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    The Great Gordino Newsletter - Issue 230 - Fri 17th Sep 2004
    ***************************************************

    Hi There,

    I hope everything is ok with you.
    I'm packing my toothbrush today for a trip to Birmingham
    tomorrow, for an internet seminar.
    No doubt I will come back all fired up, I usually do.

    I'm fired up about what I do anyway, because I make my living
    from my interests, but the enthusiasm at these seminars is
    contagious, and it never hurts to spend time with real people who
    think along the same lines as yourself.

    At the last seminar I did I met loads of people too, and signed
    up to various newsletters.
    One of them is written by Margaret Collins, and it's called The
    Growth Zone.

    The website is at
    The Growth Zone

    I can certainly recommend you go and have a look.
    In a recent issue, Margaret commented on the Union Jack flag.

    I have always found it interesting, and the point it brings up to
    me is about education.

    This summer, or at least what we laughingly refer to as summer
    over here, the 'must have' accessory was an England flag.

    We had Tim Henman in the tennis, and the England team at the
    football, so everywhere you could see houses flying the flag, and
    window flags poking out of cars everywhere.

    It's only recently that we've been able to fly the English flag
    without being seen as racist, and boy oh boy did we see a few
    this year.

    They all came down pretty sharpish once we had lost at
    everything, but during those flag festooned weeks, my
    housemates asked me a question, and it was this -

    'What's the difference between the English flag and the Union
    Jack?'

    My first response was 'you've got to be joking', but I could tell by
    their blank faces that they were serious.
    They are in their mid 20s, and they have no idea about the
    history of their own national flag!!!

    I couldn't believe it, and duly told them the difference with a
    supressed shake of the head.
    I'm not sure why I bothered, because half an hour later they
    were unable to repeat it back to me.

    If you ask me, that's scary.
    They live such an insular life, if something doesn't affect them,
    they don't want to know.
    They have no thirst for knowledge whatsoever.
    Obviously I can't change that, and this lack of thirst on their part
    makes them drones for society, and every society needs drones.
    So I leave them in the darkness unless they ask me about
    something.

    Actually the history of the flag is fascinating (in my view).
    When Queen Elizabeth 1st popped her clogs, King James of
    Scotland was next in line, and therefore became the King of
    England as well.

    This was a great opportunity to unite the warring countries, and
    so the Union Flag was designed in 1606, combining the cross of
    England with the cross of Scotland.

    The Scots weren't happy, as they felt that the English cross was
    dominant, so in Scotland, lots of people used a version with the
    Scottish cross on top.

    The Irish cross of St. Patrick was added later, and the design we
    see today was officially recognised in 1801, although as I say the
    original dates back 400 years.

    I found a great webpage about it, with pictures of the Scottish
    version, and various other designs that the Scots put forward.

    Designs for the Union Jack

    Go and have a quick peek, it's fun.

    It was also in the 1600s that Parliament was last invaded by
    violent intruders.

    This week it happened again for the first time since then, and
    the antiquated system of security in Parliament is being urgently
    addressed.

    The intruders were protesting against a law to ban hunting with
    hounds, and all they pointed at the MPs were their fingers, but it
    could have been very different if they were terrorists.

    All these people do is make democracy less democratic in my
    view.
    I'm glad I live in a democracy, and if I want change, I do it the
    democratic way!

    Ok, have a good weekend!

    'Til Monday,
    Health and Happiness,
    Gordon
    email me at gordon@gordonbryan.com - you'll have to copy and paste
    thanks to the idiot online spammers!



    
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