Last night

I managed to catch the end of Last Night of the Proms this evening. It's one of the events that I think people either watch annually, or don't bother with it at all. I do enjoy it though, especially towards the end when they play the favourites: Sea Shanties, Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory, and Jerusalem.

They do of course also play God Save the Queen, but as a programme currently on BBC 4 testifies, many people think this this should be replaces as the national anthem by Jerusalem. I think this is pretty good choice.

I've always liked Billy Connelly's satirical suggestion of using the theme to the Archers as the national anthem. It's certainly upbeat.

Jerusalem though does have some cracking lyrics. It is religious in nature (as is the God Save the Queen of course), which some might bawk at in today's rather secular society. However as a reflection of the very traditional values associated with England, it is perhaps unsurpassed.

It's a tune I associate very much with the Conservative Party, and I wonder, since they're trying to get back on their feet, whether they should run on a manifesto on changing the national anthem to Jerusalem. Not very Conservative, possibly divisive, but what a statement to make - especially if they did it in time for the 2012 Olympics, when hopefully plenty of Gold medal winning British atheletes would have a decent tune to sing along proudly to!