Sub: please check
Posted on
October 13, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
From another ridiculous, barrel-scraping right-wing tabloid piece today:
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.
First no culture then no camp tsk tsk.
This bit made me laugh out loud! And now the cats are awake and want their breakfast.
A spokesman for the pro-Union Better Together campaign said: “This is an outrageous example of taxpayer-funded political propaganda. It is a deeply cynical ploy aimed at presenting a distorted view of history to people who will, after all, be voting next year.
“This exposes the lengths SNP ministers will go to in order to get people to vote for independence.”
“Outrageous example of taxpayer-funded political propaganda” is a bit rich coming from the side publishing reports foreseeing catastrophic terror attacks.
It really is getting farcical when Mary Scanlon highlights the potential voting impact of foreign students who live and study here and would most likely be happy to qualify and find suitable work here in Scotland as a life choice.
Anyone who is taken into any hospital in Scotland will doubtless be attended to by a ‘foreign origin’ medical professional at some time – and in many cases, will owe their life and survival to these professionals.
It was reported only last week that the developing situation of the oil industry meant that engineers and technical graduates were being sourced from abroad to meet the demand.
Would Mary Scanlon prefer to ‘means test’ these foreign incomers as suitable to vote? What an ill-thought intervention, just to get her name in the news.
As already stated above their panic is rising!
It’s hardly a coincidence that they stress the contents of these two songs: 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”
Thereby linking Scottish independence with soviet communism and a flood of refugees. All in one sentence.
There’s a quite nice website set up describing all the songs. Also showing that the journo has indeed been selective. Only 18 of the appr. 90 songs selected for secondary schools are about Freedom and Scots people.
link to educationscotland.gov.uk
Im glad that school kids singing Scots Wa Hae annoys them. It will make up for me getting Elgar rammed down my throat when I was at school. And every time that I inadvertently switch on the telly during The Last Night at the Proms.
How dare we expose our children to the words of Scotland’s national bard. Sic a Parcel of Rogues at that. The sheer audacity of it! Shakespeare not good enough?
A song protesting at “immensely rich companies” exploiting workers whatever next “The Red flag”?
If you have not done so already please click the link. It is a load of desperate and hysterical nonsense. But there again we in Scotland don’t have culture or any of that stuff so we should be grateful for the advice. Aye Right!
ENOUGH.
ENOUGH OF THIS POISONOUS, HATEFUL ASSAULT ON SCOTTISH CULTURE.
ENOUGH.
CHRIST ALMIGHTY.
What songs do they suggest we should teach them them? I think every country has some programme like this and none would sing anti their country songs,i’m quite sure.Mock fury here i think,on to the next scandal please.
Good God! They have Coulter’s Candy on that list too. I took my 1 year old grandson to “Bounce & Rhyme” at a Glasgow Library recently, and they were singing that there too. Naturally I removed him immediately, so that his ears would not be polluted by such stuff.
Now that Glasgow has an additional Labour councillor, I presume that they will excise such nonsense from their libraries. In the meantime, I sing “Land of Hope and Glory” to him every 5 minutes.
Harrumph!
Does anyone know the Vitol national anthem? I think they should teach that in school.
@GrutsForTea
nae point – it will soon be history 😉
msean says:
13 October, 2013 at 1:50 am
What songs do they suggest we should teach them?
Why, God save the queen and rule Britannia of course.
“Why, God save the queen and rule Britannia of course.”
I remember having to sing those at my school. In Scotland. Painful!
I have to admit though, I didn’t mind singing “The British Grenadiers” in class, back in the day. It must have been during my ancient, airfix spitfire, commando comic book phase when I really believed that we won the war single-handedly and GB was still a global power to be reckoned with. I’m glad I quickly grew out of that!
I used to sing the “British Grenadiers” at work, but my boss, one Alexander, thought I was extracting the urine.
Another song pays tribute to the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
– This might be a veiled reference to the deeply subversive 1960s Adam McNaughton poem set to music, the ‘Jeely Piece Song’, which evokes a Scottish ‘red’ jam sandwich achieving earth orbit. A Scottish first in the then so-called Space Race and one achieved by a Scot without any input from London.
As well as the unpatriotic reminder of the glorious technological achievements of the Workers Paradise and the great sacrifices made by Heroes of the Working Class such as Comrade Gagarin, The Jeely Piece Song calls on the children of Castlemilk to march on George Square. It invokes the memory of ‘The Clydeside Reds’ in demanding better sandwich-friendly housing.
All in all, its an early example of the Nats attempts to brainwash young impressionable minds with their evil ideology that nobody needs the parasitic Westminster-Whitehall-Oxbridge-City of London elite.
I expect Labour will now compete with the Tories on who can get tougher on children’s music.
A fantastic teaching resource has been made available to schools in Scotland…in my 40 years teaching (now retired) I would have welcomed this.
But it appears those with narrow minds and a loathing for their own country’s tradition and culture are offended…that says more about them, shame on them.
Surely they cannot be serious?
Thanks to Unionist machinations, many Scots, Welsh and Irish were taught a substitute foreign tongue instead of their native, ancestral gaidhlig.
Unionists have given the civilised world ethnic cleansing as well as the concentration camp.
And still they complain!
I note the song list has a significant Jacobite content and await the OO comments.
Luigi says:
13 October, 2013 at 7:24 am
“Why, God save the queen and rule Britannia of course.”
I do believe the boys scouts, boys brigade and girls brigade etc. have to swear an allegiance to the Queen to this very day.
No ramming Britnat propaganda down to the throats of our children there eh?
Well not in the eyes of Scanlon and her type.
I’m sad to say that I do not know the words to Scots Wa Hae or Scotland the Brave, but I do know the Jeely Piece Song. Seems things are looking up in Scottish schools.
Dick Gaughan from Glasgow are there two Dick Gaughans, I am pretty sure ones a Leither and I don’t think he wrote Both sides the Tweed simply updated it to make it relevant for his time.
And let’s not forget the suggestion Scottish kids should be forced to make a pledge of allegiance…. But it’s not tax payer funded brainwashing propaganda from that side…
…and not one mention of my personal favourite; “Ye canny throw yer Grannie off the bus.” What is going on? 🙂
Ere’s one for ya, sung to the strains of Rule Brittania.
Land or rope a Tory
Pay a monthly fee
How shall we oblige thee
Change a policy?
Wider still, and wider
Our coffer jaws are set
Backhanders excite me
So access thou shall get
The envelope will fit nicely
In my back pocket.
A very large donation
Unlocks our private den
Where you’ll meet with the PM
And dine at Number Ten
We can do lots for you
If you’ll play the game
You’ll be in on some meetings
And call our Dave by name
Though the people are different
The Tory’s still the same.
A Cybernat
“Ere’s one for ya, sung to the strains of Rule Brittania.
Land or rope a Tory”
Hen, it’s like you actually scour my comments looking for things I ask people not to do, so you can do them.
Quite apart from anything else, logically you mean “Land Of Hope And Glory”, not “Rule Britannia”.
@Norrie
Re Dick Gaughan, born Glasgow moved to Leith later, father’s side of family from Leith.
On the song, in his own words by way of explanation.
link to dickgaughan.co.uk
I’m pushing 50 and when at school we were taught Scottish Country Dancing as part of PE. Subversion isn’t a new thing in education. Should my now retired teachers be pulled up for Treason?
Ian Bell in fine fettle today, the sense of rage is palpable.
link to archive.is
I wondered what the next scare story would be. Even as I write this the swivel eyed are scouring the Curriculum for Excellence for more material. It’s getting beyond parody. Anything they say will be laughed at automatically, thank you BT for my morning chuckle.
As for the Express the views of a pornographer and bully are of no interest.
My old mans a Brit-nat
He wears a bowler hat
He says, “Scottish culture?
We’ll no hae nane o’ that!”
He hates Burns and Dunbar
He hates Gaeldom too
And (with his famous sense of fair play)
He hates me and you
My old man’s self-loathing
He wears a cringers hat
He scoffs, “Scottish culture?!
Whit the hell is that!”
I responded to this with nothing more than a resigned shrug.
This is merely the Daily Express doing what is has always done: Spreading mis-information and hatred for the benefit of the UK’s ruling clique. The fact that they received co-operation from the Tory party and Better Together is entirely par for the course. Both are, after all, leading members of that clique.
It’s affected me in one respect though. I’m going to spend the afternoon re-acquainting myself with the music of Dick Gaughan, Robert Burns and other notorious separatists.
What are they getting their knickers in a twist for? When I was at school we got a steady diet of Shakespeare, G&S, Kipling and a token nod to Burns as it was Ayrshire. All this fine Unionist propaganda didn’t work as I was brought up as a Nationalist at home. Could it be a failure of Brit Nat parents to instill their unattractive values in their children?
Even my BB Captain turned a blind eye to me when it was Brit anthem time.
They realise they have failed to destroy our culture and subsume us and now the panic sets in.
Indeed. I’m going to listen to some Dick Gaughan stuff after work. To my shame, I’ve not done so before.
This Unionist muck-spreading exercise has had a completely unintended effect in that it’s actually drawing more Scots to investigate their own culture. Is that not what Black Ops people refer to as ‘Blowback’?
When I lived in the Central Belt I played guitar in a band called Scotia. We did a fair amount of those songs on the list, sometimes traditionally, sometimes rocking them up a bit, they always went down a treat which ever way we played them.
The one part of my education that supplied a bit of Scottish joy was the music class.
After we had sung the prerequisite Trout and Greensleeves to our music teachers satisfaction , we were allowed to sing from the National songbook.
We sang Scots , Welsh and Irish songs and gied them laldy!
So lang deid Miss McIntosh – thank you!
As for the Tory lady ,she has ever had much to say to little effect.
O/T
Regarding BBC radio Scotland Saturday/Sunday morning shows, they are continually having problems finding anyone that might have a positive view on Scottish Independence to come into their studio.
Are we such a rare species that they can’t track one of us down?. Where are all their talented investigative journalists when you need one.
Slightly o/t here , but still concerning the education of our children, I think the Scottish government have improved things so much in recent years .I have 2 children ,age 11 and 15, both of whom are now part of the experiment that is the curriculum for excellence, my son in p7 has started to learn some Scottish history and songs, including the jeely piece song. The project they have had this year was on Scottish politics and the founding of the scottish parliament , on a recent school trip to the national museum , they also visited Holyrood where they were given a real insight into how it works. the following week Tricia Marwick visited their school ,and spent an hour chatting and answering questions.
My 15 yr old daughter will be amongst the first to sit the new national 5 exams. So far I am very impressed with the way she is being taught, and the breadth of the curriculum, which now includes ,Scottish literature as standard. Last year she took part in a year long ” first chances” project at St Andrews uni, and chose the independence debate as her topic. which included presenting both pro and anti cases in an objective way, even with the support of teachers and mentors, the hardest thing during her research was to find anything positive from the no/ better together campaign, or any scare story which couldn’t be debunked.very telling indeed !
When I compare this to the decidedly ” British Empire” feel to the official education I received in the 70’s, where any Scottish input was left to the discretion of individual teachers, and the use of scottish words we used in the playground , were frowned on in class as not being ” proper” English, I think things are changing for the better,and feel quite positive about our countries future.
Luigi said: It must have been during my ancient, airfix spitfire, commando comic book phase when I really believed that we won the war single-handedly and GB was still a global power to be reckoned with.
I won’t have a word said against Commando comics. From them I gained (and still gain) my world view and learned how to pilot a Lancaster.
I also picked up enough German to hitch-hike to Berchtesgaden at the age of eight. (I think you’ll find the phrase “Gott in Himmel! Was ist das? Achtung! Spitfeuer! Aaiieeeee!!!!” works in most social situations).
never mind the bollocks.
I think something is going to give, I really do. This imaginary belief from the ‘No’ camp that all is well, and that 75% of the country rejects Independence. As we all know, that’s garbage, but slowly, but surely …folk out there are picking up on a vibe. They are beginning to frown at the BT camp because they see something is not quite right. Basically, something stinks in Denmark! (no offence to the Danes, like!).
In the last few days, we have had…
1. We had Ms Lamont losing the plot; not once, but twice last week in the Parliament. She was bloody lucky that she wasn’t expelled from the main chamber.
2. We had the climb-down from Stirling Council over the Saltire Flag.
3. We have seen a video where Anas Sarwar is eaten alive by Labour activists at the Clydebank TUC.
4. We have had David Cameron running away in fear because he’s scared to debate with Alex Salmond.
And then you have us happy-chappies …who quite happily …walk around family, friends and work colleagues, and point these things out. ‘Don’t believe me, check out this website. Well …look at this newspaper clipping. What …well, look up this video on Youtube’
And I think, these folk, when they go home and are in the privacy of their own living rooms, they are quietly looking these things up, and I’ll bet a month’s wages, that it’s starting to put doubt into their mind about the whole BT campaign. I believe there are doubts creeping in as to whether Scotland should continue to be in the Union.
I mean, yesterday, the good old newspaper, ‘The Scotsman’, shouted out, that ‘Yes’ is down to 25% (which we know is mince, and that it sits closer to around the 40% mark). If you didn’t know what was going on, you would say that the ‘No’ vote was in the bag.
If however, the newspapers also reported the truth; that the ‘No’ vote was also stuck around the 35% mark, then I bet a fair amount of folk in this country would sit bolt upright in their chairs, and would really wonder at it all! It would be the end of the BT campaign, because there really would be no-going back. Folk would be far easily persuaded to just vote ‘Yes’ as they see there is not a great number of folk backing ‘No’. But of course, the wonderful impartial Scottish media will never do that!
Now the polls say that 31% of folk are undecided. Where did the extra 11% come from? Certainly not from the ‘Yes’ camp. It must mean that the ‘No’ vote is dropping …and badly. Our little whispering campaign to friends, colleagues and family is working…
So, I expect something to give. Whether it is the Unions, who eventually may lash out at Lamont and Sarwar. Whether it is a Labour / Tory / Lib MSP bricking it for his seat, or whether the White Paper just blows everything away. Who knows….
But I’m waiting for that one moment when the house of cards comes crashing down on the BT mob.
So much so that Foreign Office staff – previously privately criticised for taking little interest in Scottish missions overseas – routinely sit in on meetings between Holyrood ministers and foreign officials.
UK diplomats have been dampening concerns overseas that the referendum will encourage separatist movements elsewhere…
link to archive.is
Aye. Ground being prepared.
Commando Comics on Facebook.
It’s got a great photo gallery of front cover artwork, a few of which are itching for some kind of satirical BBC Scotlandshire or National Collective make-over.
Commando Comics Fb
The Home Of Heroes since 1961 — Four stories of action and adventure every two weeks
link to facebook.com
Friends, I have an admission to make.
(He stands up and solemnly addresses the group)
My name is Helpmaboab and I am a Proclaimers fan.
I wonder if there’s room in the ‘separation songbook’ for any of their work? ‘Cap In Hand’ and ‘What Do You Do’ are both rousing songs with a nationalist theme while ‘Throw the ‘R’ away’ is a pleasantly angry rant against the Scots cultural cringe. It could be the theme-song for this page.
At least the songs have good tunes. As I recall, Sir Tbomas Beecham described Elgar’s musiu as being like the facade of Euston Station.
The Nasty Party says something nasty…..in other news the Pope has been outed as a Catholic and fish live mainly under water.
I was interested to hear on the radio that Scottish civil servants along with Westminster counterparts have been to Geneva to visit the UN to discuss the process of membership. Of course this not tacit acceptance that Yes is going to win but it does show that beneath all the volumes and tonnage of bullshit there is a sensible process taking place that allow for a smooth transition to statehood should we prevail in the vote.
David Smith
“This Unionist muck-spreading exercise has had a completely unintended effect in that it’s actually drawing more Scots to investigate their own culture. Is that not what Black Ops people refer to as ‘Blowback’?
I too had nothing but English History, Shakespear & Greensleeves. Happy to say I now read Scottish history and have learned many of Burn’s songs by heart – and of course Hamish Henderson’s Freedom Come a’ Ye, also learning to play the fiddle for the ‘big party’ on 19th Sept. 2014.
JLT,
“I expect something to give”.
Yep, and I think it will be the unions – big cracks are already appearing all over the place.
@JLT, spot on my friend!
If the BT campaign was so sure it was winning, why would it feel it needed to change its campaign strategy so many times?
They have launched so many changes of strategy, or changes in personnel, that anyone who was a genuine neutral would think that BT was loosing the battle!
Because they are and they know they are!
Quite simply put, negative campaigning does not work in Scotland anymore, as it has been a hand that has been played so many times and shown to be a bluff, that people can for the most part see right through it.
We all know that the press are lying to us, but we all need to wake up to the realisation that the polling companies are doing the same.
Polling Director to Tory Paymaster- “32% undecided eh? well that extra needs to be shown to come from the Yes side…the problem is we have lied so much already about the yes share and got them down to 23/25% so how can we tell people that an extra 15% or so came from them, and do this without showing the Yes share plummeting to 11% or thereabouts? In the past we could get away with it, as the press would only be to glad to print that the Nat vote has collapsed, but these bloody cybernatz are hitting 100,000 unique views per month on a few of their blogs, so they’d be all over us like a virus, if we try that trick”
🙂
More anti-Scottish bile from Ben Borland of the Express, who is gaining a reputation for this sort of nonsense. Mr Borland comes across a one of those nasty Brit-Nats.
You just need to read this to see how the Express operates in Scotland. These guys operate in the sewers.
link to news.bbc.co.uk
but it does show that beneath all the volumes and tonnage of bullshit there is a sensible process taking place that allow for a smooth transition to statehood should we prevail in the vote.
It can’t be any other way. That’s why they did everything to prevent a referendum, for if one was to take place, negotiations would need to take place beforehand to ensure stability. By ensuring stability, independence becomes a self fulfilling prophecy…
As the No Better Together campaign spent the summer pulling out of gala days then demanding yes do the same, I’m sure they will be calling for a ban on the Proms. If we can’t have our songs they can’t have theirs. Seems fair.
@JLT
We had Ms Lamont losing the plot; not once, but twice last week in the Parliament. She was bloody lucky that she wasn’t expelled from the main chamber.
I think, with a little digging, that all that nonsense at FMQ was “fixed” for effect by a certain Mr Paul Sinclair and his brothers at BBC Scotland. It would have been a well rehearsed move at their pre-FMQ meeting on the Wednesday.
When you listen to any FMQ, you can almost pick out the BBC Scotland sound bite from Johann Lamont that will be used in the up and coming news reports.
All part of “Project Fear” planned by Paul Sinclair, John Boothman and Johann Lamont.
We should just re-work them John, how aboot “God save our gracious food banks ” or ” Land of dope and Tory ” ?
Ian Bell, on the energy price-hikes and Royal Mail:
link to archive.is
You have to wonder how the energy cartel arrives at these figures. 8.2%?
The official spinmeisters turn up, bleating about wholesale costs, investing in infrastructure etc. But what if their bosses had told them, ‘The rise is 18.2%’ – would they have spun it any differently?
Bottom line – they can charge whatever they like, and there’s nothing we can do about it.
More rubbish from the Daily Excess.
@Major Bloodnok
“Aaiieeeee!!!!” as I recall it was Japanese, usually articulated by a bespectacled, buck-toothed belligerent.
@DEE
Yes this BBC Scotland crowd are a bunch of crackers. Their reporters when talking about finance matters come out with the phrase ” sales on the High Streets “. In Scotland we do not have many High Streets. In most of our towns the principal business and shopping street is named Main Street. Why do they feel they need to parrot the English reporters who use this phrase which is only appropriate when referring to England? This is only a minor irritation but is indicative of how these people think.
My take on this tosh: Ye Cannae Shove Yer Granny Aff the Outrage Bus.
@ianbrotherhood
Bottom line – they can charge whatever they like, and there’s nothing we can do about it.
I am an SSE customer, and I fully intend switching to another supplier (as long as it is not EON) in due course, once the other companies have adjusted their prices, even if doing so does not save me any money.
Ideally when one company leads the way with a large price increase they should be penalised by losing many of their customers.
One consolation for me is that I have a multi-fuel stove and a good supply of firewood.
Jimsie, I think you misunderstood the phrase’ High Street’in this context. its the idiot way of saying ‘retail sector’. The terms Main st and High St do not denote whether one is scottish or english. Many english towns don’t have high streets either, for example in Scotland Edinburgh does, in England Ipswich doesn’t. A bit unfair to conflate name of main shopping area with a particular country.
🙂
Nationalise the energy companies. They have betrayed the public by acting as a cartel.
Just watch the rest of them put their prices up by the same amount!
This is exactly what Henry Mcleish was on about: the increasingly unhinged and insane attacks that have no basis in reality. It’s also very interesting in that it is a manifestation of the “Scottish Cringe” – from a completely unionist perspective.
They have a bad dose of it as was seen from recent brainfarts about Scots not wanting to serve in Scottish regiments, and now towards music being used to re-educate children into hating the union.
Major Bloodnok – “learned to fly a Lancaster” – don’t tell me you flew with Braddock (VC) and George Bourne as well? Cripes, I’m impressed!
As for poor old Mary Scanlon and her ilk – your cringe is showing madam.
@ SNEDDON So the Americans should not be using the term MAIN ST USA when referring to retail sales in their country?
A lot of thought today.
Another marvelous Sunday Herald. Bell, McWhirter, Taylor first class. Hammond’s haverings dissected and destroyed. Buy a copy and support this paper. In fact buy two (or three) for passing around.
Best version of the Freedom Come A Ye that I have heard is by 5 Hand Reel ft Dick Gaughan and it can be downloaded from ITunes or Amazon MP3 onto you computer medai palyer for pennies and thence easily onto CDs. I play this song as often as I can on my wee radio programme. Should be our national anthem
We are winning. I am sure of that. Most Scots want to vote YES. I have met no NO supporter who is confident or proud of their position. Some are actually ashamed. But most are entirely honest in their position and can be readily changed in the course of a ten or twenty minute conversation.
I detect deep discomfort now coming to the surface from our media on the nature of the NO campaign. They are nowhere near supporting YES much of it but they are now attacking the NO effort. They want NO to provide a constructive case for staying in the Union. No such case exists. We may reach media inertia some time soon
The jeely piece song is an homage to Yuri Gagarin? Who knew?
Ian,
Partly because of a somewhat misguided EU energy strategy, the energy firms have the UK Govt over a barrel. Old coal-burning plant has to close by the end of 2015, and best guess is that thereafter there will be only a 2% margin between supply and demand – which may well mean blackouts. So new generating capacity is needed in a bit of a hurry, and the energy cos can simply say they won’t build anything unless they get the price rise…
It’s also worth remembering when we are tempted to rail against fat cats, that energy companies are absolute core holdings for many pension funds, which rely on the dividends. So, again, the energy cos can threaten to cut their dividends and point out that it will be pensioners who suffer.
They also have a point about the green taxes. The ‘green’ levy goes straight onto electricity bills: it’s as bad as the poll tax in that it takes no account of ability to pay. It would be much fairer to fund it out of general taxation and reduce fuel bills that way.
On a more serious note, w ecan make something of this with the undecideds, the songs you are not to let your kids sing, because many of their parent sand grandparents also sung the same songs!
let’s get to it!
I forgot to say, i wonder if they will cover this on newsnight?
kinivie
Indeed. But it also should be pointed out that the steadily falling value of the pound represents a real increase in costs to the Energy companies and it would be unwise to imagine as everything else goes up in price due to this that energy’s prices would be immune.
No panic from BBC Better Together just there on the Sunday Politics. Andrew Neil confidently asserted that ‘all’ polls show No with a comfortable lead (so the WoS one officially didn’t happen), and that ‘most’ showed the No lead increasing. Bruising Bruiser Alastair Carmichael was happy to agree, before sharing a cosy, fawning joke about whisky (och aye the noo!) with Neil.
That we are threatened with ‘enforcement’ for not paying for this shite beggars belief.
Well I remember primary school in Alloa – we got Scots Wha Hae and we all learned it in its entirety. Our teacher went through it line by line and made sure we understood every word of it. It was probably just after that that we went to Bannockburn on a school trip. We also read , in its entirety, “The Lady of the Lake” by Scott. (OK its romanticised stuff, but it was set in the Trossachs just a short drive away, relatively speaking)
And it was probably about that time that Winnie Ewing won Hamilton….
One final point , what this pish about Gagarin? Yuri Gagarin was a pioneer, first man in space, a very brave man indeed. Huge risks, huge unknowns. Died in a tragic accident. So he was a communist? Big effing deal. Probably doesnt like Valentina Tershkova either – first woman in space. Bet you she was a commie….
@scaraben & kininvie-
I don’t pretend to understand the intricacies of the marketplace and/or the extent to which EU regulation has tied the hands of govt ministers and policy-makers, but I know this – as Ian Bell points out, this 8.2% hike is, literally, a death-sentence for some in our communities. We may never know their names, but it’s not a Poirot job to work out what sectors of society they’ll be from.
It is an intolerable perversity that pensioners will freeze to death for the sake of protecting the ‘value’ of this or that portfolio, and disgusting that access to the basics of existence are determined by a handful of remote, profit-driven shysters who operate under a state-supported illusion of ‘competition’.
Changing suppliers, I’m sorry to say, won’t make a blind bit of difference in the long-run – it just means they’ve got you by your other ball.
Dave McEwan Hill
Totally agree with you Five Hand Reels version of Freedom Come all Ye is simply excellent. That was a fine band in its day.
“When Maclean meets wi his freends in Springburn, A’ the roses and geans will turn tae bloom”
You can pick almost any line from that song and it is good…..
By the way, how could The Freedom Come Aa Ye have been sung en masse at the independence rally when hardly anybody bothered to show up? Some unionist needs to get his/her story straight.
“By the way, how could The Freedom Come Aa Ye have been sung en masse at the independence rally when hardly anybody bothered to show up?”
😀
Incidentally, I tweeted yesterday that I didn’t know the words. Someone posted a link to them this morning, and now I can safely say that I don’t even understand them.
The mindset of those on the BT campaign is clear for all to see. They have of course posted the express article on the BT facebook.
The No campaign are not Scottish and British. Just British; like the saltire cringe guy in the Herald the other day. They couldn’t possibly be more unrepresentative of the Scottish electorate. Hence the failing BT campaign.
They should remember this:
link to whatscotlandthinks.org
Jimsie – what are you havering about, I was referring to the phrase ‘high street’ in the news context you mentioned and also stating that the name of streets isn’t a good indicator of the country it exists in.
It’s a bit of a stretch to categorise Dick Gaughan’s “Both Sides the Tweed”, which calls for friendship and mutual respect between Scotland and England, as a “divisive anthem”!
JLT – whispering campaign, that’s not a bad analogy for what is happening. Reminds me of an episode of David Tennant era Doctor Who (if you will indulge me) where the doctor is seen to be helpless in the Master’s grip, but Martha goes round the houses and campfire gatherings of humanity, under the Master’s radar, spreading the word about the Doctor…
Craig P, brill, still laughing after half an hour.
Here you go ffs link to ecalpemos.org
“Here you go ffs”
Why “FFS”? That site says “The original Scots lyrics are rather impenetrable even for Scottish people”.
Craig P – I wonder if Mark Smith has seen that one?
@ianbrotherhood
Changing suppliers, I’m sorry to say, won’t make a blind bit of difference in the long-run – it just means they’ve got you by your other ball.
Yes, unless a miracle happens and enough people do the same; sadly, most will just grumble about the price increase. But at least I will feel a little bit better for knowing that I have done what little I can, other than making the effort to light my stove rather than be lazy and turn on an electric heater.
It is the size of the increase that annoys me, plus the fact that they are bleating about not making as much profit as they think they are entitled to. Is this about thumbing their noses at Ed Miliband?
FFS because it’s a very sad state of affairs.
Given that pornographer Richard Desmond (owner of the Scottish Daily Express, Daily Star and Channel 5 tv station) is a big fan of the edl and far-right politics, he probably wouldn’t object to Scottish school children singing The Horst Wessel Song.
I wonder if any of the Better Together unionist parties will be distancing themselves from the execrable Mr Desmond?
References –
(Warning, you might need a sick bag handy before clicking these Daily Star links)
link to archive.is
link to archive.is
This just smacks of the ‘British Together’ campaign calling foul on a non issue, that still gives them some internal issues.
They know that to support the first 2 terms below is at least honest
Examples say :
‘We are for Britain and all it stands for; putting Britains interests first’ – BT / NO
set against
‘We are for Scotland and all it stands for; putting Scotlands interests first’ – YES
But consider their current position
‘We are for Scotland and all it stands for; putting Britains interests first. – BT / NO
Such honesty is the true contradiction of their perspective – why do some so called scots still want to vote for such a mess.
At least be honest –
Be Scottish
or
Be British (if you must) its far clearer for the heart honestly !! the rest is just nonsense.
Mary Scanlon – Scottish Conservative (?) (Particularly you)
Dick Gaughan sang Westlin’ Winds at Celtic Connections a couple of years ago (Burns wrote it when we was just sixteen), I’ve yet to hear better!
Can they NO make their minds up?
@Ian Brotherhood
“It is an intolerable perversity that pensioners will freeze to death for the sake of protecting the ‘value’ of this or that portfolio, and disgusting that access to the basics of existence are determined by a handful of remote, profit-driven shysters who operate under a state-supported illusion of ‘competition’.
Changing suppliers, I’m sorry to say, won’t make a blind bit of difference in the long-run – it just means they’ve got you by your other ball.”
Speaking as someone else who’s going to be settling down for another long winter with a heating system that’s completely useless as I can no longer afford fuel for it, I’d have to agree with you there.
I’d also like to warn anyone who may have contacted their energy company for help with fuel costs and had the suggestion of a “Prepayment Meter” helpfully suggested to them as a solution.
DO NOT ACCEPT!
They sound nice in theory, just keep topping up the credit, like most electric meters, so you can just “stock up” on it for the winter… Nope! Doesn’t work that way!
I got conned into letting them fit one of them too. What they didn’t mention is that when you’re on one of them, you can’t switch to any “No Standing Charge” tariff, meaning that any credit you put on it will be continually leeched away by the standing charge. This forces you to constantly pour a significantly large percentage of your income into it in order to keep enough credit on there to run your boiler for a half-decent length of time. And if you end up in a lean time and have to let it drop below zero credit, it’ll start stacking up debt. Meaning that the next time you put some money in there… kiss it goodbye, as it’ll get eaten up on the mounting debt, leaving you nowhere near enough to heat up your house.
And the icing on the cake for the energy suppliers? While it’s free to get them installed, they’ll charge you for removing it again. They don’t want you switching back again since they’ve got you over a barrel of rapidly-increasing debt. Not to mention that they’ll probably refuse to remove it while it’s “collecting a debt” anyway!
Greedy Energy companies have long since overtaken insurance companies in my “Top Ten Reasons Society is Circling the Toilet Bowl!” list…
@ian & other energy people:
Here’s the Jimmy Reid thinking on what Scotland needs to do with its energy policy. Lots of interesting ideas & plenty of gruesome facts & figures about the current state of affairs:
link to reidfoundation.org
@kininvie –
Many thanks for that link – intend to read it closely.
Just had a glance at the intro, and something jumped out at me – how come we have ‘climate change targets’, but we don’t have ‘pensioner-death-reduction’ targets?
@oneironaut-
Agreed. The pre-payment scam must be one of the most putrid schemes ever – those least able to pay end-up paying more than anyone else?
It’s just another way of screwing those least able to defend themselves – and it’s considered ‘normal’!?
How did we get like this?
Aye, it makes you wonder what songs we will be permitted to sing if a NO vote is returned. So much for being proud to be both Scottish and British.
Speaking of doing away with Scottish culture, the Radio station Clyde 2 had a phone in today, one of the questions was, is it a waste of money trying to revive the Gaelic Language.
Several ill informed people phoned in and said let Gaelic die.
So much for trying to save Scottish culture, mores the pity.
While I was fannying about on my computer this morning I checked the huge number of “Freedom Come A Ye” renditions available on Amazon and then thought to have look on Youtube for it. Got a marvellous 1989 Dick Gaughan live performance then found a equally marvellous live piece from Lorraine MacIntosh (Deacon Blue/ River City). Worth a watch
Foun it.
With regards to electricity / gas suppliers. I must be one of the lucky ones, even though SSE will be increasing their charges, I am actually paying about £50.00 a month less that I did when I was with EON and hopefully once all the insulation on the house is completed this will fall further.
The insulation is costing me nothing as I live in a pre-war built home.
I advise everyone to check out this government scheme and see if they qualify.
“How did we get like this?”
Easy, it’s so much simpler to rip off the poor, disabled and pensioners.
Cannot believe people have to pay for these metering systems – something has to change. It absolutely disgusts me to the core that our pensioners and disabled are literally freezing to death in winter. Young people can cope with the cold, the old and infirm cannot.
Thanks Tree of Liberty. The sad thing is, I could truthfully dedicate this song to my parents, like Calum Craig and his thoughtful letter. The full song is below if you are interested:
My old man is British
He wears a bowler hat
He says, “Scottish culture?
We’ll no hae nane o’ that!”
He hates Burns and Wallace
He hates Gaeldom too
And (with his sense of fair play)
He hates me and you
Oh my old man’s self-loathing
He wears a cringers hat
He scoffs, “Scottish culture?!
Whit the hell is that!
Kilted ginger weirdos
Playing fiddly-dee?
Braveheart-loving nazis,
Shortbread for their tea.”
He watches Downton Abbey
He watches BBC
He watches Man U-Chelsea
And then he says with glee:
“There is no Scottish culture
Scottish culture’s deid
And if you disagree son
I’ll dunt ye ower the heid.”
My old man is British
He flies a Union Jack
He’s proud and patriotic
And who could dispute that?
It really saddens me to see, such fuel poverty, amongst other poverties in Scotland.
Scotland a country blessed with wind,water, gas and oil fuel sources, should have the best interests of its people at heart when it comes heating homes.
I know energy isnt devolved so not much can be done just now, but surely after independence, something can be done, to change the yearly death tolls of Scots, who are to afraid to heat their homes, or have to eat instead of heat.
If independence, can teach us one thing, it that we must look after our people, first and foremost, something Westminster has and never will do.
Oneironaut Some firms do put a standing charge on prepayment metres but not all. There is an enery supplier called EBIco that provide PPM without the standing charge and I think have raised their prices for the last couple of years.
If it is at all possible of r you to switch, I would consider this firm.
link to ebico.org.uk
@Rev: Incidentally, I tweeted yesterday that I didn’t know the words. Someone posted a link to them this morning, and now I can safely say that I don’t even understand them.
Given that the Scots language has been undermined as a bastardised dialect as opposed to the bona-fide language it truly is, I can’t say I’m surprised. How could it be any other way, when Scots was beaten out of kids at school who were ordered to speak “proper English” just as Welsh schoolchildren were prohibited from speaking what was, in many cases, their mother tongue?
Case in point:
Andy-B: Speaking of doing away with Scottish culture, the Radio station Clyde 2 had a phone in today, one of the questions was, is it a waste of money trying to revive the Gaelic Language.
Several ill informed people phoned in and said let Gaelic die.
That’s as offensive to me as suggesting to just let an endangered species die out, or to not bother saving a historical artefact falling into ruin. I mean for Christ’s sake, how much could it cost compared to the frivolities and luxuries people spend billions on?
Is the Express seriously trying to tell me that the hundreds of Tories, LibDems and Labourites who have happily sung along to my rendirtions of “Scots Wha Hae” and “Parcel o Rogues” at innumerable Burns Suppers are secret separatist subversives? Now , there’s a thing!
@Taranaich-
It’s particularly bone-headed of Radio Clyde to feature such a ‘discussion’ given that the Mod is ongoing in Paisley.
@Sheena Wellington-
Aye. And no doubt you’ll have encountered many of those who frequent Burns Clubs, spend months practising the ‘authentic’ delivery of this or that poem or song, but, as soon as they step outside? they turn their nose up at anyone who says ‘aye’ rather than ‘yes’.
They are ‘the cringe’ personified.
@Ianbrotherhood, I can’t stomach radio clyde anymore, I used to be a regular listener but got fed up with all the wee sly digs at Salmond or the upcoming referendum. The only time I tune in is a Saturday night for the GB experience. Takes me back to my mis spent youth.
@AlexMci-
Clyde used to be brilliant. Remember Tiger Tim had a spot in the evening where punters could phone-in and sing along to whatever hit they fancied? I suppose it was karaoke of sorts, before it took off.
Anyway, one night this young lad came on and Tiger Tim had the usual wee blether with him before asking what he wanted to sing along to.
‘I’m gonny do Rat Trap.’
Boomtown Rats were probably number one at the time. So, no probs, Tim sticks on the song and the lad does his best. Then you hear banging, shouts, ‘Haw! what you doing wee man?!‘, the lad keeps going…
Turns out he was calling from a phone-box in Castlemilk.
@Taranaich.
Totally agree.
Gaelic like Scots and Doric are important parts of our heritage, theyve been systematically eroded, since James VI forced clan chiefs to send their children to the lowlands to learn English, under the Statute of Iona.
@ianbrotherhood
Turns out he was calling from a phone-box in Castlemilk
In the 1970s, phoning from an outside phonebox was common in Glasgow. Not many people had a phone in the house in those days, and even if they did, it was in the living room were everybody could hear what you were saying.
ianbrotherwood
Does anybody remember the Andy Cameron classic phone-in.
It was a lunch time Sunday show if I remember correctly. Wee fellow phones in and asks Andy ” What vegetable makes your eyes water?”
“An onion?” suggests Andy.
“Naw” says the wee fellow “A turnip – if someone hits you in the balls with one!”
Silence. Followed by spluttering surpressed laughter from radio presenter
Dave McEwan Hill, that is totally wonderful. What a story. Only in Scotland. Thats brilliant!
Incidentally, I tweeted yesterday that I didn’t know the words. Someone posted a link to them this morning, and now I can safely say that I don’t even understand them.
I remember singing it on the hill, but there weren’t very many singing it with me because I think not many know the words. I petered out after the first verse anyway, as I remember only snatches after that, and not which order the verses are in.
The trouble is, after about the first verse, it’s already very dated. What does Maclean meeting with friends in Springburn have to do with the 21st century? It’s neither of genuine historical significance, or of contemporary relevance.
The first verse is an absolute cracker of absolutely up-to-the-minute relevance for the independence debate and struggle, though.
It’s a thocht that wad gar oor rottansAa thae rogues that gang gallus fresh an gayTak the road an seek ither loaninsWi thair ill-ploys tae sport an play.
Just think about Menzies Campbell and George Robertson and Michael Forsyth and Michael Moore and Tavish Scott and Nicol Stephen and Jeremy Purves and Jack McConnell George Foulkes and indeed every single unionist politico in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as you sing that. Think of all the “debates” at Westminster where they line up to traduce their own country and countrymen as benefits junkies and scroungers. As TWOPOS.
Then add in Johann Lamont, Ruth Davidson and the rest of them.
And sing it again.
Weird. Spotted typo as comment was publishing, but immediately got “you cannot edit a comment after a reply has been posted”.
TWTPTS of course.
And the formatting of the verse screwed up even though it looked fine on my screen before I posted it.
they turn their nose up at anyone who says ‘aye’ rather than ‘yes’.
Funny thing. I used Scots at school because everyone else did, but I knew better than to use it at home because my mother didn’t approve (and my father, being from an originally Gaelic-speaking family, didn’t speak it). I remember absent-mindedly saying “aye” instead of “yes” when addressing a school friend in front of my mother, and getting a row for it. That seems a bit topsy-turvy but it’s the way it was.
Then, many years later, I was reading an article in the Scots Independent, written in Scots. I came across a word I didn’t recognise, looked up from the paper and asked my mother what it meant. (She was visiting me at the time, and was doing a crossword or something.) She immediately answered me, and it was obvious her answer was correct when I put it into the context of the sentence. However, I hadn’t given her the context. She just knew.
I absorbed this for a minute, then said, “Hang on, you’re my mother. How come I didn’t know what that word meant when you did?” She looked all blank and uncomprehending. But I know she believed I had to be brought up speaking “properly”. Which included not knowing the meaning of a lot of Scots words, or being told them as curiosities, not as part of a language to be used.
Morag did you not catch the very excellent young Glasgow comedian Kevin Bridges “Live at the SECC”! on telly the other night.
He was talking about talking to an American and having to say yes rather than aye. He said that he could feel his brain giving him a mental “wanker” sign! I knew exactly how he felt.
Morag says
“The trouble is, after about the first verse, it’s already very dated. What does Maclean meeting with friends in Springburn have to do with the 21st century? It’s neither of genuine historical significance, or of contemporary relevance.”
Morag. We’ve had this discussion before. It’s not literal. That’s the best line in the song and it’s timeless. It’s no more dated than the words of Scots Wha Hae or the Marseillaise or the Irish reverence for Kevin Barry. McLean is one of the heroes who has been excised from our collective consciousness and with the bastards planning a “commemoration” of the start of WW1 next autumn his memory becomes even more important.
The events in Glasgow after the end of WW1 were of huge historical significance and drove the strengthening of the Labour movement which won government in the 1920s. It provided in time the founders of an embryo movement for an independent Scotland and where we are today is merely the logical and inevitable result of what happened in George Square in 1919
I want a march and rally In Glasgow led by a John McLean detachment with the 1820 Society and the James Connolly Society alongside
re: Scots language, happened to come across this site the other day. Was furious as it lists words as Scottish ‘slang’. Would appreciate if one of you Scots language guys could put them right.
link to scotlandwelcomesyou.com
Tiger Tim – well that takes me back, Rowardennan Discos anyone?
Coming home is one of my favourites (the McCalmans version). Trust the right wing BritNat press to imply that there’s something wrong with teaching kids a song about welcoming refugees from around the world as long lost family members.
The sentiment behind coming home is one of the things that makes me most proud to be Scottish. It would sent a great message to the world for our immigration policy once we’re independent to just be the words of that tune.
Dave, I’m not arguing about what a fantastic song it it. I’m just dubious that it’s national anthem material.
I still don’t get that line. Why Springburn?
The whole article is a lazily-written mess of factual errors, distortions and misinterpretations. On the whole, as I have remarked elsewhere : if the Express doesn’t like what you’re doing, you must be on the right track. What would be great is if the Daily Mail were to condemn the website and all the songs as politically offensive, too.
Incidentally, the “journalist” who wrote the piece is not wrong about Scots Wha Hae being seditious – it was widely regarded that way, during the early 19th century, and at least one band was arrested for playing it at political meetings.
Let’s get more seditious songs into primary schools, I say.
Morag – maybe it just rhymed eh?
Morag
Because “Springburn” fits better into the song than “Govan” or “Pollokshaws” or “Gorbals” or the many other areas of Glasgow in which McLean was held in deep reverence.
St Andrews Day this year marks exactly the 90th anniversary of his death in 1923, six days before the election he was a candidate for in Gorbals. He died at 44 and his early death was almost certainly a delayed result of brutal treatment and forced feeding in prison. It is reckoned that a crowd of over 100,000 lined the streets for his funeral.
He recognised that WW1 represented workers murdering each other in the cause of international capitalism, that capitalism would eventually damage the world, that Scotland needed to be freed from the prevailing political orthodoxies of England (sound familiar), he was a friend of James Connolly and Celtic supporters FFS used to sing songs in his praise at Celtic matches despite him being “wee free” (though he renounced religion). His family had been forced to Glasgow by the Highland clearances and this undoubtedly informed his opinions as he recognised that a lack of a Scottish parliament had left Scotland unable to effectively resist such abominations. He was appalled when Labour members in Westminster cheered when they heard of the execution of James Connolly in Dublin and it’s pretty apparent that their despicable descendents infest both our parliaments today.
John McLean represents what Scotland might have been, could have been and should have been.
Give his story to our young new voters and we will have no worry about how they vote next year. Give his story to all our people on the same basis.
Dave Mcewan Hill:
Re Maclean and Springburn. Not sure of the historical details – did Maclean have family in Springburn. Did he actually live there? Springburn was famous of course for its railway engineering works. Maybe just a reference to heavy industry and the working man?
The word “freends” itself is interesting. When I was growing up in working class central Scotland,. the word meant “relatives” as much as chums. In this respect it is a actually similar to Gaelic usage.
Regarding your comment: “I want a march and rally In Glasgow led by a John McLean detachment with the 1820 Society and the James Connolly Society alongside “
Totally , absolutely agree. And George Square needs to be renamed “John Maclean Square”
If they are going to commemorate WW1 they need to pay heed to the significance of men like Maclean.
Dave McEwan Hill – just noticed your update there. Thats good information. Macleans father was from the Isle of Mull (where I live now) I was talking to a woman who is heavily into genealogy about Maclean. She reckoned his family came from the Ardtun area, but I’d like to get more info on that. Virtually no recognition of his Mull roots here.
@Dave McEwan Hill
“He recognised that WW1 represented workers murdering each other in the cause of international capitalism, that capitalism would eventually damage the world,”
My favorite quote from John McLean.
“The trouble with the bayonet is that it is a weapon with a working man at both ends!”
As regards McLean and Springburn:
Hamish Henderson places McLean with friends in Springburn in both the Freedom Come Aa Ye, and the John McLean March.
“Aye weill, whan it’s feenisht A’ll awa back tae Springburn/
Come hame tae yer tea, John, we’ll sune hae ye fed”*
So I have often wondered whether knew something specific about a Springburn connection, or if Henderson just liked the sound of the placename.
*from Dick Gaughan’s website.