Upside Down Union Jack?

Society, ,

There was a man on Radio 4 this morning from some kind of official flag society who was going on about how often the Union Jack flag had been shown upside down in the Olympics. Now you would think that someone like this would know better but I have to say I think he is wrong. Unless all of the flags that you find through sources on the internet have been recreated unsuccessfully.

I have taken the wikipedia flag as the example I will use, as I hope it would be the correct one. You can find it here, but I have posted a copy below to prove my point.

Right way round Union Jack Flag

With the Union Flag, if you look at the top right section then the wider white bit is nearer the middle, agreed? And when you go round the flag, each wide white section is positioned like the sails of a windmill, with the wide white bit in the same place (to the left of the narrow red bit as you look from outside the flag). So if you flip the flag upside down it looks exactly the same (I have put the word flag in so that you can see that I have flipped it).

Upside down Union Jack flag.

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However, if you flip the flag round horizontally then you will see that the thick white on the top right hand side is in the wrong position.

Union Jack flag flipped around

 

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So, unless wikipedia (and plenty of other sources) have got their flag wrong then I can’t see how the flag can be upside down at all – if it was you would not be able to tell.

How To Get Cheap Furniture

Home & Garden, Shopping,

When times are tough it is vital to save as much money as you can when buying goods. One way to do this is to buy second hand rather than buying new. There are many bargains to be had buying second hand furniture in particular and for large pieces people are often happy to get rid of furniture for a low price just so that they can get rid of it, particularly when they are moving house and they have no room for it in their new place.

So, if you are looking for furniture then think about going for a second hand set. For example, you many see the exact model that you like in a shop and then you can pick and choose the pieces from that set from either online ads or from somewhere like eBay. eBay is a great place to pick up furniture second hand as you can set up an alert to advise you when someone puts something up for sale that you might be interested in. You can also set up a geographical limit so that the furniture is within reach of you picking it up.

I have a great example of this myself where I picked up an Ikea Malm wardrobe for £10, a fraction of the new price. I set up an alert in eBay to warn me whenever anyone posted an ad that included the terms ‘Ikea Malm Wardrobe’ within 20km of my address. I had to wait a few weeks for one that sounded perfect for me but I got it as the only bidder for that knock down price. Ok so I had to go and pick it up but that was worth the trip.

you can often pick up complete sets of furniture but you may need to have a little bit of patience to get exactly the pieces that you want. On the flip side of the coin I had to get rid of a piece of bedroom furniture a few years ago and someone actually came from about 200 miles away to pick it up as it was exactly the matching piece that they needed.

So, set up your alert with your  key words in and wait for Ikea to notify you of available pieces. You don’t have to go for the first one that you see as there will likely be more, so have a bit of patience and you are likely to be able to save yourself a lot of money.

Stop Back Pain!

Health, Sports

So, as someone who has suffered lower back pain for years after an operation to remove part of a disc, I have tried many means to stop the constant back pain that nags me especially when I do a little bit of lifting or gardening.

I have some pills that can really take the edge off the pain but you don’t want to be taking pills all your life. In addition I use heat packs and ice packs and these do help to a certain extent, plus doing the exercises that the doctor has recommended.

However, I recently bought a back brace (or support) which is a sturdy elasticated belt that supports the lower back. It has 2 adjustable heavy velcro straps so that you can get the support to the tightness that you need. The back support that I bought was the Neoprene Double Pull Lumbar Back Support Brace sold by Health & Care. I had looked though quite a number of options for back support braces and this one offered exactly what I wanted in terms of choices of size (many choices and descriptions of the waist sizes that wach one would fit) and also at a good price.

It is a sturdy piece of kit that has massive velcro sections to ensure the fit is tight and secure. It can be worn under or over clothing although I found it more comfortable over trousers as it occasionally needed pulling down after I had sat down with it on.

I did try and buy one on the high street but I had to take it back as it was too big and did not fit round my waist (it came in a one size fit). Plus that one was a bit too bulky.

With this back brace you get a good choice of sizes to fit all shapes so it will be a much better fit when you get it than a one size fits all.

So, after wearing this back brace for 2 days, I have no back pain. This has not happened to me for a long time so I am very impressed. I’m not sure how long that will last when I take it off but I think the idea is to use it only occasionally when you need that extra support. I have read reviews about people wearing it when they play golf which is something that I will need to do and now makes me look forward to a game of golf with much more pleasure.

The above back brace is from the Amazon UK site but you can obviously also get a good selection from the Amazon US site, for example the following:

 

Donating Hair To Charity

Beauty & Personal Care

If you are thinking of donating some of your hair to charity – perhaps it is long and you want to cut it short, or else you maybe know someone who has been affected by hair loss due to cancer or other illness – then you need to make sure you are doing it right before just cutting it all off.

There are a number of criteria that you need to satisfy before you can donate your hair to charity and also different charities have different criterion. To start off with your hair needs to be a certain length – the minimum length is about 7 inches but many charities require longer hair than this, up to as much as 12 inches minimum. There are also stipulations on the condition of the hair – whether it has been permed or coloured etc and you will need to check with the charity of your choice.

However, the main thing is the way that the hair is cut. You will need to tie the hair up into a ponytail before cutting it, with a band on the top and the bottom of the hair. This is to prevent the hair from tangling and rendering it unusable.

So, if you decide to do this, first check out the charity of your choice and see if your hair qualifies. If it does not then it may be possible to choose another charity. Most charities that take hair use it to create wigs and hairpieces for children but there are also a small number who do it for adults so you may have a preference.

Good luck with your hair donation and your new style!