THIS Monday is St George's Day, and a range of activities will be taking place in the Okehampton area to celebrate England's patron saint. St George is best known now as a medieval knight in shining armour, a killer of dragons, and a rescuer of damsels — though when he first became England's patron saint 800 years ago it was as a Christian martyr, hence his symbol of the red cross. West Devon's celebrations this year are just part of a recent revival of interest in St George. Prof Nick Groom, who lives in South Zeal, is the author of a history of the Union Jack, which is published in paperback this week. He said: 'There's recently been a revival of St Georgism. The first St George's Day greetings cards were mass-produced in 1995 and currently sell about 50,000 every April. 'The Sun newspaper recently launched a campaign to revive the celebration of St George's Day, and there is an on-line petition calling for April 23 to be a public holiday. Even the Christian name "George" is now almost five times as popular as it was a decade ago.' Prof Groom puts this revival down to a 'need for the English to recover their history and culture in the face of increasing Scottish and Welsh independence'. 'We need more than just footballers to pin our national identity to,' he said He will be playing St George in South Zeal on Monday when the village stages its annual Pace-Egging Play, in which the saint fights 'Bold Slasher' and 'the dark prince of Paradine'. Such Mumming plays can be traced back to the early 18th century, and may have more ancient roots in fertility rituals —though South Zeal prides itself on reinventing its play every year with new ad-libs. The play will be performed twice — once outside the King's Arms at 6.30pm, and outside the Oxenham Arms at 7.30pm. The Oxenham Arms performance will be followed by a display of dancing by the 'King's Brawlers' — the village's own medieval dance side, and by traditional singing. In Okehampton, St George will be celebrated on Sunday April 22 with a lunch aboard a train on the Dartmoor Railway. It leaves Okehampton Station at 12.30pm, with stewards on board to serve a traditional English lunch of smoked trout, cold Devonshire beef with all the trimmings, sherry trifle, and Devonshire cheese and biscuits. Devon Air Ambulance and Cancer Research will benefit from the event. Tickets at £25 for adults and £16 for children must be booked in advance by calling 01837 55667. There will be further celebrations in Okehampton on the Monday morning with a breakfast at the Plume of Feathers. Starting at 8.30am, it will include cereals, toast and marmalade, a full fried breakfast, fruit juices and tea or coffee. It will cost £6 a head, including £1 to Cancer Research. North Tawton will be celebrating St George's Day on Sunday by hosting the mid-Devon scouts for their St George's Day Parade. They will parade to North Tawton Church for a service at 2pm, followed by tea and biscuits at North Tawton School. There will then be a walk, which will return to the school for a barbecue at 4.30pm. And there will be St George-themed activities on offer for the whole family at Castle Drogo on Sunday. People can discover all about dragons from the castle's resident storyteller 'Captain of the West', hear about the history of armour from Drogo's own knight, or have their face painted as a princess, dragon or knight. Events take place between 11am and 5pm, with a small charge for some activities — phone 01647 433306 for timings.