England Football Geography

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PeteC
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Post by PeteC »

Jaime wrote:
Guess wrote:Any Jaime I am confused, are you asking what the other US flag with a Union Jack on it is.
Yes I am - that is exactly the question. :P
Well, it's either Newcastle United, the Wolverhamption Wanderers or the 1st USA flag named the Grand Union Flag, which I think was waving as we were shooting at you guys. :P

I admit, I cheated and googled, no choice as I had no idea. :oops: Pete
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Post by Jaime »

Nope! The flag I am thinking of is in current use! I'll post the answer later tonight.
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Post by PeteC »

Well, It's not one of the State flags as I scanned them all and Hawaii is the only one. It could be a naval signal flag in use by the USN? Again, no clue. I await with more anticipation than for the France/Italy match to come. But..I'll see it punee. :D Pete
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Post by Jaime »

prcscct wrote:It could be a naval signal flag in use by the USN?
You are on the right lines Pete! :P

I think you will be amazed by the answer!
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Post by Jaime »

OK, let's start with the basics:

A 'jack' is the term used to specifically describe a flag that is flown at the bow of a stationary ship, particularly those of navies of the state.

A 'canton' is the term used to describe a quadrant of a flag but is most commonly used to describe the top left-hand quadrant of a flag in particular. Many countries have this particular top left-hand 'canton' treated differently to the rest of the flag. For example, the USA and Australia.

Countries that have a flag with a distinct 'canton' use only this part of their flag as their navy 'jack'.

The US navy jack is therefore 50 white stars on a blue field. Each star represents one of the US states and the flag is consequently also known as the 'Union Jack' a term dating back to the birth of the progenitor of the US navy, when the union was much smaller (I think the original Union Jack had 15 stars).

The answer to the question "which other US flag has a union jack in the corner" should now be obvious. The answer is..... the stars & stripes! Not a trick question but a fact!

The British flag is often incorrectly described as the Union Jack, when it is in fact the Union Flag. It only becomes the Union Jack when flown at the bow of a stationary Royal Navy ship. The British flag does not have a distinct canton and countries that do not have a distinct canton on their flag use the whole flag as their navy jack, hence the colloquial use of the term Union Jack to describe the British state flag.

It is worth noting that for the duration of the 'war on terror' US warships now fly a different historic jack depicting a serpent on a field of red & white stripes, rather than the union jack, at the bow of stationary ships.

:thumb:
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Post by PeteC »

Yes, amazed for sure. I had no idea and I doubt many others do either. This is indeed a question to be submitted to the Jeopardy Show...LOL. If I ever buy a boat I'll have a flag with a "schooner" as the Jack. :D Thanks Jaime. :cheers:
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Post by STEVE G »

Jaime wrote;
It is worth noting that for the duration of the 'war on terror' US warships now fly a different historic jack depicting a serpent on a field of red & white stripes, rather than the union jack, at the bow of stationary ships.

Hi Jaime,
This flag is the original “union jackâ€
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Post by Guess »

Thanks for the education Jaime. I know it is a bit late to say now but I was thinking along those lines but could not dig up the basics as you have done.

It has also taught me the meaning of Canton. I always thought that Canton was a region in Switzerland inhabited by people of Chinese origin that developed their own cuisine because they got sick of eating fondue and chocolate all the time. So now my question is, where do spring rolls, chop suey, chow mein, spare ribs and sweet and sour pork realy come from. I hope it is not Korea or Isan where the name "chow mein" may have some indication of what the protein ingredient is.

Anyway geting back to Geography and finally everybody realising that Midway is not part of the state of Hawaii, why is Florida still mentioned. I though Hawaii was further south than any part of Florida. Perhaps I looked at a map printed by the sort of guys who say you can get from Alaska to Honolulu by ploting a northward course and then going straight ahead and that Newcastle is further East than Norwich.

Any I have another geographical poser (UK based this time, I am sorry to say for the guys from the US). Where is the most westerly point of the Island of Great Britain. For the pedants among you, Great Britain is the largest of the islands in the group of Islands situated just of the coast of the cheating French mainland of Europe. It is home to three countries all of which form part of the United Kingdom of GB & NI (a misnomer if you are pedantic to the core).
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Post by PeteC »

Either Hebrides or Isles of Scilly? :o Pete
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Post by STEVE G »

Pete wrote;
Either Hebrides or Isles of Scilly?

They are both separate islands pete, seeing as Lands End airport is at 5 degrees 40 W, I reckon it must be somewhere in Jockland, how about the Point of Ardnamurchen at 6 degrees 13 W.
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Post by PeteC »

STEVE G wrote:Pete wrote;
Either Hebrides or Isles of Scilly?

They are both separate islands pete, seeing as Lands End airport is at 5 degrees 40 W, I reckon it must be somewhere in Jockland, how about the Point of Ardnamurchen at 6 degrees 13 W.
Technicality perhaps? They are separate islands but are part of the Island of Great Britain, keys word being "Great Britain". We need an impartial ruling from the ref! :guns: :D Pete
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Post by STEVE G »

Hi Pete,
Yes it depends on what you mean by “Great Britainâ€
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Post by PeteC »

The intellectual section of the Bangkok Post today (the comics..LOL) has a blip, that in Britain it is a criminal offense to fly the Union Jack from a civilian boat. Beware! :shock: Pete
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Post by Tee Tee »

The most westerly point in Great Britain is at Sron an Duin, Outer Hebrides.
NL 543 819

The most westerly point of mainland Scotland is at the Point of Ardnamurchan, Highland.
NM 415 675

(source UK Ordnance Survey)
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Post by STEVE G »

Hi Tee Tee,
Its all a matter of technicalities and what you consider to be Great Britain. Sron An Duin at 7 degrees 40 W is in British territorial waters, but several parts of the United Kingdom lie to the west of this. Rockall was made a part of Inverness-shire by act of parliament in 1971, but it is also claimed by several other countries. If you exclude Rockall the most westerly point is Soay Stac, part of the St Kilda group at 8 degrees 37 W.
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