Land of hope and glory, mother of the free…

It suffices to be an expatriate to catch ‘patriotic fever’ on St George’s Day! St George was not English but a Cappadocian enlisted in the Roman army, and was martyred for refusing to abjure his Christian faith. It was by shedding his blood that he conquered the dragon – the evil spirit. England adopted this obscure martyr as our Patron Saint.

I have the cross of St George on the back of my van, and on certain days, I fly the banner of England from the mast of my boat. I am not discouraged by the fact our flag has been dishonoured by racist thugs. It is the flag of the country of my birth.

We have triumphed, and like other countries we have sinned against human life, dignity and freedom. We have proclaimed freedom and joy for ourselves and denied it to others. The British Empire took both civilisation and domination where it went. I sometimes wonder what it must have been like to live in Edwardian times – fine if you had money and were born into the right family, but not so much for those who had to work for a living!

Pray for our country, and for Europe as we approach the centenary of the First World War. Oh yes, it can happen again, as trouble looms with Iran and a western world desperate for cheap oil. I fear for the future. May we be inspired by all that has been good and noble in the English way, above all in our desire to follow Christ and his holy Gospel.