Back in 2012, the London Olympics had a funny effect on some of us. Some of us who wouldn’t normally get over-excited about British performances in international sporting events (and not just because of the perennial disappointment of the England football team), and who had a deep unease about overt displays of patriotism.
We found ourselves unexpectedly moved, firstly by the extraordinary opening ceremony, which seemed to sum up everything that is actually rather wonderful about this country, and then by the sporting successes that followed. And this prompted some fascinating discussions – about national identity, about patriotism and the left.
It’s hard to think back to then. But the blog I set up to host those discussions had some great contributions from fellow bloggers, and the issues, of course, are still piercingly relevant. You can read them here.
Passing Time 