I have been aware of the British saints' days from a very early age. I remember celebrating St George's Day as a Brownie Guide in the 4th Victoria Dock Brownie pack in west Silvertown.

As I grew older I can recall being a little confused about the story. I was not a hard- bitten cynic by the age of ten but I did know that dragons did not exist and struggled to find a meaningful message in the larger than life tale about the extraordinary courage of St George.

But does the story of St George tell us anything about Englishness? St George was born in modern-day Turkey in the third century, his mother was from Israel and he travelled widely working as a Roman solider, though he never set foot in this country.

He was adopted as our patron saint in the 14th century because of his fabled heroism, integrity and determination to support essential freedom of speech and belief - and these, surely, underline what are still traditional English values.

Besides England, St George is also the patron saint of Canada, China, Ethiopia, Greece, Palestine, Portugal and Russia, among others.

His place in English folklore had waned until revived in William Shakespeare's play Henry V, and the rousing and much-quoted speech to the troops with the cry "God for Harry, England and St George" - yet England doesn't get a mention in the real George's biographic details. We are given a lesson in Englishness from a man born thousands of miles away.

This continues today right here in Newham. The communities from all over the world together sum up traditional East End values - the importance of family, moral values and getting on by hard work.

London is the world's most international city, with 42 per cent of Londoners coming from other ethnic or national groups. Having lived in the East End the whole of my life I know that we always have been a mixed community that we have enjoyed among the best community relations in the world.

My grandfather was one of the many local men who fought the fascists, to keep the blight of racism from dominating London's streets and, despite some alarming headlines, this spirit continues today.

London is a truly magnificent multicultural city that embodies the values of fairness and fair play where people are judged by what they do, and is where there is an overall sense of mutual respect and tolerance.

There is more to be done, but if we all hold true to the fundamental English belief in our own right to freedom of thought, religion, politics and culture, and respect the same belief for all our neighbours, we won't go far wrong.

That is what I will be celebrating this St George's Day.