Nicholas Craig column

Apr 21 2006 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

I am the holder of an ancient office. As the Under Sheriff of Northumberland, I am part of the oldest secular office after the Crown.

The shrievalty is synonymous with idiosyncratic rights and responsibilities.

Dating back at least 1,000 years, the first sheriffs or `Shire reeves' could be said to have begun the leaseholding system in Britain. In times gone by we also read the Riot Act and raised the `hue and cry' - officially known as the posse comitatus - or power of the county.

My time as under sheriff has been notable to date for its absence of such drama. I am not now even able to enforce judgments such as collecting debts. Holding the office for the fourteenth time as Under Sheriff of the County has, however, strengthened my belief in the power of tradition and customs to underpin national identity.

Without unnecessary chauvinism, the English should be proud of their history, culture and civic traditions. A sense of national identity can be a positive, progressive power that helps us share our own patriotism with those of other nations.

As a country we are remarkably modest about our past. The nearest we have to a national costume is a beefeater's uniform; and in the UK we celebrate our Saints' Days in lukewarm fashion rather than with high festival and holidays.

Yet when we choose to marshal our abilities to organise national celebrations we outclass most countries of the world. The Queen's 80th birthday events will no doubt bring meticulously regimented, spectacularly choreographed occasions to the streets of London.

I wonder how we will stamp our identity on the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. Barcelona had massed flamenco dancers, while Athens sported running Greek statues and goddesses holding snakes. Will we see thousands of Morris dancers, handkerchiefs fluttering, bells ringing and clogs clattering along the racetracks to represent England?

As an alternative, a procession of all 39 High Sheriffs and 61 under-sheriffs of England, be-robed and resplendent, could herald in the next thousand years of their traditional office with appropriate, stately aplomb. I would happily volunteer to hold the flag. It could beckon in a new era for the shrievalty.

Just think of the merchandising opportunities!

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton law firm