El condado de Northamptonshire presenta su primera bandera oficial

El pasado 11 de septiembre fue presentada al público la primera bandera adoptada oficialmente por el condado inglés de Northamptonshire. El diseño fue elegido mediante votación pública entre cuatro propuestas, seleccionadas por el Flag Institute entre todas las enviadas al concurso convocado al efecto. La cruz de la bandera simboliza el carácter del condado como un cruce de caminos, mientras que los colores rojo y amarillo se basan en los del equipo de cricket del condado y el borde negro representa la famosa industria de la piel de Northamptonshire. La rosa, un elemento frecuente en la heráldica de los condados ingleses, tiene un diseño peculiar que la distingue de otras como las de los York, los Lancaster y los Tudor.

Northamptonshire unveils its first ever official county flag

More than 100 people turned up to Northampton town centre yesterday to see the unveiling of Northamptonshire’s first official county flag.

It was flown for the first time by Lord Lieutenant, Peter Laing, outside Northampton’s County Hall yesterday morning and was given a special blessing by Father David McConkey of All Saints church.

The new Northamptonshire county flag, featuring a red rose motif set on a yellow cross with a red background, was chosen out of four possible designs by a public vote.

Organiser of the two-and-a-half-year project, Johnnie Amos, president of the Commonwealth Flag Project, said the idea to create a unique flag first came about when the county’s former Lord Lieutenant, Juliet Townsend, was invited to meet the Queen during her diamond jubilee visit to Burghley House.

He said: “Lord Lieutenants are supposed to bring their flags when they meet the Queen but when Juliet phoned me to ask what our flag was, I realised that we have no official county flag. The county council has one of their own but that can only be used by them.

“So we made a public appeal online for people to come up with designs and we had ideas from people as far away as Australia who used to live in the county. One pupil from St. Peter’s Independent School in Blackthorn gave us the idea of creating a unique Northamptonshire rose.

“We then passed them all on to The Flag Institute who put them together according to correct flag etiquette and rules and they returned with the four designs.”

The cross shape on the flag is said to symbolise the county as a crossroads for the country, while the red and yellow colours are inspired by the county cricket team and the black border represents Northamptonshire’s famous leather industry.

So far, 22 of the flags have been produced and there will be one at the residence of every town mayor in the county.

It will now be the official flag to represent the county at national and international events.

Mr Amos, from Flore, said: “I have been pleasantly surprised by the welcome the new flag has been given by the people of Northamptonshire. People are proud to have their own symbol and it shows that they believe in our county.

“The whole project was funded by private donations and everyone who has given their time and efforts to support us has been absolutely fantastic.”

Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Ondeando la bandera del condado: la preservación de una identidad

Este artículo de la BBC trata sobre la reciente tendencia de los condados ingleses por adoptar sus propias banderas identificativas.


Flying the county flag: The preservation of an identity

By Bethan BellJournalist, BBC News

Symbols, patterns and colours have been used for millennia as ways to rally the troops, frighten foes, inspire loyalty, and recognise allies.

Think Native Americans using war paint to intimidate their enemies, the clan tartan of the Scots, standard bearers on the battlefield.

Does anything fulfil that unifying role today - and does anyone care?

Country flags fluttering in the breeze are a common sight, but flying the county flag has been relatively rare.

They are, though, experiencing something of a boom.

Leer más

Una bandera con la cruz de San Cuthbert gana la votación para la bandera del Condado de Durham

Dos hermanas gemelas de 19 años han sido las ganadoras del concurso para elegir la bandera del condado inglés de Durham. El diseño presenta como motivo principal la llamada "cruz de San Cuthbert", ya que la tumba de este santo, patrón del Norte de Inglaterra, se encuentra en la catedral de Durham.

Twins Katie and Holly Moffatt, 19, from Chilton used their favourite colours, blue and yellow, and St Cuthbert's cross, a county symbol, in the flag.

Their father James said he was proud that "in 100 years' time, their flag will still be flying above the county".

The county was the only one in the north of England without a flag, according to the Flag Institute.

Previously, there have only been flags representing the city of Durham and the county council.

The winning flag will be registered in the Flag Institute's UK Flag Registry.

Mr Moffatt said he had been hopeful after his daughters made the shortlist but did not think they would win in his "wildest dreams".

The competition was organised by adventurer Andy Strangeway from Yorkshire, who has already established flags for the historic East, North and West Ridings of Yorkshire.

A panel of senior county councillors chose the top six designs, which were then put to a public vote.

Out of about 3,000 votes, the winning design had 26.51% - 10% more than the runner-up, Mr Strangeway said.

BBC

La nueva bandera de Worcestershire

El condado inglés de Worcestershire ha elegido su primera bandera oficial a través de un concurso al que se presentaron unas 400 propuestas, de entre las que resultó seleccionada la realizada por Elaine Truby. La bandera consiste en un paño verde con dos franjas onduladas horizontales azules perfiladas de blanco, y en el centro figura un escudo blanco perfilado de negro con tres peras negras. Las peras son un símbolo de Worcestershire, mientras que el fondo verde y las ondas representan las colinas y los ríos del condado.

New Worcestershire flag is unveiled

By Geoff Berkeley Thursday 11 April 2013 Updated: 11/04 13:37

Read more: New Worcestershire flag is unveiled | Evesham Observer

HISTORY was made this week as Worcestershire's first ever county flag was unveiled.

Elaine Truby, from Worcester, was selected from almost 400 entries in a competition to create the flag, which asked people to come up with a design that best represented the county.

Her 12ft x 6ft flag, which consists of three black pears set against a blue and green background, is now flying proudly above Worcester Cathedral following a ceremony on Monday (March 8).

The mother-of-two said she was over the moon when BBC Hereford & Worcester, which ran the competition, contacted her to tell her the news.

"I haven't managed to wipe the smile off my face all week," Mrs Truby said.

"I am honoured and proud that I have created a little piece of history for Worcestershire. We've been up to the top of the tower to see the flag up the pole for the first time, which was so exciting."

Mrs Truby said she felt the three black pears were a symbol of Worcestershire, while the blue and green were chosen as she believed it represented the county's hills and rivers.

"When designing the flag the one thing they said was to make it big and bold," she added. "You can't put too many details in because when the flag is on top of the cathedral you won't be able to see what is on it.

"It is amazing how difficult it is to sit down and quickly design a flag which works and is right for the county.

"I hope everybody is happy with it. Although I am sure there will be some people who will disagree with it, but that is life."

Evesham Observer

Cumberland ondea su nueva bandera

La bandera del condado inglés de Cumberland ha sido formalmente registrada en el Flag Institute. El diseño se basa en el escudo del antiguo Consejo del Condado de Cumberland, concedido en 1950. Las ondas simbolizan la línea costera, las montañas, los arroyos y los lagos, mientras que el fondo verde con las flores de Parnassia representan las marismas y las fértiles llanuras. Además, la tonalidad del verde es la misma que la de la bandera de Gales, aludiendo al hecho de que el nombre del condado deriva de “Cymry-land”, tierra de los galeses.


Cumberland flies new flag

Cumberland finally joins the rest of the historic counties that comprise Cumbria with the registration of an official flag, which is soon set to be flown with pride from some of its most iconic locations.

Last year the Historic Counties Trust sought to co-ordinate a flag registration that would celebrate the county and give it the flag it deserved. After agreeing the design the flag was successfully accepted into the UK Flag Registry on 13th December 2012 with the support of: Bridekirk Parish Council, Cockermouth and District Civic Trust, Cumberland Agricultural Society, Cumberland Football Association, Cumberland Geological Society, Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian Society, Cumbria County History Trust, Federation of Cumbrian Amenity Societies, Holme Low Parish Council, Lakeland Dialect Society, Muncaster Parish Council, Penrith Civic Society, Workington and District Civic Trust and the Workington Twinning Association.

Following registration the flag has now started to become commercially available and the Association of British Counties agreed to donate Cumberland flags to a number of parties that are interested in making use of the flag. Plans are to send flags to the parish councils of the historic county but initially flags are being sent to registration supporters and other bodies that have expressed an interest in the flags including Cockermouth Castle, Cumbria Military Museum in Carlisle Castle and Wordsworth House & Garden.

Zoe Gilbert, manager of Wordsworth House and Garden, said: “We are really impressed with the dramatic design, which represents the county perfectly. This is another great way to bring heritage to life.”

Rory Stewart MP, who requested one of the first flags, said: “I think it is absolutely fantastic that the historic county of Cumberland is to have a new flag. I hope Cumbrians will take pride in learning that a Cumbrian flag was raised above Eland House in Westminster last week to celebrate ‘Cumbria Day’, and the new flag draws heavily on these traditional features. A flag is an important symbol of our culture and heritage and it would be great to see the new flag raised all across Cumberland.”

D’ye ken yon flag?

The design is the banner of arms of the former Cumberland County Council. Granted in 1950 the arms symbolise the coast line, mountains, fells and famous lakes with the blue and white wavy lines, whilst the green upper half with Grass-of-Parnassus flowers recalls the marshy up-lands and fertile plains of the county. The green of the flag is the same shade of green as the Welsh flag providing a historical link for the county’s name – first mentioned in 945 – is from “Cymry-land”; land of the Welshmen. New artwork was created for the registration, largely to ensure the county flower, the Grass-of-Parnassus, was as distinctive and iconic as the heraldic rose.

The assistant to the Chief-Vexillologist of the Flag Institute, Philip Tibbetts, lives in Penrith and liaised with the campaign to register the historic county flag. He said: “The registration of a flag helps allow any member of the public to freely fly it, expressing pride in their regional cultural identity, in-line with the flag flying regulations updated by the Department of Communities & Local Government last year. Registration of this design effectively legitimises the many people who already fly the banner of the former Cumberland County Council. It will be great to see the flag around the county and I hope local companies may also adopt it – I can just imagine it adorning Cumberland Sausages in my local butchers!”

The adoption of a county flag for Cumberland comes a year after its neighbouring county, Westmorland, had its flag registered. Modern administrative Cumbria also covers the Furness portion of Lancashire and a small part of Yorkshire around Sedburgh, both these counties already have well established registered flags. Symbolism from all four historic counties can be seen in Cumbria Council coat of arms, including the Grass-of-Parnassus of Cumberland.

Cumbria Crack

La bandera de San Jorge es un símbolo racista, según una cuarta parte de los ingleses

Según una reciente encuesta, los inglese se sienten más identificados con la bandera británica que con la inglesa (la Cruz de San Jorge), al contrario de lo que no courre con escoceses y galeses. Además, un 24% de los ingleses encuestados consideran que la bandera inglesa es racista, lo que solo ocurre en el 10% de los escoceses y el 7% de los galeses.


St George’s flag is a racist symbol says a quarter of the English

The English feel far more patriotic about the Union Flag than the St George’s Cross, according to a new poll.

The survey found that while 80 per cent linked the British flag with such feelings, only 61 per cent associated them with English one.

By contrast, the Scottish and the Welsh were far more likely to feel pride in their flag – the St Andrew’s Cross and Red Dragon respectively – than the English in theirs.

The survey was carried out by the think tank British Future as part of a report analysing how people from around the UK view their “national identity”. It will be released tomorrow, on St George’s Day.

The organisation say the results show that more needs to be done to encourage a sense of “English patriotism” if the Union is to survive.

In a letter to The Sunday Telegraph, signed by academics as well as MPs from all major parties, the think tank also calls for the introduction of a new English national anthem to help foster a greater sense of identity at sporting and national occasions.

The organisation, which has also written to the Prime Minister and other party leaders, suggests holding a popular vote to select an anthem such as Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory, I Vow to Thee, My Country, or Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, which could be adopted by the English and be used in the same way as Flower of Scotland by the Scots and Land Of My Fathers, by the Welsh.

The report, This Sceptred Isle, shows that only 61 per cent of the English said they associated the St George’s Cross with pride and patriotism, compared to 84 per cent of Scots and 86 per cent of Welsh, when asked about, respectively, the St Andrew’s Cross and the Red Dragon.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent), of the English said they considered their flag to be racist, compared to 10 per cent of Scots and seven per cent of Welsh, when asked about their own flags.

The report blames the “extreme street hooligans of the English Defence League” for “toxifying” the St George’s Cross, although it says politicians should also take responsibility for failing to “speak up for the inclusive patriotism of the English majority”.

It draws a clear parallel with the situation in Scotland and Wales, where civic leaders have done more to “counter rejectionist or exclusive versions of national identity”.

However, by contrast, the English have far more positive associations with the Union flag with 80 per cent linking it to feelings of pride and patriotism, compared with just over a half of Scots (56 per cent) and just over two thirds (68 per cent) of Welsh.

Despite the continuing pride in the Union flag, the report warns that English anxiety over its own flag risks damaging the Union.

It states: “England, the land of Shakespeare, seems uncertain how to find its modern voice. Historically an understated Englishness has been conflated with being British.

"It is ignoring England that now presents a greater threat to the Union than anything else.”

Sunder Katwala, the director of the think tank, said: “We’ve done nothing in the era of devolution to give a voice to England as well as Scotland and Wales, which has left English identity too open to an extremist fringe.

“The EDL with their street yobbery are not the only ones to blame for the unusual anxiety that too many people in England feel about their own flag of St George.

"They share the blame with the politicians who haven’t spoken up for a modern English patriotism, as well as our British identity.

“While the devolution debates in Scotland and Wales appear to have modernised the Scots and Welsh associations with their flag, attitudes to the English flag are lagging behind.”

The poll, conducted in the year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, also show varying levels of support for the monarch.

Eighty per cent of the English said the Queen evoked feelings of pride, compared with 41 per cent of Scots and 35 per cent of Welsh.

The poll was conducted for British Future by YouGov, and involved 2,600 from across the UK.

The relatively new think tank is a non-partisan organisation, with members from across the political spectrum. It is dedicated to investigating the concept of national identity and patriotism in the UK.

La Cruz de Dorset se convierte en la bandera de Dorset

La bandera del condado inglés de Dorset ha sido elegida mediante votación popular. El fondo dorado del diseño ganador hace referencia a Gold Hill y Gold Cap, dos de los lugares emblemáticos de la zona, así como al carácter jovial de la población; además, el oro y el rojo son los colores predominantes en el escudo heráldico del condado.

Dorset Cross becomes Dorset flag

Dorset's first ever official flag has been chosen after a poll attracting thousands of votes.

The Dorset Cross attracted 54% of the 3,868 votes cast in a competition organised by Dorset County Council.

Four designs were shortlisted for the county, which was the only one in the south west without a flag.

Previous attempts to choose a flag for the county lacked support, but it grew with the 2012 Olympics sailing events being held in Weymouth and Portland.

Dorset Cross campaigner Dave White, from Dorchester, said: "We're very pleased about the result - we're glad that when it went to a vote, what we believed has been proven."

Co-designer Chris Brown explained that the gold colour was taken from the Gold Hill and Gold Cap locations in the county.

He added: "The county council coat of arms is predominantly gold and red and there's lots of other gold references but the one I really like is that it represents the golden and sunny disposition of the folk in Dorset."

The four final designs were shortlisted by an independent judging panel from 29 submitted by Dorset people.

Graham Bartram, the chief vexillologist, someone who studies flags, at the Flag Institute and chairman of the judging panel, said: "Many counties are adopting their own flag to show pride in their area.

"Dorset has taken a very democratic approach in inviting people across the county to vote."

John Peake, chairman of Dorset County Council, added: "It's wonderful that so many people have voted and that we now have a symbol for the county we all love."

BBC News

Un conductor, obligado a retirar una bandera inglesa por racista

Un agente de policía ordenó a un conductor que retirara una bandera inglesa de su coche con el argumento de que podría resultar ofensiva para los inmigrantes.

Motorist told flag could be racist
By Charley Morgan
A TEENAGE motorist was told to remove an England flag from his car by a police officer because it could be offensive to immigrants.
Ben Smith, 18, was driving back home to Ingram Road in Melksham on Thursday evening after filling up with petrol, when the officer stopped him on a routine patrol.
He checked the tax disc and tyres on his Vauxhall Corsa but when he noticed the flag of St George on the parcel shelf he told Mr Smith to take it down.
Mr Smith, who works for G Plan Upholsterers on Hampton Park West, said: "He saw the flag and said it was racist towards immigrants and if I refused to take it down I would get a £30 fine.
"I laughed because I thought he was joking, but then I realised he was serious so I had to take it down straight away. I thought it was silly - it's my country and I want to show my support for my country."
Mr Smith had recently installed new speakers in the parcel shelf of his car and wanted to cover them up so they did not get stolen.
He used the flag and laid it out flat on the shelf so it was not obscuring his view out of the rear window.
But it was only there a couple of days before he was stopped by the officer at about 9.30pm close to Melksham Enterprise Park and made to take it down.
He said he is used to getting stopped by the police because he is a young male driver and is often mistaken for a boy racer'.
But he thought it was "a bit strange" to be asked to take down the England flag when the officer found nothing else wrong with his car.
PC Dave Cooper, of Chippenham Road Policing Unit, said he had never come across an officer asking someone to remove an England flag from their car because it could be racist.
He added: "It all depends on the context of a stop. If they are going past a lot of Polish people, for instance, and abusing them, then we possibly would ask them to take the flag down."
He said there would be no police log of Mr Smith having been stopped with details of what was said to him, as there was nothing wrong with his car.
He added the officer could have been based anywhere around the county and just made an independent stop.

This is Wiltshire

La bandera de San Jorge ondea por vez primera en Downing Street

Londres. (EFE).- Los ingleses celebran con abundantes tragos de cerveza el día de San Jorge, mientras que la bandera del santo patrón -una cruz roja sobre fondo blanco- ondeará por primera vez, junto a la británica, en el número 10 de Downing Street.
Un nuevo decreto establece que las banderas de las naciones que constituyen el Reino Unido -Inglaterra, Escocia, Gales e Irlanda del Norte- ondeen en la fachada de la residencia del primer ministro británico con ocasión de sus respectivos días nacionales.
En el caso de Irlanda del Norte, las comunidades católica y protestante están, sin embargo, tan divididas que no se han puesto aún de acuerdo en una bandera común.
El primer ministro, Gordon Brown, él mismo de origen escocés, ha recomendado que se ice además la bandera de San Jorge junto a la británica en todos los edificios públicos que tengan dos mástiles.
Si sólo hay un asta, sólo podrá utilizarse la bandera de la Unión, que tiene preferencia sobre el resto, y en cualquier caso la Union Jack tendrá que ocupar siempre el mástil superior.
Esa profusión de banderas británicas e inglesa s contrasta con la ausencia, siempre sorprendente a ojos de un europeo continental, de las estrellas de la Unión Europea, que parecen anatema en este país hasta el punto de que sólo se las ve ondear en las embajadas extranjeras.
[...]
La bandera de San Jorge había estado asociada hasta hace poco con el ultraderechista British National Party, pero cada vez más ciudadanos de todas las ideologías tratan de reivindicarla.
[...]

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