Celebrating a Proud Heritage
Andrew Rosindell M.P., Member of Parliament for Romford
Last Sunday, a magnificent afternoon was enjoyed by all, as the fine English tradition of “Horseman’s Sunday” took place in the historic Essex village of Havering-atte-Bower, Romford, with horses from all the local riding stables parading on the Village Green in front of the Church of St. John The Evangelist, as local people sang “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and “The Ode to the Horse” poem was read out. This was followed by the presentation of rosettes to the beautiful horses by me, as the local M.P. My thanks to the Havering-atte-Bower Conservation Society (HABCOS) for upholding this splendid English custom. At least here in Romford, we still celebrate our proud English traditions and defend the culture of the country we are in. The recent campaign to “raise the colours”, with local people flying Cross of St. George and Union Jack flags across our town, was a sure sign that local people in Romford reject the political correctness and woke craziness of the Mayor of London and the Labour government. After I wrote to Havering Council, they agreed not to remove the flags from lamp posts and rightly so! Patriotism and love of country is a good thing and those who reject it are the ones causing division, not the majority of us, who love to see our national flags displayed. We are British and should all celebrate our national traditions with pride. I reject the divisiveness of those who seem to hate patriotism and talk only about “diversity, inclusion and equality”, instead of everyone being treated the same, under the law of the land. I spoke about this in the House of Commons recently, where I called for the repeal of Labour’s disastrous Equality Act. We must be one nation under one flag! Next week, we celebrate Essex Day, on 26th October, a special day to acknowledge Havering’s Essex identity and heritage, which will include the raising of the Essex flag in front of Havering Town Hall to remind everyone that despite what Sir Sadiq Khan may think, we in Havering and especially in Romford, remain proudly a part of the great historic county of Essex. We live in difficult and troubled times and Britain faces many challenges, but when things get tough as they are today, we must hold on tight to our identity, just as our forebears did in times gone by and cherish our family, our community and our nation!
