Monthly Archives: April 2013

Tug for a Clapped-Out Gunboat

Posted on April 30, 2013 by davidsberry

The ‘discussion’ on Scottish independence is theoretically well underway but the SNP’s Angus Robertson gets himself into hot water on Audioboo’s new Hear Hear and reported in today’s Hootsmon by asserting that all the Better Together campaign do is repeat … Continue reading →

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The Groat in Yer Sporran

Posted on April 24, 2013 by davidsberry

You know you’re getting old when you remember what happened half a century ago but can’t find your keys. OK, so it wasn’t quite half a century ago that Labour’s Harold Wilson, after weeks of increasingly feverish speculation and a day … Continue reading →

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Brechin’s Revenge on Beeching

Posted on April 22, 2013 by davidsberry

What was disappointing about the half-century anniversary of Dr Beeching’s evil œuvre “The Reshaping of British Railways” wasn’t that comment and opinion was as divided as on the death of Margaret Thatcher and pushed it off the page (political bedfellows … Continue reading →

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Gung-Ho Kim Jong

Posted on April 18, 2013 by davidsberry

Despite all that the press do to stir up flagging sales, the world is a pretty peaceful place; those parts of it that are not tend to blight mostly themselves. Readers may dispute this, citing some conflagration or other that … Continue reading →

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Face it: Thatcher Was Right

Posted on April 17, 2013 by davidsberry

Opprobrium has been poured on Maggie Thatcher and all her works, especially in Scotland. This last part is understandable because, whatever her vision and commitment and however you view her legacy, she was neither subtle nor broad in her understanding: … Continue reading →

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Who Do You Think You Were Kidding, Dr Beeching?

Posted on April 15, 2013 by davidsberry

Fifty years on from the Beeching Report, it is still hard to get an objective analysis of its recommendations and the impact of those that were followed. The Beeching Report recommended taking an axe to about a third of the network—5,000 … Continue reading →

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Milli-Management

Posted on April 11, 2013 by davidsberry

Speak to anyone who is not among the small minority with a career in politics nor among the even smaller number of their colleagues who are genuine unpaid conviction activists and you are likely to receive a pretty jaundiced view … Continue reading →

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One Good Reason

Posted on April 10, 2013 by davidsberry

…why we need Scotland independent is to rid us of the flummery that takes place in the name of the people and with which the great bulk of Scots wish to have no truck. Although Scots down the ages have … Continue reading →

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SuperGran from Grantham

Posted on April 9, 2013 by davidsberry

It is a rare occasion that George Foulkes and I agree but his brief in memoriam on Thatcher at Labour Hame is both measured and honest, which, bitter political enemies as they were, deserves acknowledgement. There will be a flurry of such … Continue reading →

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Gobshite Macht Frei

Posted on April 7, 2013 by davidsberry

Despite being a strong proponent of a free press, like many other Scots today, I felt insulted by Scotland on Sunday’s presentation of a low-budget political dig masquerading as a book review of Gavin Bowd’s Fascist Scotland. What should have … Continue reading →

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