Friday 30 November 2007

St Andrew's Day

Sybil reminded me that today, November 30th, is St Andrew's Day, Scotland's national day. The Government in Edinburgh has thought of turning this in a national holiday or Bank Holiday, but it hasn't come about. Don't think many people are really that fussed about it, to be honest.

St Andrew's cross is present across the UK and many other countries in the world as a danger symbol at railway level crossings.

As readers may be aware, Scotland is currently governed by the SNP, who aim to separate Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom. My opinion is that the economic powerbase is too narrow. It is also little short of near-sighted to purely base it on North Sea oil revenue, which is likely to dwindle in the next few decades.

Splitting up the UK is a bad idea in my perspective. My impression is that it will be based on bad feelings going back to the Battle of Culloden in 1746, when the last pretender to the Scottish throne was defeated by the English. An episode of strife in Northern Ireland, justified by the Battle of the Boyne in 1688, has just come to a close. The antagonism between the English and the Scots is legendary, but is at most good-humoured, like two little brothers squabbling.

2 comments:

  1. No matter how much the SNP might want a seperated Scotland Gudeo, I can never see the people of Scotland signing up to that in a referendem. At the moment I am afraid the whole government system in the UK is in a perilous situation.  We all have to keep a good look out for some dictator dosn't rise up and taking all the dissafected with him/her.....  Sybil x

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  2. I am in complete agreement with you Guido re; Seperatism.  It would be a lunatic with shortsighteness who asked for the United Kingdom to split up.
    I don't think the Scots are that daft.  Even if Alex Salmond did get voted in by the skin of his teeth by them.
    Jeanie

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