Did you see how the Rugby players sang this compared to our footballers?!
no comparison if we're talking about pride and passion

the French anthem:
their players too sang with huge pride and passion

now Monty might correct me here, but I think their anthem is summat to do with the revolutionaries and slitting throats and leaving blood on the fields...March on March on! [I know they talk/sing a good fight! ]

our anthem is rubbish!

I'm proper sticking my head up to be kicked in here, but I wouldn't place the Queen alongside anyone [other than Prince Phillip perhaps and Bin Laden/George Bush etc] and want God to save her!

Its cack, Jerusalem is better and its a nice tune to boot

Jerusalem is a great song far better than god save the queen unless like Mr I say's it's the pistol's version.

sorry master of disguise.

Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't Land of Hope and Glory been used as the English national anthem before? The commonwealth games rings a bell.

That like Jerusalem is a far more patriotic song than God Save the Queen which is surely the anthem of Great Britain? The Jocks, Taffy's, and Micks* don't use it though... why

*not that I'm one for racial stereotyping like!

GSTQ is also used by Northern Ireland, and is only relevant to a combined British team, something like the Olympics.
Land of Hope and Glory has more of a British slant than an English one, Jerusalem is a hymn and an anthem. There should be no ambiguity over the English anthem.
I would imagine the Catholic side of Ulster wouldn't exactly sing GSTQ with much gusto, either.
An opportunity for that province to come together in the modern world with their own anthem, a new identity to project to the world, and to banish old grievances and prejudices.
I know they are already working on a new flag.

the Union is a sticky subject, and it's not that long ago that Scotland and Wales would have had GSTQ blurted out as their national anthem, I know for a fact that Scotland The Brave was rarely used other than the Home Internationals, GSTQ was used for the Scots in past World Cups (74, 78, 82). I think the Welsh have used their own anthem the longest, although ironically they aren't internationally classed as a country in their own right - they are classed as a province of England. This is why the Welsh flag is not represented on the Union Flag (which ironically shows the flag of All of Ireland - the St Patrick's Cross, as well as St Andrew's Cross and St George's Cross).
In 100 years I think the Union will be nothing more than a symbolic thing, with real powers given to Scottish, Welsh and Ulster parliaments to be completely self-governing.

because people are generally proud of their own nation's heritage. If England stopped having a national anthem, are you trying to tell us that the French or Italians would do likewise??
Not a chance and you know it. Those people are fiercely patriotic, which is something most English people, including you, are not.

Maybe if they changed the word's slightly from land of hope and glory to land of dope and tory.
or is that the future.

So during WW2 you would have refused to fight because of your contradictory views?

I agree people had a lot more to be proud/patriotic about in 1939 compared to now.

Ok, lets bring it up to date then.

Scenario: Russia has invaded Western Europe and has marched through Poland, Germany and France. Their next target is the UK and are massing their troops in France ready for a seaborne invasion.

All men between the ages of 18 to 50 are asked to go into uniform to repel the invaders. Do you, Mr D Dibble sign to fight them off up or not?

Don't give me the bollox about nukes would have been used by now or electronic warfare. There is no substitute for the Mk1 human eyeball. This scenario is based on convential warfare.

Well if you are going to have nations playing each other why not shout your nation's praises loud and clear or else just give up fookin international competition altogether.

Nearly everyone agrees GSTQ is one of the crappiest anthems out there but it does have the merit of being short. Did you see how long the Argie and Saffa anthems lasted?
For better or worse (mainly worse) it's the anthem we use and it delights me to see players who are proud to wear their country's shirt belting it out.

Here's the revised version for the final:

We dicked Australia
We dicked Australia
Then we dicked France

We'll dick South Africa
We'll dick South Africa
We'll dick South Africa
Here in Stade de France

Then instead of a haka the English team point a challenging finger at the Saffas and chant "You're gonna get your fooking heads kicked in!"

And for the first time in 25 years most English fans wanted the Argies to win.

Land O' The purple heather
Land where the midges gather
Land O' the worstest weather
Scotland the brave......

I would but I'm 51.

So that fat get'll have to go instead.

Serves him right for lying about his age......

Not really the case tho is it. If the scenario you say Did happen, then he would be fighting to keep his family out of the grip of the Red hordes.

If they ever need to get round to calling me up then we're already doomed I reckon!

For what its worth:
I'm proud of my country
I would fight for my country if it were being invaded - but only in that scenario
I would never ever sing God Save the Queen or King - as I dont believe in all three of the foookers

Well I like our National Anthem and reckon that there should be more respect shown to it- including people standing up in the pub when it's played before a footie or rugby match.

Speaking of standing to attention when God Save the Queen is played, Mr Parmo did just that in the public house before the footie on Saturday only with a VERY right wing stance...

Clem maybe, if you have had an extended ride on a bacon slicer since I last saw you.

Things change a lot as far as willingness to take up arms goes. Only comparatively recently people rushed over to Spain from all over the world to help fight Franco...but there was no talk of going to help the Buddhist monks, even tho everyone was desperately sorry for them.

(Anyway, I was once nearly turfed out of the Odeon children's matinee for not standing up to sing GSTQ. I'd just got me bag of sweets nicely balanced, so thought I'd sit it out, to avoid disruption. Then this big cinema official came rushing up to shout at me.)

I still think that it should be the norm to stand up.

Society is going down the pan.

You old Bag of Sweets Disruptor

Bloody hell yes you just reminded me of that - God Save the Queen at the pictures. Surreal.

The Civil War in Spain was in full swing by the time the first members of the International Brigade arrived, and the sides were pretty evenly balanced. The situation in Burma couldn't be anymore different. A few street protests and the odd clash between a weak group of pro-democrats and a very strong group of heavily armed soldiers isn't going to awaken the revolutionary zeal in anyone. Spain is a damn sight closer and all! I agree with your initial point however, if an event like the Spanish Civil War occured again you probably wouldn't see anywhere near the amount of people flocking to it. Could that be a good thing?

They'd better flock otherwise your children will be next.

I won't tolerate it! However, I just find the fact that many lads (including two from Hartlepool, they're listed on the International Brigade website) went to fight and die for, essentially, one mass murdering authoritarian dictator against another a sad waste of life.

I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not...one of life's dilemmas. There's no point in making sacrifices which produce nothing, obviously. But it feels instinctively wrong to accept that you can't do anything about anything and just sit back and live a life of ease. Even tho objectively that's probably the only rational decision to make

Jack Ford was killed in the Spanish Civil War. And that was after he made his money.

Was that THE Jack Ford, from When The Boat Comes In?

Indeed it was.

In the final espisode he was smuggling some weapons into Northern Spain and ended up in a gunfight. He was fatally wounded.

I think he died from it

If only my memory was as good when it came to important things.