Patriotism flies high during challenging times

There is little we can say that hasn’t been said before about the Coronavirus crisis. This global pandemic has hit the UK hard. And whilst there exists huge sadness over the loss of lives and frustration at the drastic changes to our daily lives, it’s also possible to see some positivity during a time of unprecedented difficulty.

Children’s rainbows, ‘clap for the NHS’, local community initiatives and volunteering are evidence of the determination and pride amongst the British public. These actions are making a difference to those who need it, generating hope and lifting us all.  And at Harrisons, we have our own positive angle on things too.

Despite business in the most part, grinding to a halt, we’ve seen an increase in enquiries from homeowners, local councils and businesses looking to add a flag or a flagpole to their property. It would seem that people are looking for ways to express their emotions publicly.

The growing popularity of the Union flag and our recently created NHS charity flag certainly suggests a mounting sense of pride out there. People want to be able to express their gratitude in a visual and bold manner and we anticipate this patriotism growing as the nation continues to battle this pandemic. As a result, we are preparing for more orders of these lines in the coming weeks and months and thankfully as a UK Manufacturer, we are able to ride out this storm a little easier than some of our peers.

At a time when many in our industry choose to import from overseas, we’re proud to manufacture in the UK. Producing many of our products right here in the North East of England has been of real benefit to us. We’ve been able to produce and store a healthy volume of stock. It has also meant we have been able to react quickly, as, within days of lock down happening, we were able to produce and dispatch NHS ‘Stay at Home’ flags to our customers.

Charity flags

We came up with the idea of producing these charity flags so everyone could show their support and donate to the NHS at the same time. All profits from the sale of these flags are going to County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Charity. This fundraising initiative was only possible thanks to our UK production capabilities.

It fills us with deep pride to see these flags flying in gardens, greens and outside public buildings. We’ll continue to fulfil orders and are hopeful that interest in the NHS flags will continue to grow.

Like thousands of businesses out there, it’s tough times. We really need the ongoing support of our loyal customers to ride out this storm. Therefore, we are grateful for continued custom, old and new. We appreciate that you choose to come to us and value the quality of our British made products.

To everyone out there, we wish you well and stay safe. To all health workers and key workers. Thank you. Let’s hope this is over sooner rather than later.