Yet another new blog

For a couple of weeks now - more or less since Greta Thunberg went off on a sailing ship across the Atlantic to speak in front of the United Nations - there's been a kind of 'knee-jerk' reaction to all young people who are activists on climate change. There have been the most amazing attacks on Greta Thunberg: it seems she's not 16 at all - she's an adult; she's an actor; she's being manipulated; according to a speaker on Fox News in the USA, she is 'mentally ill.' (You know, given that the USA was founded on equality and fairness, some of the attitudes that get aired there are pretty nasty. Remember the physically disabled reporter that Donald Trump mocked during his election campaign? Bullying is what that was). Of course, Greta Thunberg is not mentally ill. She has Asperger's Syndrome. It's not a medical condition or an illness - it's a way of perceiving the world and a way of thinking that are not mainstream. It doesn't sto...

I know I'm old because I keep remembering stuff like this. Dae a hufty ? is what the three of us would say to our long-suffering, hard-working mother when she insisted we had to do something she wanted us to do. It didn't matter what it was: take the bins out, do our homework, go for messages. In the end, we always did it, of course. Dae a hufty? was just a protest. Now I find myself looking at Boris Johnson and wondering if he never had a mother (or a parent figure) who came out with the posh English equivalent of my mother's reply: Aye, ye hufty ! There was no arguing with that: there were things you had to do as your duty. You could moan about it but you couldn't refuse to do it. Somewhere the Tory party (the 'natural party of government') lost track of its duty. The Labour Party did the same. The LibDems are well on their way to losing track too. They have all lost track of the basics of politics: even if you don't mean it, you have to claim th...

Yeah, I know: I need to get out more. But I've been thinking a lot today about Boris Johnson and his pronouncements on Scotland. And I have a question: What will we do if the Tory government shuts down Holyrood and refuses to 'allow' Scotland a second referendum? I'm guessing there will be more than SNP people - us so-called 'separatists' - outraged by such a move. But as far as I can see there's nothing to stop the Tories doing it. Johnson has gone so far as to tell his BBC pals about his plans for Scotland: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-49844298 And they don't include any move towards independence. It won't bother Johnson that we've already heard all the Tory guff before in Scotland - or that the political situation has shifted dramatically since 2014 - and we're a lot more sceptical than we were 5 years ago. So what will we do if we're faced with being tied to the failing state called the UK after...

We're coming up to the weekend when news papers and online media try to lighten up a bit and provide stuff like giant crosswords and quizzes. I don't have a crossword, giant or otherwise, but here's a short quiz of the week: 1  Who said:  "This Parliament is a dead Parliament, it should no longer sit. It has no moral right to sit on these green benches"? Yes, it was Geoffrey Cox, Attorney General, the senior legal figure in the current Westminster parliament. This is the man who gave the UK government wrong information about proroguing the house of commons which led to the UK government's decision to close parliament down being overturned by the Supreme Court.  Did he apologise? Far from it: he thinks this mess is all the fault of the UK's elected representatives. In particular, he seemed to be talking to his own party's MPs.  2  Who  said: "Humbug" when told off by MPs for using inflammatory language? Yes, it was the UK Prime Minister. H...

Today on Sky someone said: 'The problem is Scotland doesn't understand how Parliament works.' Really? Has that been the problem all along? Is that why we Scots are so bolshy? It's that we just don't get it. You would think after centuries of national and local government, we'd have sussed out how things work. Maybe the person who was talking meant to say: Scottish people have worked out how government works and don't necessarily like it. My own view is that our problem is that we are over-governed: we have people in the EU who make decisions about us. Then people in the UK. Then others in Scotland's parliament. And then local councils. You'll have to forgive me for saying this but I'm not sure we're any better off for having 4 different levels of management making decisions on our behalf. Because that's what politicians are these days: management. Admin. They're not under any obligation to come up with ideas and make things be...

We're used to parades in Scotland. You can call them marches if you like, but the biggest parades here right now are on behalf of Scottish Independence and they don't involve marching. People walk. There's a bit of music and a lot of flag-waving and there are weans in buggies, folk in wheelchairs and even people on motorbikes. There are speeches and concerts afterwards and folk generally have a great day out. It's a rare way to see the country and meet other people that support independence the way you do. But we're open to most kinds of walking/marching/parading/protesting in Scotland. What we're not up for are violence, confrontation, intimidation and abuse, so you might want to consider these ideas when planning a march: 1 You can march but you have to get permission from the local council. 2 You can say where you want to march but you won't be allowed to arrange the route of your march so you pass churches of a faith you don't like. 3 You c...

We'll ignore the'Tosh and piffle' comment because I don't speak 19th century English, not to mention the use of 'sung' instead of 'sang' Poor show, Eton.  Let's ask for a definition of a few other comments: - 'a few months of hardship'. Who will suffer this and what will it consist of? David Lammy's whole point is that it will be the people least able to afford hardship who will suffer most.  - 'Once proud Britons'. You just know what's coming next: The War. The bravery of the people - not people like Winnington-Havers or people like you and I who weren't alive at the time - but the poorest people in the UK at the time: in London, Coventry, Liverpool, Clydebank and Glasgow. - 'rationed suet'. What the hell is suet rationed or otherwise? Is that the level of food supply we can expect from brexit? The Great British state has rapidly gone to hell in a handcart thanks to Johnson and his pal Domini...

Yellowhammer The document is only 5 pages long – and one paragraph has been blanked out. Definitely worth a read. I am quoting from the document here. Where I give my own opinion, I say so. Page 2: Comment : We’ve discovered that Britain is an island. And this makes things tricky. Moving goods and people may be subject to delays: there will be a knock-on effect if goods are held up in either the UK or French Channel ports. The delay could be 2 and ½ days for a haulier passing through an English or French Channel Port. Question : If the haulier is shifting perishable goods – any idea where they can be dumped if the goods ‘perish’ while they’re in the queue? ‘Travellers (using airports and ferries) may decide to use alternative routes to complete their journey.’ Question : And what exactly would these be? Energy prices will rise. Comment : no real explanation of why. ‘Some participants (meaning suppliers) could exit the market (go bust?). Question : What doe...

I watched quite a bit of the action*  in Westminster on Monday and I have now lost track of what it is we're all meant to be part of: The British State The Union (scuse me while I spit) The United Kingdom (ditto) The Country (whatever country that might be). *And dear gawd, this must be the only time I've ever written the word  action  in relation to the Mother of Parliaments. My last view on Facebook before Missy the cat and I fell asleep on the settee was of the massed ranks of SNP members singing Scots Wha Hae. They either knew the words or (I suspect) were reading them off their phones - and they were being conducted from the front by one of their number. That scene was still not as farcical as the other stuff that had been going on all day. If there are leading players in this farce, it has to be the Tories. Does anyone else get the urge to round them all up, bundle them into a small windowless room and slap them silly while shouting: What the actual f*...

A friend of mine posted this after seeing so much publicity about the need to keep a 'grab bag' handy. In the Gaelic version, you'll notice you need not one but two black puddings - and a copy of Dwelly's Gaelic dictionary. I take it the latter is for the English speakers that won't be able to understand Gaelic road signs. Then another friend mentioned mockingly that some folk think they need a survival blanket and 'mad things like that.' I take exception to that. When I worked in all the airts and pairts of the west of Scotland, I did carry a survival blanket. Plus boots and spare underwear and a coat and a rug that could be put under the wheels of my car if I got stuck in snow. And at one point or another, I used them all. What I don't understand is why this matter has come up now. Surely the most likely reason to need a grab bag is if you're caught out by bad weather. But it's only September - near enough summer in Scotland (if you i...

*Follow on from my post about Boris Johnson the other day, except this time I really mean it. I posted on Facebook on Saturday about the Irish Republican marches (2 of them) through Glasgow + 2 counter-demonstrations by Loyalist/Unionists. I then went to my bed and fell fast asleep. I hadn't planned to sleep. I wanted to read but the last thing I remember thinking was: Have I read this book before? Or is this writer another one who's taking the piss? I call it formula writing and reckon every visit I make to the local library ends up with me bringing home at least one book that I've read before - or it just feels as if I've read it before. (I'm giving you two moans for the price of one here - so don't complain). When I woke up an hour later, there were 24 'notifications' waiting for me on the subject of political marches and counter-demos, some friendly and one not at all friendly. The Facebook page I'd posted on is a closed group for peo...

*No, of course I don't mean that. Do I have to start writing "sarcasm alert" after every mention of the Tories? Just take it as read. It all looked so easy. Boris and his pals Dominic Cummings and Steve Bannon, his link to Trump, had it all worked out: Boris would get their support - and the support of the UK newspapers - to become prime minister. It's all he has ever wanted. (He's a man of low ambition.) In return, using his fabled charm and his fawning contacts, not to mention the spin that claims he is still fun-loving, smart-mouthed Boris, he would sweep aside all the concerns of his party and the voters. The UK would fall at his feet and he would deliver deliver Brexit on 31 October. And from there to the UK's new status as an American state was but a hop and a jump. Boris had a couple of stutters, when he tried to use his journalistic tricks to convince the voters. There was the herring incident that turned out to be a lie. Followed by t...