So what is England?

To celebrate St George’s Day and Shakespeare’s birthday, The Spectator asked some leading public figures for their answers to this vexing question. Here are their sometimes uplifting, sometimes nostalgic replies

Joan Collins
It’s the politeness that I miss — the civility that was at one time the Englishman’s (and woman’s) global trademark. I took it for granted as a child that men tipped their hats, stepped aside and held open doors for ladies. English people shook hands when they met (gently, not with the enthusiastic bone-crushing squeeze of today) and certainly never hugged or kissed on the cheeks someone they had just met. Englishness was always being considerate and courteous to other people, even if they’re ghastly, never airing one’s dirty linen in public (à la those tell-all shows where people moan and weep and tell the audience their most private thoughts and actions) and never, ever expecting to have any other rights than that of getting on and making your own fortune in the world by dint of your hard work, ingenuity and perseverance. Most of all, Englishness was an indomitable spirit that got us all through the war and the resolute and firm belief that England was the greatest country in the world evidenced by its heritage, culture and courage. Englishness was pride in our Union flag, and our monarchy, which was once the envy of the world. That’s what Englishness was, and is sadly no more.

David Hockney
That’s a very odd question! I always thought that Spectator journalists knew more about Tuscany than about provincial England.

Andrew Neil
England, for me, is London, my home for all my working life, bar periodic stints in America. The rest of England is for flying over, north to the land of my birth, west to New York, my second favourite city, south to the Côte D’Azur, my preference for a home in the country.