebrated St Patricks day in my time. I actually know St Patrick! (or the bloke who wonders around on stilts in London Parade dressed in green pretending to be St Patrick).

Long ago when I was a child it was only the Irish who celebrated St Patricks - which in my case meant being dragged to mass by my parents, freezing my nuts off at a dull parade and then going to a dancehall in the evening to listen to middle-aged Irish bands with names like 'Big Tom and the Travellers' or 'Sheila and the Country Cobblers' - it definately was not cool.

Zip forward 25 years and it has been hijacked by marketeers pushing guiness, whiskey and good craic! It is no longer necessary to be Irish anymore - in the same way you don't have to Christian to celebrate Christmas.

Maybe St Valentines day is the 'most pure' Saints day - you actually have to have be dating or married to someone to partake.

I like Gordon Browns idea of celebrating Britishness on Rememberance Day. I've always felt the Brits are too modest about the country. There is quiet a lot to uniquely British values that should be celebrated with a view to preserving them. I think unique Brits traits like freedom justice and creativity are all worth valuing.

If everyone started flying the flag for those reasons they would overwhelm the groups who currenty fly the union jack the most - the BNP and the Independnce Party

Oh boy you obviously haven't got kids in school.
When my kids were in preschool it started.
Little boxes of playing card sized cards, sometimes with pops or other sweets, made especially for kids to hand out to all their classmates and friends.
Nothing at all to do with valentines really, more of a friendship thing.
I found it quite ridiculous for kids that age but as everyone else in class was doing it they didnt want to be left out.

what she said.