ON the very day the INLA threatened that unionist representatives found in republican areas in the North would be shot, two of the most obvious unionists of all were lurking in no less a heartland than Belfast's Falls Road. David Kerr, assistant to Unionist leader David Trimble, and Steven King, assistant to deputy leader John Taylor were on a mission to find a St Patrick's flag or saltire for Mr Trimble to present to President Clinton. He had rung from the US that very morning, Friday 14th, with the instruction that Mr Taylor was to bring it with him. The two official unionists scratched their heads and, says Steven King, since they had never thought of such a thing as being in the loyalist tradition, they set about finding an Irish shop in the centre of Belfast. There they were advised to go to Siopa na Gael on the Falls Road.

They peered through the window but, both there and elsewhere could see nothing but tricolours - "completely out of the question and inappropriate". So the intrepid pair like city bankers in their pin-striped suits, drove up the Falls Road and called into the Workers' Party office - "the friendliest place we could find apart from an RUC station" - for advice. They rang the AOH but only tricolours were forthcoming.

Loyalist-type shops on Sandy Row were tried as was Downpatrick itself but the red cross on a white background couldn't be found. There were plenty of them up flagpoles but late on a Friday afternoon the cherry pickers who had put them up couldn't be found to take one down. "We had a very interesting afternoon and saw all sorts of Belfast we had never seen before," says Steven. In the end, Mr Taylor had to go without the flag for his leader. The funny thing is Quidnunc understands they are two a penny in Washington.