<<< back to Articles Index
Forever England
by Stuart Millson
A sea of cheering people, thousands of St. George’s flags waved with gusto - and not a politician in sight!
This was, of course, the scene on the 22nd November 2003, the day of England’s spectacular victory against
her Australian cousins in the Rugby World Cup. Yet curiously enough a similar spectacle was unfolding on
that very day, in an unregarded country, thousands of miles from any rugby match.
Whilst England and Australia battled it out so magnificently on the sports field, the former Soviet satellite state
of Georgia was in the middle of a peaceful, bloodless, democratic revolution - with the people marching,
cheering and dancing under the flag of St. George!
For many, it was something of a surprise to see “our flag” (with some variation) waved by a people who live
somewhere not far from the Black Sea! But Georgia, once firmly under the iron jackboot of Communist control,
had suddenly come to life, deposing its leader - a one-time leading light of the Moscow politburo! - and
reasserting its ancestral identity into the bargain.
Our St. George’s Day, as we all know (apart from the BBC!) is on the 23rd April. Yet the Georgians
commemorate the great Christian martyr in late November, and now he will be forever associated
with the slaying of a dragon far, far away, in a land where Stalin’s state machine once breathed its fire.
The “St. George’s Day” revolution certainly followed a trend, as it reminded me very much of those weeks,
over a decade ago, when the Baltic states also declared their freedom and independence from Communism.
The last Soviet President, Mr. Gorbachev, sent tanks to scare those tiny countries, but the people of Lithuania
formed a human chain around their legislature. In Latvia and Estonia, they lit candles and sang long-lost
national songs whilst Moscow Radio snarled its propaganda. The secret police, Red Army and all the rest of
the apparatus of the Soviet Union could no longer keep the people down, and freedom swept across countries
which many in the West had forgotten ever existed.
Despite consigning Stalinism to the dustbin of history, many of the problems endured by the people for so long -
such as low standards of living - continue to be felt today. No doubt this explains why the Poles, Czechs and Baltic
nations swallowed all the blandishments from Brussels; decided that “Europe” meant jobs and wealth; and duly
marched to the tune of the Eurocrats. One can hardly blame them for wanting to break free of near-poverty, but
over time those countries may well feel what many of us have discovered here in England; that despite the
illusions, the propaganda of prosperity, the Euro-superstate is a menace to freedom and liberty - not to mention
our pensions and living standards!
Unless we wake up - and soon - it is not inconceivable that in the Europe of 2084, there might even be
a “European rugby team”, its supporters cheering on the players with blue and yellow-starred flags! The
EU’s Sports Commissioner might even appear in the grandstand, no doubt adding a politburo-style speech at
the end of the match for good measure. And I wonder how many people in the European superstate of tomorrow
will think back to the archive film from 2003, of the rugby match which was won by a country called “England”,
whose flag was a St. George’s cross…
(November 2003)
<<< back to Articles Index
