Finally after this week, I feel I have something to thank the council for and that is putting on some of the best events I ve seen in this borough for St George s Day. I was lucky enough to get to both the big events on St George s Day, which was one at t

Finally after this week, I feel I have something to thank the council for and that is putting on some of the best events I've seen in this borough for St George's Day.

I was lucky enough to get to both the big events on St George's Day, which was one at the Abbey in Barking and one in Old Dagenham Park.

I enjoyed both and I wasn't alone, as there were children, families, old people and people my age, and every single person was having an great time celebrating England and Englishness with the help of the council, and without getting accused of being a racist.

The Dagenham Park event was particularly special for me because I was lucky enough to catch the jousting tournament, and it was really impressive.

The only thing that let the Dagenham event down for me was that the church in Dagenham Village wasn't flying the St George's Flag! Thankfully, St Margaret's Church in Barking was and flying it proudly, as a lot of other public buildings.

I feel like these celebrations have been a long time coming, but, for a first attempt, I think the council put on a fine show. The only thing I want to say to the council now is that celebrating St George's Day is really important to people in this borough and they want it to continue!

Ms Shelly Hopkins

Dagenham