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.

Changing Course or Deckchairs?

Posted on September 11, 2011 by davidsberry

It seems that my ex-opponent is as good as his word. Within 24 hours of standing tight-lipped across from me as the ERO confirmed his 151 majority and having heard the scale of the SNP victory elsewhere, he declared: “There … Continue reading →

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Calling All Unionists

Posted on September 7, 2011 by davidsberry

 “Unfortunately, it is true that only one side is even on the park playing in this match.” Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale, Scotland’s first minister from 2001 to 2007, on the proposed Independence Referendum. The Scotsman, Sep. 7th 2011. “We need … Continue reading →

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“Murdo!” He Wrote

Posted on September 5, 2011 by davidsberry

We live in strange times. Wind the clock back a quarter century and Scotland was an unsightly pimple on the alabaster edifice of Thatcherism and about to get handbagged by the Sermon on the Mound.  To suggest then that the … Continue reading →

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Hats Off to Pat

Posted on September 4, 2011 by davidsberry

This blog has never been shy when it came to criticism. Given my SNP background, it may be expected that it would be particularly harsh with perceived faults in other parties. And, given decades of dominance of my beloved East … Continue reading →

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Gimme a Break

Posted on September 3, 2011 by davidsberry

For those of you rushing here to catch the latest spiky iconoclasm, sorry to disappoint. It strikes me that this blog is taking itself entirely too seriously and that you, gentle reader, would be appreciative if I were to climb … Continue reading →

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Let’s Kill All the Councils, Let’s Kill ‘Em Tonight!

Posted on September 2, 2011 by davidsberry

The Welsh Government seems to have got itself in hot water for treading where no other devolved administration has dared to tread—into the morass of local government reform. Given that England has been in a constant low-level turmoil for decades … Continue reading →

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This Month’s Oxter Award

Posted on August 30, 2011 by davidsberry

It’s the traditional political Silly Season when major politicians and those that hound them are generally off on some sun-baked beach, August is a month we have to cast about to find a decent candidate deserving opprobrium. Yet, there in Hootsmon on … Continue reading →

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One He Made Earlier?

Posted on August 29, 2011 by davidsberry

So Cllr Burns blames the Lib-Dems and SNP for the trams debacle. Inevitable as such self-serving guff may be, I still smacked my forehead in disgust—perhaps too hard… …bzzztschhkkooee… …With hindsight, it seems fortunate that Cllr Andrew Burns fell on … Continue reading →

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All Roads Lead to Lisbon

Posted on August 27, 2011 by davidsberry

Since spending probably my best summer ever as a 23-year-old waiter in the Algarve, I have had a soft spot for Portugal, its people and especially its fading-grande-dame-but-still-a-babe capital, Lisbon. Down for just a week for my first visit in … Continue reading →

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Don’t Outlaw What Matters

Posted on August 22, 2011 by davidsberry

A leader in Scotland on Sunday, remarkable both in its six-line brevity and in its esoteric subject, caught the eye yesterday. Glasdelphia was agog with Pittmania and Tripoli was slipping from Ghaddafi’s feverish grip. But this leader was about a … Continue reading →

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