Ealing North
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Steve Pound MP Ealing North |
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May 2004 St. George’s Day fell, as you will have noticed, on a Friday but was largely celebrated in Ealing North on the Sunday. I had spent the afternoon of St. George’s Day at the funeral of a truly great Hanwell character, Dave Harding. Dave had been born on Boxing Day, moved to Hanwell on St. Valentine’s Day and, his funeral service was on the day of the Patron Saint of England. Given Dave’s long service in the Royal Navy – from 1939 to 1952, it was an appropriate day for the funeral service and the beautiful new Ct. Christopher’s Church was packed to the gunwales with friends, family and fellow members of the Royal Naval Association. Dave gave so much to the RNA and to the Hanwell community and will be greatly missed. St. George’s Day is not a Bank Holiday in the UK and large numbers of people have suggested to me that it should be. We have fewer bank holidays than any other European country so now might be a good time to put in a bid. At the Greenford and District Scout Parade and Renewal of Promises in Ravenor Park on Sunday this was a fairly constant theme. Dave Edgehill’s comment was typical and gave me food for thought. St. Patrick’s Day is a Bank Holiday in Ireland and most countries have a national has as a public holiday. I took the opportunity to sound out Mayor, Councillor Gurcharan Singh, when we met at Ealing and Hanwell District Scout parade on Sunday afternoon. He was in favour of a more formal recognition of St. George but spotted a small problem. April and May are pretty well supplied for Bank Holidays and April 23, is a bit close to Easter and the May Bank Holiday. After some thought I felt I had come up with a valid suggestion. The most significant date, by far, in modern British history is October 21, 1805. The consequences of that day affect every aspect of our lives today. Without it there would have been no 19th Century expansion of a British Empire, the old colonies would have been lost, England would have been a province of France and Scotland and Ireland would certainly have become independent countries as soon as Napoleon completed his European conquests because he would have wanted to establish bulwarks against any possible threat from a resurgent England. October 21 also has the advantage of clashing with other bank holidays and could be seen as a tribute to the Nation’s Hero, Horatio Nelson, or as a day of national pride as it is expressed on St. George’s Day. A Bank Holiday called Trafalgar Day would certainly annoy the French, and this is just one more good reason for supporting it. I know that Dave Harding would have liked the idea and I hope that others will seriously consider the suggestion for a National Day to be celebrated on October 21. If the celebration includes the consumption of French champagne then so be it. |
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| Disclaimer | Copyright | Designed by Bassam Mahfouz. Promoted by Julian Bell, The Labour Party, Ruskin Hall, 16 Church Road, W3 8PP on behalf of Steve Pound MP |
