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St George’s events in city scaled down
Thursday 19th February 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
St George’s Day celebrations will be dramatically scaled down in Wolverhampton this year, dismayed organisers admitted today.
Lack of funding and fears the city’s Queen Square will still be out of action due to a water fountain project, already eight months behind schedule, are blamed for scuppering celebrations.
Organisers said activities to celebrate England’s national day on April 23 would be “extremely low key” after it emerged the budget for the event ran to just £5,000.
Last year patriotic music rang out as Market Square was decorated with rows of red, white and blue bunting, and musicians entertained. English sausages and red roses were handed out.
Liberal Democrat councillor Malcolm Gwinnett, helping to organise this year’s event with the council’s outdoor events team, said today: “It is going to be very low key this year.
“It is certainly not because we don’t want to celebrate and it is much to my dismay because I had got a lot of wonderful ideas.
“With the climate the way it is we can’t go asking the council for lots of money so we only have a budget of around £5,000.
“There is also the problem with not knowing if Queen Square will be ready so it is very difficult. Even so, there is a promise there will be far more next year.”
News followed West Bromwich’s parade being axed due to fears of infiltrataion by extremists
Wolverhampton Labour leader, Councillor Roger Lawrence, said it was “disappointing” events would be scaled back but he admitted that he had faced a “headache” in the past organising the celebrations.
“I got a lot of stick because it felt like nothing you did was right,” he said. “If you held the events on the actual day and it fell in the middle of the week people complained, and if you moved them to a weekend, people still complained. We really need people to put forward their suggestions so we can really celebrate St George’s Day in the future.”
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Is it a crime to be british now ?
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I suppose if it was to celebrate either ramadam, St Patricks day or the birth of Bob Marley plenty of effort and money would be found – not everyone who likes to wear a St Georges cross and celebrate the day is a racist you know – poor excuse
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what a joke, we should have a bank holiday!!
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No other country in the world would allow its patron saints day celebrations be scrapped because of the possiblity of infiltration by extremists as has happened in Walsall and Sandwell.
They wouldn’t dare ban Islamic festivals because of a minorty of extremists. I suspect that the real reason is an attempt to destroy English identity for the European regionalisation agenda.
Personally, I’m not aware of any extreme English groups is anyone else? The BNP and NF are UK wide unionist/imperialist groups so why would they hijack St Georges day – it’s an English cultural event. Banning such events will create racism where none existed before – now the BNP and other vile racists will be able to use this for ammunition – an own goal I think.
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i agree with idea of celebrating st georges with a bank holiday.
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Wolverhampton council is an absolute joke, Punishing the townsfolk for being English!!!
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‘THIS IS ENGLAND’ Never forget that and this is OUR land. Lets celebrate OUR Patron Saints day and be proud to be English!! We are the majority and we deserve to wave the flag of our beloved land!! If they feel it offends them then they know what to do! I for one will be hanging my flag from my house with pride. What next..The England team stopped from displaying the red cross on their shirts?!
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dont these spineless herberts in the town halls realise THEY are the ones causing resentment and anger??
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23rd April is slowly becoming a very sad day to be English because everything we stood for is slowly being taken away. Don’t stop the celebrations stop the mindless idiots.
I will wave my flag and wear my rose with Pride.
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we live like foreigner in our own country first they scrap the reenactment of christmas and then thet want to ban are saint georges day , i think the council should be ashamed of themselves.it is true everything that we stood for is slowly being taken away ,why because we may offend other religions ,oh but does any listen to us when there festivals are on ,NO we say anythingthen we are being racist.
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ssooorrryy I’m proud of being English, best country in the world, is this being a racist!!!!
No I’m NOT sorry! but fed up of all the do gooders who are trying to spoil our country. Please councils throughout the midlands don’t take the easy option and ban all celebrations.
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This is a disgrace its about time English people were aloud to be proud of being english with out being branded rascist. The council should hang there heads in shame.doo godders should be banned not st georges day
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It’s no use complaining,the council can do whatever it likes.Just keep paying your £1100 a year counci tax and keep quiet and you’ll be ok.
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What a joke. I no longer live in the Motherland but I will always be a proud Englishman. Things like this i.e. constant erosion of national identity and the stifling of celebrating anything English contributed in a small way to my decision to emigrate. As several correspondents have pointed out, it would be hard to imagine this happening in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, let alone on a smaller scale with other minority groups. We’re our own worst enemies and many in positions of power won’t be satisfied until the English are silent. And that will NEVER happen.
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Listen to the lot of you.
If you bothered to read the paper you would realise that this boils down to money.
For the last 15 years the Labour party in Wolverhampton have bled the finances dry. There is no money left in the pot!
The Conservatives took control last May and before they could even start to improve the city they had to identify FORTY MILLION POUNDS worth of savings.
Hopefully people will now start to realise why the Conservatives are trying to streamline our services!
Hairy Palmed Wayne Evans
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Ok lets celebrate Burns Nights, St Patricks day, … St Georges day….!!!!!! NO NO NO stop there you being racist your gonna hurt other peoples feelings!!!!!!what on earth is happening to this country????? its ok to let everyone else celebrate there own traditions or saints etc etc but when it comes to us the lights go out you cant do this you cant do that dont put that flag up her or there as you will cause offence… Pathetic!!!!
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Will we still be celebrating Dewali
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Maybe the council is right not to waste money on some scruffy looking flags, bad music and recycled meat. Maybe we should aspire to being European. Other countries are not full of chavs with tattoos and sovereign rings, litter, hoodies, drunks in the street. The world has passed us by while we sit around in front of our moronic reality TV (X Factor, Big Brother etc etc) and tell each other that England is the greatest.
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I’m sure that 95% of people would like to see a tasteful, well organised celebration on a realistic scale but I personally think that to throw 50 – 100 grand at it would be tantamount to theft from the taxpayer, yet that is exactly what the Labour party in Wolverhampton have done for the past 15 years.
WITH OUR MONEY!!!
Hairy Palmed Wayne Evans
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18. England may not be what it used to be I would agree with that but why should we not be able to celebrate what it was and all the other glorious history. Every other country does. Nothing is stopping us being European, however we are english and should never forget that. Thousands of people died in many wars fighting for England, freedom and democracy.
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Thats the problem with alot of the people on this site, do you know that events like Diwali and Vaisakhi are actually funded in part by these minority communities? If you want to celebrate St Georges Day then by all means do a collection and raise some money for the cause, but do no blame everyone else for them celebrating something that they have partly funded themselves! Oh, and you can thank the far right hate mongering party’s for stigmatising St Georges day for everyone!
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4. Planet Earth to Jonsy…………
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The event was canned because of funding, could people please stick to this issue rather than turning it into a ‘minorities are out to get us’ debate.
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as a second gen asian.. St Georges Day should be celebrated and should not be ‘cut down’ because of a minority few and funds. I don’t blame the english for being angry about this.. celibrating it is NOT being racist..
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18. Wolvesboy – I think the chavs and hoodies are a direct reult of a culturally alienated nation that has no sense of pride in itself. Those European countries that don’t have this problem are those that passionately celebrate their collective identities.
15. Hairy Palmed Evans – Unlike Wolverhampton (where its due to budget/ redevelopment), Walsall and Sandwell have been stopped due to a fear of ‘extremists’.
As a Celt, I am offended by jingoistic displays of British (i.e. imperial)identity because of what it represents in terms of the colonisation and suppression of Welsh and Irish people. Conversely, I have NO PROBLEM with ENGLISH identity being celebrated, why would that possibly offend me? I’m glad that the English now fly the flag of St George instead of the Union Jack – long live England!
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Once again, the Tories and their Lib Dem lapdogs know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Shame on them
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So pete, are you one of the current or the former Labour Councillors?
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To be fair, i’d rather not go to any St Georges day ‘event’ ANYwhere in the country. Full of fat-bellied, overly-’sun’burnt knuckle draggers and their kin, singing drunken songs about “Ingerlund” and the only bit of “Rule Britannia” that they know is hardly a ‘celebration’.
Nah, keep the money in the coffers Wolvo council, you need it to clean the streets now & again.
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Further to point 17. Idiot
Well said Andi, there is a strength of feeling within minority communities for festivals they hold dear which manifests itself with donations.
So if everybody in W-ton who is desparate for a St George’s Day celebration why don’t they donate some money and make this happen?
If a St George’s Parade is what Wolverhampton really wants then why don’t the general public donate and add to the £5k offered by the council??
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It is up to the English people to go out and celebrate St Georges Day either with or without the Councils help like we will in Sandwell. STAND UP FOR YOUR COUNTRY ! and against these idiot councils that hate everything ENGLISH !!!!!!
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I assume the £5000 limit for this celebration will be aplied to all other groups in the City?
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as a third generation asian born and bred in this country and have never been to asia(yet).from my point of view you can fly the flag with pride.this will not cause me any offence whatsoever. some idiots and pc brigrade saying/thinking that it’s racist flying the union jack/st george flags. to me it’s just a piece of cloth with colours. ;0)
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It’s enough ter mek St George Cross !
We never seem ter celebrate,fer werds I’m at a loss,
We never seem ter celebrate in any form or fashion,
There seems ter be a lack of pride ‘n’ very little passion.
It’s enough ter mek St George Cross !
It’s enough ter mek St George Cross !
Let’s celebrate St George ‘n’ even celebrate ‘is ‘oss,
The Welsh, the Scots ‘n’ Irish, they all celebrate their saints,
They’m patriotic people,they dow ‘ave no complaints.
It’s enough ter mek St George Cross!
It’s enough ter mek St George Cross !
Let’s mek the day Bank ‘oliday, let’s all upset the boss,
Let’s wave our flags ‘n’ banners, let’s sing ‘n’ shout out loud,
Let’s tell the world we’m English, let’s show the world we’m proud.
Let’s celebrate The St George Cross !
David Bartley, Tipton, England.
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Look – Lack of funding and fears the city’s Queen Square will still be out of action due to a water fountain project, already eight months behind schedule, are blamed for scuppering celebrations..
which minority is complaining? NIL
Lately everything is getting blamed on minority / immigrants and muslims. sometimes the so called ENGLISH need to get their heads out of cookoo and see its the PC brigade stating “it may offend”.. But has anyone complained and said it offended them – NO.
Eid, diwali etc are funded or part funded by the people of the community. St Georges day is funded by council tax payers, I dont want to fund it, it was history there were wars every where and people died everywhere.. it happened many many years ago.. in this current climate history is destroying council finances ie glass mueseums, saft historic clocks that cost hundreds of thousands charged by BRITISH companies to restore.. yeah yeah the council are paying so lets charge more..
any way get your funds together and go celebrate.. dont blame the ethnic minority for your own greed as you cant be bothered to give something towards the day.. Asta la vista
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Hairy Palmed Evans, I’m not sure what this has to do with either a Tory or a Labour government. It is disappointing that these type of debates degenerate in to party political nitpicking. Let’s keep the debate about what it’s really about shall we?
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I AM EQUALLY CONCERNED THAT THE FOUNTAIN IS 8 MONTHS BEHIND SCHEDULE, PERHAPS IF IT WAS SUBJECT TO THE SAME DEADLINES AS “WORKING PEOPLE” THERE WOULD BE SOME MORE CASH
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#29 Jack That is exactly what I was going to point out – if everyone quit complaining get off yer rear ends sort out a parade with the children (remember them ?)get schools and churches involved have a great time.
Think of me over here in OHIO next week is pancake day – I will be on my own when it comes to making pancakes and putting sugar & Lemon on them.
WAKE UP WEST MIDLANDS GET UP AND DO IT -
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Instead of a parade just call it a demonstration.
If you want a cause, demand an English Parliament.
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COME TO NEW ZEALAND.WE MOVED HERE 4 YEARS AGO AND FEEL WE CAN BE MORE BRITISH HERE AND WEAR THE UNION JACK WITH PRIDE.
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I was watching the England, West Indies cricket on telly last night and for the whole of the game there was in infernal durge of noise from some so-called England supporters chanting “barmy-army-barmy-army”. I am not suprised some well appointed people managing our towns and cities are toning down our national celebrations if all we have to represent our great country is a bunch of half-naked hooligans dressed in a pair of Union-jack shorts from Matalan who appear to have forgotten that we (the people of Great Britain) used to dress in a collar and tie and looked and sounded like British gentlemen oh and the ladies dressed the part too!! I am English, I served my Queen and country in the RAF sometimes I don’t know why I bothered to be so patriotic as it all seems have been for nothing.
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I agree with Hairy Palmed Evans, Killer B, Andi (et al), most of you are jumping on the bandwagon that other cultural groups get to celebrate, but you have not done any research as to where they get their money from. Sikh’s who celbrate vaisaiki (sorry bout spelling)quite generously find their own celebrations mainly with the exeption they seek permission to close off a few roads in particular areas for a couple of hours. Diwali celbrations are also funded by Hindu/Sikh communities. So like Hairy Palmed Evans et al said – IF YOU WANT A ST GEORGES CELEBRATION – PULL YOUR WALLETS OUT AND FUND IT YOURSELVES AND STOP MOANING ON THIS SITE!!! – no wonder people from other countries think we’re stingy!!
Sam from Bilston – I’ve never known Bob Marley’s birth to be celebrated publicly- can you enlighten me?? or are you just being given ammunition to be ignorant?
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RE: comment 40.
how dare you have a go at the barmy army, they are loyal fans who fork out a lot of money to travel round the world and support their team, the england team reguarly attend their get-togethers and love the support they provide.
the locals in all the countries adore the barmy army for the entertainment they add to the test matches, and the locals depend on the money they spend in their establishments, put your money where your mouth is and join the fans like i will at edgbaston, lords, old trafford and trent bridge this summer and you will see that they are a great bunch to be around, my girlfriend also agrees with this as it is an atmosphere where women have a thoroughly good time too.
we are proud to be english and proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best fans in the world.
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Cancelling the St Georges day parade is nothing to do with racism, they tried to cancel it last year, saying the pub outside the park was full of drunken yobs… They know the racism card never fails…
Its the same with the schools, my children come home with cards and candles and chinese dragons but when i ask if i’ll be getting a St Georges Day card, its not in the curiculum.
Never mind, at least they will be flying the St Georges flag for one day this year.
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40- What the heck has that got to do with the above story ..get a grip will you and get out of the past…. Like garry said these people have paid a hell of a lot of money there not trouble makers there enjoying themselves.. sound like you need to do the same!!!!
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spineless party government officials can cut budgets and pass as many bills as they like – i will always celebrate being English every day of the year
stick your budget up yer backside – i’ll have my own party
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Speaking sensibly, a Saint George’s Day Celebration will cost Nothing, and it can be held anywhere! – I fear that other motives are afoot!
Presently, I am both Living and Working in The Middle East. Saint George’s Day Celebrations will be held here (with alcohol). The UK has become so ‘Politically Correct,’ that it cannot get its head out of its arse!
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40) What does owning shorts from matalan have to do with anything. You judge a man by where he buys his clothes. You ignorent snobish idiot
Raf or not that attitude stinks.
That somehow makes you question your decision to serve you counry, how so i ask. Should followers of cricket wear suits from selfridges does that somehow uphold you opinion of how the english should be and ,and you more proud.
You snobbish moron
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sod the councils and their reasons for not celebrating st.george,when weve a £50m+ dragon to slay,come the local elections their backs will be against the wall,blindfolds on, puffing their last fag,these 30 bob millionaires live in cloud cocoo land use your votes and get rid of these wums…
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Come on West Midlands!! Seize the opportunity to celebrate your rich history and heritage!
The flag of St George flies proudly year-round from my flagpole in Texas, and the American people would never question why that gesture would be important to me. Now that I live in the USA, I can see more clearly than ever the slow, but sure, erosion of English national identity.
Let’s not go along mindlessly with these dangerously PC ideas.
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Never fails to amaze me that we can no longer have these English celebrations, Christmas lights etc there is always a reason. We live in Spain and although the crisis is as deep as anywhere, the Spanish still have all their celebrations, yesterday the EU bought in a new directive banning some fireworks etc, what did the Spanish do, told them to go to hell. Why cannot we do the same with the EU, councils and the PC Brigade?
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Having left England for a life down under it is sad to see those that choose to celerbrate their nationality are frowned upon. The English have much to offer the rest of the world and should be able to celerbrate across the nation. If they banned Australia Day over here there would be a coup! It is time to stand up to the EU and the PC do gooders. If a stand is not made England shall be no more. Happy St Georges Day to one and all
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SOD THE COUNCILS – SPINELESS GRABBING PIGS THE LOT OF THEM
IF YOU WANT TO CELEBRATE OUR HERITAGE
LET THE PEOPLE MARCH
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love st.georges day, but hated the BNP marches the parade became – yes ive been to all of them… mind you makes me smile, would the racist BNP be so keen on St.georges day if they knew he was actually greek? – answers on a postcard to…
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40-Who do you think you are, looking down at people because men don’t wear suits every single day, and women aren’t perfect for you nowadays. Snob. So what if you was in the RAF, doesn’t mean you should demanding what you think people should wear or be like even. And how dare you have a go at the barmy army, they are superb fans, a right laugh to be around and never cause trouble. And i think this is wrong that we are only getitng 5k to what should be our most patriotic day of the year. Yes i understand several minorty groups fund their celebrations theirselves, but they should,as it isn’t an english celebration, st georges day. On the other hand, people are right that we should do something ourselves, but the issue is more people would go out and get drunk on st patrciks day!
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