TOMORROW'S the day we celebrate England's patron Saint George - but how will you be spending your day?

A poll this week revealed half of us want St George's Day to be a bank holiday, and 70 per cent feel April 23 ought to be celebrated better.

But rather than hitting the pubs for a good old knees-up as most of us do to mark Ireland's St Patrick's Day, it appears most of us let it slip by.

The Mitre Oak pub in Hartlebury, near Stourport-on-Severn, hopes villagers in the area will buck the trend and spend their day at its summer fete tomorrow to celebrate St George's Day, with proceeds going to Cutnall Green First School to fund new computers.

"I think we are proud to be British but English people are a bit, for want of a better word, lazy," said Chris Bennion, the pub's assistant anager.

"I think there should be more done to encourage us to celebrate and promote wonderful British food and drink and also put more emphasis in the local community.

"Also, St Patrick's Day has a particular beer that it celebrates it with - Guinness - but we don't have one drink that really represents England or St George's Day."

And our lack of enthusiasm to get into the party spirit means pubs are losing out on a whopping £14m in lost revenue by not promoting the day, according to a new report.

Now brewer Charles Wells and The Publican newspaper has teamed up to launch it's nation-wide campaign - The Value Of St George's Day - in a bid to raise industry awareness of the economic benefits of supporting the event.

The Campaign for Real Ale has officially backed it, with a Worcestershire spokesman saying: "There is no logical reason why it should not be celebrated in the same spirited way as St Patrick's Day.

"It is a great opportunity to bring the community together for a day of national celebration, and there's no better place for that celebration to take place than in our pubs.

"St George's Day is the ideal opportunity for a celebration of Englishness, and one to which licensees would rally enthusiastically."

However, the day is not just about downing alcohol, and has a particular significance to the Scout movement, with St George being its patron saint.

Worcester District Scout Council will be out in force again this year during a special parade and service at Worcester Cathedral on Sunday to mark the day.

"It's our chance to show that Scouting does still exist and we are proud to be wearing our uniforms, showing the country that we are proud to represent Britain," said Hazel Tyrrell, group leader of 16th Worcester Scout Group, which includes the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

"I think St George's Day can pass us by because the English are a little hesitant to show off.

"I think there ought to be more going on in the community, such as street parties.

"The Government has to try and encourage us to be more proud of what we are.

"I think we have an amazing strength of determination to conquer the odds, especially at the moment with MG Rover collapsing and the impact it's having.

"Like during the war, we will survive. We are good people in Britain and can all achieve if we believe in ourselves. The opportunities are there for us."

But some people seem hell bent on making us not enjoy ourselves on April 23.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has refused to dip his hand in his pocket for St George's Day for the past two years, but handed out £100,000 to encourage the capital to celebrate the Irish saint's day.

And a Liberal Democrat council in Greater Manchester has banned its staff from wearing red roses on St George's Day - because it is the symbol of the Labour Party.

Also, Liverpool shopkeeper Phil Moffat has vowed to defy council officers who ordered him to remove St George's flags from outside his premises or face a £1,000 fine.

But television critic Gary Bushell has one message for those planning to ignore the day: "If you're English, turn off the TV on April 23 and get down the pub, preferably in a fine longshanks shirt."