Launched yesterday was Mark Perryman’s edited collection “Imagined Nation” out with erstwhile radical publishing house Lawrence and Wishart. It’s a thoroughly recomended thought provoking read with chapters by Billy Bragg, Paul Gilroy and my good self amongst others. The serious bit after the colon is “England After Britain”. It’s being discussed all over the left-side of the blogosphere including Mark’s piece at Comment is Free, the Compass site here and even this Respect blog. This shouldn’t put you off acquiring a worthy addition to any bookshelf.
It’s also been featured here in the Swindon advertiser. The local man called Andy they interview is not the XTC lead singer and possibly greatest living Englishman Andy Partidge who has had a longstanding love-hate relationship with the town, but a Socialistunity contributor with a chapter in the book - Andy Newman.
So go seek out his perfect St Georges… um season.. gift. Who says feting 23rd March as a permanent fixture on the calendar will never catch on?
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April 24, 2008 at 10:54 am
Andy newman
Andy Partridge and I did however live in the same street until quite recently.
So confusing us would be quite understandable.
April 24, 2008 at 2:10 pm
MixTogether
Rupa I think it’s safe to say that feting 23rd March will remain a fringe passtime.
For those of us celebrating St George’s day on the 23rd April your post is typical of the sort of slight (late) glance normally granted to a day that should rank alongside Paddy’s for festivity.
If only the left hadn’t made us all ashamed of the flag.
Nice idea about a new definition of England. What’s your thesis in the book, for those of us debating a purchase?
April 25, 2008 at 9:32 am
factchecker
If only the left hadn’t made us all ashamed of the flag.
With respect this is bollocks. If people aren’t to hot on the st georges cross it may have something to do with its perceived links to football hooliganism and the far right.
April 27, 2008 at 12:25 am
Chris Paul
In Manchester we’ve just had our fourth annual st george’s parade and it’s building so it could match other major carnivals we have. Not on 23 march though. Is that not about when the clocks go forward?
May 3, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Pablo
“If only the left hadn’t made us all ashamed of the flag.”
It wasn’t the Left that made people ‘ashamed’ of the flag, it was the racist National Front and the BNP going on Paki bashing sprees and singing ‘there’s no black in the union jack’ that led to the flag being co-opted by racists and nazis for an entire generation so that ‘the flag’ became a virtual symbol of racist hate. It’s only begun to be reclaimed in the last few years, but its typical of unthinking, belligerent knee-jerks to blame all that on the big demon ‘left’.