AT lunchtime on Saturday I stood in the town centre giving out roses to celebrate St George’s Day.

We played great patriotic music, the public were pleased and pleasant and our splendid ‘St George’ was a hit with the children.

We English seem to be the most ambivalent of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom.

We don’t do much flag-waving or partying, so generally our patron saint’s day is not so different to any other day.

Is it because the public feel that our standing, our reputation and general opinion, are so secure, so safe, that we don’t need to bother?

The Royal Society of St George is striving to get England a recognised ‘dedicated day’, as we are the only nation not to have one.

We’re accepted as a world leader, our language is universal, and when folk come to this country they learn how to speak English, not Welsh, Gaelic or Irish, so I feel that, in the face of now fierce globalisation, we must now, more than ever, reinforce ‘Brand Britain; and in particular our exceptional English reputation.

This is no time to be complacent; we must constantly ‘fly the flag’ if we are to prosper.