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Compiled by Jim Lynch
[Issue 110 -
12th July 2002]
THE SILLY SEASON
 The Scottish Parliament is in
recess, and while some MSPs are on holiday, the SNP are continuing to
campaign throughout the summer, or what is passing for one.
Westminster is still sitting, we think, now that the Queen Mother has been
buried, along with the Blessed Tony’s complaint to the Press Commission, the
Queen’s Jubilee jamboree has dropped a gear, and the World Cup and Wimbledon
have not been won again by England. By some magical formula, I managed not
to see any of the above, but it’s a gift not given to many.
Anyway, meaningful events are
now few and far between, so the media have to manufacture and recycle as
much news as they can.
MARGO MAKEOVER
 I am constantly surprised by
the ignorance of the press in general, and the Scotsman in particular; this
week they had Margo MacDonald as elected in 1974 and
spending years in the Westminster Parliament.
Margo was elected for Glasgow Govan in November 1973 in a by election, and
lost the seat at the subsequent General Election in February 1974, to a wee
Glasgow barber called Harry Selby, whose candidacy had been treated with
contempt. This defeat, while the SNP were taking 7 seats elsewhere, rankled,
and has coloured Margo’s approach to politics ever since; this is not
surprising, as her victory in Govan acted as a springboard for the SNP at
that time, and she was denied the fruits of that victory. In April 1978, she
contested Hamilton at a by-election, obtaining 33.4%; George (Now Lord,
Military Leader of the World) Robertson won the seat with 51%. At that time
she was Deputy Leader of the SNP.
It is my recollection that in
1982 she was employed in broadcasting, and should have been politically
neutral, and that she was told she had to make up her mind if she was in
politics or broadcasting; this led her to resign from the SNP, making the
public comment that "Nobody in their right mind would vote for the SNP." I
remember it well, as the Labour Party in Dundee printed the quote in their
election literature in 1983, and as the SNP Parliamentary Candidate for
Dundee West, I had to suffer it. Margo was one of the instigators/founders
of the 79 Group, a supposed left-wing organisation set up to allow Jim Sillars, who subsequently became her husband, to join the SNP, and which
made an immense contribution to the aforesaid unelectability.
Far from being involved in
the SNP for 25 years, Margo was out from 1982 until the late 90s and only
returned when devolution loomed on the horizon, and the list system coupled
with her high profile guaranteed her a seat in the Parliament; her columns
in the Sunday Post and the Edinburgh Evening News, plus a radio phone in
programme on Radio Forth made her a weel-kent face, and a shoe-in. It is
ironic that it is the same list system which has contributed to her decision
not to stand for Edinburgh South, and it was the SNP activists who made the
decisions, not the hierarchy; you could say that her own workers had tried
her and found her wanting. In the 1999 Elections, of three of those who are
now ahead of her on the list, Kenny MacAskill got 28.04%, Ian McKee got
25.65% and Anne Dana got 25.83% in their respective constituencies, whereas
Margo MacDonald got 23.53%; none of the first three had the high public
profile of the latter. The SNP share of the vote in Lothian was 25.74%.
We do not know what Margo
will do next; she has a very strong support in the press, as she is one of
them, and has received praise from Brian Meek, Tory columnist in the Herald,
who is also a personal friend of hers, and his wife Frances Horsburgh, the
same. The Scotsman also strongly supports her, but she writes a column in
the Evening News, so they should support her; also they do not like either
the SNP or the Scottish Parliament, and the fact that she adds to the
discomfiture of both sells newspapers. She has been a very vocal critic of the new Parliament building, but frankly that
is a very soft target; what is unfortunate is that her personality has
prevented the SNP being able to use her brilliant publicity skills and
direct approach to help the Independence cause, but that cannot be helped,
as Margo will only do what suits Margo.
Her decision as to whether or
not she will stand as an independent will apparently be made after the
summer, but in the short term it may be complicated by the fact that she has
her office in SNP Headquarters in McDonald Road, Edinburgh. Quite honestly,
I am more concerned at what could happen to Andrew Wilson and Michael
Russell, both highly talented and committed individuals who were down-listed
as well, but are not grandstanding about it, and whose loss the Party can
ill afford.
SNP SNAPSHOT
 We have to congratulate the
SNP on the Summer Issue of Snapshot, its magazine for Party members; it is
very well presented indeed, with interesting an extremely informative
articles on the Economics of Independence by Andrew Wilson and Jim Mathers.
We have not as yet
established who put the wrong web address for the Flag in the Scots
Independent advert, so we cannot take a snapshot at the guilty party, but no
doubt we can negotiate a discount for the next one; what is becoming more
and more obvious is that we are becoming much more professional in our
approach to printing and presentation. I also had a call a few weeks back
from the SNP Call Centre, a nice chap called Martin McGill, who somehow
managed not to alienate me from the word go, a feat most call centres do
effortlessly, so that looks good too.
The SNP is making progress,
despite a few bad headlines, or as the Arabs put it "The dogs bark, but the
caravan moves on."
NO TRANSFER FEE?
 Something is not happening
with the Glasgow Housing Association stock transfer; the policy, recommended
by the Scottish Executive seems to have run into a little bit of trouble.
One of the requirements
was that all the housing associations were to have a minimum of 7 members,
and at the end of June, 22% of the associations had not reached that target.
To put things into some sort of perspective, Birmingham, with roughly the
same number of houses, has 10 housing subsidiaries, whereas Glasgow has 62
local housing associations. I don’t know the difference between a housing
subsidiary and a local housing association, but I do know the difference
between 10 and 62 - a lot!
The other drawback is that
whereas the Scottish Executive advanced a loan of £300 million, the banks,
which are supposed to be putting in their own money, have not paid up; as
far as we know, the banks expressing an interest are the Royal Bank of
Canada (shades of the Skye Bridge) the Bank of Scotland, the Nationwide
Building Society and the European Investment Bank. Some reports also show
the Royal Bank of Scotland; in any event, the banks have not agreed to the
deal, and this is casting a shadow on the whole affair. As the transfer date
is fixed for December 2002, brows are being furrowed; amidst all this, the
Glasgow Campaign Against the Stock Transfer is taking legal advice as to
whether the Glasgow Housing Association have broken the law by calling
themselves the GHA, and not GHA Ltd , their correct title.
One steering group of a local
housing association, Househillwood, have decided to abandon the transfer
process and campaign for the retention and enhancement of public sector
housing in Glasgow. The transfer price, by the way, was £25 million for
85,000 houses, with housing debts of £900 million; the article I read seemed
to have a few decimal points adrift when I was trying to verify figures per
house, but all the articles on stock transfers defy my arithmetic when
trying to work out how much each house is being handed over for. Maybe I
should have served an apprenticeship with Arthur Andersen.
What is not in doubt is that
the banks have not coughed up, and while the Scottish Executive was quite
happy to fork out £300 million and pay the early debt redemption charges,
using our money, the banks are not exactly rushing in to risk their money!
Funding should have been in place at the end of April, and here we are in
July, no further forward. One SNP correspondent points out, very nicely,
that Wendy Alexander took control of this issue in September 1999, to ensure
that the transfer went through in November 2000; the Labour Party obviously
work to a different calendar, and the only thing I can see going for the
transfer is the fact that the banks are reluctant to put money in, as they
are not slow to scent a killing for themselves.
BLAME TRANSFER
 It was highly entertaining
that when the WorldCom scandal hit the headlines, the American President,
George Bush, was said to be "As mad as hell"; this now translates that a
spotlight was then turned on a Company called Harken Energy.
In 1991, plain George
Bush, as he was then, was on the board of that company, mainly in his
capacity as the son of an American President, and he sold almost a million
dollars worth of stock at $4 a share; a few weeks later, the company issued
a profits warning, and the stock fell to $1 a share. Being an absent-minded
sort of chap, he forgot to file his report on the transaction until it was
34 weeks late; he had been late on three other occasions as well. The
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dealt with him leniently, so the
allegations say, because of his Daddy; another son Neil, had been similarly
favoured when a bank he was a director of had collapsed three years earlier,
costing the taxpayer (American) $1 billion. The whole unsavoury business is
being publicised again, as Enron and WorldCom were great buddies of the
President and put money into his campaign.
On this side of the Atlantic,
we see the involvement of some high Tories (We think Peter Mandelson has so
far escaped) with former Tory Cabinet Minister, Lord Wakeham; he was on the
board of Enron, as a non-executive director, and was a member of the audit
committee. He was paid $80,000 per year for this sinecure, but quite
naturally did not take it seriously, he just took it; Lord Wakeham was a
former Energy Minister, and may have some searching questions to answer.
Another noble lord (an
oxymoron - but not a real moron) Lord Ashcroft, is also being asked a few
questions; he was a director of Tyco, whose sacked chief executive is being
prosecuted for tax evasion ($13 million on art sales). These guys get paid
millions, and try to get away with fiddling tax as well; it goes with the
territory, as the saying goes. Lord Ashcroft sold his company, ADT, to Tyco
in 1997, and he became a non executive director. The law required
transactions between board members and the company to be disclosed; the
noble lord, who was not a lord at that time, merely the Belize based
Treasurer of the Tory Party, sold his house in Florida to his own wife for
$100. On the same day, his wife sold the house to Tyco vice-president Byron
Kalogerou, for $2.5 million. This is the second investigation, but this time
Lord Ashcroft and other directors are being sued by Tyco shareholders, who
have seen their shares drop 70%.
I see no contradiction in
Ashcroft being a member of the House of Lords, as he is just the modern
equivalent of the thieves and cutthroats that gave rise to the noble families
in the first place; remember that Lord Archer is still in the pokey!
TALKING INDEPENDENCE
 The
SNP continues the mechanics as to how Independence will occur; when we were
given devolution, the Labour Party tied itself in knots, with first no
Referendum, then a Referendum with one question, two questions, even at one
stage three questions! We at least are a bit more sophisticated than that,
but then we know what we are about.
Getting from here to there
Who decides if Independence happens?
Independence only happens when the people of Scotland
vote for it. A democratic mandate for Independence is needed.
That mandate will come through the means of a referendum
with a single, simple, question, enabling the people to give a clear "Yes"
or "No" to Scotland becoming independent. All those registered to vote will
be eligible to vote in the referendum.
Who calls an Independence referendum?
After a Holyrood election, an SNP Government will
introduce a measure in the Scottish Parliament arranging for a consultative
referendum to be held on the issue of Independence.
Will the Scottish Parliament be allowed to hold an
Independence referendum?
There is nothing in the list of reservations in the
Scotland Act 1998 which prevents the Scottish Parliament from organising a
consultative referendum. To remain clearly within the Parliament's present
powers, the question should be phrased as one authorising the Scottish
Executive to enter into negotiations for Independence with the UK
Government. The possibility of an Independence referendum was conceded by
the late Donald Dewar at the time of the devolution referendum.
What happens if the people vote "Yes" to Independence in
a referendum?
If a straight majority of those who vote in the
referendum vote for Independence, representatives of the Scottish Government
will then begin direct negotiations with Westminster to agree an
Independence settlement.
What if Westminster then tries to say "No"?
Every recent British Prime Minister has stated that he or
she would accept the will of the Scottish people over Independence.
"As a nation, they [the Scots] have an undoubted right to
national self-determination." Margaret Thatcher (The Downing Street
Years, 1995).
John Major MP, an outspoken opponent of Independence,
said, "Should they determine on Independence, no English party or
politician would stand in their way." (Scotland in the Union: A
Partnership for Good, 1993)
There is nothing to indicate that this does not also
reflect the general feeling of people in England on this issue. The SNP
believes that the people of England are not opposed to democracy in
Scotland.
We saw in 1997 how the opponents of a Scottish Parliament
had to back down in the face of the will of the people. Similarly, a "Yes"
vote for Independence will mean that, by this stage, the Independence
process will be unstoppable.
Following the precedent of the Baltic republics, the
Czech and Slovak republics and many countries of the former British Empire,
there is no reason at all why Scotland cannot become an independent state if
it chooses to.
This is all about Holyrood – so why do the SNP still
stand in Westminster elections?
The SNP stand in Westminster elections because the SNP is
the only party that stands for Scotland in Westminster, because Westminster
still runs many aspects of our lives in Scotland, and because the Party will
campaign for Independence at every opportunity. The election of SNP MPs in
the majority of Westminster seats in Scotland will be a clear signal of
Scots’ views on Independence and will result in irresistible pressure for an
Independence referendum to be held.
Next week, the subject will be Independence negotiations,
and while they might be conducted in a spirit of amity, I still believe that
we should send the most hard-nosed people we have.
FOOT IN THE MOUTH NOTES
 It would seem that in heraldic terms, if a lion
is neither couchant or passant, but has the full face shown, then it is
actually a leopard; from this we can deduce that the England football team
played with three leopards on their jerseys.
Thinking of their penchant for diving in the penalty
box, it could be that the species of leopard is a cheetah.
Alarmed at the fact that there are so many obese
Americans, President George Bush is proposing a campaign against fat people.
With the emergence of Enron, Tyco, Global Crossing,
WorldCom, and many more to come, it is fat cats he should be after.
 Animal "lovers" (humans are not classed as animals)
are in a quandary over the proposals to cull hedgehogs in the Western Isles
as the hedgehogs are destroying the birdlife.
I saw one man on TV speaking from "St Tiggiewinkle’s
Hospital"; I hope this was a spoof, but am afraid it was not.
I received an unsolicited email from the Bank of
America telling me they could get the lowest mortgage rates in the business.
Now why didn’t they think of that when they were
ripping off, sorry, financing the Skye Bridge - cost £27 million- revenue
paid to the Bank of America in California will amount to £128 million; has
to be a catch somewhere.
 One Royal navy warship ran aground off Howe Island in the
Pacific, and in the same week, another one missed its gunnery target by 12
kilometres off the north coast of Scotland, with a shell landing near the
Smoo Cave, Durness.
Come to think of it, it is not so long ago that a mock
invasion force landed in Spain instead of Gibraltar; makes me worry a bit
about Trident submarines.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published research
that shows Scottish councillors see list MSPs as "headline chasing
nuisances, more interested in their own and their party’s profile than the
common good." Scottish Councils are dominated by the Labour Party; there
were 28 SNP list MSPs, 18 Tory list MSPs, and 3 Labour list MSPs, plus a few
odds and sods, at the 1999 election.
In a previous existence as a Parliamentary
Candidate (many years ago), I infuriated local councillors (generally
Labour) by taking up issues that they were either too lazy to be bothered
with, or the voters didn’t trust them, so what’s new?
SYNOPSIS
A selection of items from the SNP Daily News over the
past week:
ANGUS MP DEMANDS APOLOGY FOR RURAL SCOTLAND FROM LIDDELL
Tue 9 Jul 02
 The SNP's Commons spokesperson on rural affairs Mike Weir MP today demanded
an apology from Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell after she agreed with the
description that Scottish farmers are "welfare dependent". The Angus MP
said: "This was an outrageous slur by Helen Liddell on Scotland's hard
working farmers, who are in dire straights at the present time." Mr Weir
said Mrs Liddell owed Scottish farmers and the whole of rural Scotland an
apology after agreeing with Labour MP Ian Davidson that the Common
Agricultural Policy meant Scottish farmers suffered from "welfare
dependency" during today's Westminster's Scottish Question Time. "This is no
way for a Cabinet Minister to describe such an important and hard-pressed
sector of the Scottish economy, and Mrs Liddell should withdraw these
ill-informed and insensitive remarks immediately," said Mr Weir. "Average
annual incomes for Scottish farmers are as little as 6,000 pounds - yet the
Scottish Secretary went out of her way to insult them by agreeing that they
suffer from 'welfare dependency'."
NEW HOSPITAL TOO SMALL FOR NEURO CENTRE
Mon 8 Jul 02
 An "extension" is needed already to the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
at Little France - even before building work on the flagship hospital is
complete. The centre for treating people with brain disorders is expected to
be built beside the new infirmary because there is no space for it inside
the main building. The new centre would replace the ageing neurosciences
department at the Western General Hospital with a modern facility near the
new hospital's Accident and Emergency department. The decision to extend the
new 184 million pound hospital before it has even been completed today led
to accusations of poor planning and incompetence within the health service.
Shadow health minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "The Royal is a brand new
hospital. It strikes me as being bad planning that this soon into its life
we are talking about having add-ons."
RSPB "FIRST" FOR CIVIL SERVICE POST
Mon 8 Jul 02
 The Scottish Executive has been accused of
compromising the independence and integrity of Civil Service jobs by
advertising a new conservation post where the wages will be part-paid by a
pressure group. The appointment of an "agri-environment officer" was
advertised in May, a post to be funded by the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds, the executive's environment and rural affairs
department, and Scottish Natural Heritage. The SNP today published a
parliamentary answer revealing that the post is the first of its type,
despite previous Scottish Executive statements suggesting this post was not
unique. This has prompted claims that this means "civil servant jobs are for
sale". The post, worth 24,282 pounds at the top of its pay scale, would
involve advising those who deal with farmers and crofters to maximise
bio-diversity schemes. SNP MSP Richard Lochhead said: "This post takes the
process of politicisation of the civil service to a new level. It is
impossible to see how the civil service can maintain its traditional
impartiality when it is taking money from a lobby group. The message this
sends is that the civil service is for sale with lobby groups being the
preferred bidder by establishing a wholly inappropriate relationship."
BUSINESS LEADERS LOSE FAITH IN McCONNELL
Sun 7 Jul 02
 Scotland's top business chiefs have issued a devastating vote of no
confidence in Jack McConnell's leadership, according to a new opinion poll.
The survey of the country's 500 leading bosses shows they are overwhelmingly
dissatisfied with the Scottish Executive's performance since he became First
Minister. The latest poll shows that dissatisfaction with the Executive from
a business perspective has soared to 67% since McConnell took over as First
Minister. Only 6% of companies are now satisfied with his leadership. Shadow
minister for the economy Andrew Wilson commented: "This is a body blow to
Jack McConnell and further evidence of what the SNP have been saying for
some time. There is now a growing body of opinion that Jack McConnell is
lost at sea, as the Scottish economy stumbles from mediocrity to crisis.
What we need in Scotland is an Executive not only focussed on the economy,
but one that has the economic tools to give Scotland a competitive edge.
That means full financial independence and a national consensus behind
getting our economy sorted."
SCHOOL REPAIR BILL THREE TIMES EXECUTIVE BUDGET
Sun 7 Jul 02
 The repair bill for Scotland's crumbling classrooms is almost three
times the 1.1 billion pound spending spree approved by Ministers. Secret
documents reveal the true cost of bringing schools up to scratch has soared
to 3 billion, after years of neglect. SNP education spokesman Mike Russell
said: "It comes as no surprise to learn the true cost of repairing
Scotland's classrooms. This comes after years of neglect by successive
Labour and Conservative governments. Everybody knew that spending 1.1
billion pounds would be nowhere near enough. The Government should have used
public service trusts instead of PPP."
PRISON CHIEFS "JUMPED GUN" IN PLAN FOR SACKED WORKERS
Sun 7 Jul 02
 Scottish prison chiefs have been accused of "cynical manipulation" for
signing a 1 million pound deal to help sacked warders to find new jobs when
ministers were claiming they had not yet decided to close any jails. Staff
representatives last night accused the service of going behind their backs,
while politicians accused the organisation of "breathtaking arrogance". The
revelation is bound to put further pressure on Tony Cameron, the
controversial chief executive of the SPS - whose evidence to the Scottish
Parliament was called into question by MSPs last week. And in a further blow
to Cameron, Scotland on Sunday has obtained an internal SPS report which
casts new doubt on the claims that private prisons will work out 700 million
pounds cheaper than public ones. Stewart Stevenson, the SNP MSP for Banff
and Buchan who has played a prominent role in the campaign to save Peterhead
Prison from closure, said: "This is cynical manipulation by the SPS. It is
breathtaking arrogance that they thought they could force a committee of the
Scottish Parliament to accept their plans for the closure of prisons in the
face of all the evidence. That they should be signing contracts based on the
assumption that Peterhead was to close while there was supposedly a
consultation on-going is an outrage. Tony Cameron must reconsider his
position."
EU MERGER PLAN UNDER FIRE
Sat 6 Jul 02
 A move to combine the fisheries and agriculture portfolios in the EU
Council of Ministers has been slammed by Ian Hudghton. The SNP Euro-MP said
the surprise decision taken at the European Council meeting in Seville last
month to merge the Fisheries and Agriculture Councils has served "another
blow" to the fishing industry. "The distinctive needs and requirements of
fisheries and the fishing industry cannot be left to play second fiddle to
agriculture," he said. The SNP MEP has appealed to the European Parliament
and the European Commission to ensure that the special nature of fisheries
be recognised and protected. "Geography, history, sea-bed topography,
politics, biology and the laws of nature have all played a part in creating
the highly fragmented mosaic of the Common Fisheries Policy. The very
subject of the regulation in fisheries is very different from what is
regulated under the Common Agriculture Policy - fish by their very nature
know no boundaries."
OPPOSITION ATTACKS EXECUTIVE ADVERTISING SPENDING
Fri 5 Jul 02
 The Scottish Executive came under fire tonight after it emerged that the
amount it spent on advertising more than doubled over the past year to in
excess of 7 million pounds. The SNP shadow parliament minister Fiona Hyslop
described the figures as "worrying" and accused the Executive of bumping up
its spending prior to next year's elections. Figures released today showed
that in 2000/01, 3.4 million pounds was spent on advertising by the
Executive. In the last 12 months, that figure increased to almost 7.2
million pounds. By contrast, the amount spent by the Scottish Office in the
eight years leading up to devolution had varied from a low of just under
700,000 pounds to an all-time high of almost 2.8 million pounds in the year
before devolution. Ms Hyslop said: "While many of these campaigns are worthy
in themselves it's highly suspicious that spending jumps so massively in
pre-election years." The Lothians MSP added: "It's not just Labour who are
guilty of using public funds to advertise political policy. If you look at
figures when the Tories were in power they were up to the same old tricks
with massively increased spending prior to the elections."
SNP BLOW LID ON LABOUR'S TRIPLE WHAMMY AGAINST BUS GROUP
PENSIONERS
Fri 5 Jul 02
 Fergus Ewing MSP today revealed that the Labour
Government are cashing in on up to 14,000 Scottish Bus Group Pensions. "Not
only are the government taxing Scottish Bus Group Pensions, but they have
helped themselves to the surplus of 50 million pounds and will only pay out
a widow's or widower's pension of 50%. The SBG Pensioners are also being hit
for income tax, unlike their counterparts from the English Bus Group
company, who are exempt. This is purely because of the vagaries of tax law
and technicalities and this is no more than fiscal apartheid." Mr Ewing who
has been campaigning for justice for the Scottish Bus Group Pensioners told
a news conference in Inverness: "To remedy this Gordon Brown must increase
the money available by dipping into the 50 million pounds slush fund that he
ripped off from the pensioners in his secret deal with Jack McConnell in
December 2000. If Gordon Brown persists with this 50 million pound cash rip
off then not only will he be guilty of rank hypocrisy, but also of treating
his constituents as second class citizens in comparison with the English Bus
Group pensioners."
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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)
Bananas are the new 'in-thing' as a healthy, energy boosting fruit but
this discovery is 'cauld kale rehet' to Scots.We have been enjoying the
golden fruit ( its nickname when first imported ) for a century now.
Indeed most of the bananas consumed in Scotland are distributed by the
UK's top importer Fyffes from their recently opened, 'state-of-the-ark',
warehouse situated in Livingston, West Lothian.
Fyffes commenced business three centuries ago in Scotland although at that
time bananas were the last thing on their mind! Brothers Henry and
Nathaniel Fyffe set-up in Perth as general merchants selling everything
from buttons to tobacco. In 1789 one of their sons emigrated to London,
England, to seek his fortune and became an importer of specialist teas. A
hundred years later a further Fyffe, Edward Wathen Fyffe, decided to take
his sick wife to the Canary islands to convalesce. She quickly discovered
the magic of bananas as an aid to recovery and this inspired her husband
to take the Fyffe business in a new direction - the importation of
bananas. Bananas, the name is derived from the Arabic for finger, proved
to be very popular and were first sold in Scotland by fruiterers in the
Fyffe's 'cauf-kintra' of Perth and in Dundee. Since 1902, with only the
interruption of the Second World War, Scots have enjoyed the golden fruit.
So you can simply unzip a banana and enjoy it instantly or you can use
them a bit more creatively in baking such as this week's recipe for Banana
Loaf. Once again we are grateful to 'The Anniversary Cook-Book of the
Dumfriesshire Federation SWRI 1922-1992' for this tasty treat.
Banana Loaf
Ingredients : 10 oz ( 275 g ) self raising flour; 4 oz ( 100 g ) butter or
margarine; 6 oz ( 175 g ) soft brown sugar; 3 eggs; 2 large bananas; 1
level teaspoon cinnamon; 3 to 4 tablespoons milk; 4 oz (100 g) chopped
apricots or walnuts ( optional )
Cream butter and sugar, add mashed bananas to mixture. Add beaten eggs one
by one, add milk. Fold in flour and cinnamon. Bake for one hour at 350F
degrees/ 180C degrees/gas mark 4, 1/2hour at 335F degrees/160C degrees/gas
mark 3 in a 2 lb loaf tin.
See our
Scottish Food, Traditions and Customs in our Features section
DATES IN
HISTORY
13 July 1807
Death of Henry Benedict Stewart, Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, brother of
Charles Edward Stewart and last of the Royal House of Stewart.
17 July 1195
William I, King of Scots, agreed that the Prior of Coldingham should be
permitted to move his tenants from the countryside to the town to boost
the population.
18 July 1999
Paul Lawrie, Aberdeen, won the Open Golf Championship at Carnoustie in a
three-way play-off with Jean van de Veole of France and Justin Leonard
of the United States.
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
100,000 UNEMPLOYED
Matt McGinn
( Tune : Hundred Pipers )
Three cheers for the red and the white
and the blue,
Three cheers for the red and the white
and the blue,
And we'll hoist the flag above the "broo",
Three cheers for the red and the white
and the blue.
Chorus :
Wi' a hundred thousand umemployed,
Wi' a hundred thousand unemployed,
We surely should be overjoyed
Wi' a hundred thousand unemployed.
We're a' goin' on the N.A.B.,
We're a' goin' on the N.A.B.,
So praise the Lord that we are free,
We're a' goin' on the N.A.B.
We'll beat the English and a' and a',
We'll beat the English and a' and a',
For sure they'll no have as many, at a',
We'll beat the English and a' and a'.
Footnote : One of the most entertaining singer/songwriters on the
Scottish Folk circuit was Matt McGinn ( 1928-1977 ). Oliver Brown winner
and fellow folksinger Jimmie Macgregor wrote of Matt - ' To those that
knew him Matt McGinn's untimely death brought a great sense of loss, the
feeling that never again would we meet such a wonderful combination of
vibrancy and compassion. But the rare spirit that was McGinn will never
die, for it lives on in his songs.'
I had the pleasure of promoting many Folk Nights with Matt McGinn and
this was the first, of his many songs, that I came across in 'Scottish
Folk Notes' ( 1963 ). At the time Scottish unemployment was rising fast
under a Westminster Conservative Government, a fact which Matt attacked
with his usual humour and a sense of irony.
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)
box-bed: wall bed
courie-doun:
snuggle; nestle
denner: dinner
fashious: annoying;
fractious
gemme: game
keekin-gless:
mirror
Muckle wad aye hae mair:
Those who have a lot always want more
Havers
J K Annand
Brittle brattle tittle tattle
Hielant kye are kittle cattle.
Swither dither aathegither
Ye'll be a man afore yer mither.
Ran dan parritch pan
Scart the pat as clean's ye can.
Caa cannie silly mannie
I'll report ye to the Jannie.
Ram stam scooter bang
Dance a jig or sing a sang
Or we'll no let ye jine our gang. Complete Poem
The Eternal Feminine
by John Buchan
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.
31 JULY 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
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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
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