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.)

Hampshire, abbreviated to Hants,) is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wiltshire to the north-west. Southampton is the largest settlement, while Winchester is the county town.

Settled about 14,000 years ago, Hampshire’s recorded history dates to Roman Britain, when its chief town was Venta Belgarum (now Winchester). 

Winchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity and of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and of Saint Swithun in Winchester, is the cathedral of the city of Winchester, England, and is among the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and is the mother church for the ancient Diocese of Winchester. It is run by a dean and chapter, under the Dean of Winchester.

Some of us were goofy enough to stand on a stage in front of the whole county and sing this song.

The game of cricket was largely developed in south-east England, with one of the first teams forming at Hambledon in 1750, with the Hambledon Club creating many of cricket’s early laws.

The world’s oldest surviving bowling green is the Southampton Old Bowling Green, which was first used in 1299.

The flag of Hampshire, conceived by Jason Saber and further refined by Brady Ells, retains the rose and crown pattern used in the county for several centuries in various guises. In 1992 the local county council received a formal grant of arms that included a gold royal crown on a red field, over a red rose on a gold field. Wishing to avoid using the restricted royal symbol of the crown on the council flag, Jason Saber replaced the “royal crown” with a specifically Saxon crown. This is also a reference to the county’s association with the era of Alfred the Great and his capital of Winchester. Such a crown also appears in the full achievement of arms used by the council, symbolising exactly the same Alfredian legacy as intended in this flag. The red and white double Tudor rose is inspired by the double rose on the “Arthurian” table in the Great Hall in Winchester.

The flag was officially added to the Flag Institute’s registry of flags on 12 March 2019 after receiving support from Hampshire County Council, the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, and many local organisations.