Letter: Let's change saints

Sir: As we approach the feast day of St George, 23 April, it strikes me that very few people celebrate the day. This could be due to the fact that we don't know for sure if St George existed, and, if he did, rumour has it that he was a Roman soldier, and what, after all, has a rumoured Roman soldier got to do with us?

Personally, I feel much more drawn to St Cuthbert, who is venerated in the North-east of England, where he lived. It says a great deal about both the saint and the Venerable Bede that the book he wrote about St Cuthbert has remained in print since the Middle Ages (it is currently published by Penguin).

The most impressive thing about St Cuthbert, for me at any rate, is the love and veneration people had, and have, for him. That is why I feel we should have St Cuthbert for our patron saint instead of St George. A real man, a holy man, a beloved and respected man.

Yours faithfully,

JACQUELINE DOYLE

Harrow, Middlesex

18 April