Wolds World: For England and St George

April cannot be allowed to have passed without a mention of St. George.
St George's Day concert in Caistor Parish Church EMN-190429-190246001St George's Day concert in Caistor Parish Church EMN-190429-190246001
St George's Day concert in Caistor Parish Church EMN-190429-190246001

History told us that it was a semi-mythical Roman soldier George who was adopted as the patron saint of England by Edward III, though he had allegedly been popular since the time of the First Crusade.

His feast day had been April 23 and he has always been associated with certain flowers, particularly the rose.

The oddity of that is that roses are not out in April.

St George's Day concert in Caistor Parish Church EMN-190429-190257001St George's Day concert in Caistor Parish Church EMN-190429-190257001
St George's Day concert in Caistor Parish Church EMN-190429-190257001

Maureen Sutton, the Lincolnshire historian and writer, in her delightful book ‘The Lincolnshire Calendar’ records that St George was a king and slew a dragon who was really Queen Boadicia.

She apparently once ruled the area from the top road which runs from Burton near Lincoln to Kirton Lindsey along the Lincoln Edge, her land extending west from there to the Trent.

The writer though, says this story is largely fantasy-just like Brexit!

Speaking of the ‘Rose of England’, a highly embarrassing moment for me came at a concert a few years ago when my phone went off while the famous English Baritone Thomas Allen was singing the patriotic song by that name.

He did not blink, though I did!

Come to think of it, we were in Rhyl!

The Wolds rose in celebration of St George on Saturday April 27, at a concert in Caistor Parish Church when Market Rasen Brass Band joined forces with the Caistor Male Voice Choir and the fantastic Caistor based CaistorWays,who were making a debut stage performance!

The cross of St George was hung everywhere and even wrapped around the font in an extravaganza of patriotism and music with plenty of audience participation.

Everybody loves a freebie and thanks to Caistor Lions this was one of the best.

Well done to them!

It’s well worth stating how lucky the local area is to have a brass band of the quality of the Market Rasen Town Band.

With David Dernley at the baton, the band has gone from strength to strength and I have really enjoyed a number of their recent concerts.

In the National Brass Band Competitions, the band recently got promotion - just like football - to a higher league.

Well done to them too!

Two of their sponsors are the Co-operative Funeral services and United Health - you can make what you will of that, but they certainly make a healthy sound!

Caistor Male Voice is not sponsored by United Health, though I could be spotted in the back row.

We have sung a number of concerts on the road this winter, so it was nice to be back on home ground.

The Lions do a great job for the Caistor community.

At a recent Lions Christmas Bash with the band, there was a plug at the interval for the recently opened funeral parlour at the Co-op.

The plug ended with the good lady from Lincolnshire Co-operative Funeral Services saying: “Thank you for allowing us to promote ourselves.

“You now know where we are and we hope to see you all next year!”

There really is no answer to that - other than, keep saying your prayers!

A final word about St George?

I reflected upon a Lincolnshire saying during our concert which says: “When he growls in the sky, wind and storm are drawing nigh.”

○ Market Rasen Band will be performing in Market Rasen’s Festival Hall on Sunday, May 19.

The spring concert will start at 3pm, with admission £10, including afternoon tea.