The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Archive for the ‘culture’


Bureaucrats in the saddle 36

Posted on January 07, 2014 by

Chapter 5 of “The Claim Of Scotland”.

claim5

Read the rest of this entry →

Frustration in Parliament 68

Posted on January 06, 2014 by

Chapter 4 of “The Claim Of Scotland”.

claim4

Read the rest of this entry →

In all loyalty to the Crown 121

Posted on January 05, 2014 by

Continuing our daily serialisation of HJ Paton’s fascinating 1968 book “The Claim Of Scotland”, courtesy of splendidly alert and dedicated reader Wilma Watts.

claim3

Read the rest of this entry →

History and legend 114

Posted on January 04, 2014 by

The Claim Of Scotland chapter 2.

claim2

Read the rest of this entry →

To our English brother 166

Posted on January 03, 2014 by

We’re enormously grateful to the alert reader who uncovered this little gem. “The Claim Of Scotland” is a book published in 1968 and written by one Herbert James Paton, a philosopher and a senior civil servant at the Admiralty and Foreign Office, who sadly died the following year.

claimofscotland

If you click the image above, you’ll find a scanned PDF of the foreword, contents and first chapter, which at just 14 pages is a modest task of reading. Prepare yourself to marvel at how little times have changed since this pre-North Sea oil age, and to smile ruefully at a few of the sentences you’ll encounter.

Read the rest of this entry →

Respect agenda still strong 62

Posted on December 27, 2013 by

Since we’re talking about The Independent today, we thought those of you who don’t follow us on Twitter or Facebook might like to see their latest editorial cartoon.

indysalmond1

No, we’re not making that up.

The Wings Pantomime 2013: Cindyrella 88

Posted on December 23, 2013 by

theatre

Read the rest of this entry →

Setting the tone 58

Posted on December 22, 2013 by

Our more downmarket readers may have noticed this piece in today’s Scottish Sun:

doctoredno

But we were tickled to learn this morning, from a very well-placed inside source, that the advertising agency involved had also (genuinely) presented as part of their report a graphic demonstrating the current public perception of the No campaign.

You can see it below.

Read the rest of this entry →

Celebrity endorsement 90

Posted on December 09, 2013 by

We don’t normally set a lot of store by them, but this one’s a peach:

palin

Read the rest of this entry →

So blind that you cannot see 56

Posted on December 06, 2013 by

That was always a pretty silly lyric. But anyway.

We had to switch the telly off after about 10 minutes of the news this morning. The piety was too much to take. So intead we’re just going to quote two things from the avalanche of comment that’s appeared this morning on the death of Nelson Mandela.

Read the rest of this entry →

The case for Yes in six words 138

Posted on November 26, 2013 by

If you don’t have time to read 170,000:

foodxmas

“Xmas dinner at the food bank”. The best of both worlds, there. Sleep well.

Pay up and shut up 148

Posted on November 25, 2013 by

So today we got a response from the BBC to our Freedom Of Information request concerning this story. Those of you who’ve ever sent an FOI request to the state broadcaster before probably won’t need to read any further.

Read the rest of this entry →

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,975 Posts, 1,250,772 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Alf Baird on Anything But That: ““The evidence points to only one conclusion: Scotland was annexed into a continuing English state.” (Prof Robert Black, ‘The Takeover…Sep 10, 20:35
    • Alf Baird on Anything But That: “Yes indeed Sam, Professor Black confirmed his conclusion on the ‘takeover’ and ‘annexation’ of Scotland by England during the SSRG…Sep 10, 20:11
    • Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “Most admirable, Spartan. Is your brand of committed pacifism reciprocated by the people you call puerile, shite-posting idiots, or do…Sep 10, 19:54
    • sam on Anything But That: “Northcode, You say: “In informal settings — interviews, videos, conferences — he [Robert Black,KC] sometimes uses the word “annexed” as…Sep 10, 19:48
    • 100%Yes on Anything But That: “Have a listen to Gayle Miller on this Wednesday of Scottish Prism and the lady has posted a more detailed…Sep 10, 19:42
    • Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “A good post Mark (and James above). Destructive unnatural ideologies specifically designed to break the Human spirit and democratic rule…Sep 10, 18:47
    • Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Good post. Well said.Sep 10, 18:42
    • Northcode on Anything But That: “My earlier comment was referring to Professor Black’s formal legal argument (for example in “For England, Nothing Changed”). In that…Sep 10, 18:02
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “The key to that holding is teaching the children. Teach them the truth. Teach them the christian principles. Teach children…Sep 10, 18:01
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Anything But That: “AN TEACHDAIRE PÀRLAMAIDEACH Naidheachdan Pàrlamaid na h-Alba Scottish Parliament news 10/09/2026 https://campaign.emailblaster.cloud/MjQwNDM/58.htmlSep 10, 17:41
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “The two sovereign nations sign a Treaty of mutual respect in practical terms that will be the envy of the…Sep 10, 17:35
    • Captain Caveman on Anything But That: ““My point? Most of these common labels have been overused and mis-applied to the extent they’re now useless. Essentially they…Sep 10, 17:30
    • James Che on Anything But That: “Mark Beggan, Ideology seems to being doing a lot of damage nowadays, Because Scotland does not run the Government in…Sep 10, 17:25
    • sam on Anything But That: “Northcode In the youtube video linked up thread, at 18 minutes and 47 seconds Professor Black states that Scotland was…Sep 10, 17:13
    • Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “To be fair to BP, if believing there’s only two sexes and that they differ in many fundamentals from the…Sep 10, 16:43
    • Aidan on Anything But That: “@James – firstly thank you for engaging rather than just projecting, but secondly what do you mean by sovereignty?Sep 10, 16:42
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Why don’t you just get an AK47 and a few stun grenades and be done with it. Storm Starbucks.Sep 10, 16:30
    • James Che on Anything But That: “Aidan, Surely a supposed created State hundreds of years ago is still relevant to both Scotland and England today.as neither…Sep 10, 16:26
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “I watched the footage of the 2025 meeting. You only see the back of the heads of the audience. Very…Sep 10, 16:20
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “You will not get a referendum but what you will get is more government and more civil servants. Burnham is…Sep 10, 16:11
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “It is even more frightening when the government try’s to change history to fit their ideology.Sep 10, 15:58
    • James Che on Anything But That: “North code. Indeed, Prof Black does not go as far as Westminster parliament in 2026 in Stating there is Not…Sep 10, 15:55
    • Captain Caveman on Anything But That: ““Labour and the Tories are right wing parties,” was as far as I got.Sep 10, 15:45
    • James Che on Anything But That: “The English people are not the enemy of Scots. Nor are the Scots the enemy for England, Think about it,…Sep 10, 15:36
    • Breastplate on Anything But That: “Labour and the Tories are right wing parties, so much so that Thatcher took credit for the creation of New…Sep 10, 15:36
    • Aidan on Anything But That: “@Northcode – you’re generally right, however Professor Black contends that because Scotland was effectively amalgamated into a greater England, this…Sep 10, 15:33
    • Northcode on Anything But That: “I’ve read Black’s legal opinion in detail, and he doesn’t argue that the Union is invalid or that Scotland was…Sep 10, 15:17
    • Willie on Anything But That: “Most interesting comment about the legal position of the so called union. Professor Black is absolutely clear on the matter,…Sep 10, 15:13
    • James Che on Anything But That: “Spartan 117, All responses are appreciated thank you, And no I do not get paid to post, which is the…Sep 10, 15:10
    • Aidan on Anything But That: “Well that’s great news – I appreciate you aren’t able to respond to even the most mild of challenges so…Sep 10, 14:58
  • A tall tale



↑ Top