Dining across the divide: I don't see why anybody would feel uncomfortable with national flags'

"Last September, people from a different part of Sheffield put up St George's flags and union flags on our high street. It reminded me of swastikas lining the streets in Nazi Germany. We organised a group to take them down, and people who'd been drinking in the local pub came out and used racist and homophobic language."

"I think taking the flags down was an act of aggression. I don't see why anybody would feel uncomfortable with a piece of cloth. When I said I was taking them down because people felt threatened, they said: I hope they do feel threatened, maybe then they'll stop coming over here. So they very much wanted them to be intimidating."

"The restaurant was a Brazilian grill and I'm vegan, so I ordered a vegan Wellington. The grilled pineapple with cinnamon was very nice, and we both had coconut icecream for dessert. They came round with these towers of meat beef, pork, lamb, chicken so I got to try a bit of everything. I think I ate more of the grilled pineapple than anything else."

"I do work with an anti-fascist group, so I've had a lot of conversations with anti-immigration people in my community. I expected it to be a lot less high-tension than those ones. I think we got on well. We're both polite, and it was pleasant enough but we had very different opinions."

A retail sales assistant and a builder/home educator describe voting histories that range from UKIP and patriotic parties to Labour and Green. Both volunteer or work in community settings and have spoken with anti-immigration people and anti-fascist groups. They meet at a Brazilian grill and share food, including vegan options, grilled pineapple, and coconut ice cream. After St George’s and union flags were put up on a Sheffield high street, one person organized to take them down, citing fear and intimidation. The removal led to racist and homophobic language from people leaving a pub, and some claimed the flags should make others feel threatened to discourage immigration.

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