Ealing North
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Steve Pound MP Ealing North |
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I'm Ready to Battle for Trafalgar's Own Day March 2006 - Gazette Article Having given up alcohol for Lent every year since I was twelve I was faced with competing pressures this year. Having stopped smoking on February 14th.and downed my last pint on Shrove Tuesday I found myself in a state of unusual good health. In my unaccustomed position as a role model I found myself the subject of scrutiny far beyond the boundaries of Ealing North and letters and e-mails have poured in urging me to persevere with monastic self-discipline as the writers have gained support from my example. The dilemma was felt more keenly as March 17th.approached. Now even the least familiar with Christian practice should know that the Lenten penance mirrors in some small earthly way the suffering of forty days and forty nights that Our Lord endured. However; Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday is actually forty-two days and this happy fact has traditionally been observed in my native community by what is known as a “pit stop” on St.Patrick’s Day March 17th, and a period of essential recovery, lubricated by a hair of the dog, on the 18th. Many and varied were the invitations that I had received for the 17th.but I was reluctant to enjoy traditional theological elasticity this year as it would have destroyed what little faith people still have in politicians. In my unaccustomed state of sobriety I fell to wondering why St.Patrick is celebrated with such gusto and yet St.George’s Day on April 23rd.passes with little attention except for the St.George’s Day Scout Parades organised by Greenford and District Scouts and Ealing and Hanwell Scouts. Former Mayor Dave Bond always marks St.George’s Day by wearing a vast Cross of St.George tie and there are some commerative ceremonies but not on the scale of St.Patrick’s day. Doubtless St.David and St.Andrew encourage their country people to get a little merry on their respective days but there does seem to be a case for St.George of England. The problem, of course, is that Bank Holidays come thick and fast in the Spring and another one would virtually give us the month off. The answer should be obvious. Autumn is a season ill-blessed with Bank Holidays yet the single most significant day in English history, October 21st, falls right into the time frame. Why not an English National Day to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar – the day that shaped every second of our history from then on? It will, of course, upset the French but that can only be seen as a bonus. I’ll discuss the matter with Dave Bond and see what he says. In the meantime I will continue with my new healthy lifestyle and feel that divinity expressed its approval when – on March 19th. – Fulham beat Chelsea for the first time since 1979. Oddly enough I seem to remember that that game was played in October – but I can’t be exactly sure. On a more serious note; Lent is not just a time for giving things up. It is also a time for doing good and everyone of any faith and of none could help to make our Borough a far better place for us all to live in if they performed an act of kindness or generosity. Who knows, we might even get the habit? |
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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 |
