Dragon Slaying

When England were in the process of qualifying for Euro 2004, I wandered into the centre of Oxford with a friend to watch their final group game, against Turkey. It quickly became apparent we hadn’t gone to the most suitable pub for the occasion, when the crowd broke out into a raucous chant of No Surrender to the IRA.

The anti-bigot in me wanted to point out that St George was, in fact, Turkish. Thankfully, the part of me that believes in self-preservation thought better than that idea.

I mention this because Nosemonkey has written a wonderful post about St George, and why, in fact, he is the perfect symbol of an England that wants to play a role in Europe and the wider world. Well worth a read.