Star comment: Reluctant to wave our flags
To find what it means to be English, we went on to the streets of Bridgnorth and discovered that many people we asked were not aware that today is St George's Day.
The conclusion that could be drawn is that the essence of being English is not thinking about it, having no universally embraced English culture, and being ignorant or uncaring about when St George's Day falls.
The apathy goes right to the top – otherwise, why is St George's Day not a national holiday in England? As it happens, St George, the patron saint of England, was not English.
When it comes to nationalism, the English have a sort of untroubled serenity which comes from a people with traditions and achievements so great that they have nothing to prove, so do not go out of their way to try.
Looking at things from a global perspective, what did the English do for us?
Start with sport. Football, rugby, cricket, tennis... the English gave them all to the world and have had the good manners not to cause embarrassment by becoming a dominant force in any of them. It was an Englishman, Much Wenlock's William Penny Brookes, who founded the Wenlock Olympics, and helped inspire the modern Olympics movement.
While not necessarily applauded, the cuisine of England is renowned, being largely simple and unpretentious. Roast beef, fish and chips, bacon and egg – all delicious without being pompous or complicated. You can even get decent wine from these shores to go with it.
Parliamentary democracy, a constitutional monarchy, an independent judicial system, are other plus points.
Much to celebrate then. But look around, and you will not see people celebrating. You may well not see a single flag of St George flying.
One of the things we found in our straw poll is that many people think more should be made of the occasion.
And therein lies the paradox. Would overt celebrations to mark St George's Day be un-English?
English respect the cultures of others but are suspicious of those who thump their chests and grip their national flag too tightly. They view with bemusement the hand-on-heart patriotic traditions of America.
If St George's Day became a jamboree, with extravagant commercialism, parades, and flag-waving, it would be all rather ... well, American.
