deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The island republic of Seychelles. It is composed of 115 islands found in the Indian Ocean, 1,000 miles from Kenya Africa and 700 miles northeast of Madagascar.

This set of islands was known for centuries to traders who would sail past it. As is common the islands were ‘claimed’ by a number of countries. It finally gained it’s independence from Britain in 1976. It contains lush vegetation and unbelievable beaches.

Part of the fantastic flora is the Pandanus, or Screw Pine.

The flag, adopted in 1996 represents influence from the two political parties, The Seychelles People’s United Party and The Seychelles Democratic Party. The flag is composed of five oblique colored bands starting at one end then diverging towards the other end. A new nation (Republic) heading into the future.

Blue represents the sky and sea. Yellow is the sun. Red is unity and love. White is for social justice. Green represents land and environment.

When The Seychelles was still a ‘colony’ of Britain it had a number of flags. All of them demonstrated that it ‘belonged’ to Britain.

The Republic Flag is a bold design, a little busy but certainly unique. I have it because it is an example of a nation putting thought into what would represent it to the rest of the world. And besides, it looks dang cool.

The Constitution of Seychelles is the governing document of the Republic of Seychelles.

18 June, the anniversary of its ratification, is celebrated in Seychelles as “Constitution Day”

Following a successful referendum on 26 March 1979, a new constitution for the country went into effect. This constitution made Seychelles a one-party state with the sole candidate for president nominated by the ruling party.

Towards the end of 1991, Seychelles began a process to become a multi-party democracy. Discussions and public debates between the major political parties (namely the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front and Seychelles Democratic Party) began to take place in January 1993. Following a referendum which took place on 18 June 1993, the current constitution of Seychelles was approved.