Saint George's Day and the English.

"And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green? And was the Holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen? And did the Countenance divine Shine forth upon those clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here, Among those dark satanic mills?Bring me my bow of burning gold, Bring me my arrows of desire; Bring me my spear! O, clouds unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire! I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land."

It's Saint George's Day, don't try and explain or discredit the religious connotations and irregularities, because quite frankly I don't care. Today is the day that I get the chance, without rebuke or criticism to say that I am English, not British or a member of the United Kingdom or even part of the British Isles. I have no religion, realise that dragons don't exist and understand that the crusades were a misguided, religiously justified crime that has been dressed up as some moral quest. 

Saint George's day gives me the same right as all the other adopted saints' days to celebrate my England in my way. I do not wish to be associated with the Welsh or the Scottish, they have their identity and wish to be separate from England and as far as I'm concerned, get on with it. I am proud of my country's accomplishments and most of it's people. We are in the main a good bunch and have contributed more positives than negatives to the world. We are not without fault and have made some terrible decisions and committed some awful crimes against ourselves and others throughout history, but over all we have been a positive influence on the world, driven technological change, fought injustice and stood strong when others folded.

Our governments come and go and political ideals get moulded, warped, changed and adapted for personal gain, but the people at a 'real world' level understand right and wrong and care for their fellow man. We are who we are and I am lucky enough to know a great number of people who demonstrate all that is good about being English.

That is all and have a great day.

Forwards

Most people have been in retrospective mood over the past few weeks, Christmas and New Year seems to encourage a general "everything is shit and I hope that next year is better..." or a "Next year is my year, think great thoughts and nothing can stop you..." type response, especially on Facebook and Twitter.

I genuinely wonder if anyone cares how good or bad my previous year was, it all depends on your point of view. I was basically healthy, didn't suffer any bereavements or major trauma, but wouldn't say it was a great year. Looking on the bright side we all survived the Myan's predicted end of days, so yippee!

In the big scheme of things 2013 does not look great, no major fiscal positives on the horizon, religion fuelled conflicts increasing, land grab conflicts on the horizon, job insecurity, cyclists still   travelling 2-3 abreast whilst chatting, I could go on but you get the picture. With all this happening I begin to think that I should concentrate on what I can actually control, which is a scary thought to start with because ultimately you are not in control of much in the world. 

The concept of 'living off the grid' which is gaining such momentum in the US is great in theory but with 2 dependant children and a partner, and in a country like England you really are a bit of a freak and kidding your self if you think you can achieve it without a large set up budget, which means spending a lot of time in the system or 'on the grid' to earn the money to it (or win the lottery)

So I took a step back and looked at the key things I could control.

1. Smile more, sounds simple because it is and makes a marked difference.
2. Work at important relationships, they don't just happen they need effort, be it with your children, partner, friends or siblings.
3. Do more, get out, take some exercise, invest in the machine that you are and keep it well maintained and if possible improve it's performance.
4. Try something new, take a few risks, above all stimulate don't stagnate.
5. Tackle things head on, don't let arguments or conflicts fester. Deal with it, conclude the situation, move on and don't hold a grudge.
6. Plan and set realistic goals, but don't be scared of the spontaneous.
7. Be honest to yourself and others.
8. Value your life and the lives of those around you, we are only here once, so we really should make the best of it.

I'm not a believer in New Year resolutions, which is why I came to these conclusions over a period of time and have gradually been implementing them so that I and others get the benefit over time and make a real change.

Have a great new year and be glad that you will not be inundated by my blogs about the Olympics any more! I cannot guarantee the high horse will not be mounted in a crusade against selfish cyclists, overpaid footballers, injustice and devolution, but then I can't be Mr Smiley all the time can I?