SIR - Can we hear it for St George?

I decided to test the unhealthy, unsafe aspect of St George's Day in view of the public discomfort arising from the cancellation of the parade.

I arrived in Centenary Square at 3.30pm with my unmissable flag - it's a magnificent symbol - and waved it! What a positive, friendly reception I received!

"Wave it again," said the people at the tables. "Hurray for St George" said the schoolgirls.

"Can I have my photo taken with it?" asked the young man with his half-pint glass. "Can I have it?" asked the Asian youth - he did! On Market Street, shouts of "England, England", lots of smiles and nods of approval from across the colours and ages - we were having a happy time.

What was it that connected me, an octogenarian layabout, to this mixed multitude?

It was, perhaps, a desire to be a more united company - and that waving flag was the catalyst. What's more it's English - hurray for us, all of us.

Eleanor Higgins (T&A, April 24) said it for most of us: "Come on let's celebrate and cheer the old place up."

Walter Metcalfe, Central Avenue, Shipley