Dirge Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 But does St. Guthlac have a big sword and kill things? Following Stuart's patron saint of concertinas line; got to be St Matthew, the tax collectors' man. Clearly interested in squeezing people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Madge Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Well we managed to organise an extra Lancaster Gregson session last night with only English tunes allowed. It lead to some debate about the origins of some of them of course and we all feel like we could do with a better knowledge of early music! Perhaps this is also due to the first Lancaster international hurdy gurdy festival having finished on Sunday. Robin Madge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 How many Hurdy gurdies did you get in one place then? Was it a record? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart estell Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 the first Lancaster international hurdy gurdy festival The very idea of an international hurdy-gurdy festival is somehow terrifying but wonderful. I hope there was a big ensemble play-through of something at the end of it! Hurdy-gurdy is definitely on my list of "instruments I must get round to one day..." Back to patron saints: having had a look on Wikipedia it appears that St. Erasmus of Formiae is a busy chap - he's already the patron saint of "pyrotechnicians, steeplejacks, chimney sweeps, sailors and anyone who works at great heights". Presumably if he was made patron saint of concertinas, it's pretty likely that he wouldn't even notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 But does St. Guthlac have a big sword and kill things? He did for a lot of years - then he gave it up for the quiet life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Viehoff Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Call me old fashioned if you like, but I just think that if we have to have a Patron Saint it would be nice to have one that's actually got some link to England and actually set foot in the country, not just some Turkish bloke imposed on us by some Johnny foreigner ne'er do well like Richard I You probably want St Edmund, King and Martyr then (as in Bury St Edmunds). He was English patron saint before George, and has the advantage of (i) being English (ii) actually existing (iii) not having been alleged to have killed mythical beasts. He was King of East Angular in the 9th century and martyred by the Danes. Mind you, his martyrdom and saintliness are somewhat dubious, but no less so than George. A disadvantage is that he would probably be represented by gory and tasteless depictions of his martyrdom - tied to a tree, peppered with arrows and decapitated - see for example St Sebastian. He should not be confused with that other kingly saint, St/King Edward the Confessor who was king of England in the 11th century. Since his cross is white on a field of green, it would revise the Union Flag in an amusingly controversial way. Also certain English might not wish to align colours with the Irish, personally I'd be in favour of it, being one of the many Englishmen with a large leavening of Irish (and Dutch and German) in my ancestry. He succeeded the delightfully named King Aethelweard, and the invading Danish army that did for him included the even more delightfully named Ivar the Boneless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Brook Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 And some folk singers singing with acoustic guitars .. Playing Irish songs. We had a great night dancing the morris and had a good sing afterwards in a pub that was serving 4 real ales and a "real" cider. The first ale I had was a Harvey's, after that the landlord filled my glass so I couldn't say what I was drinking but it tasted lovely. In the midst of the singing session one of the pub regulars said, "oh sing us that song you did last time you were here, (last June) the one about her eyes shining like diamonds" - We duly obliged with "the Black Velvet Band!" It made me chuckle but even more so when one of the lads started humming the Londonderry Air (ie Danny Boy) straight after! Makes you proud to be a true born English/Irish mongrel For what it's worth Caedmon, Hilda, Bede, Dunstan, Alfred and/or Edmund would be much more appropriate National Saints than 'ol Georgie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnrobinson Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Hm. Well in the same way that St. Irfry is the patron saint of Chinese take-aways, and St. Reatham is the patron saint of SW London, maybe St. Ickingbuttons should be the patron saint of concertina players. Chri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 (edited) Stephen, ... just to make you envious, my "local" Shepherd Neame pub, the Two Brewers, can offer: Master Brew Spitfire Bishop's Finger and generally a seasonal ale. Peter, Much to my astonishment and delight, the local supermarket here in Kilrush can now offer bottles of Shepherd Neame's Spitfire, Bishop's Finger, Whitstable Bay and 1698. Now if only I could persuade the pubs to do likewise ... Edited April 25, 2007 by Stephen Chambers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 ... his cross is white on a field of green, it would revise the Union Flag in an amusingly controversial way. Also certain English might not wish to align colours with the Irish ... Though when it comes to car racing they've been doing it since 1903: British Racing Green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Woloschuk Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Though when it comes to car racing they've been doing it since 1903: British Racing Green. I have always thought that British Racing Green is such an exciting name for such a boring colour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Though when it comes to car racing they've been doing it since 1903: British Racing Green. I have always thought that British Racing Green is such an exciting name for such a boring colour! HERETIC!!! (though of course Paul, you're completely right ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 (edited) Though when it comes to car racing they've been doing it since 1903:British Racing Green. I have always thought that British Racing Green is such an exciting name for such a boring colour! HERETIC!!! (though of course Paul, you're completely right ) Well I like it! Stephen's (green) car: http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b66/Step...bers/avatar.jpg (We had a couple of dry weeks, for a change, so I made the mistake of washing the car last week. Why did I bother? ) Edited April 26, 2007 by Stephen Chambers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Thorne Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 (edited) Re: Sheperd's Neame Spitfire I saw this advert/slogan in a pub up in Leicetsershire last year: "Sheperd's Neame Spitfire, Just like like the Luftwaffe - Downed all over England!" (With apologies to any Germans amongst us.) It was written on a chalk board by the way - I don't suppose thay'd be allowed to do an official one along those lines. Clive Edited April 25, 2007 by Clive Thorne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 "Sheperd's Neame Spitfire,Just like like the Luftwaffe - Downed all over England!" Hmmm, The hyphen is really critical in that sentence isn't it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Re: Sheperd's Neame Spitfire I saw this advert/slogan in a pub up in Leicetsershire last year: "Sheperd's Neame Spitfire, Just like like the Luftwaffe - Downed all over England!" (With apologies to any Germans amongst us.) It was written on a chalk board by the way - I don't suppose thay'd be allowed to do an official one along those lines. Clive Here's a link to the website, with apologies to other nationalities as well: http://www.spitfireale.co.uk/advertising/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazbo Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Isn't it British Racing Green derived from green symbolising Ireland? (something to do with an early motor race run in Ireland I think). I'm quite attached to St George and, it turns out, a quite suitable one for England at the moment as he's very well respected in Islam too. I had a fantastice St George's night in Sheffield. 11 morris teams dancing for the lord mayor of Sheffield (Jackie Drayton) in the town hall followed by a pie an pea supper. There was morris dancing in the city centre on the Saturday too. We're all hoping that the next lord mayor will do the same next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffwright Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 There is an even better photo in the Windsor Castle pub Windsor, of the Queen and her sister pointing up in the air. The caption is "Achtung - Messerschmitt". I prefer St. Edmund - the original patron saint of England. This St. George lark with his In-Ger-Land flag was foisted upon us by William the Conkerer in his Sagesse Normande (Norman Wisdom) because he won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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