FLAGS

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I have spent the latter years of my life on permanent alert for incorrectly flown flags - well, for two in particular: the union jack and the EU flag.

Why these two? Well you can blame Ian Paisley for the first. Ultra-Loyalist that he was, he glorified in catching out the British flying their own flag upside down. You didn't know you could do that, did you? Well, you can. It's subtle but screams at you once you know about it.

The EU Commission is to blame for the second. When I was dealing with one aspect of EU funding in Ireland, the Commission was going mad on signage. Local politicians were claiming full credit for projects part-funded by the EU. The result - people asking themselves "what has the EU ever done for me?". So the Commission insisted on appropriate signage to establish the EU profile. And flying the EU flag the correct way up was a part of this.

But today I'm starting with our own tricolour. No it's not upside down (!!!) in the above picture, but when I first saw it I thought it was an Italian flag a little the worse for the wear. You see lots of Italian flags in Brugge but rarely an Irish one, and some of the Italian flags are leaning a bit more towards the orange than the red.

But, on closer inspection this tricolour looks like one of our own despite its being flown outside a Chinese restaurant. I noticed the word DRUID in the basement and that's what convinced me.

The one on the back of this tour bus is definitely an Italian flag. I asked the driver. However, if you compare the Italian red with the French red you may see what I mean.

But my concern with the bus is that the union jack is upside down. Let me explain.

The trick is to look at the St. Patrick's cross, the red X. It is not in the middle of the St. Andrews cross, the white X, but is displaced in an anti-clockwise direction (top flag). Compare it with the wrong one where it is displaced in a clockwise direction (bottom flag).

Both of these examples assume the flagpole is to the left of the flag, the default assumption. If the wind changes and the pole is now to the right of the flag, then the positions are reversed. The top flag is now upside down and the bottom one correct. I'm hoping to get a PhD for this.

Anyway, you will now see how the union jack on the bus is upside down. Hint: the pole is on the right of the flag.

However when we poke around behind the flag, we see it is the correct way up. Wonders never cease.

You will now notice immediately that the union jack on the window of this off-licence is the wrong way round, at least as far as the passing public is concerned. I pointed this out to the man behind the counter but we got embroiled in an apparently different issue. It so happens that you are not allowed to stick anything on the outside of the window. It has to be stuck on the inside.

Now, if the flag is two sided and it comes with sticky stuff already on one side we may be on to something here. Some of this only stikes me now, so when I'm next in Brugge in 2028 I'll check it out.

This chipper in the Markt got it right. I don't want to get too political here, but, were the situation to arise where St. Patrick's cross could no longer be justified on the flag, then this whole upside down thing would just go away. Mind you, I've said nothing.

And so it's on to the EU flag. This example at the Gruuthuse is upside down - one of three I spotted during my brief stay.

The trick here is that the stars are pentangles and not stars of David. So, one point on top and two below.

This canal boat terminal at one end of the Dijver has also got it wrong. I hope they are not in receipt of EU funding or the Commission will be down on them like a ton of bricks when they read this post.

Mind you, I've caught the Commission flying their own flag upside down in Dublin. So there.

But my greatest disappointment was to see the flag upside down outside my old residence at Sint-Jacobsstraat. This used to be the College of Europe residence in my day and it is now the Hotel Navarra. I drew the flag to their attention and they said they'd fix it. But it was still upside down the following day. Maybe they didn't believe me.

And just to be sure, to be sure. This is the flag viewed from the other side

Oh dear! I've just come across this on the College website. Perhaps the protocol could be included in one of the courses.