Today, if you're English…

Designed by englishmen, built in england

Luckily you had some help with the important bits:
"the single most important equipment" introduced during the war

And by a guy born in the best county in England, makes me double proud.

JEngledow…………no William Blake is a name sake, my favourite poem and Hymn

In answer to your OP it's clearly not Ok to celebrate England for just one day of the year as it would instantly make you a fully signed up BNP member. The sins of our fathers huh!

PeterPoddy – where the hell is that grub from???? That looks well worth a visit!!!!

LOL! 🙂 Dunno, just a random pic off the interweb!

For the record – I'm proud to be English every day, but why not shout about it once in a while? And today is as good as any, at the very least! 🙂

We have lost our way and it has become "cool" to be negative about our country.

that statement is about 20 years out of date.. I would say that it is now not quite 'cool'… but at least 'hip' (which I believe is the avant guard of cool) to be patriotic..

I prefer to be paryletic.. which I believe is the avant guard of patriotic..

I'm gonna go make a cup of tea.. which I believe is the avant guard of not wasting any more of my day on STW..

it – Member
In answer to your OP it's clearly not Ok to celebrate England for just one day of the year as it would instantly make you a fully signed up BNP member. The sins of our fathers huh!

It's health and safety gone mad!

Bet the rubber in those Spitfire tyres wasn't grown here either 🙄

No one want to accuse us of supporting the demise of the rain forest so we can have cheap roast beef.

for example: british architect. – so far no realted deaths (as fas as im aware…)

so many people have a downer on england, if you don't like the place, leave, please, it'll do us all a big favour

so many people have a downer on england, if you don't like the place, leave, please, it'll do us all a big favour

I love England, it's a great place to live – doesn't mean I have to wave flags around and shout about our football team does it?

lovely rant from spongebob – especially when he uses England and Britain as synonyms!

I actually think english patritism is a really difficult area – and the St Georges cross needs to be reclaimed from the xenophobes and racists.

However when folk ( very few on this thread) use England and britain as synonyms its very annoying . WW2 not the English fighting – it was the brits. The spitfire is a British Plane – not english. Chicken Tikka masala was invented in Scotland.

There is an element of wanting it both ways and what is England is hard to define? Its such a broad thing – from the mills and industrial heritage of the north to the village greens of the south. The celtic heritage of the cornish to the vikings on the east coast. The University towns and the mining towns.

Scotland and wales as minorities can define themselves by what they are not and in the main nationalism was not hijacked by the far right.

continue to reclaim a pride in being English – but make it a pride in the liberal freedom loving English – not the nationalistic fascist ones.

grum – Member

I love England, it's a great place to live – doesn't mean I have to wave flags around and shout about our football team does it?

Quick call redwatch I think we got a commie

our football team is nothing to shout about

So… because a Spitfire was once used on a BNP poster, we must now expunge it from our national identity, should we?

I put the picture up because its a masterpiece of design that is an object of beauty. The fact it kills people is neither here nor there. And i certainly wasn't celebrating that

Anything else we need to add to that list then? Could one of you members of the internet PC police force have a look through all the BNP literature and let me know what else I shouldn't be making reference too please

Thanks

continue to reclaim a pride in being English – but make it a pride in the liberal freedom loving English – not the nationalistic fascist ones.

amen to that

the megatron is in england…

proper engineering.

I actually think english patritism is a really difficult area – and the St Georges cross needs to be reclaimed from the xenophobes and racists.

Completely agree, Billy Bragg made a good point that the UAF and SWP should wave The Union Flag and the St Georges Cross at counterdemonstrations against the EDL/BNP to show that they're not 'anti Britain/England' as these groups so often claim.

Lot of miserable people on this thread.

Heads to the pub for a pint of Spitfire….

Hear hear TJ. Time to reclaim English nationalism from the idiots.

The spitfire is a British Plane

Designed by an man born in Staffordshire, and built in Southampton.

You're right about Tikka Masala, my mistake. Learn something new everyday.

We mean it, maaaaan…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCD2cIWgehY&feature=PlayList&p=76E82DA78B64F9BD&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=46

There is an element of wanting it both ways and what is England is hard to define? Its such a broad thing – from the mills and industrial heritage of the north to the village greens of the south. The celtic heritage of the cornish to the vikings on the east coast. The University towns and the mining towns.
Scotland and wales as minorities can define themselves by what they are not and in the main nationalism was not hijacked by the far right.

I think the thing that defines Englishness (is that a word?) is exactly that. The blending of 1000's of years of history that make us what we are today. The Norman, Celtic and Viking elements, the introduction of other cultures into our own, like the West Indians of the 40's and onwards, the sub continent cultures of the 70's (some are more English than the English!). Our dark and satanic mills, cricket on a village green, our engineering brilliance (as far as I can see no one has used WW2 to symbolise anything English (it was, after all, a world war), but certainly the spitfire is very much an English icon. I love all parts of being English.

continue to reclaim a pride in being English – but make it a pride in the liberal freedom loving English – not the nationalistic fascist ones.

I couldn't agree more, and that's exactly the point of this thread. But the more people who tell us that we have to do this, or point out how the likes of the BNP have hijacked our identity just detract from this, imo.

hainey +1

So… because a Spitfire was once used on a BNP poster, we must now expunge it from our national identity, should we?

Didn't say that, but it's interesting that it seems to be such a big cultural touchstone. Don't think you can argue that's just to do with engineering.

And sorry but to me patriotism and xenophobia are part of a continuum. Most people I know (not necessarily excluding myself here) can get pretty xenophobic watching an England match. Depends how far you take it really.

So much more classy than a stretched Hummer

Stirling Moss sliding an Aston

English Electric Lightning.

It wouldn't be so green if it didn't rain so much.

I really would strongly argue that the spitfire is a british icon!

TJ,

I don't think you need to argue with anyone (for a change). If you believe it is a British Icon then great, have fun. End of. Yawn.

why is it if the Paddies show pride in Ireland they're Patriotic, same for the Taffs and the Sweaties, but if an Englishman is patriotic, we're being xenophobic

Phhhhhhhhhhh.

Anyway. Back on topic.

Billy Wobbledagger 🙂

And some more typically English food 🙂

Happy St Georges Day, enjoyed the thread but why get wound up by those that want to sabotage it, talk of BNP etc just dont bite folks.

Great photos thanks for those who posted. Roast beef and Yorkshires, Astons, Rollers, Harriers, Lightings and the Spitfires,Cricket, Awesome.

British by Birth English by the Grace of God. 😉

why is it if the Paddies show pride in Ireland they're Patriotic, same for the Taffs and the Sweaties, but if an Englishman is patriotic, we're being xenophobic

Liking the irony.

gonefishin……………..i thought someone might

Ah scones, more likely to be Scottish or Welsh than English though.

These kind of examples just show how silly the whole thing is imo – the concept of 'Englishness' is invented.

but if an Englishman is patriotic, we're being xenophobic

I'm hoping that was a joke, but if not – maybe it's because English people often are being xenophobic?

you could say the same about Irishness, up until 20 years ago it was a 3rd world country, then all of a sudden it became trendy to be irish, good bit of PR by Guinness that

Some people on here really need to visit the doctors and get some Happy pills or a pint of good English Ale inside them. (some discharge from ICI will come on and tell me Ale was invented in wherever now) Mongtards. 😉

I was told by an Irish person that St Patrick's Day isn't actually that big a deal over there and it's mainly just Guinness marketing that's made it a big deal elsewhere?