Icons of England
Updated: 2006-06-06 10:54  The issue of English identity and what constitutes Englishness is being
explored in an online project, Icons of England. Launched in January and
sponsored by the Government, the Icons website lets people nominate and
vote on what icons they think should be included. Final say goes to the advisory
board, whose job it is to sift through suggestions and decided what is truly
worthy.
The aim is to create a massive digital patchwork quilt of images which will
form a cultural jigsaw of Englishness. So far, 33 icons have been accepted
including the FA Cup, the mini skirt, a cup of tea, Alice in Wonderland, The
Blackpool Tower, the pub and the routemaster bus. No surprises there then, but
some more interesting ones are emerging like Brick Lane, the Sutton Hoo Helmet
(discovered at the Sutton Hoo site in Suffolk, a 7th century helmet which is one
of only four in the world) and, announced on May 31st, the foxhunting ban.
"We can't ignore the fact that teacloths, place mats and paintings the world
over depict hunting pinks and that they are identified with this country in a
particular kind of way, " says Icons' managing director, Jerry Doyle. "But it is
a hugely emotive issue and we want to be fair and to cover both sides of the
debate." Consequently, the portrait of England will now include images that
reflect both hunting, protests against it and the subsequent ban. A vast
majority of the votes cast on the website were in favour of foxhunting - 24,395
compared with 11,907 against.
Some celebs have also thrown their personal icons into the project: for Mary
Quant it's cottage pie and cardigans, for Clare Rayner it's fish and chips and
cockney sparrows and for Ken Livingstone it's The People of
England.
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