Scots wha Hae ...

[Hornspieler]

The Verging Sturgeon
Vergeing on the impossible

So Ms Sturgeon wishes to run the British Parliament without being an elected member.

What is she demanding?

“Get rid of Trident!”
I’m sure that most of us would agree, but the USA and NATO will insist that we (they) keep it.

Okay. I’m sure that Plymouth, Portsmouth or Chatham would welcome the extra jobs and the Scottish Parliament could deal with the unemployed in the Firth of Clyde.

“Keep the Fox Hunting ban in England and Wales”
... by ordering the SNP members in the Westminster Parliament to vote against this amendment to English Law.

Yes. Allowing Fox hunting will drive the poor creatures that escape up to the safety of Scotland. Not so good for the pheasant and wildfowl population upon which Scottish “Sportsmen”, hoteliers and the posh British catering establishments are so dependant.

I am against Fox Hunting and I despise those who consider it to be a sport, but there are other means of culling animals (including Badgers, Squirrels and Magpies) which are much more humane.

BTW
Have you ever tried Irish Whisky? Bushmills, Jamieson’s or Powers’ Gold Label?

HS

I'm not trying to be political here, but I do feel that Ms Sturgeon, who no doubt has the best interests of her Scottish countrymen at heart, is creating unneccesary resentment among those who would be sympathetic to the wishes of the inhabitants of that delightful country.

[Richard Tarleton]

[B]
BTW
Have you ever tried Irish Whisky? Bushmills, Jamieson’s or Powers’ Gold Label?

HS

Indeed. And you can go into any pub in the old country and ask for a hot half'un and they'll know exactly what to give you. The tour of the Bushmills distillery used to - perhaps still does - include a demonstration of how to make a hot whiskey (their recipe involved cinnamon and cloves, not the slice of lemon and cloves that you get in pubs). Perfect on a cold winter's evening after a day spent in the open.

Probably better steer clear of politics - it's the ecological illiteracy of foxhunting that annoys me

We have a fine table made from the floorboards of a former Belfast distillery, not one of the above.

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm not trying to be political here, but I do feel that Ms Sturgeon, who no doubt has the best interests of her Scottish countrymen at heart, is creating unneccesary resentment among those who would be sympathetic to the wishes of the inhabitants of that delightful country.

Indeed - control of the English political establishment by the SNP was only threatened if a Labour government was elected, Mr Cameron warned us.

[visualnickmos]

Okay. I’m sure that Plymouth, Portsmouth or Chatham would welcome the extra jobs and the Scottish Parliament could deal with the unemployed in the Firth of Clyde.

“Keep the Fox Hunting ban in England and Wales”
... by ordering the SNP members in the Westminster Parliament to vote against this amendment to English Law.


I am against Fox Hunting and I despise those who consider it to be a sport, but there are other means of culling animals (including Badgers, Squirrels and Magpies) which are much more humane.

Chatham ceased being a functioning HM Dockyard about 25 years ago, and is now - bingo - a "Heritage Centre!"

I hate foxhunting - legalised cruelty to animals; what's good about that?

[visualnickmos]

Indeed - control of the English political establishment by the SNP was only threatened if a Labour government was elected, Mr Cameron warned us.

As 'an Englishman abroad' I was not in favour of Scottish independence, but I have a huge amount of respect for Ms Sturgeon, and find myself aligned with much of what she says. More power to her; I say if she can do as much damage to Cameron and his chums as possible, then all for the good. I find it very invigorating that the SNP is now the third power in Westminster.

[P. G. Tipps]

No politics please, gentlemen ...

Btw ... there is no such thing as Irish Whisky.

[Hornspieler]

As 'an Englishman abroad' I was not in favour of Scottish independence, but I have a huge amount of respect for Ms Sturgeon, and find myself aligned with much of what she says. More power to her; I say if she can do as much damage to Cameron and his chums as possible, then all for the good. I find it very invigorating that the SNP is now the third power in Westminster.

You can't have a foot in both camps. If you are against Scottish Independance, you cannot support the aims of the SNP.

I am anxious not to turn this into a political discussion. For me, one of the great things about music is that politics are seldom a factor in its presentation.

My concern is what would happen to the BBC Scottish Orchestra, were Scotland to go independant?

Would the BBC withdraw this splendid orchestra, together with its Glasgow and Edinburgh TV and Radio Studios?
Indeed, would it be possible for the BBC to maintain an active presence there at all?

Who would fund the Royal Scottish National Orchestra? (Get rid of the "Royal" appellation for a start.)

Is there a Scottish Arts Council?

Is the Edinburgh International Festival financially secure?

I cannot believe that these questions are of the least concern to Ms Sturgeon and her followers at the vpresent time.

HS

[MrGongGong]

Is there a Scottish Arts Council?

Yes

and the remote parts of Scotland are often served much better by orchestral and other touring than parts of England outside the major cities.

[visualnickmos]

You can't have a foot in both camps. If you are against Scottish Independance, you cannot support the aims of the SNP.

I hear what you are saying - but if it comes down to the wire - if Scotland goes 'indy' then so be it - no great shakes. All I'm saying is that anything that disrupts the destructive and divisive policies of the present government, gets my support.

PS - the tories have it in for the BBC - have done for years, so whatever befalls anything BBC-related in Scotland will have more to do with a philistine bunch of control freaks in Westminster, than with a country wishing to progress to legitimate independence. My opinion of whether independence is a good thing or not, is actually not that important.

[ahinton]

My concern is what would happen to the BBC Scottish Orchestra, were Scotland to go independant?

Independent, actually - but never mind that; when the BBC goes "independent" - i.e. is seen to arrange its own demise - your question

Would the BBC withdraw this splendid orchestra, together with its Glasgow and Edinburgh TV and Radio Studios?
Indeed, would it be possible for the BBC to maintain an active presence there at all?

will become academic in the absence of BBC and as to

Who would fund the Royal Scottish National Orchestra? (Get rid of the "Royal" appellation for a start.)

the only hopeful answer is whichever set of tax-avoiding/evading tycoons decide that they'd like to fund it as a vanity/PR exercise and as to the question

Is there a Scottish Arts Council?

the answer is presumably flexible and

Is the Edinburgh International Festival financially secure?

no more than any other festival and

I cannot believe that these questions are of the least concern to Ms Sturgeon and her followers at the present time

and with amply good reason; neither do I, not least because she believes that she has bigger and better Scottish fish to fry...

[ahinton]

I hear what you are saying - but if it comes down to the wire - if Scotland goes 'indy' then so be it - no great shakes. All I'm saying is that anything that disrupts the destructive and divisive policies of the present government, gets my support.

It doesn't and won't get mine if all that results is that they're replaced, as they will/would be, by a different raft of destructive and divisive policies (whoever's they might be) that ultimately have the same or similar effect.

[Note to everyone (not just ahinton): Please check the T&Cs: "As the Politics and Current Affairs board has now been closed, political topics will be allowed only at the discretion of the Moderator. These should not relate to party politics."]

[Flosshilde]

My concern is what would happen to the BBC Scottish [Symphony] Orchestra, were Scotland to go independant?

Would the BBC withdraw this splendid orchestra, together with its Glasgow and Edinburgh TV and Radio Studios?
Indeed, would it be possible for the BBC to maintain an active presence there at all?

I was worried about that too. The SNP White Paper claimed that the assets of the BBC would transfer to the new Scottish publiuc broadcasting organisation.

Who would fund the Royal Scottish National Orchestra? (Get rid of the "Royal" appellation for a start.)

The Scottish Government (as they do at the moment) (plus sponsors, of course). As it was proposed that the Queen would still be the Queen of Scotland it could still be called 'Royal'.

Is there a Scottish Arts Council?

It's called Creative Scotland


But I do wish Nicola Sturgeon would remember that she isn't the leader of the SNP in Westminster.

As for fox hunting, if she thinks the law in England on hunting with dogs is so good, why doesn't she introduce it in Scotland, where it's still legal to use packs to flush out foxes - & of course it's very difficult to stop them chasing the fox.

[Serial_Apologist]

As for fox hunting, if she thinks the law in England on hunting with dogs is so good, why doesn't she introduce it in Scotland, where it's still legal to use packs to flush out foxes - & of course it's very difficult to stop them chasing the fox.

She did in fact suggest doing that a couple of days ago, saying the law in England might be better than that in Scotland, in a radio interview.

[P. G. Tipps]

I hear what you are saying - but if it comes down to the wire - if Scotland goes 'indy' then so be it - no great shakes.

On the contrary it would be an earthquake which would shatter the political Richter scale throughout the western world!

Despite our tendency to deride ourselves, the UK is still a significant world power and is the second most powerful country in both Nato and the EU, retaining her prized position as a member of the UN Security Council. It is a world leader in areas like finance and science and in 'soft power' terms (BBC World Service, 'cultural' influence, all that sort of stuff) it is said to be No 1. The UK without Scotland would become a much reduced entity and the disintegration of still the 6th largest economy in the world would have a ripple effect on places far beyond these islands. What's going to happen to the UK armed forces, for a start? The role of the monarchy in the split-parts would become deeply uncertain so there would be a full-blown constitutional crisis.

A Scottish breakaway would mean a significant diminution in UK influence and the term 'Great Britain' would simply cease to exist. Scotland, despite her relatively small size, punches way above her weight in contributing to so many areas of UK life, and has always done so. The old joke about the English creating an Empire and then finding the Scots had ended up running it has quite a lot of truth in it!

As for Scotland, without having the platform of a British state to provide opportunities for its people, it would become a sad, frustrated little country which suddenly discovered that it had just made a mistake of colossal proportions bordering on insanity, and future generations of Scots would have to live permanently with the consequences.

Worrying times for every thoughtful person in the UK, whether they be English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish. As for truly patriotic, yet non-nationalistic, Scots like myself these thoughts almost reduce me to tears, and I don't tend to cry a lot.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Let's stick to the musical side of things on this forum.