Jack 1985, if you sit behind the wing on at least EI-DEN, the aircraft in question and presumably on all A320s, the flap settings in degrees are painted onto the upper surface of the flap and are visible on deployment. As for the wind, I'm well aware what it was like, I also checked the Metar after landing as I was a little surprised the landing wasn't rejected.
I'm not sure what the SOPS or the A320 manuals say about dumping lift in such a situation but I've seen it done on other types in similar situations. As for it being a bum story, it's a little sad that people are so dismissive of the mention of a less than usual occurrence mentioned from the point of view of a passenger who has nearly 60 years as an enthusiast and over 50 years as flying as a passenger around the world and found the landing worthy of comment.