Millions of Englishmen and women will be celebrating St George’s Day in a way that would surely make England’s patron saint proud – by going to the pub. And in news that will bring joy to the nation, free pints being offered to punters.
Proper Pubs, an award-winning community operator and division of Admiral Taverns, announced that it would be offering a free pint in all of its pubs in England. The operator has more than 200 pubs overall across England, Scotland and Wales.
In order to take advantage of the free offer, punters will need to log onto the WiFi in one of the group’s pubs in England and they could find a voucher for a free pint of John Smiths. Proper Pubs announced there would be 2,000 free pints that would be handed our at participating pubs today.
Proper Pubs managing director Mark Brooke told The Mirror: “St George’s Day is a brilliant opportunity to bring people together and celebrate all that’s great communities across England.”
He added: “Our pubs sit at the heart of these communities and it’s moments like this that show how important they are, acting as welcoming social hubs that bring local communities to life.
“We’re delighted to mark the occasion in true Proper Pubs style, offering customers the chance to enjoy a free pint of John Smiths and we look forward to welcoming everyone in to celebrate with us.”
The move is part of England’s celebration of its patron saint. St George’s Day celebrates the legend of the early Christian martyr who, according to church tradition, was a soldier in the Roman army and was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his faith.
Legends also tell of how he killed a dragon that was extorting tribute from villagers.
While St George’s Day will be celebrated today by millions of people in England, the Church of England has put back its own celebrations to Monday, April 28 in a break from tradition.
There have previously been calls for St George’s Day to be made into a bank holiday, a cause championed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
And Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer voiced his concerns about the far-right claiming ownership of the St George’s flag during a reception at Downing Street to mark England’s patron Saint.
On Tuesday, Sir Keir praised England and its diversity. He added: “While this is a day for celebration, we cannot be under any illusions that there is a never-ending fight for our flag and what it represents.
“I’ll put it this way, when I was standing in the old Wembley in 1996 – not many people sat down that day, it felt like that whole tournament embodied the best of our country.
Yet now – there are people trying to sow division in our communities, people taking the red and white of our flag, like the bunting downstairs, with them, as they throw bricks at businesses.”
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