I'm a Scot who has lived in England for more than 20 years. Yes, I'm a SoH fan. And I don't find anything offensive or intimidating in SK's lyrics. He just happens to capture the voices and feelings of otherwise disenfranchised people in the countryside and on the coast in the west country. Roots is highly polemical and while it's the most immediately catchy, accessible and overtly commercial track on Witness after the Falmouth Packet, a lot of the other tracks contain far better lyrics - he is one of the more mature and thoughtful songwriters around right now.

That's the SoH piece in my context.

Now the flag. Phewww. I'd always seen the English stereotype as lacking in passion, middle of the road, C of E etc - not here. If you could harness the emotions expressed here positively you'd rebuild your cultural identity in no time. But you do need to rebuild it. It's a mongrel, borrowing promiscuously to the point where its real identity has all but disappeared. And that's where SK is right. But during the recent world cup did I feel intimidated by beer-swilling louts waving the flag and daring anyone not to conform? You bet I did. You have a long, long way to go to get the St George's flag back from the simplistic xenophobia that marks out the territory of most of those who wave it. National identity isn't about symbols - they are dangerous and get hi-jacked and manipulated.

And to those who say up above that they're not racist but they'd cheerfully send the Scottish and Welsh politicians back, just remember that Scotland and Wales eliminated the Tories completely from their electoral maps in the 80s but still had to put up with 18 years of those mad English Tory bastards.

Yours cordially

Robert Louis