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Wings Over Scotland


Dream a little dream

Posted on November 29, 2011 by

In these brutal economic times, you could be forgiven for easing the pain with the occasional drift into fantasy. Britain is broke, and even after five years of the most savage austerity cuts since World War 2 the Chancellor of the Exchequer admits the books still won't be balanced.

But imagine, just for a moment, that we inhabited some sort of magical fairytale universe. Instead of a bankrupt neo-liberal service economy run for the benefit of obscenely overpaid bankers and hedge fund managers, imagine if Scots could live in a country of five million people with a social-democratic outlook and vast oil wealth which was used for the benefit of the entire population rather than just a tiny elite.

It's a ridiculous, impossible idea, of course. This is the real world, and reality isn't like that. But once in a while, just to cheer yourself up enough to keep grimly soldiering on through the hideous years to come, it's nice to dream.

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    • sam on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “See this? The genetic landscape of Scotland and the Isles https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1904761116Jan 11, 14:33
    • Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “Thought I’d cheer us all up with this uplifting song (before Trump does something really stupid): www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIoBrob3bjIJan 11, 14:22
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “TURABDIN. And my sincere apologies to you for the rather exasperated tone of my initial comment. (Though you will perhaps…Jan 11, 14:20
    • Nae Need! on Failure To Learn: “That was one of my first thoughts too. My second thought being about the word ‘failure’. Failure presumes an attempt…Jan 11, 13:45
    • Nae Need! on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “Having had the time this morning to follow this discussion, I too am in agreement with Aidan and Hatey. Wonders…Jan 11, 13:39
    • TURABDIN on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “@ FEARGHAS MAC FHIONNLAIGH, @ ALF BAIRD, @ ANDY ELLIS. COMING FROM AN ANCIENT CULTURE whose language, various iterations of…Jan 11, 12:40
    • Andy Ellis on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “@Alf As it happens, this is the only applied theoretical framework explaining Scotland’s colonial condition and urgent need for decolonization:……Jan 11, 11:59
    • James Cheyne on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “I agree that a lot of history is bunk, most is just tail spun yarns. The treaty of York 1237…Jan 11, 11:08
    • James Cheyne on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “Indeed Henry 111 father Earl of Cambridge, according to DNA does not appear to be his father at all, Ceciley…Jan 11, 10:47
    • Hatey McHateface on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “@Andy Ellis There was more in my original post but it went to moderation. I was writing about the pictures…Jan 11, 10:34
    • Alf Baird on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: ““develop his own coherent theories rooted in our own, unique, Scottish circumstances” As it happens, this is the only applied…Jan 11, 10:31
    • Bilbo on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: ““Young women” may well speak for themselves but what they speak about is another thing. The actions of that nutter…Jan 11, 10:23
    • Andy Ellis on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “I suspect it won’t be over until we see some strange fruit in turbans swinging from the lamp posts of…Jan 11, 10:08
    • Hatey McHateface on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: ““Whatever would Fantoosh, Mammy and Ceasar make” Who cares. It’s all part of his depressingly cringy acceptance of mediocrity that…Jan 11, 09:58
    • Hatey McHateface on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “It’s over. We won. With the exception of one dead body, President Trump got all the hostages home.Jan 11, 09:48
    • Andy Ellis on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “@Hatey 9.17am Write up a bigly petition offering The Donald the croun, and beseeching him tae accept it. Use the…Jan 11, 09:46
    • Andy Ellis on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “So what you’re saying Alf is that the speakers of Scots colonised the (largely) Brythonic speaking lands that now comprise…Jan 11, 09:35
    • Hatey McHateface on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “History is bunk. Henry did a lot more for me and for the world than you’ll ever do, so he…Jan 11, 09:22
    • Hatey McHateface on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “Cooking wi gas noo, Northy! Write up a bigly petition offering The Donald the croun, and beseeching him tae accept…Jan 11, 09:17
    • diabloandco on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “Completely OT but is the ‘war’ in the middle east ‘over’ or just forgotten about ? I hear nothing on…Jan 11, 09:10
    • James Cheyne on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “Most people that write Scotlands history come from outwith the Country of Scotland of Scotland itself. To delete a nation…Jan 11, 09:02
    • Northcode on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “I doubt Donald would settle for being king of a mere territory. There can’t be the slightest doubt that President…Jan 10, 22:11
    • william G Walker on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “Alf Baird writes a lot of sense, though tongue-in-cheek! Or is it? Better a peripheral “territory” of the USA than…Jan 10, 21:14
    • Alf Baird on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “Aye Northcode, that’s the dilemma with a national tradition whereby oor leeberator aye gets tae be crouned Keeng! The Scottish…Jan 10, 20:37
    • Northcode on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: ““Scotland a poodle rather than another poodles bitch” It’s a step up from where we are now for sure… the…Jan 10, 19:44
    • Alf Baird on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: ““A very unhelpful comment, TURABDIN” I think what you mean, Fearghas, is that such a view is ‘unhelpful’ to the…Jan 10, 19:35
    • Northcode on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: ““…an argument that presents negative consequences is not inherently fallacious…” There goes “Dances Without Facts” dancing without facts again. All…Jan 10, 19:30
    • Alf Baird on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “As a son of Scotland there is no doubt Scotland is on President Trump’s radar. What does he have in…Jan 10, 19:00
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “A very unhelpful comment, TURABDIN. Unsound in various ways already very well aired on Wings. It would be wearisome to…Jan 10, 18:51
    • TURABDIN on Grandpa John’s Nightmare: “SCOTLAND was invaded and settled «colonized» by three cultures, Irish aka Scotti, Anglian aka Inglis and Norsemen. The indigenous locals…Jan 10, 18:08
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