Author Archives: davidsberry

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About davidsberry

Local ex-councillor, tour guide and database designer. Keen on wildlife, history, boats and music. Retired in 2017.

You Can’t Get There from Here

Posted on January 24, 2012 by davidsberry

Yesterday’s BBC Panorama programme, entitled Train Fares: Taken for a Ride, while not quite up to their usual incisive standard of surgical reporting, provided a wealth of information about commuter travails in England and the soaring costs to those captive … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Transport | Leave a comment

Dancing the Paisley Pattern

Posted on January 22, 2012 by davidsberry

I should not have been surprised when Douglas Alexander tweeted to promote his Independent on Sunday column today: “As a Scot I don’t want to retreat from vision of a multiethnic, multicultural, multinational, state My IoS piece http://bit.ly/yFSbLU. But I was … Continue reading →

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Far Cry to Port Ellen

Posted on January 21, 2012 by davidsberry

Apologies right off that this is another blog about things military. But this week saw quite a burst of activity that centred around the SNP releasing some ideas for an independent Scottish Defence Force (SDF) that were somewhat churlishly abridged … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 4 Comments

For Whom Do They Speak?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by davidsberry

Perishing though the weather has been of late, it has been dry and (largely) calm so we’ve been taking a break from the rarified world of the Twitterati and blogosphere where debate has been especially intense on Scotland’s future. Being … Continue reading →

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Ken Yaur Neukie

Posted on January 17, 2012 by davidsberry

OK, I confess: the title was a blatant attempt to draw readership but this blog has nothing to do with the phrase’s racier overtones. Having been a longtime RNLI supporter, I have discovered that my local station has a twitter … Continue reading →

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Does Johann Understand Her Job?

Posted on January 15, 2012 by davidsberry

Having had a fairly stiff diet of politics this week, I had hoped to give readers a break and inject something lighter by way of a blog. (For those in desperate need of that, may I recommend Tom Harris’ dicing … Continue reading →

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The Pound in Your Pocket

Posted on January 14, 2012 by davidsberry

Because of its use by Harold Wilson to reassure Britons that, after the 1967 devaluation “the pound in your pocket” had not lost value may not be the happiest phrase to use. But, in the midst of highly politicised (and … Continue reading →

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Swiss Cheese Treaty

Posted on January 12, 2012 by davidsberry

Look up the Treaty of Union and/or search for it on the web and its text is not easy to find. You’d think that something as binding and permanent as that is supposed to be would have a hallowed, prominent … Continue reading →

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Not-So-Dismal Science

Posted on January 12, 2012 by davidsberry

Economics has been called the dismal science and a joke with more than a little truth to it is if you want a bewildering number of projections, you simply ask a couple of economists what they think. But, sometimes, things … Continue reading →

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Ready! Shoot! Aim!

Posted on January 11, 2012 by davidsberry

I find it just hilarious how unionists of all stripes are falling over themselves to demand an independence referendum the day before yesterday when—until six months ago—they did all they could to block the possibility of any such thing. Most … Continue reading →

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