As the English take a moment to celebrate (or completely ignore) their national day, here's 11 quotes from rather famous people to inspire a nation.
1. "There is a forgotten, nay almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is England."
Winston Churchill
2. "The English are not very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity."
George Bernard Shaw
3."England with all thy faults, I love thee still-- My country! and, while yet a nook is left Where English minds and manners may be found, Shall be constrained to love thee."
William Cowper
4."The English nation is never so great as in adversity."
Benjamin Disraeli
5."England has always been disinclined to accept human nature."
E. M. Forster
6."England is a nation of shopkeepers."
Napoleon Bonaparte
7."Ping-pong was invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th century, and it was called Wiff-waff! And there, I think, you have the difference between us and the rest of the world. Other nations, the French, looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner; we looked at it an saw an opportunity to play Wiff-waff."
Boris Johnson
8."In left-wing circles it is always felt that there is something slightly disgraceful in being an Englishman, and that it is a duty to snigger at every English institution, from horse racing to suet puddings. It is a strange fact, but it is unquestionably true, that almost any English intellectual would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during "God Save the King" than stealing from a poor box."
George Orwell
9."This island is made mainly of coal and surrounded by fish. Only an organizing genius could produce a shortage of coal and fish at the same time."
Aneurin Bevan
10. "I think the best place to work in football is England."
Jose Mourinho
11. "England is a profoundly bizarre place that has produced thousands of bands the world has worshipped."
Gene Simmons