Morpeth resident's Union Jack flyers 'Kindness' message delight
A Morpeth resident decided to get creative to get her ‘unity’ message across.
Jan Jayanti made a number of A5 flyers to hand out to passers by in Morpeth Market Place, with a Union Jack printed on them and the word Kindness in bold across the middle.
This was in response to towns up and down the country having flags flown from lampposts and signs in recent weeks, as well as graffiti on roundabouts and other signs.
It is feared that the campaign behind them has been organised by figures within the far right, leading to concerns.
Jan said: “I was in the Market Place for nearly three hours and it went really well.
“Most people understood at once, took a flag and liked the idea. There were some who didn’t want to get involved even to that extent, or didn’t understand.
“It was always polite and predominantly chatty and jolly. I emphasised that I wanted to push back against hatred in a kind way and came up with some statements to accompany the flyers.
“The Union Jack is a symbol of unity and my kindness message I want to get across is that most people are decent and kind and we don’t want our flag to stand for division and hatred.
“We are proud to live somewhere which is united and tolerant and the Union Jack is a symbol of that. Whatever might be bad about immigration, people from overseas make a huge contribution to the NHS and our care homes and the hospitality sector. What’s the point of turning against these people? There’s no point. It’s just nasty.”
When the issue of flags was raised at a recent Northumberland County Council meeting, council leader Glen Sanderson said: “I think it is important to recognise that there will always be the ability for people to state their opinion and their view and underline their love of country. Where it is causing issues is a matter for the police.
“What we think we might do is we are going to ask parish and town councils if they would like to have a town or parish flag pole, so every town or village can fly the flag. That way, it would be something done together for all, as one community.”