Leatherhead Matters

It’s all Knights & Dragons at iGoogle as they celebrate St Georges Day with a new logo

 A day of national celebrations in England?  Not in Bradford. There are “elf & safety” risks say the police which is code for…. some of the locals won’t like it

Read more HERE 

See also St Georges Day

 Today was the day Gordon Brown’s chickens came home to roost. In his last Budget in 2007 he proclaimed himself as a tax cutter. At the Despatch Box he announced he was cutting the  22% tax rate to 20% to loud cheers from the Labour back benches. But it was a deceit. He neglected to tell Parliament that he had also abolished the lowest tax rate of 10%, thereby increasing the taxes of the poorest 5+ million citizens.

Then we had a period of denial that this was even a problem (from the party which claims that looking after the poorest citizens in the UK is in their DNA). Slowly, the Labour Party woke up to the deceit and over the last few weeks Brown has oscillated between denial & dither.

But, today we had wholesale retreat. His Chancellor, Alistair Darling , sent a letter to the Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee ( see here Mcfall letter) which is effectively wholesale capitulation to pressure from his back benchers led by Frank Field. We have still to see the details of how this issue is going to be fixed.

We now have the extraordinary situation where the poorest citizens will be paying increased tax for several months while the Government figures out ways to give it back to (some of) them.

This is an episode which will define many citizens perceptions of our P.M. If the London & local elections reflect these perceptions then today may be the beginning of the end of Gordon Brown’s premiership.

Happy St Georges Day! But, do you know who St George was & what St Georges Day celebrates?

There are many legends in many cultures about St. George, but they all have a common theme; he must have been an outstanding character in his lifetime, for his reputation to have survived for almost 1,700 years. Most authorities on the subject seem to agree that he was born in Cappadocia in what is now Turkey, in about the year 280 AD. It is probable that from his physical description, he was of Darian origin, because of his tall stature and fair hair. He enlisted into the Cavalry of the Roman Army at the age of 17, during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian and very quickly established a reputation amongst his peers, for his virtuous behaviour and physical strength; his military bearing, valour and handsome good looks.
He quickly achieved the rank of Millenary or Tribunus Militum, an officer’s rank roughly equivalent to a full Colonel, in charge of a regiment of 1,000 men and became a particular favourite of his Emperor. Diocletian was a skilled military tactician and strict disciplinarian, who set himself the task of rejuvenating the morale of the citizens of Rome by reviving the prevailing traditions and paganism of Rome. St. George acted to limit the excesses of Diocletian’s actions against the Christians. He went to the city of Nicomedia where, upon entering, he tore down the notice of the Emperor’s edict (to destry Christian churches & scriptures). St. George gained great respect for his compassion towards Diocletian’s victims.
As news spread of his rebellion against the persecutions St. George realised that, as both Diocletian and Galerius were in the city, it would not be long before he was arrested.He prepared for the event by disposing of his property to the poor and he freed his slaves.
When he appeared before Diocietian, it is said that St. George bravely denounced him for his unnecessary cruelty and injustice and that he made an eloquent and courageous speech. He stirred the populace with his powerful and convincing rhetoric against the Imperial Decree to persecute Christians. Diocietian refused to acknowledge or accede to St. George’s reasoned, reproachful condemnation of his actions. The Emperor consigned St George to prison with instructions that he be tortured until he denied his faith in Christ.

St George, having defended his faith was beheaded at Nicomedia near Lyddia in Palestine on the 23rd of April in the year 303 AD.
Stories of St. George’s courage soon spread and his reputation grew very quickly. He soon became known in Russia and the Ukraine as the Trophy Bearer and his remains are said to have been buried in the church that bears his name in Lydda. However, his head was carried to Rome, where it was preserved in the Church that is also dedicated to him.
St George was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church. His reputation for virtue and chivalrous conduct became the spiritual inspiration of the Crusaders and by this time the pennant or flag with a red cross on a white or silver background became prominent as a means of recognition by English Knights.   In 1348 King Edward Ill established the Knights of the Garter, which is the oldest order of Chivalry in Europe. The Order of the Garter was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Edward the Confessor and St George. The Insignia of the order consists of a collar and badge appendant known as the George, the Star, the Garter and the Sash with the Investment Badge called the lesser George. This is a gold and richly enamelled representation of St George on horseback slaying the dragon.

St. George’s Day in England is traditionally the occasion when the Queen announces new appointments to the Order of the Garter and is our National Day. The National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a country or non-sovereign nation. Often the National Day will be a national holiday…….but, not in England!

Se also Not in Bradford

H/T The Royal Society of St George

The “Top 100 Living Geniuses” was compiled by a panel of six experts in creativity and innovation from Creators Synectics, a global consultants firm.

Each genius was awarded scores out of ten against criteria which included: paradigm shifting; popular acclaim; intellectual power; achievement and cultural importance

The Top 100 list can be viewed HERE.

The Top 10 in the list (click on each name for their Wikipedia data) are:

1=  Albert Hoffman      (Swiss)               Chemist   

1=  Tim Berners-Lee    (British)             Computer Scientist

3   George Soros          (American)        Investor & Philanthropist 

4   Matt Groening        (American)        Satirist & Animator 

5=  Nelson Mandela     (South African)  Politician & Diplomat

5=  Frederick Sanger   (British)             Chemist 

7=  Dario Fo                (Italian)              Writer & Dramatist

7=  Steven Hawking   (British)              Physicist 

9= Oscar Niemeyer    (Brazilian)           Architect 

9=  Philip Glass           (American)         Composer 

9=  Grigory Perelman  (Russian)            Mathematician                      

The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization.

Fred Fiedler & Martin Chemers “Improving Leadership Effectiveness”