#35

There's been a bit of talk about the Union Flag lately (or the maritime version: the good old Union Jack). People have commented that it should have the Welsh Dragon on the flag to represent Wales. I agree that something for Wales should be added. I spend probably more time than anyone thinking about what a new Union flag should/could look like, and I can tell you it is one of the most difficult ponderings you could set yourself. It's easy to see what is wrong with it now: it is too English-centric -- the cross of Saint George is too dominant and crosses over all the other countries' flags. The ideal situation is that each country is represented in equal measure and one does not upstage the other.... and that is one hell of a task. You certainly would not be able to please everybody, but would hopefully be able to please most of the people of each country. So what are the problems? For starters there are so many ways the dominance of one county's graphic can be interpreted -- the surface area it covers, the positioning (for example if it is in the centre or at a corner), the vibrancy of the colours, how it over-laps other graphics or is over-lapped by others, and... if say Wales was represented by a dragon but the other countries by crosses, then how do you compare the dominance of pictorial images, like a dragon, with geometric images, like crosses? I've had a few attempts at designing one (and writing this is making me want to have another go now)... I have found it's easier to make it fair for all if you put graphics side by side (rather than over lapping) but you tend to end-up with something very finicky, cluttered and detailed. The current Union Flag, although too dominated by the cross of Saint George is, a very clever design aesthetically speaking -- very bold and eye catching, we really want something equally as striking, and not a fiddly mish-mash. Also how far do you go in recognition of countries? Should you include Cornwall as well? I'd say yes -- personally that's where I'd draw the line. The current flag, or so I understand, does not include Wales or Cornwall because they were already lumped-in with England at the time of the final union... so I think we should go back before that, but how far should we go back in time? Some mad folk would even have the Kingdom of Mercia on the flag -- I think that would be just plain silly, however I can't think of an objective reason for it to be rejected... but, well, as I say, the new flag would not be able to please every body, so all we can do is try, and I think we definitely should. If I ever come-up with anything that even satisfies me, let-a-lone the whole of the UK, I'll post it up, I hope others out there are trying too. Being a cultural ignoramus of the English variety does make it somewhat tricky for me to put myself in the position of what the other countries like Scotland would want... but the more I learn and the more I think about it the closer I may get to solving the puzzle (to my own semi-satisfaction at least).