England’s patron saint is St. George, and his death is commemorated on 23rd April each year.
By coincidence, 23rd April is also the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
It’s a day when the English celebrate being English.
Rushden Town Council (RTC) celebrated its English heritage with a flag-raising event in the centre of the Town. Meanwhile, at the Town entrance, St. George’s Dragon crouched alongside the “Bikers”.
The Town Mayor made a speech and then our own movie star, David Hawker, read a patriotic poem.
This was followed by a quote from the world’s greatest playwright, the man who put English on the map as a language to stand alongside Latin and Greek.
Shakespeare turned English from a minor Germanic dialect, into a world language, with a heritage to match any classical tongue.
And then, on this, the most English of Days, the crowd shouted:
‘ Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’
