Letter: Proms pomp

Stephen McGinty’s Perspective piece (Perspective, 10 September) is remarkable for what he does not remark on.

From Land of Hope and Glory he ignores the well-known first verse, which clearly defines the whole, and quotes instead from a little-known verse which singers will have to read from a script.

The main verse starts off with a bit of bombast forgivable in a national song/anthem, and then poses the defining question “How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?”

This is a serious and legitimate question; it is the answer, so familiar that no-one thinks what it says about the English psyche, that is remarkable.

“Wider still and wider, shall thy bounds be set. God, Who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet.” And repeat for good measure.

This is the very definition of imperialism, and the fact that English people do not think it remarkable is the most remarkable feature of the situation.

JOHN SMART

Kinneddar Street

Lossiemouth, Moray