Flying the flag for Dorset...
7:00pm Thursday 10th April 2008
Comments (43)A FLAG for Dorset could soon be flying above buildings, along with publicly available stickers and badges.
The town criers of Dorset, including Wimborne crier Chris Brown and Wareham crier Jacquie Hall, recently backed the idea of Dorset having its own flag.
Dorchester man Dave White said: "The idea came about 2005 between me and another guy who lives in Sweden now.
"It started to roll at the beginning of last year. In the last couple of months I joined forces with the town criers who have really started to put it forward."
Wimborne town crier Chris Brown said he had noticed that Wiltshire had its own flag while he was at the Trowbridge town criers' competition last year.
"I was saying we need a flag in Dorset.
"This is a people's flag for the people of Dorset."
He added: "We want to raise enough sponsorship to get into production."
Mr Brown said any extra money generated would be ploughed into buying more flags, which he hopes will fly everywhere.
Dorset County Council has a flag with a white background and three lions but it is for county council use.
The Dorset flag is named after Saint Wite, whose remains are at Whitchurch Canonicorum in West Dorset.
The Saint Wite's Cross as the Dorset Flag has a cross design, in red and white, the colours of the county council arms and the Cross of St George, along with gold.
The third colour is to represent Dorset's beaches, Golden Cap on the Jurassic Coast, Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, the hard worked grain fields and as a reference to the Dorset Regiment and the Gold Dragon of Wessex.
For details including how to sign up, see the website flagfordorset.org.uk
Your Say YourThisisdorset
littleredfish, charminster says...
9:10pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
9:27pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Look back at the problems reaised when the St. George Flag, or the Union Flag is flown.
Just a thought
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
9:36pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Nick, Bournemouth says...
9:40pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Red for the blood they never spill.
Yellow for the streaks down their backs.
White for abject surrender!
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
9:45pm Thu 10 Apr 08
It is a matter of taste and refinement . I can't explain it. But clashing colours with a brutal excess of straight lines have something to do with it.
What is the matter with the English flag. The flag of St George. Clear, simple, bold . This is not the BNP's flag alone. It is the English flag . Let's show that. The Scots show theirs.
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
9:46pm Thu 10 Apr 08
I think you sum it up quite neatly Nick. Well done .
littleredfish, charminster says...
9:55pm Thu 10 Apr 08
fedupwithjobsworths, Moordown says...
10:24pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Perhaps they will declare independance and we will be rid of them :-)
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
10:30pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Something that will endure , that will record our lives, our times, our achievement, something that will tell the future generations that, yes, we in Dorset lived our lives , built our communities, fought and loved , and were a people - the Dorset people, alive , vibrant , prosperous , peaceful and free . A flag that when hung in an old museum church 200 years from now will cause future generations to stop, and look, and wonder, who were these old Dorset people who could inspire such a wonder symbol of their time.
So let us tone down the clashing crude colours, and place an ornate shield in the middle (as suggested so cleverly and boldly by Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West on 9:36pm today) with gold thread, and a corded edging, that is co-ordinated with the outer colour.
But pleeeeeze, not a cheap upgrade duster !!!!!!! which is ghastly.
I am going to bed now, weary, but please with my post.
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
10:32pm Thu 10 Apr 08
The above was for you oh littleredfish, but fedupwithjobsworths has intervend between us.
Tch
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
10:39pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Nick wrote:Try saying that to a Royal Marine Nick. It is the colours of their Corp belts.
I dont know. The flag shows the Dorset political style.
Red for the blood they never spill.
Yellow for the streaks down their backs.
White for abject surrender!
Re the St Georges Flag, it can still be flown on England days (subject to Councils approval), but I think a Dorset Flag is a good way to represent ones county. If not a flag, at least a sticker for the car.
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
10:43pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Just a thought.
♠
Chris McColl, Bournemouth says...
11:46pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Imagine the furore if this absurd idea was being imposed from Brussels. Spend any money on the old folk not on bl**dy glorified tea towels.
laurie marsh, australia says...
11:04am Fri 11 Apr 08
MAYBE SOMETHING TASTEFULL IN A SCIMITAR?
Mark, Bournemouth says...
11:12am Fri 11 Apr 08
Posters please ease off on that 'England' word, you know it offends....
patrick stack, downmoor.ch says...
11:22am Fri 11 Apr 08
laurie marsh, australia says...
12:06pm Fri 11 Apr 08
I JUST GOT USED TO DORSET!
trudi, bournemouth says...
12:58pm Fri 11 Apr 08
Mr Brown said any extra money generated would be ploughed into buying more flags, which he hopes will fly everywhere.
But what about putting money into places for teenagers to go, the goverment wonder why we have teens hanging around drinking and causing damage. Does anyone care?
Homer, Notts says...
2:05pm Fri 11 Apr 08
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
4:15pm Fri 11 Apr 08
The flag shown above, or the alternative I gave has to be better than a white flag with three lions one above each other, and small motif beneath.
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
4:17pm Fri 11 Apr 08
isure.co.uk/acatalog
/Regional_Flags.html
white43, Dorchester says...
6:19pm Fri 11 Apr 08
RE : Complexity=difficult to duplicate, expensive to make, difficult to fathom out at a distance. This flag conforms to all the Flag Institutes design guidelines. It falls within heraldic principles. HAL101 - you are living in some sort of dream world with your ideas.
Cross of St George - two colours. Union Flag - three. Simple, effective.
RE : Who's funding it? Certainly not the councils.
Christopher - what you see on that webpage is the Dorset County Council Arms. That's it. It has nothing to do with Dorset. It represents them alone.
Nick, Bournemouth says...
7:00pm Fri 11 Apr 08
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West
Try saying that to a Royal Marine Nick. It is the colours of their Corp belts.
Having formally worn a RED beret Chris, I know.. (Thought you were Navy, not a Bootie).
And yes, I know the one about What 2 things fall from the sky?.. :-) :-)
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
7:02pm Fri 11 Apr 08
HAL101 - you are living in some sort of dream world with your ideas
Are you able to specify which idea is dreaming, or was that just a vague insult?
Nick, Bournemouth says...
7:03pm Fri 11 Apr 08
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
7:18pm Fri 11 Apr 08
RE : Suggestions about using crests/arms. You can't. These are the County Council properties,
We could if the county council agreed; and why shouldn't they. They are but the civic administrators for the Dorset people. So the council property is in effect the people's. Do not forget, it is us that pays for all this .
This flag conforms to all the Flag Institutes design guidelines. It falls within heraldic principles.
Obviously good taste and desirability is not a matter for either the Flag Institute or heraldic principles.
Cross of St George - two colours. Union Flag - three. Simple, effective.
Your ability it count up to three has been noted. Was there a point made there?
If you want to see how inspiring a flag can be then take a stroll round some of the old churches where the old military regiments flags are hung on display. You must use your imagination for they are very faded, but if you do then you can see how magnificent they used to be.
The above flag is cheap, tacky and gaudy. An upgrade duster. It is an insult to the Dorset people, and typical of the council's contempous attitude towards the people. Suitable for a medieval age perhaps but those day are gone, thank goodness. It is time the councils days were gone too.
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
7:23pm Fri 11 Apr 08
I trust it is the hotels and others who gain from the hoilday trade and day trippers, and not the council tax payer.
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
7:29pm Fri 11 Apr 08
Christopher - what you see on that webpage is the Dorset County Council Arms. That's it. It has nothing to do with Dorset . It represents them alone.
so the Dorset County Council Arms has nothing to do with Dorset ? I beg to differ.
srk74, Dorchester says...
7:31pm today Fri 11 Apr 08
I find the flag simple and effective and not gaudy or an insult to me as a Dorset man. It certainly never occurred to me that it was an upgrade of a duster!
As for whit43's ability to count, I believe the point being made was about the simplicity of the flag: St Georges cross: 2 colours and simple. Dorset flag: 3 colours and simple!
white43, Dorchester says...
7:59pm Fri 11 Apr 08
The above flag is cheap, tacky and gaudy. An upgrade duster. It is an insult to the Dorset people, and typical of the council's contempous attitude towards the people. Suitable for a medieval age perhaps but those day are gone, thank goodness. It is time the councils days were gone too.
What exactly have the council got to do with this design? Nothing. They aren't funding it, nor paying for it. They didn't design it nor are they promoting it. They have and I repeat, nothing to do with it. Its costs you nothing.
Your ideas about flags are confused. You are thinking more in terms of arms. The best flags are simple and easily reproduced. Arms are complicated.
The Dorset County Council Arms are simply that. They don't represent Bournemouth or Poole Borough....Bournemou
th having its own.
I'd love to see your elaborate design and when you're told it will cost upwards of £50 each to buy.
Your comments are your own, don't think that you represent everyone when you claim this flag is an insult. The comments from the people at the website disagree.
One more thing - it's simple to throw rocks at those who are trying to accomplish something, when you yourself have done nothing, risked nothing and designed nothing.
You go ahead and make your complex flag. I look forward slamming to it.
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
8:48pm Fri 11 Apr 08
So it is simple. So what? Who is going to pay for it? Let us face it, eventually it will be us, the council tax payer.
My flag would cost at least £500 pounds and be worth every penny. You would not 'slam' it, you would love, love , it. And be proud to be associated with it. And the overall costs would not be high because only a few would be made and flown only when appropriate. Of course cheap copies can be made for the tourists.
If you are going to represent the people then do not insult them by producing the cheapest flag possible.
You're taking this very personally. If you are personally involve with the design of the above flag then I am truely sorry to have hurt your feeling, but sometimes the best action is to give a honest opinion of things. And a first attempt is never the final attempt. The above flag is just a starting point for a design.
Go on, be rude to me and relieve your feelings. Just to show how nice I am I will regard your next post as the last between us and give you the final say.
:)
white43, Dorchester says...
9:05pm Fri 11 Apr 08
My flag would cost at least £500 pounds and be worth every penny. You would not 'slam' it, you would love, love , it. And be proud to be associated with it. And the overall costs would not be high because only a few would be made and flown only when appropriate. Of course cheap copies can be made for the tourists.
I doubt it. You'd never see the intricacy of such a flag from a distance. Flying from the top of County Hall, it'll be a blur. I don't enjoy 'complex' flags. You also miss that people want a flag of their own and they don't want to pay £500 for it. That people want to go places and be recognised as part of the 'tribe' of Dorset.
Go on, be rude to me and relieve your feelings. Just to show how nice I am I will regard your next post as the last between us and give you the final say.
It's very, very sad that you can't get behind something like this that is appreciated by so many.
Flags do not need to be complicated. There's just no need.
Plus, the above flag does not need to be tampered and compromised with. Until someone else comes along with something better and invests the time and money that we have in it. This design will stay.
Good luck.
Ols, dando@hopclose.wanad
oo.co.uk says...
9:28pm Fri 11 Apr 08
There also seems to be a lot of negativity about the flag itself, you guys are missing the point. What matters is what the flag means to us as Dorset people. Not if it's cool or the fact you don't like the colours. By all means we should debate and contest what it should look like, & what it is meant to represent. But let's not forget what we are trying to achieve, a bit of pride in our beautiful county.
victor32, Wimborne says...
9:56pm Fri 11 Apr 08
victor32, Wimborne says...
10:43pm Fri 11 Apr 08
HAL101 wrote:Being the son of the said Wimborne town crier, town criers often just pay for themselves.
Who pays for town criers?
I trust it is the hotels and others who gain from the hoilday trade and day trippers, and not the council tax payer.
white43, Dorchester says...
10:50pm Fri 11 Apr 08
So it is simple. So what? Who is going to pay for it? Let us face it, eventually it will be us, the council tax payer.
Indulge me, how is it that the council tax payer will pay for this? At what stage will the design enter on your council tax bill?
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
2:18am Sat 12 Apr 08
I have spent most of my life working with flags whilst serving in the Navy (yes Nick the Navy, the Royal Marines are part of it)(Red Berets the Military Police), so have spent a lot of time on the design, making of flags for all occasions.
White43, my query regarding the Dorset CoA was an inquiry. If it represents Dorset County then it is Dorset surely. Permission would be needed from DCC for the use of the CoA anyway. It was just an idea.
What ever comes out of it at the end, I think a Dorset Flag is a good idea.
white43, Dorchester says...
10:02am Sat 12 Apr 08
Have you visited the site? There's very good reason why green hasn't been used...an obvious one is that Devon and Wiltshire are already using it
Dorset County Council no longer represent all of Dorset, Poole and Bournemouth are unitary authorities. Bournemouth has it's own Arms. Therefore, the ambiguous County Council CoA doesn't represent all Dorset.
You should check out too what the Flags Institute has to say about flag design on the website. A flag should be simple, easy enough for a child to draw.
Anyway, all the best.
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
4:02pm Sun 13 Apr 08
I appreciate Devon and Wiltshire have green in there flag, but in the case of Devon a very bright green, as is the Wilts Flag. I thought my idea was so not to have so much yellow in the flag, if not none at all.
Incidentally, looking at many Flag Sites, you will find that the CoA that flies above the DCC is also the Dorset Flag.
Bournemouth might be a unity, and have its own arms (so do the majority of towns and cities) but still does come under Dorset.
See the following site as one of those sites:
http://www.worldoffl
ags.co.uk/index.php?
app=gbu0&ns=catshow&
ref=BritishCities%26
Counties
white43, Dorchester says...
8:22pm Sun 13 Apr 08
Some sites are selling the DCC Arms as the flag as they obviously want to make some cash out of the Dorset people. They even have the nerve to tout it as the official flag! It's not and never has been, it's the symbol of an organisation, not Dorset. Sites like that drive me nuts! Perhaps that will all change shortly.
DCC have been approached numerous times to create a flag - but they reject the idea on the basis that they don't have the authority because of the two unitary authorities. DCC has no juridiction over them, ergo, neither does the DCC Arms.
Anyway, if people want the arms flag, they can, we believe the St Wite flag is more representative and I'm glad to have you support on board.
Lumbreek, Dorset says...
11:13pm Fri 18 Apr 08
keithlawson, Poole says...
11:20am Sat 19 Jul 08
No longer promoted as "St Wite's Cross" but as the "Dorset Cross".
Closing date for entries being selected as the Dorset Flag to the County Council has passed. Town councils of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch are not getting involved as they claim they have a distinct identity that may be confused by association with a flag for Dorset.
PEOPLE'S FLAG? The suggested St Wite flag
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HAL101, Bournemouth says...
7:36pm Thu 10 Apr 08