St George's Day

Britain is great, and here is why.
The Newspapers.
BBC.
Football.
The South Downs.
Drinking water.
Jade is dead.
Bluebells.
Animal rights.
The language.
The freedom to shout at policeman.
The fact that people who shout at policemen are arrested.
The fact that people who are arrested for shouting at policemen are generally not killed in secret.
Cakes.
Spring evenings with the orange sunlight, swarms of midges and children playing.
Castles.
Vimto and marmite.
Terriers. One for each village north of Rutland.
Rivers. Riverside pubs. Watching dogs shake themselves as they climb out. Barges. Locks. Ok, canals as well then.
London Brick Company.
Chimney sweeps.
Roses.
Stephen Fry.
Chips.
The London Underground. Go on then, you build it better.
May Bank Holidays.
Oak trees.
Driving on the left.
Proper shoes.
Stags at bay.
Regional accents. Especially funny ones you cant understand. And Brummie.
History. Real proper, we started it, we were there, we did it history, Not American wham bam now you're history.
Mark Steel.
The Beatles. The Stones. Led Zeppelin. Queen. The Smiths. Radiohead, Ooberman. It could all only have been British, and it was, and it changed the world.
The NHS. If you want to criticise it, first get operated on in the Sub-Saharan African country of your choice - any one beginning with Democratic Republic of.
Shakespeare. You dont have to read the stuff, just appreciate that he wrote the book.
Funiculars.
Cadburys.
Being able to buy anything, absolutely anything, at an affordable price in Tesco. It may be bad for so many reasons, but for me and you its brilliant.
We dont use phrases like "leverage the economic opportunity to maximise the customer service advantage." Or "EBITDA 1Q over 1Q is 47.5% better YOY… Revenue was 1% below plan. Net /net we are well ahead of plan." Both in recent emails from my American boss.
The Houses of Parliament. Ok it doesnt work this year, but the building, the green benches, the position of speaker, the tradition, the history, the meaning behind it all...
English Beer. Spitfire. Old Speckled Hen. 6X. Fursty Ferret.
We are the transport hub of the world. Heathrow really is the centre of the planet.
Meadows, with daisies and bunny rabbits.
Cheese. Wensleydale, Caerphilly, Cheddar, Stilton....


We can all be negative, we can all write a longer list of things that are wrong. But I say stand tall for England, King Harry and St George. Lets celebrate this great nation, just for a day, No comparisons to any one else, no exclusion of anyone who happens to be here on this day. Lets just celebrate that we live in the most historic nation on earth, and speak the most beautiful glorious language there is.
Rule Britannia.