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Archive for the ‘culture’


Scorched Ayrth 174

Posted on November 01, 2013 by

We’re really, really sorry about that headline, on several levels.

apost1

But wait until you see what this one’s about.

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Revolution for lazy people 77

Posted on October 31, 2013 by

Oh, I was irritating when I was 15.

fizzycola

On our way to school, my friends would stop at Ian’s Newsagents and scatter their pocket money on the counter to work out how many fizzy cola bottles and packets of Space Raiders they could get. I’d do the same, but mine would have a copy of The New Statesman thrown in too.

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Agony aunt 87

Posted on October 29, 2013 by

Dear Margaret,

I have quite the conundrum. I wonder if you could help me with it.

curranforeigner

My Scots-born best friend moved to Beijing in 2005. She previously spent a year studying in Canada, but when she came back I found no traces of latent Canadianism.

Over the last few years she has learned to speak Mandarin quite competently. She also works for the EU. That could be another nail in her coffin, right?

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Appointment to view 154

Posted on October 28, 2013 by

For those of you who – inexplicably and frankly rather hurtfully – STILL don’t follow us on Twitter and may therefore not have heard the news yet on your gramophones, this evening’s Scotland Tonight promises to be a real treat.

mccolmjoking

Not so much for the fact that they’ll be referencing our poll, but because they’ll be doing so as the jumping-off point for a discussion between Dennis Canavan (chairman of Yes Scotland) and Ian Davidson MP, on the subject “Are undecided voters in the independence referendum more socialist, more republican, & more green?”, which should be like watching Rab C Nesbitt give David Bowie fashion tips.

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Leading the world 58

Posted on October 21, 2013 by

Every country on Earth is the best at something.

europebest

We can do better than this, right?

(Data)

The Ballad Of Naughty Jim 37

Posted on October 20, 2013 by

(with apologies to the author of The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens, and with thanks to Johann Lamont for the virus)  

naughtie1

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Speking there branez 175

Posted on October 19, 2013 by

Experienced readers will know that it’s a rare and special day when the BBC deigns to open up a Scottish story on its website to reader comments.

cowell

The results are invariably to be cherished, as our friends elsewhere in the UK share their considered, informed and thoughtful views on why we’re all better together.

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Sunshine on Maryhill 234

Posted on October 17, 2013 by

The sun rarely shines on the council estates of Maryhill. But on the rare occasions when it does, they emerge, dragging their Argos Value deckchairs behind them.

maryhill

The high-rise flats do their best to block the light, but they find a spot in the concrete playground where the sun peeks through. They plant their chairs, flap open their Daily Records, crack open their cans and bask in the thin angle of the sunlight.

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Sub: please check 129

Posted on October 13, 2013 by

From another ridiculous, barrel-scraping right-wing tabloid piece today:

“Another song pays tribute to the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, while All Jock Tamson’s Bairns are Coming Home, by Steven Clark, welcomes refugees from “Iraq, Zimbabwe, Turkey and Somalia”.

Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: ‘The SNP is abusing the education system to promote its own separation propaganda.'”

Welcoming refugees from all corners of the globe, while simultaneously promoting “separatism”? Is it just us, or is there maybe a wee bit of a logical contradiction there?

The stench of panic from the No camp is getting overwhelming.

The Fear Factor (complete) 91

Posted on October 10, 2013 by

If you’ve been waiting (as we have), here are all six episodes of Jack Foster’s superb overview of the Scottish political scene, collected into one punchy 34-minute film.

Adam Curtis would, we hope, be proud.

When you have no culture 83

Posted on October 10, 2013 by

Particularly alert readers will have noticed that this site isn’t called Wings Over Wales. Which is a shame in one sense, because “WOW” would be a great acronym to have.

kingsway

But we’re going to make an exception to our normally all-Scottish, all the time agenda today, because of something that happened in the smaller of mainland UK’s sub-states about which we happen to have some personal experience, and which ties in to Labour peer Lord George Robertson’s extraordinary assertion in a debate last month that Scotland has “no language or culture or any of that”.

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The cower of Scotland 220

Posted on October 10, 2013 by

We’ve highlighted some truly gruesome displays of anti-Scottish bigotry on this website over the last couple of years, the large majority of them from right-wing English newspapers. But today sees perhaps the worst case we’ve ever seen, and we’re sad to report that the blame for this one lies squarely at Scotland’s own door.

subservience

We hope you have a strong stomach.

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    • Alf Baird on Anything But That: ““The story of the 1707 Union is not one of a voluntary, mutual partnership. It is a story of annexation,…Sep 10, 21:42
    • 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
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