The English Patient

St George’s Day passed last Friday and as I do every year, I took to wondering why we have as a Patron Saint a man, no matter how worthy, who never came here, has no connection to England, and is remembered for doing something he never did as in Dragon slaying. We surely had options at home, St Alban and Thomas a Beckett for example. I have now changed my mind, see later.

What is “English identity”? The Scots, Welsh, and Irish have clear identities and a history that is an important part of that. In Ireland there are two separate identities and histories. What is ours? From the thousands of social media messages last week proclaiming the great English triumphs virtually all were in fact British, not English, and there is a difference. For a uniquely English triumph perhaps we should have Armada Day to commemorate, but we don’t. We seem to want to bring all Britain’s wins and say they are English. They are not. We are too often ignorant of our history.

Indeed, we try and hide it. The argument over slavery is important as is debate on the legacy of Empire. Whilst we should not seek to impose the morals and values of today, or whatever is left of them, on the past we must realise that slavery and colonial exploitation was deeply damaging and leaves attitudes that resonate today. This country grew rich from exploiting the Empire and from the slave trade. That is a fact and recognising that many people we revere for some elements were involved in slavery or benefitted from it does not diminish any good deeds they did but puts their whole lives into context. It is not rewriting history. It is correcting it.

It is also foolish and self-deluding to suggest that our influence was always benign and beneficial or that we gave countries independence willingly when in fact we had absolutely no choice. We were not the only country who had an Empire that was exploitative, but we had one. It feels like we want to ignore things we do not find comfortable and just get angry when reminded of them. Whilst this is relevant to Britain and not just England, it is when the slavery links of English heroes such as Nelson, Drake or now Sir Isaac Newton are raised that people get agitated. Drake was slightly dodgy in many ways but a great sailor, Nelson was a superb Admiral and Newton not only a great scientist but an innovative man in many ways, but they did benefit from the slave trade in one way or another.

The fascinating part of history is to review events and consequences and yet people who do this are accused of seeking to rewrite it. That is nonsense. For example, take the Battle of Hastings. October 14th 1066. Harold lost; William won. Fine. But who was the rightful claimant to the throne of England before the battle? Why did the Saxon flank break ranks to chase Norman soldiers, was it Norman guile or pure luck? Was the Norman occupation a good thing for England in the centuries to come? Was Harold the last true English King? Fascinates me. No such thing as certainty. Everyone can see things in their own way.

We have allowed unsavoury right-wing groups to claim both the Cross of St George and the Union Jack, and for some reason seem to oppose reclaiming them. There is nothing oppressive about other countries flying their national flags, travel around France where the tricolour and EU flag are everywhere, but we associate ours with these small organisations with such small people. That should not have happened, and we must take them back.

We have lost our self-confidence which both allowed us to participate in international groups such as the EU because we thought those “foreigners” were sneakily robbing us where in the past we had confidence in our country to be equal to others. Now we want to pretend superiority while actually feeling vulnerable. Having announced a great victory in the Brexit Agreement with the EU we are now shouting foul because the EU are implementing it as it was written whilst we have not bothered to sort out such fiddly things as Customs Posts because presumably, we did not take it seriously. We suffer from a form of national paranoia. Everyone is out to get us. Pull up the drawbridge.

Above all we have also lost our trait of self-mockery as in Fawlty Towers, Dad’s Army, and even in “The English Are Best” by Flanders and Swann, partly because our fake pride doesn’t allow us and partly and sadly because too many people do not understand who is being lampooned and find them offensive. A confident person will mock themselves; an inadequate will mock others.

The worst of the English is when we are overseas. Not only when our football thugs are drunk and smashing places up. The Trip Advisor review of Malaga which complained there are two many Spaniards there and too much Spanish food is not untypical and if we ignore the drunken thugs draped in the cross of St George and focus on the habit of thinking anyone who does not speak English is ignorant and trying to communicate by shouting very loudly and VERY VERY SLOWLY to overcome that we have a disdain of “them over there”.

My personal nightmare was when I went with colleagues on a lightening visit to Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia some years ago to seek a new business venture. There were three of us. We arrived in Singapore and went for a meal with our potential partners in an excellent restaurant. The other two looked at the Chinese meal as if everything on the plate was still alive and I had to explain to them what each element was. We flew to Kuala Lumpur, my first time, and arrived two hours before the meeting. They decided to go to McDonalds for lunch and I declined, so they pointed to a shop next to the burger bar and said we will meet outside there. It was Marks and Spencer’s. All that way to get a Big Mac and go in M&S.

Indonesia was worse still. We were met by an aide to a senior Government official who was to be our host. We drove from the International Airport to the city and one of my two companions was explaining how he knew Indonesia was civilised because the signs were in English. It was of course a bloody international airport so of course they were in that particular vicinity! That evening we were collected for a meal and the Government aide whispered to me “We have cooked steak and chips because we fear otherwise they won’t eat.”

I returned to Malaysia; they thank goodness to London. I expected a call from them for updates and after a couple of weeks rang the office and asked why they hadn’t rung. “I did ring” I was told “but some foreigner keeps answering the phone.”

Perhaps Noel Coward summed up how we are perceived best in Mad Dogs and Englishmen when he wrote

It seems such a shame

When the English claim

The earth

That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth.

But in our views of Asylum seekers we show our worst. They are persecuted and abhorred by the press and politicians. We are being “invaded” and will be taken over. Considering that since King Harold our Royal Family have been French, Welsh (Tudors), Scottish, Dutch, and then German and married “foreigners” as a matter of course it is absurd. We are all mixes of German, Danish, French, and other races too. Prince Phillip of course was a Greek refugee who was moved to move France as a child and then to here. Our current Home Secretary would be wanting to deport him and complaining that activist lawyers were protecting him. Harold was probably the last English King and it did not really work out so well for him.

So why should St George be an example for all English people? He was the child of a Palestinian and Greek, fought for a united Europe with the Romans. Lived and died in Turkey and was killed because he was of a minority religion. As we venerate him we should surely welcome those of different countries and religions when they come here and then they, like Prince Philip, can make a contribution to our country of mixed races for many years to come. We need to change so much in the attitudes that control our lives, from Government to media, to cure this malaise of fear of foreigners. This illness. We are the English patient and need curing.

Then we can teach history and initiate discussions on our true past and present, recognise the rest of the United Kingdom as equal partners and not as colonies, including of course Ireland North and South, and try and keep the United Kingdom together. Then trade and work with others without having to be “world beating” in everything. Just a decent country making a positive contribution to the world today and tomorrow. The England that I love. Multi racial, multi cultural, with a fascinating history, so much variety from north to south and east to west, part of a United Kingdom and part of a world. Not shivering and fearful, untrusting and untrustworthy with bigotry and bitterness all around. And with a multi racial multi cultural Patron Saint to remind us all of how fear and hatred of others who are different leads to brutality and death.