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July 07, 2006
In Hoc Signo Vinces
The "Church" "of" "England" can do what it likes but if this latest absurdity means we lose the flag of England I am going to burn my passport and nail the remains to the front door of Canterbury Cathedral. I'm cereal. I have nothing against St Alban but then I expect substituting one cross for another will prove insufficiently craven for a Church bent on self-immolation.
This sort of nonsense is calculated to remind people why the flag was a Crusader cross in the first place.* Perhaps it is a cunning plan involving reverse psychology to convince us that someone, somewhere in the Church of England stands for something... Let us hope this is a combination of the usual Daily Mail inflammatory bloviation with the usual nasal whine echoing from the General Synod.
Speaking of crusades, Wayne Rooney (terrifying man-nipples pictured above) has reportedly said the only way he would like to bury the hatchet "is in Ronaldo's head" and threatened to "split him in two". Which only goes to show the unifying nature of international sporting events and the British bulldog spirit, etc. and so forth. In related news are some handy tips for what to do with an unwanted England flag (hat tip to the Sister of the Flea).
*Not to forget the flag of Ontario. Some fool somewhere must be disgruntled about it.
What'sa matta you, hey Update: My dreams of maximum irritation having been dashed on the rocks of Italian competence I can only observe - as will so many others - that the French certainly deserved to lose. On a related note, Will of A General Theory of Rubbish forwards the following thought sure to offer some comfort to long suffering England supporters.
Posted by Ghost of a flea at July 7, 2006 11:04 AM
Comments
Gah. If England gives up her flag she might as well move the capital to Paris and start speaking French. What was the point of all that medieval beating the stuffing out of the Scots, Irish and French (not to mention baroque beatings of the Dutch, Spanish and French, and modern beatings of the Germans, Italians and Japanese) if you end up giving away the game at the end?
Posted by: Chris Taylor ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ghostofaflea.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 7, 2006 11:42 AM
Next up, all crosses.
Posted by: The_Campblog at July 7, 2006 12:19 PM
I should make it clear that I am neither an Anglican nor do I support most Anglican theology let alone its positions on any particular issues of the day. But if the Church of England fails to support its most basic duty - its sole, founding jusitification - it is time for disestablishment. Plenty of lovely properties to turn over to the National Trust.
Posted by: Ghost of a flea at July 7, 2006 12:21 PM
The flag of Ontario includes two crosses of St. George? Why don't you throw in a fanged Mountie in hobnailed boots stomping Palestinian schoolchildren?
Since the C of E's progressive, nuanced policies have sent attendance skyrocketing to well under 2 percent of the population, I would have said that disestablishment was somewhat overdue. Granted, I'm a boorish Yank. But the point of a national Christian church that seems embarrassed by both its nation and Christianity seems a little obscure.
Posted by: utron at July 7, 2006 12:38 PM
There's an Anglican theology? You mean aside from the Church of Rome being a Scarlet Woman and all that?
Posted by: Chris Taylor at July 7, 2006 12:38 PM
Actually the medieval (like the pre-1950 era in fitba) is when Scotland kicked English ass.
But the central premise is sound. If you have a culture without centralizing elements that are not controlled by government (such as a form of music, a style of hard liquour or a multi-coloured garb) you are at risk to this sort of official wishy-washiness.
Damn good thing the Church of Scotland has a firm grasp on where and when Hell (or as it is known in Scotland "Ah sayd HELLLL, ye wee bastarrrrds!!!") comes into play to keep us all on the right path.
Posted by: Alan McLeod at July 7, 2006 06:56 PM
It is true I find it difficult to credit the idea of the Scots entertaining this sort of foolishness.
Posted by: Ghost of a flea at July 7, 2006 07:06 PM
Yes...hell is parts of Glasgow...you know the ones with a lower life expectancy than Africa? The amusing thing, of course, is that St George predates Islam.
Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge at July 8, 2006 07:09 AM
Good game. Italy was stolid but effective. Monsieur Henry was wonderful but not effective. Zizou's headbutt was a sign of God's everlasting love for us all. What could be better?
Posted by: Alan McLeod at July 9, 2006 04:56 PM
The (truly classic) headbutt gave a warm feeling of amity for all humanity too. Funny coincidence, that.
Posted by: Ghost of a flea at July 9, 2006 04:59 PM
Coincidence? *cackle*
Posted by: Rue at July 10, 2006 01:11 AM
Coincidence? *cackle*
Posted by: Rue at July 10, 2006 01:12 AM
Coincidence... yeah that's what it was....
*cackle*
Posted by: Rue at July 10, 2006 01:13 AM
Coincidence?
Yeah... that's what it was....
*cackle*
*This is the umpteenth time I try to post after signing in and out a couple times. Your blog hates me. :(
Posted by: Rue at July 10, 2006 01:16 AM
In Re: Update
Oh my gawd.
Posted by: agent bedhead at July 10, 2006 01:16 AM
I'm sorry, now it appears that most of my attempts have shown up. This is too creepy.... even for me. Ciao Darkling!
Posted by: Rue at July 10, 2006 01:17 AM
Rue: Are you using Firefox? I have noticed that I will post a comment, the page will reload but my comment will not appear. In my case this is because the page is reloading from some sort of browser cache - presumably a handy internet timesaver - and not from the website and consequently the new comment does not appear. I then experience a moment of panic that the Flea is on the blink again, remember I have encountered this problem in the past, wonder what it was I did, think "ahh... try refreshing the page," do so and voila! the comment appears. :)
Posted by: Ghost of a flea at July 10, 2006 07:39 AM
Always remember that 90% of problems are solved by turning off a machine and turning it back on.
Machine = Firefox ;-)
Posted by: agent bedhead at July 10, 2006 09:03 AM
Flea: I don't know if Firefox has anything similar, but in Opera one can fix this problem by going into Tools: Preferences: History and setting "Check documents" to "Always".
Posted by: Varenius at July 10, 2006 01:57 PM
MMMMMMMM. Opera.
Posted by: agent bedhead at July 10, 2006 02:23 PM
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