Centuries ago St George was celebrated on 23rd April almost as much as Christmas Day; but after union with Scotland I guess it was deemed to be "politically not correct"! The habit began to die.
But we have to ask why St George is the patron saint of England - he wasn't English! He never visited England.
He was born in what is now Palestine in about 280AD - or maybe Turkey.
Knowledge of his birth his hazy. His mother was Palestinian and George was a soldier there.
He came from a wealthy family and on adulthood became a successful soldier. The emperor Diocletian decided that all Christian soldiers should be arrested and forced to renounce their faith. George refused and was brutally killed.
There are, however, less noble tales of his life. Nobody is completely sure of the truth.
The legend of St George and the Dragon has long been a favourite story.
St George is not just the patron saint of England - at least a dozen other countries have him as their patron and a number of cities, too, throughout the world.
Other countries pay more attention to St George's Day traditions than we do here.
My small contribution to a St George's Day celebration is to share with you photographs of things in our antiques centre depicting the same colours as the flag of St. George.
I am Paula - you will find my section at the back of the shop.
These vases and bowl are mine. The bowl is Sylvac.
I love both coloured glass and things which date from the 1950s and 60s.
This selection shows both.
The teapot is by Midwinter.
Red and white kitchen items from Jo and Terry.
Bill's Triang crane - which dates from the early 1950s.
My brothers had one of them - so lots of memories for me. Nostalgia is a force behind many purchases.
And many of us will have memories of Staffordshire dogs in our grandparents' homes. The dog is being sold by Jonathan. Jill has the red paperweight and little cream jug on her shelves.
And many of us will have memories of Staffordshire dogs in our grandparents' homes. The dog is being sold by Jonathan. Jill has the red paperweight and little cream jug on her shelves.
More from Jonathan.
One of Julie's fine hand made cushions. She also has a red darning mushroom - one that unscrews to provide a space for storing your darning needles.
The buttons are from a basket collected together by Terry.
Monika's Whitefriars glass vase.
Red glass from Gill's cabinet and a white vase being sold by Jean.
A Lladro angel and a collection of 1960's Poole pottery from Jo.
Necklaces and a brooch from Sue's cabinets.
Stephen has a variety of old telephones - some from the very early days and others from the 1950s and 1960s.
If you wish to see an enlargement of any photograph, then please click on the picture and then use the back arrow on your computer to return to the home page.
Next week I will probably share with you the second part of my walk in Dorking - without going far from the shop.
I want to be busy in the shop next time I am in, re-arranging things to enlarge my kitchenalia section.
Come and look!
A browse round our antiques centre is a pleasure - indeed a browse round any antiques shop is a pleasure isn't it!
How much is Monica's red white friars vase?
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