Anyone involved in retail will tell you that trying to buy anything made in the UK is near impossible.
We sell sewn flags which are made in the UK, in England in fact but probably 90% of consumer goods including our printed flags are made in China.
Perhaps the Americans have got it right? I think so
http://www.wctrib.com/articles/index.cfm?id=28959§ion=homepage
From the BBC online
An Angus councillor has made a festive plea to his colleagues to dump plans to fly a new flag outside council buildings.
Sandy West has sent all 15 members of the ruling administration a Christmas gift of a book on the history of Scotland’s flags.
Earlier this year the council debated replacing the saltire with a county coat of arms.
It was later agreed that new flag poles would be built so both could be flown.
The decision has so angered Cllr West, the SNP member for Montrose, that he bought the books for the councillors making up the Angus Alliance.
He told BBC Scotland: “I wrote in them ‘Happy Christmas’ and I have no problem in wishing the Angus Alliance a happy and merry Christmas in the season of good will to all men.
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 I’m sure if they had any gumption that they would quietly drop it and go away and forget about it  Cllr Sandy West
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“But what I also put in was ‘a happy and enlightened new year, hoping that by the time they’ve read through this book, which I hope they do, they’ll maybe be that wee bit more enlightened in respect of the saltire, which some of them disgracefully refer to as ‘that cross’.”
Plans to replace the saltire caused anger among many locals in Angus and elsewhere.
More than 2,000 people have signed an online petition against the idea.
Cllr West said: “I’m sure if they [the Angus Alliance] had any gumption that they would quietly drop it and go away and forget about it.
“Take a wee thought to yourselves, realise that one of the laws of politics is when you’re in a hole stop digging.
“I appeal to these people, you got it wrong, you did not realise the strong feeling that people have for the saltire, the Scottish flag.”
However, council leader Bob Myles has defended the new flag.
He said: “The coat of arms represented on the flag has been proudly used for decades by Angus Council and its predecessor authorities, to promote the county at home and overseas.
“The new flag is a symbol of the pride we have in Angus and flying it on our main buildings alongside the saltire will promote the county’s unique identity as well as its place in Scotland.”
British national identity is under debate again. To sign or not the EU treaty? Should Scotland declare independence? Should we make the Union flag even more hideous by incorporating the Welsh dragon? And could we do better than the crude triumphalist nationalism of the national anthem?
Bang on time arrives an interesting little research paper in the prestigious US journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The research group, headed by a psychologist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has explored the effect of subliminal exposure to the Israeli national flag on Israeli students’ attitudes. Exposure to the Israeli flag made the students - even the less nationalistic ones - more likely to oppose Israeli withdrawal from the illegal settlements in Gaza, increased their support for the equally illegal settlers on the West Bank, and more likely to vote for rightwing nationalist parties.
Exposure weakened the resolve of less nationalist students and strengthened that of the more rightwing, nationalist students. If this is true for even brief subliminal exposure, what does it say about the effect of the flag-waving culture that pervades Israel today - or indeed many other nations? Of course, one might argue that it takes psychologists a large research grant to prove what everyone, especially nationalists, might have suspected anyhow. But it does suggest that peace and justice in the Middle East, might be served best by banning flying flags - openly or subliminally (and maybe there’s a lesson for English football fans too?) …
From The Worthing Herald
A second flagpole has been installed at the Town Hall so that Crawley Council can fly the Union flag every day.
The new flagpole, which at 10 metres high, is slightly taller than the existing flagpole, will be used for the Union flag, while the other flags will take their turn on the original flagpole.
Councillor Richard Burrett, executive member for continuous improvement and development, said he was delighted that the town could now fly the union flag every day. “We’re very proud to fly all our flags and I know many local people will be pleased. Many people have told me they want to see the Union flag flying outside the Town Hall more often.”
According to Gib Focus
The Voice of Gibraltar pressure group has called on the a local bank not to force its staff to wear a Spanish flag on their badges after reports that local bank employees claim this has been amongst one of the request made on them.
In a statement yesterday a VOGG spokesperson said, “As many people have remarked the Voice of Gibraltar Group (VOGG) has been notably quiet recently.
“The group is focused on protesting against anything that is against the interests and aspirations of Gibraltarians and not involving itself in local party political wrangles.
“Since the threat of joint sovereignty has receded and the Governor sympathetic to that cause departed, as advised by the VOGG, there have been fewer reasons to take to the streets.
“HOWEVER we note the reports that a bank here wishes its staff to wear a Spanish flag on their badges, and idea they do not like. We support their view and suggest the management reconsider this, failing which we will again take to the streets and protest outside their buildings as appropriate.
“We also question who makes policy for that organisation, whether its London or Madrid and if the latter whether that is in the public interest.”
According to the Daily Telegraph they invited an online japanese community to redesign the flag along the lines of the approach from Welsh MP Ian Lucas (see blog entry 27th November).
The Welsh Dragon is pretty much unknown in Japan but the Union Flag is. This has brought forth some interesting ideas.
Firstly this one:
The little manga figure is cute but could she be accurately sewn we ask?
Now i know Napoleon described us as a nation of shop keepers but a cat in a trolley??
This is my favourite, the head of Buster Bloodvessel a.k.a. Doug trendle lead singer of 80’s band Bad Manners
What a shame it isnt in colour.
Anyone who watched Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares last night would have seen two of our flags, one Italian and one Welsh dragon as the celebrity chef drove through the streets of Lampeter on a tractor drumming up business for the restaurant.
We are not letting this go to our heads but autographed flags can be made available.
http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/ramsays-kitchen-nightmares/
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