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Compiled by Jim Lynch
[Issue 101 - 10th May 2002]

SACKCLOTH AND ASHES

Well certainly not good news for the Scottish National Party, as we have a distinct fall, and New Labour has a distinct rise; as a reason, we need look no further the the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose penny on National Health Insurance has taken a trick with the voters.

He has certainly worked a trick, as he is only taking back what he handed out in 1999 at the time of the Scottish Elections, but with the added value of another penny from employers; perhaps if he had taken the advice of the SNP at the time and put the penny into the Health Service then it would not have needed twopence now. The Chancellor does not give twopence for public services, he takes it!

Anyway, he holds our purse strings, and he used them to his good advantage; as with all his budgets, it will take time for the impact to sink in. Already there is grave concern in New Labour cabals, as all this money is for the Health Services, but what about Education, Education, Education, and the well known English female Laura Norder, as the BNP managed to take some English council seats on the latter, a real conundrum that one, racist thugs wanting stricter laws, but not for them, of course!

The poll was taken before John Swinney’s major campaign event on "Talking Independence", so we will need to wait and see how that goes down. There is an improvement shown for the SSP (this is hidden under "Others"), but in local council elections in Fife, Ayrshire and Stirlingshire a couple of weeks ago, they got votes of 64, 39 and 52 respectively, and these were votes - not percentages- so a way for them to go. The Liberals are down a bit, and the Tories up a bit, maybe the start of the Queen’s Jubilee helping the old Empire loyalists.

Scottish Parliament Voting Intention

LABOUR S N P LIB DEM TORY OTHER

1st % 2nd % 1st % 2nd % 1st % 2nd % 1st % 2nd % 1st % 2nd %

Election 39 34 29 27 14 12 16 15 3 11

Last Year 39 32 34 31 8 12 12 12 6 13

Last Month 36 28 32 30 15 19 12 9 7 13

Now 40 31 27 28 13 16 12 11 7 13

A similar story in the Westminster poll, with New Labour picking up 6 points, the SNP losing 5 points, the Liberals 1 and the "Others" also 1; it is never quite mathematically correct, but you get the drift. So we are down, and New Labour is up, as the Chancellor’s largesse with our own money impacts on the electorate. There is no soft option - they’re up - we’re doon!

Westminster Voting Intentions

Lab % SNP % Lib % Con % Others %

Election 44 20 16 16 4

Last Year 47 27 9 15 3

Last Month 41 26 15 14 3

Now 47 21 14 14 4

DOROTHY- GRACE - THE ELDER

When I read in "The Almanac of Scottish Politics" (Gerry Hassan and Peter Lynch - Politicos- ISBN 1 902301 53 6) that Dorothy -Grace Elder was "an impassioned, outspoken and slightly unpredictable politician", I was slightly unpredictably amazed.

She received the Oliver Brown Award in 1995, and is by all accounts an outstanding journalist; I do not know when she joined the SNP, and I have never met her. However, her refusal to stand down from the Health Committee recently contrasts oddly with her decision to stand down from the Parliament at the next Election. One would have thought that if her concerns about health were so overpowering she would have remained in Parliament. In any event, her decision to resign from the SNP over a perfectly normal and reasonable request, is a very egotistical one, and if she believed in Independence, she would not have taken a step which was bound to hurt the only party which will deliver it. Health is too important to be considered a Glasgow issue, and the presence of two Glasgow SNP MSPs out of three on the Health Committee doesn’t say much for the rest of Scotland; Independence is the only way in which the health of Glasgow can be cured.

I also believe that her decision not to resign from the Parliament is immoral; she was not elected as Dorothy -Grace Elder, but as one representative of the Scottish National Party, and was content to take the Party’s funding, and the effort of activists to get her into Parliament. Her comments on "bullying" would have us think she was a young impressionable girl, and not the hard-bitten mature journalist she is. It was also interesting that at the meeting of the SNP Parliamentary party, the voting was 25-1 (she was the 1) to remove her from the committee, and support from her "friends" was inexplicably absent; how quickly the prospect of selection/deselection affects principles.

This is the second Oliver Award winner who has left the SNP, but most of the Award winners have not been Party members; the last one who left was Colin Bell, who was also at one time the Editor of the Scots Independent. Colin joined the Scottish Socialist Party, but did not throw any mud at the SNP as he went, but behaved honourably.

Full marks to John Swinney, who is not afraid to tackle prima donnas, and black marks to the assorted products of the North Briton, who found this another way to snidely snipe at the SNP; in this regard however, the press considered the lady as one of their own.

OPPORTUNITY MISSED

We are continually castigating New Labour because their ineptitude means they miss many chances to improve Scotland’s situation, but this time they are grinding their teeth, because no sooner had Dorothy-Grace Elder aired her petulance, than the rival prima donna, Wee Wendy Alexander, resigned as the Minister for Quite a Lot of Things.

This resignation not only put Dorothy-Grace Elder’s gas at a wee peep, but stopped New Labour’s hyena pack in full cry, bumping into each other as they crawled off in a new direction. (Headline - Hyenas Gassed in a Flurry of Mixed Metaphors) Always nice when things coincide to the fury of the enemy. So what is the harm to Scotland with Wendy’s waygoing? Well, she managed to achieve victory in the Clause 28 (2A) debacle, which she created, and she seems to have agitated and aggravated quite a number of people, some of whom were not in the Labour Party, but did she actually achieve anything?

In many ways, she behaved as a Minister as the classic management consultant that she is; management consultants cannot manage, and only appear to consult, but keep bringing up ideas, proposals and recommendations. By the time the particular company has put in whatever fashionable recommendations are in vogue, and discovered they do not work, the bold consultant has picked up his fee and moved on to another mug - sorry - client. The media, who printed more pictures of Wee Wendy than of any other politician, are bewailing the loss of the "brightest and best" of New Labour in Scotland (and to hell with whoever else might have talent) have not yet noticed that Wendy has only promised, but not performed; as to her also being the "most eligible woman" in Scotland, that makes me think that there must be a lot more people into domination than we think. Or perhaps they are wondering how to fill the gaping holes in their pages where the big pictures (of Wendy) went, and the constant wee streams of stories about her tantrums that help sell their papers; we’ll never know.

I have a great deal of sympathy for her successor, Iain Gray, and I fear he is going to be the real casualty of Jack McConnell’s strategy; many of us thought that Mr McConnell loaded up Wendy with portfolios so that she would be too busy to plot against him, but he steadfastly denied this. Now that she has gone, if he had split her portfolios up, it would have been an admission on his part that this had been the case, so to save his own face he looked around for another victim. Iain Gray seems to be a quiet, steady chap, who just gets on with things, and is not the manic (womanic?) rusher about perpetually glued to a mobile phone workaholic that Wendy was; in this case, if Wendy could not cope with the job, how can Iain Gray be expected to? Well, it is possible that he may get on better with people because he does not shout and bawl at them, and therefore he might actually achieve something; but he is working to Wendy’s agenda, not his own, so he will not feel he has ownership of the proposals. I have a vision of him sitting at his desk, perusing a policy document, and saying to himself "Now how am I going to present this to the Parliament and the press, because this brilliant innovative idea is actually a load of pretentious c--p!"

The parting thought could be that Jack McConnell must see Iain Gray as a threat. If he regarded Wendy Alexander as a threat and made her part-time Minister in three different Ministries, each one of which merits a dedicated Minister, then any failure in the job can be attributed either to flaws in Wendy’s plans, or Iain Gray’s incompetence. The SNP has to point out to the voters that Mr McConnell is the First Minister, and the failure of any Minister is his responsibility, as he appoints them all. Jack will not be all right.

TRADE UNION POLITICAL LEVY

A few weeks back I was commenting on the fact that certain trade unions were very unhappy with New Labour, and that one of them, the Scottish Prison Officers Association had even thought of backing the SNP at the next election.

Now we know that because of the whole PFI issue, many unions are upset, and talking of withholding funds from the Labour Party; as many unions which are affiliated to the Labour Party have a political fund, and all the members have to pay a political levy, I thought it might be a reasonable idea to print an opt out form.

I checked the web, and under www.consumer.gov.uk/er/union/funds-pl868a.htm I found a few little gems:

"The trade union must adopt "political fund rules", and these must be approved by the Certification Officer.

These rules must safeguard the rights of members by:

permitting individual members to contract out of contributing to the political fund:

providing that no member who contracts out will be discriminated against within the union because he refuses to contribute to the political fund; and

providing that contributing to the political fund shall not be made a condition for admission to the union."

Other Excerpts:

"A trade union needs a political fund only if it wants to use its funds for what the law defines as "political objects".

"Political objects" cover what can broadly be described as electoral or other party political activities. They are defined as the expenditure of money:

on any contribution to the funds of, or on the payment of any expenses incurred directly or indirectly by, a political party;

on the provision of any service or property for use by or on behalf of any political party;

"Contracting out" of a political fund

How does a member "contract out"?

If its members vote to set up a political fund, the union must immediately inform all of them that:

each member has a right to "contract out" of paying the political levy; and

a form with which they can claim this right is available on personal application to, or by post from, the union's head office, any branch office, or from the Certification Officer.

A member wishing to "contract out" is not obliged to use an official exemption form. He may complete and send to his union a form which he has drawn up himself (whether it is typed or handwritten) provided that the form follows the outline given in or has the same effect. Whatever form is used, it is essential that the member sends it to the union if the notice is to be effective. A member may "contract out" at any time. Where a member gives such notice within one month of his union setting up a political fund, then the exemption takes place immediately. In other cases, exemption takes effect from the beginning of the next calendar year. A member denied his right to "contract out" may complain to the Certification Officer, who will take the matter up with the union.

If the union continues to deny the member's right, the Certification Officer may issue a declaration against it which can be enforced through the County Court (in Scotland the Sheriff Court).

If the "political fund" levy is collected as part of the members' total union subscription, then the "political fund rules" must specify how much of the subscription is a contribution to the political fund. Any member who "contracts out" will therefore know exactly the amount of union dues of which he should be relieved.

FORM OF EXEMPTION NOTICE
Name of Trade Union
POLITICAL FUND (EXEMPTION NOTICE)

I give notice that I object to contributing to the Political Fund of the Union, and am in consequence exempt, in the manner provided for by Chapter VI of Part 1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, from contributing to that fund.
A.B.

Address………………………………………………………..

…………………….day of…………………….20……………

An employer may deduct union subscriptions from a member by check-off if the member has signed and dated a written authorisation within the previous three years. The member is entitled to withdraw his authorisation at any time and if he does so, his employer has no right to deduct his subscriptions by check-off. "

My interpretation is that if the union has a political fund, then it cannot spend any money from its general fund on "political objects", and if it does not have a political fund any member can complain if their union spends money on "political objects"; we do not know if unions have been ignoring these rules, but it would be interesting to find out.

So broadly, any member can contract out from the political levy, but it would seem that it will not take effect until 1 Jan the next year; any member doing this now will have to pay the levy up to 31 December 2002, but can then pull the plug and keep the Labour Party from getting hard earned cash to spend on the Scottish Elections. There is a lot more to this, about notifying the employer about the deductions, and the legal obligations on employers, but we can redraft and print the form; all very interesting, and not popular with the unions and the Labour Party!

TALKING INDEPENDENCE

This week we are looking at how Independence will affect money, and will attempt to allay the fears of the older generation on pensions; I can empathise on this one, being a 67 year old pensioner!

Your income and savings – what Independence will mean

Will my taxes go up?

Scotland is a wealthy country, however badly it is presently governed. An independent Scotland will be more than able to maintain – and improve on – the current level of services within the current overall level of taxation (further in sections 5 and 6 below). We start out from a healthy economic base (see section 5). It will be up to an independent Scottish Government as to whether it wants to cut or raise taxes, and it will be accountable democratically to the Scottish people for those decisions. The argument of the anti-Independence parties - that Independence will automatically mean more taxes for less services - is actually an argument that Scots are too stupid to run their own economy. The SNP rejects that argument. With Independence, Scotland finally gets to choose for itself how much it pays in tax.

How will my mortgage rate be affected?

Mortgage rates are affected by interest rates, and these are in turn determined in part by decisions made about the currency. Sterling has proved to be an unpredictable roller coaster for interest rates in Scotland, compared with the relevant stability of interest rates in other European countries.

As discussed in section 7 below, the SNP favours moving toward entry into the euro, and Scotland is more than capable of meeting the criteria for euro membership. Meantime, we would envisage keeping the Scottish pound pegged at parity with Sterling in order to guarantee continuity for mortgage rates and other areas of the economy. Stability for mortgage rates will be better guaranteed by Scottish membership of the Euro than it is at present under Sterling. UK mortgage rates have always been too volatile for Scottish conditions and have been guided by an economic policy which assumes, in the words of Bank of England Governor Eddie George, that unemployment in the north is a "price worth paying" for low inflation in the south.

How will my pension be affected?

Firstly, the Scottish Government will continue to have a responsibility to pay state retirement pensions and other benefits. We have all paid into the National Insurance Fund, and Scotland will continue to draw from our share of it. The National Insurance Fund is one of the UK’s assets to which Scotland would be entitled to its share. The legal responsibility to pay public sector and military pensions will be transferred to the Scottish Government for all pensioners resident in Scotland at the time of their retirement, and to the remaining UK Government for pensioners resident there at time of retirement, in accordance with EU requirements.

Not only will a Scottish Government still pay your pension, it will finally have the powers and resources to pay a better pension, and tackle the disgraceful levels of pensioner poverty in Scotland – poverty on a scale virtually unknown in other small independent EU countries.

On the separate issue of private pensions, these operate regardless of what Government you live under, and will in many cases be invested largely outside Scotland anyway.

Next week, my good friend, Peter Wright, will be continuing the series, and talking about trade with England, the public sector and bank accounts after Independence, because I will be in Strasbourg, spending euros, my first opportunity so to do.

FOOT IN THE MOUTH NOTES

There has been some concern that the BNP (British National Party) emboldened by their success in England (3 council seats won out of 67 contested) will be standing for election to the Scottish Parliament next year, and that this might cause confusion with the SNP (Scottish National Party).

The SNP is well enough established to avoid this confusion, but could adopt a new catch -all slogan "British Bad - Scottish Good!"

According to a recent poll 68% of people think that there should be free school meals for all, to avoid the present stigma; COSLA (the local government association) do not agree.

No such thing as a free lunch then?

The people of Hartlepool (Peter Mandelson’s constituency) have elected as monkey as Mayor; the man stood as H’Angus the Monkey, the mascot of Hartlepool FC. It could never happen in Scotland.

Well, not without a Labour ticket.

Scottish Power lost around £1 billion last year; most of this was due to the sale of Southern Water, and some to the sale of its shops.

Let me see, now, the Tories privatised electricity and English water as the private sector was more efficient, so we wonder how they lost money on essentials, like electricity and water.

The Scottish Executive set up a helpline as part of the £6 million drugs education campaign; if you call the freephone, you have a recorded greeting by a Scots voice, then some Gaelic music. After that you are transferred to a privately owned call centre in Liverpool.

Doesn’t say much for the Executive’s opinion of our own country; obviously England knows best.

Read a very complicated letter from the minister for the Armed Forces, all about Nimrod aircraft, MRA4 aircraft, Type 23, Type 42, Type 45 destroyers and Sea Harriers; the last paragraph said "There will be a gap of one year between the end of the Sea Harriers and the introduction of the Type 45 destroyers. But we believe it is manageable."

Message from the enemy, whomsoever they may be "Hello, you chaps; let us know when you are ready, so that you can blow us out of the air/water/bunker, and not the other way about. You are Great Britain, after all............."

SYNOPSIS

A selection of items from the SNP Daily News over the past week:

SNP LEADER CALLS FOR RESIGNATION AS MSP QUITS PARTY

John Swinney has called on Glasgow list MSP Dorothy-Grace Elder to resign from the Scottish Parliament after she publicly resigned from the SNP parliamentary group and Party through a fifteen-page statement to the press. The SNP leader called on Ms Elder, who was voted into Parliament via the regional list system, where votes are cast for the political party not the individual, to resign from the parliament. "The people of Glasgow chose an SNP representative from the electoral list at the last election. For Dorothy-Grace to remain as an MSP would be to flout the democratic will of the people of Glasgow, just as she was attempting to flout the democratic will of the SNP group." Her resignation follows a decision by the SNP parliamentary group last night to ask her to stand down from the Scottish Parliament's health and community care committee to let another MSP have a chance to represent the SNP on this important committee. Ms Elder who announced in November she wouldn't be standing for the Parliament again, refused to do so. The Parliament's committees are made up with the share of MSPs in the Parliament in mind and the practice of changing committees by all parties is commonplace. Mr Swinney said: "As party leader I asked Dorothy-Grace Elder to stand down from the health committee after her three-year stint. I have made dozens of such decisions in the past and I felt it was time to give another SNP MSP the chance to gain some experience on the health committee. As a result of her refusal to accept this, Dorothy-Grace Elder faced suspension from the SNP group after losing a vote on the issue by 25 votes to one."

DEVOLUTION "A JOB HALF-DONE" - JOHN SWINNEY

SNP leader John Swinney today called for Holyrood to be given more powers as he set out his vision for an independent Scotland. Mr Swinney told MSPs that devolution had helped improve the transparency of politics for ordinary Scots, but insisted it was a "job half-done". Mr Swinney said that after three years of devolution Scottish politics had become "a battle of ambition" as he accused the Executive of failing to tackle poverty, health problems and low economic growth. He said: "My ambitions and the ambitions of the SNP for Scotland are higher - much, much higher. We want to create the best Scotland for everyone who lives here, and we can create that best Scotland if we equip this parliament with the full, normal powers of independence." The debate, led by a motion in Mr Swinney's name, comes a day after he urged Scots to end the "dependency culture". Mr Swinney said the power over economic decision making was "at the heart of this debate", and he indicated that Scotland's economic growth rate was among the worst in Europe, as well as in comparison to other parts of the UK. SNP shadow health minister Nicola Sturgeon urged the Unionist parties to "raise their sights". Whilst Lothians MSP Kenny MacAskill said the Scottish Parliament's powers were not enough to address the problems which face the country. And he said Scotland must break free from the rest of the UK if it is to develop and deliver improvements for its people. Mr MacAskill said: "What's so great about being British when one-third of our people live in poverty, when one-third of children born in this land are facing a life of poverty and despair, and we have endemic crime and drug abuse among a section of our population? That is something that we must be ashamed of." South of Scotland MSP Christine Grahame added: "This Parliament should be able to reflect a just and socially caring Scotland, which is more than 300 miles away from that Blair London body politic, which is trying to foist right-wing policies on a left-of-centre Scotland." SNP backbencher Alex Neil insisted an independent Scotland would be better placed in the EU than remaining with the British Union.

JOHN SWINNEY URGES "UNITED FRONT" TO HIT RACISM

SNP leader John Swinney has used his weekly head-to-head with the First Minister at Question Time to call for a "united front" against racism. Mr Swinney recalled a plea he had made for "cross-party unity" to combat racism and he asked Mr McConnell if he would be prepared "in principle" to cooperate with other party leaders on this issue. The SNP leader told him: "The best way to defeat racism in Scotland is to ensure that we focus on the issues that matter in communities across Scotland. That means tackling poverty, unemployment, health and education problems, and problems of opportunity - to reduce the fear of a lack of opportunity that can sometimes lead to hatred of others." Mr Swinney asked the First Minister to go further by giving a commitment that Labour, along with the SNP, would not share any platform with anyone espousing "fascist or racist views".

PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH CATALONIA

The SNP today welcomed an agreement with the Catalonian government to enable Scotland to learn from the experience of the devolved Catalan administration and said the Scottish Parliament should follow its example by pressing for full fiscal powers. The SNP spokesman for Europe, Richard Lochead MSP, said: "Catalonia is a prime example of not leaving a job half done. Artur Mas is sending a clear message to Madrid, that Catalonia wants financial independence. Yet our First Minister, and his government, spend their time fighting those who want to see more powers for the Scottish Parliament. While I welcome any effort to increase Scotland's role in Europe, the fact remains that we will never be able to deal with other nations on an equal footing without the normal powers of independence."

OUTRAGE AT COST OF KEEPING SEX OFFENDER - MSP

An SNP MSP last night complained about the cost to Scottish taxpayers of looking after a convicted sex offender from England. North East Scotland MSP Richard Lochhead said he was "stunned" to discover it cost around 200,000 pounds a year to monitor Steven Beech, who was originally from Cambridge. Justice Minister Jim Wallace confirmed in a letter to Mr Lochhead that it cost 3,800 pounds a week for local authorities to provide 24-hour surveillance on Mr Beech in Aberdeen. Mr Lochhead said: "He ended up in Aberdeen because he wanted to live by the sea, but you could probably hire your own island for that kind of money. It's no wonder that Cambridgeshire police were prepared to cough up the 80 pounds it cost to get him off their patch and fly him to Aberdeen." He went on: "Steven Beech has no association with Aberdeen, or even Scotland, but just fancied living here and by getting him out of England the authorities there passed the problem and the bill onto Scotland." Mr Lochhead said he did not object to money being spent on public safety but called the situation "ridiculous" and promised to ensure it had no financial implications for the local authority.

WALLACE URGED TO ADMIT FINGERPRINT BLUNDER

Justice minister Jim Wallace was today urged by more than 120 international experts to admit a mistake had taken place in the case of former policewoman Shirley McKie. The fingerprint and forensic experts urged Mr Wallace to acknowledge that fingerprints which led to her conviction were wrongly identified. And they warned that unless the situation was rectified, fingerprint evidence and the Scottish justice system would be undermined. Its contents were made public by South of Scotland SNP MSP Mike Russell who has campaigned on behalf of Ms McKie. The MSP, who has secured a Scottish Parliament debate on the issue on May 15, said: "The world community of fingerprint experts, people with millions of hours of giving evidence as experts, say this is completely untrue. They say in the letter that to identify these prints as from the same source, or to deliver an opinion about identity, is a gross mistake, nothing else. They are the world experts, and they say the position of the SCRO is untenable. What everybody wants is for Jim Wallace to say there is no doubt this was a wrong identification, and that it was not a matter of opinion." Ms McKie was accused of perjury after what was claimed to be her thumbprint was found in a room of a murder scene in Ayrshire, although she denied every having been there. She stood trial but was acquitted after expert American fingerprint witnesses gave evidence that the print was not hers.

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SCOTTISH FOOD, TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS
(if you have any suggestions on what you'd like us to include email peter@scotsindependent.org)

In at least two places in Scotland, Norwegian Constitution Day ( 17 May 2002 ) will be marked - Edinburgh and Kirkwall. Norwegian students in Edinburgh have traditionally marked their National Day, colourfully and with pride. In Kirkwall, the day will be marked with a parade through the Orkney town's centre which will be followed by a traditional dance in the evening, organised by the Orkney Norway Friendship Association ( see Events ). Over the centuries there has long been ties between Scotland and Norway, which were very much strengthened during the Second World War. Norway, of course, used to rule part of which is now Scotland. During the reign of Alexander III, King of Scots, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man were ceded by Norway to Scotland under the Treaty of Perth, 1266. Alexander's daughter married the King of Norway and their daughter was the famous Maid of Norway. She sadly died in the Orkneys on her way to succeed Alexander III on the Scottish throne. Orkney and Shetland remained under Norwegian rule for many more centuries. Indeed it was only, when Norway was under Danish rule, that Orkney and Shetland were ceded to Scotland. The failure of the Danish crown to pay the dowry due to James III, King of Scots, on his marriage to Margaret, daughter of King Christian I of Denmark and Norway, saw the islands come under Scottish rule in the late 15th century. So appropriately this weeks recipe is Orkney Broonies which should be kept for at least a week to mature in an air-tight tin - so if you bake them right away they can be enjoyed on Norwegian Constitution Day.

Orkney Broonies

Ingredients : 8oz ( 225g ) fine oatmeal; 4oz ( 100g ) self-raising flour; 5oz ( 150g ) golden syrup;2oz ( 50g ) black treacle; 4oz ( 100g ) soft brown sugar; 2 tsp ground ginger; 4oz (100g ) margarine or butter; 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1/4 pt ( 125 ml ) buttermilk; 1 egg; pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F/ 180 deg C or gas mark 4

Mix the meal and flour together and rub in butter. Add salt, sugar, ginger and soda. Mix the treacle, syrup, egg and buttermilk together and add to the dry ingredients to make a soft consistency. Pour into a lined 8 inch ( 20cm ) square tin and bake for 35 minutes.

Remember to keep for at least a week in an air-tight tin.

See our Scottish Food, Traditions and Customs in our Features section

DATES IN HISTORY

10 May 1307
Victory by Robert I, King of Scots, over English forces under the Earl of Pembroke at Louden Hill, Ayrshire, which gave a new impetus to his campaign for Scottish Freedom.

13 May 1999
Labour MSP Donald Dewar was elected as First Minister of the reconvened Scottish Parliament.

16 May 1975
Local Government ( Scotland ) Act ( 1974 ) came into effect replacing 430 local authorities with nine regional, fifty-three district and three island councils.

See Dates in History in our Features Section

SING A SANG AT LEAST
(compiled by Peter D Wright)

"That I for poor auld Scotland's sake
Some useful plan or book could make
Or sing a sang at least ........"

- Robert Burns

SLEEPYTOON O' KENNETHMONT
Boyd Clark

Click here to listen to the song

It happened at last Whitsunday,
I tired o' my place,
And I gaed up to Inch to fee,
My fortune for to chase.

And sing airrie erritie adie,
And sing airrie erritie an.

I met in wi' Adam Mitchell,
To fee we did presume,
He's a fairmer in Kennethmont,
And he lives at Sleepytoon.

If you and I agree, he says,
You'll have the fairest play,
For I never bid my servants work
Above ten hours a day.

If a' be true ye tell to me,
I think the place will suit;
Guid-faith, I think I'll gang wi' you,
But ye're an ugly brute.

'Twas on a Monday mornin'
I gaed hame to Sleepytoon,
And he ranked us in guid order
To lay his turnips doon.

I was sent to drive the dung,
Likewise my neighbour Knowles;
But soon the rain it did come on,
And the order cam' to lowse.

The rain it still increased;
The son was at the mill
For meal, old Adam Mitchell said,
Our bellies for to fill.

The rain it soon went over,
And the day began to break;
And our next orders were to scrape
Our dinners frae the secks.

We'll ne'er refuse your orders,
Whate'er ye bid us do;
But to eat the scrapin's o' your secks
Is a thing we'll never do.

Do you refuse what I command,
Ye scoundrels that ye are?
Ye bargained for ten hours a day,
Refuse then if ye daur.

But if the one thing winna dee,
The ither I can try;
I go and get the kitchen-maid
To mix it through the dry.

The order was to bed at nine,
And never leave the toon,
And for every time we left it
We'd be fined half-a-croon.

Knowles he was fined mony's a time,
But never lost the heart;
And I mysel' was fined a pound
For turnin' up a cart.

We never heeded Adam,
But aye we took the pass,
Sometimes to buy tobacco,
Sometimes to see the lass.

But now the term's come at last,
The trifle's safely won,
And we'll awa to Rhynie Muir,
And there we'll hae some fun.

When we are owre in Alford,
We'll gar the gless gae roun',
And we'll tell them o' the usage
That we got at Sleepytoon.

We'll maybe see old Adam yet
Jist at his dish o' brose;
And we'll gie him oor pocket-napkin
To dicht his snuffy nose.

And sing airrie erritie adie,
And sing airrie erritie an.

Footnote : Jock Duncan of Pitlochry, 76 year young, won the coveted Bothy Ballad Singer's Champion of Champions, at Elgin Town Hall in April 2002, singing this 150 year old song. Aberdeenshire born and bred, Jock Duncan had previously won the title in 1994. The competition organised by the Elgin Rotary Club since 1983 was compered by Doric writer and broadcaster Robbie Shepherd.

See the SING A SANG AT LEAST in our features section

A KIST O FERLIES
A Keek at the Guid Scots Tung

By Peter & Marilyn Wright
(Note: All words underlined in this section are RealAudio links)

darg: labour; day's labour

drap: drop

girn: complain; fret; snarl; grumbler

loch: lake

speug: sparrow

veesion: vision

There's aye some water whaur the stirkie drouns: No smoke without fire

"Heely, heely, Tam, ye glaiket stirk - ye hinna on the hin shelvin' o ' the cairt. Fat hae ye been haiverin' at, min? That cauf saick'll be tint owre the back door afore we win a mile fae hame. See't yer belly-ban' be ticht aneuch noo. Woo, lassie! man, ye makin' a hantle mair adee aboot blaikin that graith o' yours, an' kaimin the mear's tail, nor balancin' yer cairt, an' gettin' the things packit in till't."

frae "Johnny Gibb of Gushetneuk" - William Alexander. This extract is the opening of his great Doric novel and discrices farmer Johnny Gibb giving instructions to his worker, tam, on loading the cart which will carry the Gibb family to take the waters at Tarlair.

Complete Poem

A Richt Guid Girn
by James S Adam

See Scots Language in our Features Section
for other poems, stories, songs, sayings and words in the Scots language

THE MONTHLY PRIZE CROSSWORD

Each month the Scots Independent Newspaper offers a prize crossword and we're now offering this online in the Flag in the Wind as well. Should you complete the crossword by the deadline you can fax it over to the SI and the first correct one opened on the closing date will win a £10.00 book token.

SI Prize Crossword No. 29 MAY 2002
[Click here to bring up the crosswords]

AND AS WE CONTINUE...

If you read our first issue of The Flag in the Wind you will know that this is a weekly Internet commentary on the Scottish political scene; if you desire further erudition click on Archives.

SOME OF OUR FEATURE SECTIONS....

About Us
Our mission is to fight for an Independent Scotland and to promote its history, heritage and culture. Learn all about us here.
Events
A running event guide to what's on in Scotland.
The Scots Language
A great introduction to the Scots Language, produced by Peter and Marilyn Wright, and added to each week both in text and RealAudio. Enjoy listening to words, poems and stories told in a real Scots accent!
The Rebels Ceilidh Songbook
An excellent introduction to traditional songs from Scotland.
Sing A Sang At Least
Our collection of Scottish songs. A new song is added to the collection each week.
Scottish Food, Traditions and Customs
Enjoy our collections of recipes and our comments on them.
The Prize Crossword
Each month the newspaper edition produces the Prize Crossword and you can now try it for yourself with this online edition. We carry previous copies here as well.
Notable Dates in History
Each week we add three new notable dates in history building this into an historic timeline for Scottish history.
Features
Lots more stories, recipes, historical articles and even whole books are added here on a regular basis.
The Oliver Brown Award
An annual award given to an outstanding Scot(s) each year. Also included picture galleries from the annual lunch.

THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY

The Scots Independent Newspaper is independent of the Scottish National Party, but we support the Party in its drive for Independence; while space precludes us commenting on all the issues raised by the 35 MSPs, 5 MPS and 2 MEPs, also the Party Office Bearers, we have provided a link to the SNP Website.

THE FLAG IN THE WIND

The above was the title of a book written in the early Fifties by John MacDonald MacCormick, one of the founder members of the Scottish National Party in 1934. The sub-title was "The Story of the National Movement in Scotland". His comment in the book said "It is perhaps in the symbols which men use that their deepest sentiments are most readily expressed. Flags as well as straws show which way the wind is blowing". A fuller account appears under Features.

ADVERTISING IN THE FLAG IN THE WIND

Advertising in The Flag in the Wind has some unique advantages. Not only will you reach thousands of people every week but you'll note from the details below that when you advertise with us you also get a FREE advert in the Scots Independent Newspaper. Well you should know that the newspaper is considered to be an historical resource so all issues are archived by Aberdeen University and Edinburgh University for future generations to read and study. This means when you advertise with us you become part of Scotland's history and heritage! Of course free issues of the newspaper are sent to 400 Scottish secondary schools so that our youth can also learn from our excellent range of topics on Scottish politics, heritage and history. This means that your advert, while publicising your company, product, service, events, etc., is also helping to educate our children and helping us to extend the reach of our newspaper to promote all that is best in Scottish Nationalism and all that is best in Scotland. We have a powerful voice not only in Scotland but all over the world wherever Scots and Scots descendants are settled.

Button Advert
You can take out a 145 x 40 pixel Button Advert on this page for a full 12 months for only £995.00 and at the same time get a FREE 2 column classified advert in the Scots Independent Newspaper for the same 12 months, all for the same inclusive annual price of £995.00.

Banner Advert
One Banner advert, 468 x 60 pixels, is available on this index page under the Issue Date and before the first article. Cost is £695.00 per month and includes an optional FREE 2 column display advert in the Scots Independent Newspaper during the same month as you have the banner on the site.

WE WOULD WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK

The Flag in the Wind would welcome your feedback on what you think of this weekly service. Happy to receive any comments or suggestions. Simply email webmaster@scotsindependent.org.