The Scots Independent Newspaper Online

Are we all to be Tories now?

I find myself increasingly perplexed by the current attitudes to the National Health Service; to my mind the shining attribute of the Health Service was that everyone would receive the best treatment possible, free, and irrespective of their income or status.

Monklands Hospital Now everything seems to revolve around money; hospitals are dirty, because cleaning services are contracted out – to save money. This of course leads to more patients becoming ill and needing longer stays in hospital. Despite an ageing population, and a more violent one, hospitals are being made smaller – to save money. Last year, Argyll & Clyde Health Board was abolished , because they had run up a budget deficit, and while they had plans to reduce this, they were not moving fast enough, even though, surprise, surprise, they were doing an excellent job of treating patients! I always thought that that was what they were meant to do.

And then we have the whole sorry business of PFI, now called PPP, but a rose by any another name, and hospitals having to give priority, not to patient care, but to paying the PFI mob each month. I have never been able to understand the logic of allowing the private sector to trouser wodges of dough for managing what they know nothing at all about, sickness. People do not choose to be ill, even those who smoke (the pariahs) drink too much and indulge in violence, thus filling the Accident and Emergency Departments, which are also being closed to save money. Monklands Hospital is a case in point, the epicentre of the Buckfast tendency is losing it’s A&E Department - where’s the logic in that?

PFI was a Tory wheeze to cut public spending and divert cash to their pals; Labour condemned it while in opposition, but renamed it when in power, as they had pals of their own. Another little gem, as the population gets older, less sheltered housing gets built - whose bright idea was that – or have they just not noticed?

The National Health Service is not, repeat not, a business. It is a social obligation, and not a means of generating cash for investors. Sickness will always be with us, so anyone putting money into it cannot lose, so at the end of the day there is no risk to the investor – only the patient.

Lies, damned lies, and Opinion Polls

Just last week, the SNP published an opinion poll showing them slightly in the lead over Labour; despite a bit of huffing and puffing, Labour admitted that their private polls were showing the same result. Then this week, up pops the First Minister, (remember him?) and produces a poll showing Labour 8 points in the lead; at the same time Tom McCabe suddenly finds £100 million to help council taxpayers.

The Liberals are a bit confused by all this; at the weekend they were saying that they were going to ditch Labour after the election. They have been reading the runes, and think that Labour may end up the largest party, but could be outvoted by a coalition. This is reminiscent of Perth & Kinross Council; the SNP was the largest party, but Tory Labour and Liberals formed a coalition to keep them out (the same thing happened in Dumfries & Galloway). Anyway, the thieves fell out, the good men came into their own, and Perth & Kinross is now run by an SNP/Liberal coalition, so the Liberals will go to the highest bidder – what a promiscuous lot.

One opinion poll we do know about was quoted by Nicola Sturgeon this week:

In a survey carried out in April this year, YouGov asked the following question to SSP voters: Suppose for some reason there was no Scottish Socialist Party Candidate in your constituency, how would you vote?

The results were as follows:

Scottish National Party	43
Green	13
Labour	10
Liberal Democrat	8
Conservative	2
Some other party	4
Don't know	19

Can’t quite figure out the Tory ones, but the press always referred to Brian Monteith as a Blue Trot, so maybe they don’t know he’s been chucked out. This poll was carried out in April, and a lot of vitriol has flowed under the unbuilt bridge since then.

Talk of coalition should wait until the votes are counted.

Baltic co-operation a top priority

As this Conference took place in Iceland, which is geographically not in the Baltic, but which wished to be included, I felt that this was valid, as an independent Scotland would also have strong links with the Baltic states. Nice also to see the shaft of Scottish humour in the Mayday story.

"I get the impression that not all governments and parliaments accord Baltic co-operation high enough priority. In fact, it seems as if some have downsized their commitment to co-operation in the region since EU enlargement. This is a major problem. Russia is our big neighbour to the east. Close collaboration with Russia – and Russian commitment – are necessary if our region is to be a success."

geyser in Iceland The President of the Nordic Council, Ole Stavad, was one of the opening speakers at the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) in Reykjavik 4-5 September. Pointing out that determined parliamentarians are able to exert a great deal of influence, he called on the delegates to report back to the BSPC in future about the progress they have made following up on BSPC resolutions in their national parliaments. He also stressed just how much potential the region has if only we dare to make the most of it. The five Nordic countries are concentrating on 'The Nordic Region as a Global Winner' despite the high level of taxation, for example, a process which can serve as an inspiration for the whole of the Baltic Sea Region to follow the Nordic example of competing and learning from each other.

The chair of the Icelandic parliament, Sólveig Pétursdóttir, bid the BSPC welcome to the most northerly capital city in the world. Iceland may be geographically remote from the Baltic Sea, but in political and cultural terms it is far closer. As a Nordic and North European country, Iceland places great emphasis on the Baltic Sea Region. The country has also had its own parliament since 930 and links with other parliaments are prioritised highly. "Parliamentarians can be more innovative and provocative than governments," she pointed out.

The Finnish MP Arja Alho, who chairs the BSPC, talked about a year of increasing activity. She had been invited for the first time to speak at a meeting of heads of Baltic states, also held in Reykjavik, in June, for example. "The Baltic Sea Region is enjoying the most rapid economic growth in Europe, even though there are still huge differences between the countries – and in the individual countries," she pointed out. Alho rounded of her speech with a joke about communication difficulties. A ship in distress in the the Baltic Sea sent the traditional signal in English "Mayday. Mayday. We are sinking”. To which the nearest coast guard answered somewhat hesitantly: ”Hello Mayday. What are you thinking?”

The parliamentarians attending the conference in Reykjavik are interested, amongst other things, in how to improve the political framework for co-operation as a region in growth. The self-same growth makes the environment in the region particular vulnerable, however, e.g. because of increased shipping. The marine environment is one of the main themes of the two-day conference.

Those taking part:

*Baltic Assembly, Free and Hanse City of Bremen, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Denmark, Estonia, European Parliament, Finland, Federal Republic of Germany, Free and Hanse City of Hamburg, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Nordic Council, Norway, Poland, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, City of St. Petersburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Sweden, Åland.

FOOT IN THE MOUTH NOTES

Interesting quote from a young driver in a Sunday Herald article on the high incidence of accidents involving young drivers: “Tomorrow I could get in my car, drive along the street and kill myself and it wouldn’t bother me to be honest.”

Rather stating the obvious – nothing bothers you when you are dead - unless as Shakespeare put it “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil.” (Cheery soul)

Headline in the Herald, Sat 2 Sep 06: “Huge new gas discovery in North Sea.”

Sub heading for the same article: “Householders facing further increase in power bills.”

Contrasting views: Harry Reid, writing in the Herald: “Thatcher is up there with the best leaders we have had.”

Ron Ferguson, writing in the same paper a few days later on sleep deprivation: “Margaret Thatcher, who should have been chloroformed during her waking hours…..” I know where I would put my money!

Scottish Gas, Scotland’s most expensive energy supplier, has been awarded a plum contract by the Scottish Executive; the contract had been held by Eaga Group, the UK’s most successful social enterprise company, owned by its employees and investing its profits back into the community; the executive took it away despite a recently adopted policy to support social enterprise.

What was the contract for? To supply and install central heating and insulation across Scotland at the executive’s (our) expense; fuel poverty creator tries to reduce fuel poverty – or does it?

Network Rail is aiming to boost passenger numbers by investing £1.4 billion over 10 years.

Oh, and they will close 23 stations - shades of Dr Beeching!

Passive smokers face a much higher risk of heart attacks than non-smokers, trumpets the Interheart study, involving 27,000 people worldwide.

I always thought that passive smokers were non-smokers.

8 September 1568
An outbreak of plaque began in Edinburgh, brought to the city, it was said, by a merchant James Dalgleish. In six months some 2,500 died.

8 September 1892
Launch of the 12,950-ton Cunard liner Compania at Govan. Built by the Fairfield Engineering Company, she won the coveted Blue Riband trophy for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic (five days, seventeen hours and twenty-seven minutes) and was converted to an aircraft carrier in World War I.

9 September 2005
Death of internationally renowned surgeon Andrew Logan, aged 91, in Edinburgh. He carried out the world’s second lung transplant.

10 September 1462
Robert Henryson admitted to Glasgow University as Licentiate in Arts and Batchelor of Law. Probably the poet Robert Henryson, schoolmaster at Dunfermline, author of the ‘Moral Fabillis’, ‘The Testament of Creisseid’, etc.

“Quha wait gif all that Chauceir wrait was trew?
Nor I wait nocht gif this narratioun
Be authoreist, of fenyeit of the new
Be sum poeit, throw his inventioun,
Maid to report the lamentatioun
And wofull end of this lustie Creisseid,
And quhat distress scho thoillit and quhat deid.”

From his ‘Testament of Cresseid x,’

10 September 1985
Scotland’s football manager Jock Stein tragically collapsed following Scottish qualification for the World Cup Finals after a 1-1 draw with Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff. His untimely death blighted Scotland’s success in reaching a fourth successive appearance in the World Cup.

11 September 1745
The Jacobite army left Perth and advanced towards a defenceless Edinburgh with Sir John Cope’s Hanoverian force still in the north.

13 September 1653
The Swan, a small three-masted ship, sank in a storm off the Isle of Mull. The vessel was part of a task force sent by Oliver Cromwell to attack Duart Castle, stronghold of the Maclean clan whose chief was loyal to King Charles II. After unloading troops, cannons and supplies, a fierce storm struck sinking three of the six ships, including The Swan. Of the sunken ships only The Swan has been found.

13 September 1938
Birth of John Smith, Labour Lanarkshire MP from 1970 and leader of the British Labour Party, from 1992, at Dalmally, Argyll.

14 September 2001
Millions of people around the world observed a three-minute silence at 11am, and attended memorial services for the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

See Dates in History in our Features Section

SCOTTISH QUOTATIONS

I like to have quotations ready for every occasions - they give one's ideas so pat and save one the trouble of finding expression adequate to one's feeling.

Robert Burns

We continue our new Feature in this section of the Flag - Scottish Quotations - statements in prose and verse which reflect all aspects of Scottish life and outlook from the 13^th century to the present day. New quotes added every week. The quotations are not restricted to native Scots but include observations from abroad which help us, in the words of our National Bard, Robert Burns, "To see oursels as others see us"

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

Vain hope to make men happy by politics!

Sir Sean Connery

We don’t have a bridge between America and Scotland that Ireland has with America, and that’s a real drawback.

Walter Kennedy of Glentig (1460-1508)

I will nae priests for me shall sing,
Nor yet nae bell for me ring,
But ae Bag-pype to play a spring.

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (1850-1894)

I have been a Scotchman all my life and denied my native land.

See Scottish Quotations 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

PITTENWEEM JO
John Watt
herring girls, Pittenweem

I'm goin' wi' a lassie fae Pittenweem,
She's every fisher laddie's dream.
She guts the herrin' doon by the quay,
And saves her kisses just for me.

Well, last July it come tae pass
I met this bonnie fisher lass,
Wi' her e'en sae blue, and black was her hair.
I met her doon by the village fair.

Oh, Pittenweem, Pittenweem,
     She's every fisher laddie's dream.
     She guts the herrin' doon by the quay,
     And saves her kisses just for me.

So I says tae her, "Can I see ye hame?"
She says, "Och fine, but I ken yer game.
But ne'er the less, ye're awfy kind.
In fact, a widnae really mind."

So I took her hame that Saterday nicht.
The moon was shinin' oh sae bricht.
And as we sat there on the grass,
I said, "Hey, Jo, will ye be ma lass?"

Well, she's ma lass noo, and weel I ken
She disnae gang wi' other men:
'Cause I was fast but they were slow,
And that's how I won my Pittenweem Jo.

Footnote: The harbour at Pittenweem was first recorded as a port in 1228 and the heyday of the fishing industry in the burgh was during the latter half of the 19^th century and early last century. John Watt’s beautiful love song, a modern song with a traditional ring, harks back to the golden age of Pittenweem Harbour. A doyen of the folk movement in Fife, John now lives in ‘exile’ in the bonnie toun o Milnathort.

See the SING A SANG AT LEAST in our features section

A BURNS COLLECTION

For your next Burns Supper
Compiled by Peter D Wright

It is never to early to plan ahead for your next, or indeed first, Burns Supper, and the intention of this new feature is to give you a ready accessible collection of the National Bard’s material for the 25^th of January each year. Over the next few months we will give you a variety of items by Robert Burns, which should prove useful to you.

Interest in the life and work of Robert Burns has never faltered and, indeed, as we now approach the 250^th anniversary of his birth in 2009, this should grow apace. He holds a special place in the hearts of his countrymen and his appeal spans the continents. A genius, he spoke for his people and captured their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, in poetry and song. The Flag collection will reflect this.

WEEK FOUR

This week we have, perhaps, Robert Burns’ best known love song –‘A Red, Red Rose’ – and one of his most reflective poems – ‘To A Mouse’. Our grateful thanks to Alistair McIntyre of Electric Scotland and George Wilkie for the addition of an English explanation of this fine poem.

A RED, RED ROSE
O my luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O mu luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
O I will luve thee still, my dear
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand miles.

O my luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June;
O my luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

The Working Life of Linda Fabiani MSP

Sunday 3 September 2006