SOPPY SUNDAY
Month: August 2018
DUNDEE TODAY
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS
ALL UNDER ONE BANNER, DUNDEE
DUNDEE WEATHER THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Cloudy windy dry & even warmish 17° rising to 19° & feeling 15° rising to 19°.
Before the walk, there’s a 5% chance of rain, but 0% for the walk.
A rather blowy 22-24MPH wind, so the flags should look grand.
Munguin will be there, of course, along with Tris, his faithful retainer.
Hopefully, we shall see you there.
The march sets off from Baxter Park at 12.45, but the organisers want people there a bit earlier than that. So Munguin may be persuaded to rise a little earlier than his normal noon, and, hopefully, we’ll be at the pavilion in the centre of the park from around 12.15 to 12.30.
Munguin will be delighted to make your acquaintance if you want to pop over. He’s a bit like the First Minister. He is quite prepared to hug! And, remember, it will be a great honour for you to meet him!!!!!
If you don’t make it to Baxter Park for the march, we may see you at Magdalen Green.
Here is hoping for a good turn out. Dundee was YES CITY in the referendum… let’s show them that we still are.
At Inverness march a few weeks ago, there was a small band of unionists involved in a counter-demonstration. And I read that Scotland in Union was asking for people to come to a similar demonstration in Dundee. Although Conservative politicians have said that they would not be participating (for obvious reasons), there may be others bussed in by Scotland in Union.
This is completely legitimate. They have as much right to demonstrate for their union as we have to march against it. Let’s treat them with respect, regardless of how they treat us, and not rise to the bait of any provocation, the like of which was seen in Inverness.
AUOB marches, and indeed the independence movement in general, are known for being peaceful and good-natured. This is a great image for our movement. So smile and be cheerful and let any hate come from them to us, and not in the opposite direction.
A note of caution. In light of the news that British Unionist, Peter Morgan, a regular protester at the independence marches, has been jailed for 12 years for plotting terrorist attacks in Scotland, and a tweet from John Ferguson (below), don’t be backwards at taking photos of anyone making personal threats, and be prepared to report anything like that to the Police.
This makes the threat that I received slightly concerning. It was from one very excitable older unionist woman protester at the Inverness AUOB Indy march when she pointed the finger at me and told me they knew who I was and they would get me’ wonder who they are?
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Have a great day, everyone.
WE’LL SAY A LITTLE PRAYER FOR YOU
RIP Aretha.
HUG A FIRST MINISTER
I’m not sure what to say about this Twitter conversation.
But in a way, it encapsulates what I want from an independent Scotland.
As a mate of mine said when I read this out to him… Can you imagine anyone hugging Theresa May?
And no, I can’t. Not because she isn’t some people’s cup of tea. I’m sure she is, just as some people don’t care for Nicola Sturgeon.
But more because the British state doesn’t do that kind of thing. It’s far too stuck up and protocol conscious. From the court downwards there is a “way” of doing things. Everyone in their place and no one daring to move from it. Hugging the prime minister just wouldn’t be the done thing.
Now obviously, that’s not all I want from an independent Scotland. Hugging Nicola is all good and well and I’d be very happy to do it (“me too”, says Munguin), but it’s not everything.
Ever since I was little, I’ve been fascinated by the northern countries. Odd in a way, because I’m not keen on the cold, rain, snow or darkness. And really, climate-wise I’d be much happier in Greece or Southern Italy.
But I’ve always been attracted to the political philosophy that drives countries like Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. And I’ve always been somewhere between fairly appalled and utterly repulsed by the political philosophy that guides the Brits, regardless of which party is in Downing Street.
Maker money; punch above your weight; suck up to America; keep tradition; sod ordinary people.
The more I travelled, the more I’ve read, the more I’ve talked to people who live in Scandinavia (and the Nordic lands), the more I’ve realised that surely THAT is the way we should all live.
And it’s not just me. Academic studies have shown over and over again that the Nordic countries figure highly amongst the happiest people in the world, despite the climate. This year Finland came in at number 1. Norway, Denmark and Iceland at numbers 2, 3, and 4. Sweden at number 9. (Switzerland comes in at number 5, please note Terry Entoure.)
Equality, decency, common sense, a concentration on ensuring that things work within the country, rather than the rushing to interfere in everyone else’s business and a disinclination to bomb other people. which seems to dominate the British political elite’s thinking.
There are high taxes, without a doubt, and so no one is very rich. And no one is very poor.
And yet despite the fact that you can’t get obscenely rich, people seem to be happier than in other places and don’t seem to emigrate to somewhere that they can stack up the money that they’ll never be able to spend.
Maybe they have found that being obscenely rich and quasi-important doesn’t count for much. Maybe the people have found that punching above their weight is something that benefits only an elite few, and impoverishes the rest of the population.
Is that Socialism? Maybe.
I believe that Scotland is like that.
We’re geographically close to the Faroes, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Ireland. Closer in some cases than we are to London. And the current Scottish government has involved itself heavily in the Nordic Council, even hosting meetings in Edinburgh, with Nicola attending meetings in Reykjavik and having bilateral discussions with all their leaders.
I hope that this is the way forward for us. My nationalism is nothing to do with race or creed. It’s to do with breaking away from an unequal society that will never change for the better… and in the light of Brexit will probably change for the worse.
What do you think?
WHO WOULD THIS BE THEN?
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Heathrow Immigration is in a bit of a mess. The average wait, if you are arriving from outside the EEA, is over 2 hours. Can you imagine how long it will be after March 29, 2019… assuming there are any flights coming in?
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Yep, that pretty much sums it up.
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Having already refused to give visas to a dozen or so authors invited to attend the Edinburgh Book Festival, the immigration service held up the family of Nelson Mandela who were travelling to the festival to appear in a Q&A with their great-grandmother on the life of the late president.
Do you get the impression the UK government might be trying to sabotage the festival? If they are, they are doing their usual cack-handed job of it. It’s reflecting just as badly on their global Britain image. But ‘cack-handed’ and ‘Theresa May’ seem to be joined at the hip.
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Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Freda Jackson.
Poor Freda. She went on holiday with her friend to Benidorm and was surprised, nay shocked, to discover that there was a load of Spanish people there.
How very dare they?
Did no one tell them that Benidorm is for the exclusive use of Brits?
I mean, it must have been like going to Blackpool and finding English people there.
Can you just imagine? Horror of horrors.
Freda said Spanish people were rude. Of course, this may be true. There are undoubtedly Spanish people who are rude. I suspect though, not all of them.
Probably they had the effrontery to speak Spanish.
‘The entertainment in the hotel was all focused and catered for the Spanish – why can’t the Spanish go somewhere else for their holidays?’ said dear Freda.
Johnnie Foreigner just gets more and more unreasonable as time goes on. The entertainment was Spanish, in Spain, and there were Spanish people all over the place. Locksalaudy, whatever next?
I mean, how are decent English people supposed to enjoy a foreign holiday or indeed have a football riot, when their plans are thwarted left, right and centre by foreigners?
Mark my words, Europe. This will not be tolerated.
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Oh hell… where do you even begin on this?
Barf…
Get me out of here.
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SOPPY SUNDAY
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS
My thanks to all the Davids for their contributions.
