Category Archives: Commerce

The Real Britain

Posted on December 29, 2013 by davidsberry

This is a reblog. I had been getting increasingly steamed up on the theme that this whole independence debate pivots around the wrong topic. At its root, it is NOT about what the Scots think of Scotland: it’s about what … Continue reading →

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Boosting The Burgh

Posted on December 13, 2013 by davidsberry

Ask anyone within a stone’s throw of the River Esk (once its two halves have joined and found their way out of Dalkeith Country Park) and they will be in no doubt about what is meant by “The Burgh”. Most … Continue reading →

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Oh, The Farmer and The Planner Should Be Friends ♫

Posted on December 9, 2013 by davidsberry

This blog isn’t about to break out into Oklahoma-inspired song about how “one of ’em milks a cow with ease; the other steals his planning fees” but, as in the original musical, “that’s no reason why they can’t be friends”. … Continue reading →

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Per Ardua Ad Asda

Posted on November 27, 2013 by davidsberry

It may be flippant to paraphrase the RAF’s motto into a cynical equivalent for the Royal Navy but purchasing chickens now coming home to roost under Admiralty Arch are a product of a whole series of predecessors to the luckless … Continue reading →

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Britain Is Broke

Posted on November 25, 2013 by davidsberry

Making that statement does not fill me with great joy. There may be an entirely different social debate about wealth distribution that could equally have headlined “Britain is Broken” but this blog is about fiscal facts—that Brown’s smug ineptitude and … Continue reading →

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Enough with Racket Science

Posted on November 24, 2013 by davidsberry

Yesterday, my normally chatty barista went all quiet when one of my coffee buddies brought the chat around to independence by speculating on the White Paper due out this coming week. When prodded, she looked awkward, but blurted out “What … Continue reading →

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Urban Sproil

Posted on November 4, 2013 by davidsberry

The meeting of East Lothian Council ten days ago was so taken up with arguing over Fenton Barns plan-breaking housing and roasting the divisional Chief Super over the sheer incompetence of Police Scotland when it came to behaving like a … Continue reading →

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If Britain is So ‘Great’…

Posted on October 30, 2013 by davidsberry

…how come it rates only 30th in Education in the 2013 Legatum Profile of 140 countries? Top of the class is New Zealand that has 14.5 (vs UK’s 17.5) pupils per teacher, 3.1 (1.5) secondary and 1.5 (0.7) tertiary education … Continue reading →

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Black Market Cab

Posted on October 28, 2013 by davidsberry

Those of us keen to see Scotland become a normal country are often fast off the mark when it comes to resenting advantages the South-East of England takes to itself (and hangs grimly on to). So it is with pleasant … Continue reading →

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From Millstone to Milestone

Posted on October 26, 2013 by davidsberry

It seems that about 139% of the population of Scotland is delighted that an agreement has been reached over a future for both the INEOS refinery and petrochemical plant. And well everyone should be—as one of the largest and most … Continue reading →

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