Tuesday Trawl Through the Day...

The deep intellectual depth that I trawl at the museum is revealed in this picture.  Hour after hour I sat and poked first one small sharp object through a hole, rested, then poked a second, larger, object through the same hole.  The card was piled high in the morning and by noon I was considering enough holes had been poked by me.  
This is for the kids next week, they, bless their little heads, will be poking wool through the holes to create some art that mum will rejoice in receiving, to be placed beside the art made during the holidays slowly dismembering itself on the shelf.  Mum will be pleased and somehow this will teach lids about woollen mills, silk mills, and making clothes from wool or other material.  Textiles will be all the rage for the next month or so, woopee!
At least there was sympathy for my sickness of recent days, the cough remains yet, I was met with cries of "Wimp!" Or "We women suffer and carry on..." and "Where's my Easter Egg?"  A woman's heart...

The world continues to offer news to please, for instance Donald Trump and his 'State visit.'  Already the fans have begun making their 'Go Home Trump' banners, riot police have taken up training for his protection, and parliamentarians (on the alt-right) are ready to receive him willingly.  The people would say take him and don't come back.  Trump will also insult the people of Scotland by visiting one of his failing golf courses, the banner 'Bolt ya Rocket' has already been noticed nearby one of them, and there is no doubt his few days walking in front of the queen, spilling his MacDonald's on her tablecloths and making blunders will fill the pages of the media for a day or two before we return to the Brexit debacle.  Quite who the Prime Minister meeting him will be we as yet do not know.

 
Today is 'St George's Day' and all over England people are ignoring it.  All that is bar the Brexiteers who are desperate to pretend they have a nation.  I passed a pub, a rather down at heel type of place, with four Engerland flags hanging outside, the bedraggled regulars quenched their thirst with lager (the louts drink) with little understanding of St George or indeed the other nations he represents.  Reading the 'Daily Star' and drinking cheap lager is enough to prove they are English, what else is required.  Those that can spell X will vote soon on a local council election, those at least that remember that is.  They have reason to be proud these English, four English sides made it to the semi finals of the European Cup this year, some even had English players in their squad, although in truth only about seven of these actually played.  

The sun shone over Easter and the photos prove it.  Blue sky, bright flowers and today as I went out into the gray sky and chilly wind I wished such scenes remained with us.  Typical Spring weather, hot one day cold the next.  It never fails to amaze me how many men wander abroad in T-shirts and shorts on days such as this, they saw the sun yesterday and consider it will be warm today, if the sun is shining and a wind chill of minus four is blowing they will claim it is warm.  They can have my virus for a month if they wish, that will cure them.

   
I was intrigued by those middle class lads and lassies having fun blocking London's main streets while grumbling about the environment.  Many moved off to Hyde Park where they had a cannabis protest also and smoked pot for a day or two.  The environment protesters might have noticed the plastic bottles littering the park afterwards had they not been occupied elsewhere.  
Will this protest which took place while Parliament is closed make any difference?  No.  Those who met MP's or other interested parties will soon understand how double faced and uncaring they are. Nothing will change because the kiddies had a party, just Londoners hating them and their kind as usual.

Over 300 dead in the Sri Lankan outrage, one woman killed by the 'Real IRA' in Londonderry and an apology for this offered by the killers, and much outrage in the media.  At least the media that thought these events worth noting not so much those who put TV celebs first.  It does appear Islamic types were responsible for the Sri Lanka outrage, the quality of equipment owes much to ISIS skill, and this is a worrying but not unexpected introduction to the ISIS strategy from now on.  The latest IRA types are as always known to everyone yet allowed to continue their fight, bomb and gun and terrify the locals is always their way.  Will it work?  No, neither ISIS or any IRA will win this way but they will continue to find those weak enough to join them.

  

Rejoice!

A typical scene this afternoon as England rejoices in its patron Saint!  The crowds flock together, gathering happily in throngs dressed in the red and white flag, wearing similar hats, hired outfits, and England football shirts. Well I saw four of them dawdling along, and a maiden (Ha!) underneath a large flag followed by her minder also intent on cheerfully commemorating her saint.    
In short they were going for a piss up!
I strongly suspect their knowledge of George from Lydda is faint.  His Christian stance that led to torture and decapitation is probably not the motivation for their gathering, and as for their flag originating with Ambrose, one time Archbishop of Milan, well that will be something beyond their ken. The real motivation is 'white van man' racism!  This lot indeed come from the lower sections of society, not all do of course, but movements are felt deeper amongst those losing the most.  A desperate longing to have a nation to which they can belong is something the Englishman suffers daily.  The Scots, Welsh and Irish have no problem being happy with being themselves, the English have no understanding or idea of what 'being English' is all about.  Poor souls, jealous of the Celts rejoicing they have in recent years become quite vindictive and bile filled regarding other nations.  The inbuilt superiority that dwells within their soul is well at odds with the reality around them.  The Englishman sees himself as the dominating member, reality is hard to accept.
A reality made worse by the nation being overrun by foreign folks, many of whom are black!  This fact alone has made many an Englishman feel very threatened.  Whole towns are now a variety of colours and any who indicate unhappiness are referred to as 'racist!'  In fact I very much disagree here. The place in which you are reared does mean something to an individual, if this overnight almost becomes like a foreign country where people with different cultures fill the locality it can indeed, and rightly, be difficult to accept.  That is not racist, it is a normal human reaction, colour being a secondary problem. That certainly happened in Scotland many years ago when cheaper Polish labour put Scotsmen out of work, not racist, just human response arose.  For today's Englishman, especially those at the lower end finding Poles, Bulgarians and other East European types taking their jobs a natural resentment can arise. Genuine fear over immigration, unbalanced maybe but genuine, stirred by politicians and papers on the make does not help.  Scotland rightly demanding independence upsets many English as they continue to believe we are all one happy family, in spite of the reality.  Only yesterday several highly intelligent women I met failed to comprehend how Scots feel about the issue, it is something that has not crossed their minds, after all Scotland is so far away, but useful for holidays!  'White van man' reads his 'Daily Mail,' if he is pretending to be 'middle class,' or the 'Sun,' if he is being honest, and finds Scots draining money from his pocket and being ungrateful!  That lie shows how little he understands, yet how much the media misuse him for their own ends! 
This resentment, and it is strong in some areas, had led to a revival in 'Englishness.'  In 1996 they found their own flag instead of using the Union flag as theirs, now it appears at all times, while Ambrose ought to get a percentage I say, and is flown by some at every opportunity to pretend they have a nation.  
Have they?
England is more divided than the mere border that separates England from Scotland.  The northern culture is not similar to the south's, and the north is ignored by the rich south east corner.  Birmingham, the second largest city, is never mentioned on TV or in the media unless it really has to be mentioned. Yet this from one of the richest parts of the nation! The richest, Norfolk and Surrey pay their own way, all the rest needing grants from the centre, yet these two counties resent their cash going to where it is required, does that make for a nation?  The folks in the countryside vote Tory, the towns and cities vote Labour neither caring what the other wants, who knows what the next election will bring after the shambles of the last.  Thousands use 'food banks' while others live off benefits needlessly, millionaires fill the cabinet while over two million are desperate for a proper job, London dominates at all times, the rest are an afterthought.  This 'England' is not one nation in any respect.  

The Scots, Welsh and Irish have their own history, they are well read in this, English history is seen by many as one dynamic victory after another, they are always the 'top dog, and yet the deeper truths of what life really was like for the average Englishman is not what comes to the average Englishman's mind when waving a flag.  Scots know all their bad bits, only too well, does the Englishman drinking his European Lager, eating his Curry, and wearing his Bangladeshi made clothes know his nations bad bits? Does it matter?  As long as he has a nation to belong to he has a place in the world, a family, even if a stand offish one.  
The return to a Saints Day, by a nation keen to be atheistic we are told, is all about being a nation again.  But to be a nation you must know what the nation actually is.  Those gathered raucously in the pub will struggle to sing English songs, 'Greensleeves' will not suit that establishment I fear, indeed few songs regarding their nation will come to mind.  George, lying somewhere underground in Lydda today, will wonder at his name being used in a nation at the ends of the earth.  He would wonder a lot more at the confused people wearing his flag, not that he knew it was his flag, and feel a great deal of sympathy for their lost souls.   

 

.

I was Surprised...

I was surprised as I made my way through the town early this bright and sunny morning to find St Georges Day was being ignored by his people.  One pub was making money ready by flying four flags outside but no others bothered.  Has patriotism worn off I wonder?  Could it be people really are turned off so much by the English Defence League and other bams flying the English flag that they do not wish to be associated with it?  How strange!  Now I can understand most not wishing to be linked with the type who join the EDL, however your nation needs you, as someone once said?  Only the Irish seriously wish for a 'Saints Day' and that only for the Guinness!  However pride in a nation does not end because of toughs or the reformation.  The recession, being a Monday, and the dismal weather which poured from the sky all afternoon may well be dampening enthusiasm for the cause. English weather, sunshine & rain at the same time, does inhibit enthusiasm.  Possibly when the European Championships begin a flurry of flags will appear on vehicles passing by, and soon they will fill the wheely bins as England fail once again.  Brings a tear to the eye, don't it...?

.

St George and His Day

Here we are once again 'celebrating' St Georges Day! I say 'celebrating' but possibly I mean 'ignoring' for the most part. Wandering around the streets paved with gold I saw only a couple of vehicles flying his flag. Possibly the stories revealing just how such flags increase your petrol consumption made folks wary in these financially troubled times, possibly, like most folks, they just didn't know what the day was all about! Low down the 'Daily Mail' today there was an item about the Ugandan born Archbishop of York flying his St Georges Flag and enjoying the 'Englishness' of it all. This has brought out many who agree with him, and others who reckon this reflects on why Englishmen are afraid to fly their own flag! Read the following comments! 


St George himself possibly existed, and may well have been a Roman soldier executed during a time of persecution, but there again I am not sure how the story began, read here and consider the options. What ever the case may be he did become patron saint for several nations and cities. It is possible that the idea of a 'patron saint' grew during the years when Christians were free to tour the Roman Empire visiting places where the famous were reputed to be buried. It is very easy for some, badly taught, to imagine that they could pray to such dead people.this of course is not biblical. However in the areas where the bible was not adhered to some did expect dead 'Saints' to answer prayer. Since the reformation few have actually believed in this in the north of Europe. This means that only Roman Catholic nations tend to adhere to such 'Saints' and the UK lost all interest in them many years ago. Today's nationalism has restored them, although not for religious reasons.


The rise of Scottish nationalism in the sixties, and the success found since then has resulted in English jealousy. The poorly taught history has left England with little understanding of what the 'United Kingdom' actually is, and hence allowed them to treat Scotland and Wales with indifference and contempt. Sadly when the Scots and Welsh objected and nationalists began to appear at Westminster there grew an English demand for 'Their own parliament!" Incredible! The parliament at Westminster has been the English parliament for many years, and remained  the 'English parliament' even after 1707! Yet these people do not realise this? Incredible! The history taught in schools, the use of the 'Union Flag' as 'England's flag,' the parliament always referring to 'England' when they meant to say 'Britain,' and the  media  coverage considering the same has evaded such people. Since they discovered in 1996 that England's flag was in fact the cross of St George a movement to encourage its use has arisen, for the wrong reasons. 


There is of course no reason whatsoever for Englishmen in England not to fly their own flag. Mistaking the Union flag for their own has meant a great many have failed to fly their St Georges flags, however there have always been church buildings, public houses, councils and individuals who have correctly flown England's flag. It is to be regretted that some city councils have indeed objected on occasion to the Union or English flag being flown as this has been regarded as 'racist!' How this can be is beyond me, yet such has, occasionally, been the case. In such circumstances, with the BNP, UKIP and the Tory media exaggerating the 'immigrant threat,' it is no wonder some have come to regard the indigenous 'white' populace as hard done by. In spite of the thousand year of English oppression against the Scots it is clear England has forgotten, or in truth, never actually known what it is to be 'English!'


It is to be much regretted that in 1707 England did not appreciate the power of the union. Instead of attempting to rename Scotland 'North Britain,' she could have emphasised the benefits brought by peaceful co-existence. However she quickly forgot and by 1914 it was common to refer to Great Britain as 'England' almost constantly. Churchill, a man famous for his mythological approach to British history, never appears to talk about 'England,' but refers to 'Great Britain' constantly, although I have not checked this out. And it is in the act of standing together and 'standing alone' against the Nazi threat in 1940 under a perceived threat of invasion that many Scots came to accept gladly the notion of being 'British!'  Had a regard for Wales and Scotland been found in England after this Scots nationalism would never have taken off and the Englishman's concern to discover what he and his nation actually comprises would not arise. There are a lot of things the English ought to be proud of, and much they need to regret. Flying their flag is not one of them!
    

St Georges Day

Today is St Georges Day.


I don't care!
Do you?