Soon after the new Minis came out, I was talking to someone who owned one with the checkered flag roof. Tongue-in-cheek, seeing as I'm in Ireland, I suggested they look better with a Union Jack roof. After that he would only talk to my colleague!
Bearing this in mind, you can see why I had mixed feelings when I was asked to carry a Union Jack through the streets as part of a parade last year. To put it in context, it was for a remembrance event, and I was walking alongside the flags of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Germany.