April 23rd, the happy conjunction of St George’s Day and Shakespeare’s birthday should be a love feast for England to which all are invited.

We constantly underestimate the appetite of some of the most recent arrivals on our shores to understand our island story and be part of writing some new chapters. The festival of St George and Shakespeare is a good opportunity to trace the way we have come and to develop, in fresh ways, our common story.

One of the great advantages of George as a patron saint is that so little is known of him beyond the fact that, whatever he was, he was not English. He was supposed to have been a soldier who died as a martyr for the faith at the hands of the Roman Emperor on April 23rd 304. His principal cult was centred on Lydda [Lod] a town, on the road from Joppa to Jerusalem. His shrine is revered by Christians and Muslims alike.

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