Why we can be proud to be English...
PATRIOTISM is becoming a thing of the past among our nation’s youngsters.
For sad new research reveals only 45% of under-25s are proud to call themselves English, while one in 10 find it “embarrassing”.
A YouGov poll of 20,000 people for the BBC’s The English Question project found the majority of 18-24 year olds today have no pride in their national identity, even though “Englishness” is still considered a byword for tolerance, good manners and fair play.
And half of older folk felt England’s glory days were in the past. Here are 25 reminders of why they should be bursting with pride.
Fish ‘n’ Chips
Bought from a pun-tastically named chippy like The Codfather, doused in salt and vinegar and eaten from the paper. With crispy bits.
St George Our patron saint was born in Turkey to Greek parents, he lived in Palestine, worked for the Romans and slayed a dragon. The Beatles
The greatest pop band in history, they made England cool.
Shakespeare He invented words that sum up the English character, like generous, gossip, madcap and blushing. White Cliffs of Dover
Chalky symbol of our island home and wartime defence, immortalised in song by Dame Vera Lynn.
Queuing A symbol of English manners, patience and fair play. Until some cheeky beggar tries to push in. Warm Ale
Drunk in pubs with open fires, pork scratchings and pickled eggs on the bar and locals who still call the landlord “mine host”.
Sir David Attenborough The undisputed king of wildlife TV, Sir David, 92, right, is everybody’s surrogate grandfather. Sarcasm
Yeah, yeah. It may be the lowest form of wit, but it is OUR wit.
Boudicca Tortured by Romans and saw her two daughters raped, yet rallied an army to give the Empire a routing here – twice – around 60/61AD. The Seaside
Ice creams, Kiss-Me-Quick Hats, smutty postcards and men with knotted hankies on their heads. Or drunken stag parties. Either way, we love to be beside the seaside.
Elizabeth II The world’s longestserving monarch and symbol of
English steadfastness. And handbags.
Apologising
Sorry, but it’s what we do best, isn’t it?
Wimbledon The world’s greatest tournament lets us combine our love of tennis, strawberries, celeb-spotting and obsessing about the weather. Stonehenge
The prehistoric site near Salisbury, Wiltshire, is one of the wonders of the world. And it runs rings round any other national monument.
Full English Breakfast Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill refused to start the day until he had polished off his Full English in bed. Coronation Street
The original and longest-running “kitchen-sink drama” made soaps a proud national pastime.
Tea
It’s not just a drink, it’s a national pastime. Should be made in a pot, served in a cup with the milk put in last, and strong enough to stand your spoon in. Best served with a digestive biscuit.
Inventions
We’ve given the world the hip replacement, fizzy water, the internet, Viagra, cats eyes, the modern sewerage system and much, much more.
The Women’s Institute
They made jam and they sang Jerusalem, but ballsy WI women have also spent 103 years campaigning on issues such as domestic violence, FGM, smoking, Aids and the environment.
Toast
It’s what we put our baked beans on. And cut into soldiers to dip in eggs. If we could, we’d get a white tin loaf delivered by a worn-out lad who’d pushed his bike up a big hill.
Village Greens
Community hubs since the days of Magna Carta used for fetes, maypole dancing and cricket, but thankfully no longer stocks or ducking stools.
Stiff Upper Lip
Of course we’re all proud to be English. We just don’t want to make a fuss.
Language
It may have been bastardised by colonial cousins, but the English have given the world a language spoken by more than a billion people. Ironically, that would be the American billion, not the old-fashioned English one.
Football
We gave the game to the world and most of them got better at it than us. Maybe Gareth Southgate’s boys will change that at the World Cup, where chants of Eng-er-lund will echo round Russian stadia. And we can still boast the Premier League is the most exciting on the planet. Even if it has more foreign players than English these days.