This Is Just to Say

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

Guess the poet!

Children of the Revolution

“Do you think Scotland should remain part of The United Kingdom?”

That is one of the questions being proposed for a possible referendum on Scottish independence. Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP (Scottish National Party), spent weeks attacking the previous Scottish Parliament in Holyrood for not giving the Scottish people what they apparently wanted: a referendum on the Country’s place within the U.K.

Mr. Salmond is thought (by me) to be going to push for complete financial independence first, possible through a referendum, followed by a referendum on complete independence. Meanwhile, he may attempt to increase public resentment of its position within the U.K. Despite Scottish patriotism and nationalism being far greater than in England, for which they are greatly lauded (again, by me), I’m disinclined to believe that the vast majority of the Scots would want to abandon the rest of us. And not simply for financial reasons, which many that either fear or are angered by further devolution purport, for I am sure that our Scottish neighbours would be able to settle their affairs without the English and Welsh. Their public services may bear the brunt of the loss of income, or perhaps all university would cease to be subsidised, which I’m sure would please many of the jealous below the Antonine Wall. But, we, and I include Wales and Northern Ireland in this, have a greatly interweaving history; one fraught, at times, with tension and strife, yet at others we have been the greatest of Allies and have worked hand in hand throughout our pasts. A problem Mr. Salmond faces, despite the occasional Scot feeling ‘British’ rather than Scottish, is they are not legally binding, as with referenda in England. As such, if a vote for independence is accrued in a referendum, he would still face the hefty task of getting it through the Scottish parliament. And if he were to fail in that? Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t fancy a bunch of angry Scots after me.

What I fear in the splitting of the U.K. is to some extent the financial futures of Scotland and England, but also, in a world of constant change, economic instability, emerging superpowers in the east, nuclear weaponry becoming available to even more countries and an ever-increasing, all consuming E.U. (more to the come on the European Union shortly). I truly believe that we would fare far better united, for divided we are far smaller, weaker and insignificant than we already are.

And perhaps far more worrying than all of that; where would we be without the greatest Scottish institutions? Scotch eggs, whisky, kilts, the English Middle classes becoming Scottish at their weddings ad possibly the most important: Scotch Mist. That, I fear most of all.

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

It's been months, and I'm sure many of you (not that anyone reads this, I know) thought you had escaped from my mindless chitter-chatter. But I'm back. So ha!

Anyway...

That's it for today's ramblings. If you can't get the quote in the title then you should be shot because it is literally in EVERYTHING! I did think about a "guess who's back, Richard's back..." thing but I thought a quote from ahem might be slightly more sophisticated.