St. George's Day

Commemorative stamps

Yesterday was St. George's Day, the patron saint of several countries : Georgia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Catalonia, the Gora and ole England. For England, it also marks its National Day.

St. George's Day is not celebrated as much in England as other National Days are around the world. It's not even a holiday. A few obligatory flags flapping about especially on pubs festooned with garlands of St. George's crosses.

In Coventry, there was a full scale re-enactment of the myth featuring St. George, a cast of medieval characters and the obligatory dragon.

I think it should be a day of celebration. In Catalonia, it is traditional to give a male lover a book and receive a red rose in return. This has inspired UNESCO to declare this the International Day of the Book.

23rd April 1616 was also the date of the death of William Shakespeare (according to the Julian Calendar) and the Spanish author, Miguel de Cervantes (according to the Gregorian calendar). Shakespeare died on his birthday, making the date more significant.

Also a traditional English custom was to wear a red rose on one's lapel which coincides with the Catalonian custom.Wonder why giving a book to a love one was not followed? Bookshops should promote this idea. I should have it copyrighted this on second thoughts.

In the UK, the International Day of the Book is known as the World Book Day, held on the first Thursday in March. This year, a survey was conducted to find the ten books the nation could not lived without.

They are as follows : Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), Harry Potter books (Rowling), To kill a mocking bird (Harper Lee), The Bible, Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte), 1984 (George Orwell) = His Dark Materials (Pulman) and Great Expectations (Dickens). Looking at the list, I have not read Tolkien, Harper Lee, The Bible and Orwell. Not bad...

St. George's was also the patron saint of the scouting movement. Scout troops in the UK participate in a parade on the nearest Sunday to April 23rd. A 'renewal of promise' takes place where the Scouts renew the Scout's Promise made at joining and at all meetings.

On Tuesday, I'm was off sick due to a tummy upset. Must be the trifle with fresh cream that we'd last night. I chilled out with a trashy book (in honour of St. George), watching the World Snooker Championship first-round matches and plenty of fluids.

Today, I attended an intensive half-day workshop “Working well with change”. This was to prepare staff with the upheaval that will be happening in July when the library will undergo a major remodelling process. A lot of Chinese whisphers was floating around. Frankly speaking, after attending the workshop a can of worms was opened.

It would not affect me personally, but I could see the impact on the others. The best solution is to have open two-way communication and everyone keeps their cool when the going gets tough.

Watch this space.