En-ger-land

[poliphilo]

It's the first day of the World Cup- and most of urban England looks like this...



It makes me a little nervous. I remember a time (not so long ago) when the only people who flew the cross of St. George were vicars (from their church towers) and nazis- and I still associate it with racism and male violence.

We drove through Glodwick this afternoon- the entry level Muslim area on the far side of the hill.  No flags there. Not a single one.

Comments

[chiller.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen any in my neck of the woods, but I'm sure they're there. They make me nervous too.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'll be watching Wimbledon- and doing my best to ignore the footie.

[internet-sampo.livejournal.com]

I live in Astoria, the second largest concentration of Greeks (Athens is first) in the world. The World Cup (or whatever it's called) means either one of two things:

1. The Greek team wins, Greeks cause a ruckus in my neighborhood.

2. The Greek team loses, people of the nationality of the winning team come to Astoria to rub the Greeks's faces in the loss -- and they cause a ruckus.

By ruckus I mean drunken fights.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

They call it the "beautiful game". I've never understood why.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

What's the old saying, played by gentlemen (hah!) and watched by hooligans?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The last of the gentlemen left the pitch a long time ago.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

They sound as bad as the Scots!

[loxian.livejournal.com]

I hate those flags. I think they look trashy, to be blunt.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I prefer them to the ones with 'ENGLAND' written on the cross, though - which seems to be a recent trend. They look as if people might need to have them explained, which is a mite patronizing.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Like people might think they were Swiss or something...

[ibid.livejournal.com]

Or Georgeans. After Engerland got kicked out last time the manufacturers sent them to Georgia as he's their patron saint!

(I refuse to acknowledge st George, St Edmund all the way!)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

A lot of countries have St. George as their patron. It must cause him a real headache when they play one another.

[silverhawkdruid.livejournal.com]

Yeah, just a tad. *shakes head*

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yup!

[silverhawkdruid.livejournal.com]

Oh, totally!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Being Welsh with a dash of English and born and living in Scotland...

It's at times like this that I realise that I'm living in an alien country. The billboards are covered with adverts proclaiming England this, and England that, but no one really cares! As for myself... I'm bored of the media coverage already!!

My apologies to any England fans out there (I get the feeling there aren't that many who follow your blog...) but I really hope they don't win! If they get that blinkin' trophy, we'll get it rammed down our throats ad inifinitum. Which would be unbearable, because I hate, I really hate, football, and anything to do with it!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I have tried to like football- I really have. I even watched a game or two last time the World Cup was on- and they were dreadfully dull.

[aellia.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the flags but I loathe wheelie bins with a passion! Especially the ones that stay out all the time.
x

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

As opposed to the well-behaved wheelie-bins that are always home by 9pm... ;-)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

There's where I have to disagree. I love my wheelie bins. :)

[ibid.livejournal.com]

In some ways I think it is a good thing that the flag is being reclaimed, but considering it has been co-opted by the EDL then I get worried.
What really gets me is the way so many of the thugs think they;re being daring, an ethnic majority flying the flag in their own country. Er, no. if you were in Iran then maybe...
A lot of them seem to want to cause offence and have their daring recognised. Well sorry, I am unashamedly PC and liberal and I have no problem with people flying the flag.

I suppose it points to a new feeling of Englishness. I don't think it's a bad thing but only if it can be done in an inclusive way as I think has happened in Scotland. And the definition of Englishness seems to be based on WWII, football and imported beer...

I would truly love an African team to win (not South Africa though as that monstrosity Zuma would take the credit)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

No-one flies the jolly old Union Jack any longer. I'm sorry about that.

The Union Jack had actually- in its latter days- become a symbol of inclusiveness. The Cross of St. George may get there in the end, but it's still a long way off.

I'm sick of the World Cup already. I really don't care who wins.

[silverhawkdruid.livejournal.com]

And when they're not draping their houses with the damned things, they have them flying from their cars like a mess of local dignitaries just descended. One is parked right outside my house and the fluttering of the flags keeps catching my eye. Most irritating. I wouldn't mind so much but you'd think the only way to gain any national pride in this world is by playing/winning at football. I'm sick of world cup advertising too, the telly being bad enough, but also so many companies have jumped on the bandwagon that most all my recent junk mail has been offering me either cheaper or better ways to watch the world cup. *growl*

Someone should tell them that red and white are unlucky colours when used together - blood and bandages if I remember rightly from my florist days. The superstition dates back to one of the bigger wars I think.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Do other nations go as World Cup crazy as the English? Is France draped from end to end with tricolors?

I'll be drawing the curtains and concentrating on Wimbledon