George and Jamie

The sun is shining in Yorkshire, it doesn't happen very often, so I'm going to try to keep this brief.

I'm sure no-one noticed, but I didn't update this dross yesterday because, after a morning and early afternoon of feeling increasingly dreadful, I ended up having to concede defeat and retire to my scratcher.

I haven't been in top form all week but, whatever it was/is in my system, decided to come back on Thursday night and reek havoc. However, I'm feeling much better today so it's onwards.

And yesterday was, of course, St George's Day so I hope all ye olde English gentlefolk out there took the opportunity to mark it appropriately.

Whilst I am proudly a quarter English myself - my grandfather hailed from Somerset - Jamie is obviously twice that proportion. It was therefore vital in my book that he played his full part in yesterday's planned St George's Day activities during a rare Friday visit to nursery.

I bought him a new patriotic tee shirt earlier in the week to coincide with the red and white colour theme.

And, over the course of his day, he made a St George's Cross hat, drew pictures of the great man fighting a dragon and finished off with a traditional English afternoon tea of cucumber sandwiches and scones.

Meanwhile in Bradford (prior to falling off my perch), this was the scene outside my office window.

For the second year in a row, the city hosted a terrific St George's Day parade in Centenary Square with local school children from across the district - most of whom had made their own St George's flags - the focal point of proceedings.

In the many years I've lived on this side of "the water," I've often heard it said that St George's Day should be celebrated in the same enthusiastic manner that the Irish (and pretend Irish) celebrate St Paddy, and quite right too. Thankfully, I believe that moment is now getting ever closer. Public holiday anyone?