National Pride..... on a local level

Tomorrow is St. George's Day - the patron saint of England.

Ireland has St Patrick's day on March 17th, where shamrocks and all things green abound. Wales has St David's day on March 1st with leeks and daffodils on show and Scotland celebrates St Andrew on 30th November with probably not quite so much enthusiasm and vigour but no doubt lots of thistles.

However in England on 23rd April sporting the red rose of England and the St George's flag is often seen in the media and politically correct circles as one step removed from xenophobic posturing - a sign of an almost neo-nazi threat.

While I think it is good to embrace the multi-cultural make up of our land I do feel there's nothing wrong with being proud of the country you come from especially when the other countries within the United Kingdom do so on their special days.

Traditionally the Boy Scout and Girl Guide movements have always celebrated St. George's day, usually with a parade followed by a church service.

Taunton today was no exception with DS and DD2 parading with their respective scout and cub groups. Here you can see Louise carrying their pack flag.

The parade worked its way through the town centre ending up in the town's beautiful Vivary Park for an act of collective worship combined with a celebration of scouting's centenary this year.

The almost black and white tulips were stunning and we did have a quiet smile that some joker had put copious quantities of bubble bath in the fountain - much to the delight of the littler children who were scooping handsful of froth out to throw at their parents.

The last photo shows you a view across the park with the old converted Jellalabad barracks in the background - harking back to days gone by when the town housed an army regiment

We were very lucky as the weather for the parade and service was very kind - nothing like as nice if it's pouring down - as it often has been on other years.

Stitching wise I've managed to get a few more tulips appliqued onto my table runner, stitched a little more of my redwork christmas tree and done a bit more machine quilting on Spencer's Stars - nothing too exciting to warrant a photo yet - lots more to go!