THE PEOPLE V THE SNP - THE BATTLE FOR SOUTH PRIMARY - WHO CARES ABOUT THE FUTURE ?

The parents, staff and children of South Primary School are still standing, still defiant, make no mistake about it the SNP/Lib.Dem. administration in Renfrewshire Council and the education officers did not expect resistance of this kind. The campaign to save the school has been to every corner of Renfrewshire and beyond, it cornered Alex (the spiv) Salmond in Glenrothes and now intends to chase him to his Bute House bolt hole in Edinburgh after he reneged on his promise to visit them at the school. It has been gratifying to see the struggle these people have put up, to watch them grow in confidence and determination as they boldly refused to buckle before the might of Renfrewshire Council and the SNP led administration who intend to close their school, this is local politics at it’s very best and it is not party political, it is community politics and it has stunned the SNP/Lib.Dem councillors who are now in full retreat from the campaigners.


These administration councillors have been conspicuous by their absence, they are afraid to face the parents and kids, they have even banned the advertising of councillor’s surgeries to make life more difficult for the campaigners to see their councillor, they have hidden from the consultation meetings, they went missing when the protest march visited council headquarters, they refused the school permission to display the children’s work and achievements, what does this tell us ? Well you could suggest many things, are they cowards ? absolutely, are they hiding ? no doubt about that, have they got a clue what they are doing ? not really. I believe that the biggest problem that these councillors have is the fact that the protesters have managed by dint of their hard work and zeal to shine a very unflattering light on the powers that be; because the public are firmly on their side. This is due to their diligence at getting their argument across, they have massive support and the SNP know that, hence their absence, “let them turn and flee” someone once said.

There is no one out there who does not have a locus here, I’m 60 and my children are long out of school but, my grandchildren haven’t started yet, how many of you out there are in the same position ? how many of you have nieces and nephews who are in the education system in Renfrewshire ? how many of you have small children who live around you, some at school and some not yet started ? they are the important ones, not me or you but them, they are the future, nothing is more important than this and don’t make the mistake as some are doing by saying “my school is OK” because it’s not.

There is a principle at stake here; do you believe that money can be found to prevent this closure? I do, is education vital, well? I also fear for the future of other schools if they get their way and close it, anyone who thinks that this will not impinge on them or their families or neighbours or just on any children at all are taking a risk, think of children you might never meet or see, they also are important, that’s what separates us from other creatures, we care about others, we are prone to being collective and we should be proud of that.


To those who have not been concerned by this struggle; I ask you to start by considering the children, all children, whether you have children at school or if you have had children at school in the past. What would you be doing if your children were in South School ? consider also that the director of education to his credit had the courage and integrity to state that we have 10 primary schools too many, consider also that South Primary is not the lowest attended school other schools are in a poorer situation, that is, if you take the SNP/Lib.Dem. definition of what a poor situation is and believe me, that situation to them is about money not the children, if I were a parent with kids in school in Renfrewshire I would consider it vital to familiarise myself with the facts, ask the questions, contact the campaigners and, having done so,
I WOULD DO WHAT I CAN TO SUPPORT THE SOUTH PRIMARY CAMPAIGN.

STILL THE BEAUTIFUL GAME BUT, NOT IN SCOTLAND.

I recently suggested a British football team to put Scottish football fans out of their misery, predictably I was attacked for such heresy by the “Scots. Wha Haevers” but I still think the international team has gone too far, they have insulted us enough. There are two flair players who regularly feature, one, McFadden can’t get a regular game in the English second division and the other is Maloney who doesn’t always start for Celtic, Scotland is now a football backwater.


I received a cheeky email from a past adversary who worships the quicksand I might walk on someday because of my disdain for rugby, he suggests that as I have fallen out with football (not true) I should watch a real game i.e. Rugby, I responded by saying that after Scotland’s 41 – 0 victory over Canada I might find it too stressful, football is in the doldrums but Rugby is still played by those who are not good enough to play football, what does that make them ?

THE PEOPLE V THE SNP - THE FIGHT FOR SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL - A BEAM OF LIGHT SHINES.

“All the darkness in the world can’t snuff out the light from one single candle” (Mother Theresa of Calcutta) I hope no one is offended by me quoting a deeply religious person but I think the Lady quoted transcends all religions and none, so much so that even someone like me who is not the greatest example of religion still feels comfortable with the quote. There is something about candlelit vigils which make them very poignant indeed and true to form the battling forces of South Primary School agree with that, their picture in today’s Paisley Daily Express of the candlelit vigil outside South Primary will surely put the Council and the SNP to shame, I defy Cllr. Cameron and the education committee to look at those children’s faces and not feel a deep sense of remorse.


The faces of the young children ask the question far more eloquently than I ever could, Cllr. Cameron, “do I matter”? “do you care”? “why were we not allowed to put on an exhibition of our work, why are you treating us like this”? Can there be anyone left outwith the SNP who doesn’t support these children and their school, does anyone believe that a council with a budget of hundreds of millions of pounds can’t find a sum of less than £190,000 a year to save this school, I find that hard to believe. It’s not too late to save the school the SNP can still see sense and show some compassion, stop listening to the bean counting officers and do the decent thing, keep the school open.

Again I urge everyone who supports the fight to save South Primary to contact their councillors, by email at the council, or letter, or telephone, or fax or best of all find them and speak to them personally, go to their surgeries and make the case. Don’t allow this act of educational sabotage to take place, these children deserve to be educated at their own local school, you would want nothing less for your children and so would the SNP for their children all the parents want is the same treatment that the SNP would want for their own kids, is that too much to ask ?

Write to first minister Salmond (the spiv) who has already gone back on his word to come to see them at the school, the mountain must now go to Mohamad, they have to got to go see him in Edinburgh. Tell him that you want to see the school saved, he will be hoping that the parents don't go and that it will all go away, he underestimates these parents who are fighting for their children's futures, they deserve to win.

BINGO BELLA AND SYNCOPATING SADIE AT THE SHORTROODS BALL.

Friday evening 21 11 08 - to the Beechwood Centre in Shortroods for a ‘wee night’ to celebrate the contributions made by local volunteers to the running of the centre and it’s many clubs and activities, the hall looked fine in the half light with little coloured bulbs around the edge of the walls. A lonely apprehensive man stood in front of the stage with a keyboard in front of him, he was the cabaret, at this point he looked more like the buffet but it was early yet. In the time honoured Shortroods tradition it was a “bring yer ain bottle” night, this arrangement saves money on a bar and also means that you can’t get refused another swallie on the grounds that you’ve had enough by the barman, because of course you are the barman/woman.


The lonely ‘one man band’ struck up at 7.15 pm and by 7.20 the floor was heaving, have you ever noticed that it is mainly women who take the floor, it’s a Scottish male thing I think, the wee musician knew his audience and any flagging in the dancing was sorted out by another “line dance” an incomprehensible affair which they all seem to do as if hypnotised but good fun for all that, here is where you learn that “the way to Amarrilo” is a bloody serious business. At one point I realized that it was not just the case that mainly women took the floor but quite alarmingly it dawned on me that, if you excluded the hall keeper who was dragged up to dance, and the band who, talented as he was could not cope with playing and dancing, there were only 3 men there, me, Cllr. Tommy Williams and Cllr. Kenny McLaren, armed as always with pens and small note pads to cope with those who see any meeting with a councillor as an impromptu surgery. There were about one hundred women and by now, three rather nervous men. Group jeopardy bonded us despite political differences as we were persuaded to dance by an assortment of partners of all ages, I know it isn’t a pleasant thought, me and the other two on a dance floor but refusing was not an option. By this time, many revellers were thinking that they had been drinking invisible ink and no one could see the antics of them, dozens of mobile phone cameras were no deterrent.


We survived to cope with the magnificent buffet and the inevitable ‘Bingo’ we three councillors gave out certificates of merit to the worthy volunteers and a great night was had by all, I could probably do it all again, once I get the stitches out that is. By the time the ‘band’ was playing “auld land syne” he could have been wearing boxing gloves and no one would have noticed.


The ‘Beechwood’ is a constant in the lives of the people of the area and as such is a fine example of community spirit and commitment. Renfrewshire Council supports them and it is well worth the effort, I love going down there, I remember many great nights and the enjoyment my family had there years ago, my children were involved in everything that went on, we will I’m sure continue to provide this support and I’m sure the centre will continue to thrive, well done to all of them and best wishes for the future.

DONT CRY FOR US ARGENTINA.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the international football scene and expressed a wish to see a British team in the Olympics, this was based on several factors, such as possible success and a wider audience. Above all I said it was time to reappraise the whole business of international football.

Events at Hampden on Wednesday evening did nothing to change my mind, excuses have been trotted out by people who should know better, such as ‘a cold November night’ ‘too near Christmas’ what piffle! any game against Argentina would have filled the stadium 20 years ago. Just before that era Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup and lost in the final of the same trophy as well as reaching I think 3 semi finals, Rangers won the Cup Winners Cup and always featured in European tournaments, not long after that the game became swamped with money and Scottish teams have since struggled to keep up, that is not about to change and it’s impact can be seen in International Football, quite simply the world has left us behind.

I’ve seen Scotland play many times and seen some great players but, unfortunately they were not in the same team, it would have been great to see Mackay, McStay, Bremner and Baxter in the same midfield with Law and McGrory as twin strikers, add McGrain, Ure, Buchan and Jardine and you could put almost anyone in goal. The larger countries have so many players that they can get several outstanding players into the same team, I can no longer be bothered to go to a Scotland game, in fact if they are on TV and a better international is also on I will watch that and switch on occasionally to check the score. When Scots. fans don’t turn out to watch the team play Argentina it spells big trouble, without an amalgamation it will only get worse and eventually it will become a waste of time, just consider the number of players who don’t bother with it now, how many call offs etc. the game’s up I’m afraid.

The match was painful to watch and predictable, Argentina scored a superb goal early and spent the rest of the game passing rings round the Scottish players while carefully avoiding the frustrated flying boots of Hutton, Brown and Broadfoot, I think they clearly enjoyed winning the game and would have seen the avoidance of serious injury to their players as a bonus, the look of incredulity on the faces of some of the Argentina players at some of the tackling said it all.

Maradonna’s contempt for Terry Butcher was deserved and completely destructive, his demeanour and likeable nature were a joy to watch and contrasted sharply with Butcher’s childish pique, after all these years Butcher should have shown more sense, he has no class I’m afraid, did he not stop to think about the misdemeanours that he committed on the football field in his long career as one of the most uncompromising ‘hard man’ defenders.

He might also have thought about the greatness of the man he refused to shake hands with, those who like me were lucky enough to see him at 18 years of age on his debut against Scotland knew we were in the presence of greatness, even at that age you could see he was special. A man who sustained more abuse on the football field than Terry Butcher could ever understand and, BTW along with Charlton, Pele and Puskas etc, one of the greatest players ever, a true legend with not a bad line in ‘put downs’ judging by his crack about England’s World Cup win. Butcher was probably right to stay away from him; he would have taken another drubbing, this time verbally.

And finally I have to say that the great Diego Armando Maradonna was wrong, IMO the English goal was valid.

THE PEOPLE V THE SNP - THE BATTLE FOR SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL - AH 1,2, AH 1,2,3,4, LOUDLY NOW.

To be sung with gusto by parents, staff, children and all supporters of the fight for children's education at South Primary School. so the SNP and the council officers can hear you.

On the 12 Th. Day of Christmas the council gave to us !

12 Weans a weeping

11 Chiefs a cheating

10 Dads protesting

9 Mums a mourning

8 Children pleading

7 Nat’s a sneering

6 Teachers toiling

5 Iron locks

4 Furniture vans

3 Council cuts

2 Dozen lies

And a CLOSURE notice on oor wee school.

THE PEOPLE V THE SNP - THE BATTLE FOR SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL - SNP PLAY DIRTY.

Further evidence of the success of the South Primary Campaign has just emerged, we have been aware of the SNP council’s reluctance to engage with the campaigners, culminating in their cowardly 'no show' at the council chambers to meet them as they marched from the school to protest against the council’s plans, they then refused them permission to put on a display of the children’s work and achievements. Not one of the 21 SNP/Lib. Dem. councillors had the decency/courage to meet the parents and children, make that 20, Lib. Dem. Cllr. Dillon is recovering from illness.

They are putting every barrier they can find in the campaigner’s way, it’s easy to forget but, this is children and their future we are talking about, the SNP council are treating them like sworn enemies, it’s outrageous.

They have now come up with another scam to make life more difficult for the campaigners, they have just announced that councillors surgeries will no longer be advertised in the Paisley Daily Express, this they say is to save money, it also conveniently aids any councillor who doesn’t want to face angry parents at their surgeries, they have made it more difficult to get surgery information, for as long as anyone can remember the Paisley Daily Express has been the preferred method for people to see when they can visit their councillor, this was one of the many services provided by the local paper. SNP cllrs. are no doubt hoping that this will give them some respite, hiding from the electors, does that not just say it all? They will save £20,000 a year, remember they gave wage rises to senior officers of £11,500 per year. Do you get the feeling that the SNP council feel they can treat the people with utter contempt and get away with it because, that is what they are doing.

The parents, Staff and Children of South Primary School are facing Christmas with trepidation as the SNP prepare to close the place with an announcement 7 days before Christmas, Christmas is one of the best times of the school year with parties and pantomimes etc. Perhaps they will put on their own pantomime with the villains named after the faceless and heartless people who have them in their sights, I’m sure the kids and parents could find names for the “ugly sisters” or “Scrooge” and of course a name for the “wicked witch” they could extend invitations to their local councillors MP’s, MSP’s etc. I’m sure the education convener and members of the education board would be delighted to attend as well as some of the education officers, the higher up the better. Having barred them though from putting on the exhibition of the children’s work would the SNP council also stop them from putting on a pantomime, I suspect they would, why don’t you all ask them?

"OH NO THEY WOULDN'T - OH YES THEY WOULD"

I urge everyone who shares the concerns of the parents and children to protest to your councillors, MP’s and MSP’s they must not be allowed to get away with this attack on these children’s futures.

THE PEOPLE v THE SNP - THE BATTLE FOR SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL RUMBLES ON.

I want to remind everyone who reads this blog that the Campaign to Save South Primary School continues to thunder on. The parents staff and children are bloodied but unbowed, believing in the justice of their cause, and with courage and indomitable spirit they continue to carry the "David V Goliath" battle forward against the heartless SNP led administration and the cold indifference of the council officers.

Any views or comments can be posted on :-
http://savesouthschool.blogspot.com/
or :- visit our Website at http://www.savesouthschool.co.uk/


The latest affront by the Education Dept. of Renfrewshire Council is to refuse the children and parents permission to put on a show of the children's work and achievements. I ask again what are they afraid of ? Could it be that the level of achievement is such that it would undermine their callous attempts to close the school and scatter the children around like so many unwanted orphans, how could they be so cruel? little children being forced apart from their friends at such a tender age, it can't be good for their education and it can't be good for their morale.

If I were an education officer I would be concerned about the potential damage which could easily be done to these kids, no one at Renfrewshire Council seems concerned about that, these bean counters do however have every last penny counted when it comes to financial savings from closure, very very sad, Scotland's Party, the SNP eh ? this is them dealing with Scotland's Children.

MEET ALF GARNETT - AKA - THE QUEEN MUM.

The late Queen Mother was always an enigma to me, she would appear regularly on balconies and platforms with her family, all dressed up like extras from “Oh what a lovely war” and then vanish again until the next state occasion, not a bad life though, three squares a day and a substantial roof over your head, if it’s good enough for the inmates of ‘Barlinnie’ and ‘The Scrubs’ then it’s certainly good enough for the Royal Matriarch. It was probably a wee bit more expensive to pay for her than an inmate of the ‘Bar L’ but, think of the life time’s service she gave, cutting ribbons, attending Ascot, waving at crowds etc. What made her such a mystery to me was that even now I can’t remember ever hearing her speak and being the inquisitive fellow that I am I have often thought about that and still do.

An old friend of mine who has sadly now passed on told me a story about her which was told to him by a friend and it dated from his time on National Service. He was stationed at some castle where the Queen Mum was in residence and in pleasant weather she would sit outside reading or having a ‘swallie’ with friends. Soldiers regularly passed by where she was seated and were obliged to salute as they passed. Some soldiers on seeing that she was sitting with her back to them or engrossed in a book would pass without saluting, not a great sin you would think but, unknown to them she had a strategically placed mirror which allowed her to note those who didn’t salute and they were duly dragged over the coals when she reported them, what jolly good fun eh? Another mystery about this gracious lady was her wealth or lack of it, I remember reading on her demise among all the sycophantic grovelling in the press that she had died £6M in debt! How in the “name of the wee man” did she manage that?

A recent news story however has perhaps discovered why she was so reticent, possibly she was muzzled, censored, made to button her lip as it were. The BBC presenter Edward Stourton, himself from a ‘silver spoon’ background has described her as “a ghastly old bigot” and guilty of harbouring the prejudices which have caused conflicts in Europe in the past.

In an interview with Stourton she described our close European Allies as “huns, wops & dagos” he went on to say, ”I thought that what she had said was nasty and ugly” Oh dear dear me, when I wrote about the royal family before and the prejudice which is part of their lives I was attacked for it, perhaps the Queen Mum is just an example of what a dissolute artificial life, with no grasp of reality can lead to.

I do know this, my own grandmother was part of my life for Approx. 30 years and I never once heard her use such language, I never once heard her disparage anyone because of their colour, race or creed, is it any wonder her royal family have turned out the way they have, despite the wealth and the fame I am glad that the Queen Mum was not my grandmother, the one I had was just fine.

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME - UNITING PEOPLE.

Following his humiliation in Glenrothes, Alex “the spiv“ like all true charlatans is bouncing back, not for nothing is he called the “the Scottish Jeffrey Archer” his latest scam will once again fool the sheep who follow him blindly. This time he wants to pick a fight with Westminster over the possibility of picking a British Olympic Football Team. Not content with disgracing Scottish people by excluding all Olympic athletes from his congratulations and only congratulating Scots. Athletes he now wants to humiliate us again, he is prepared to use anybody and anything to keep his profile high, and the rest of us can cringe in his shadow.

How can anyone object to a British Football Team? we already have an all British Olympic Team, and Scots. have shone in it along with everyone else, this is playground politics from ‘the spiv’ any reason to pick a fight with the “Engurlish” and he is right there. Let’s face it, when it comes to International football Scotland, as my old Da. would have said “couldnae beat Casey’s drum” that is a fact but it’s nothing to be ashamed of when you look at Brazil, Italy, Argentina and of course “Engurland” this might even provide Scots. with a chance to cheer on a team in the latter stages of a major competition with Scottish players in it, wouldn’t that be a brilliant novelty ?

Consider this, we would have 3 years and more to produce a player or two good enough to get in the team, what an incentive. A Jimmy Johnstone or a Willie Henderson or a Billy Bremner would make it worthwhile and taking part with our friends and neighbours from Wales, N.Ireland and Engurland would make for a great party, let’s go for it.

I've just watched the children in need contribution from BA Robertson & Co. about Scotland and it's Football Team and I am defiantly unrepentent I am still a fan, not even that can put me off.

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS ! OBAMA - GLENROTHES AND 2 COUNCIL BY ELECTIONS AS WELL.

I suppose that people who read this blog will have been expecting me to comment on what is now known by one word, “Glenrothes” it’s not necessary to say anything else to explain it’s significance, no need to worry about people wondering if you mean a sporting event, a human disaster, an explosion etc. everyone knows that it was a By Election to the Westminster Parliament which Labour won and the SNP lost. Nor is it necessary to mention the other parties but I will, the “Scottish Socialist Party” were humiliated as never before, just when you thought they were completely humbled (which they were) in limped the “Solidarity (Tommy Sheridan) Party” to prove to the Scottish Socialists that there is always someone worse off than yourselves. It saddens me to see these people, many of them good Socialists and decent people living fantasy lives on the lunatic fringe of politics, when they could be in the Labour Party helping me and many others to make a difference. At a time when capitalism is being rocked to it’s shaky foundations, they are still impersonating the Monty Python sketch about the “People’s Party of Judea” V the “Judean People’s Party” I’m reminded again of a conversation I once had with Tony Benn (name dropping) that there were 23 left of centre parties in Britain, that’s quite tragic really.


The Tories and the wretched Liberal Democrats were also humiliated but the greatest humiliation of all was not reserved for a political party, it was reserved for a political party leader. Let’s hear it for Alex (the spiv) Salmond, the sneering strutting wide boy leader of the SNP, a man who can swagger while seated and has the ability to follow you into a revolving door and come out in front of you. When this man says good morning to people they immediately think “what’s he up to” dishonest to the bitter end, he vanished and reappeared with a plan to lessen the blame on him, no one is more important than Alex (the spiv) that’s his creed. With rat like cunning he spun the story of taking the blame himself, why ? well he blamed himself for not rebutting Labour’s highlighting the local SNP’s terrible record as a council administration. The fact of the matter is he bragged and boasted about taking on Gordon Brown and spoke about little else, he hammered away at the ludicrous suggestion that Brown was responsible for the global finance crisis, “I challenge him to meet me head on in Fife” he bellowed, well that’s what Brown did and we all seen the result didn’t we. Alex (the spiv) of course doesn’t want that to be the discussion point, who wants to discuss taking a hammering from someone that you have been deriding for the whole campaign.

He hasn’t got away with this with the public and the media who easily see through his cowardice and trickery but, I predict he will get away with it in his own party who have no one to stand up to him, and are completely terrified of the regime he runs. Is it any wonder that on live TV that other political charlatan Jim Sillars was playing the elder statesman, heroically stifling his laughter and, ever so sympathetically twisting the knife in Alex (the spiv’s) back wearing a ‘Rev. I. M. Jolly’ “this hurts me more than it hurts Alex” expression on his face, meanwhile across the studio Nicola Sturgeon was, judging by her expression trying to turn him into a frog. Make no mistake about this, mid term By Elections are very difficult for Governments, Labour were taking a hammering in the polls, there was economic fear, a bullish and arrogant opposition, tipped for defeat by the guys who are never wrong, ‘the bookies’ This was a great Labour victory we increased our vote and our share of the vote, quite an achievement.

I have been told umpteen times by lumpen SNP members and followers what the SNP were going to do to Labour in Fife and now I find that they have gone away, probably “tae think again” these are the same people who exploded with rage and poison on the on line comments sections of national newspapers. They showed themselves for what they are and Nationalism for what it is, a philosophy of despair and hatred which attracts the very worst elements of our society, I have decided to print some of the comments made by these nationalists, to let you see for yourselves what they are like when the tartan veil slips, and their true character is exposed.


Here is a Nat. describing Labour and Fifers :- "it just proves the contempt in which they hold their electorate and how they rate their intelligence" The SNP have on these on line comments described the voters of Fife as follows :- Glenrothes 'traitors', 'numpties', 'thick' and 'blind' and said 'you deserve to rot in your pits of filth'. There’s more, "If confirmation was ever required that most Fifers are thick then this election result provides conclusive proof." An earlier commenter has another go thus :- "you deserve to rot in your pits of filth. Traitors one and all!" and even more :- “The kingdom of fife should hang its ugly unionist head in shame. Fifers are anti Scottish and a disgrace to their country” this is a small sample of what the SNP really think about their fellow Scots and you should hear what they think of me !

In case you think that the nationalists can’t get any lower, consider this. A group of disabled campaigners in wheel chairs were calling at polling stations telling people not to vote SNP as a protest against Fife’s SNP council and how they were treating the disabled. None of them were Labour members or supporters, SNP campaigners and supporters turned on them viciously and abused and harassed them, the disabled people were left in a state of shock at the behaviour of the SNP supporters. No one from the SNP has apologised for this outrageous example of nationalist intolerance and bullying.


These are the people who call themselves “Scotland’s Party” and “Scotland’s Bravehearts” The truth is, the SNP are “SCOTLAND’S SHAME”

DEAR DON. & ECK. (THE SPIV) I'D RATHER SEE A REAL EAGLE THAN A GOLF EAGLE.

The tartan veil slips and once again we see the calibre of Scots. in the SNP. Salmond (the spiv) rolls over and gets his tummy tickled by the rich American and a priceless part of our natural heritage gets flogged, “bought and sold for Yankee gold you might say” there are people in the SNP who years ago would have been spitting blood over this, now they accept anything as long as it comes from (the spiv) he has got the fundies scared and neutered.

In Renfrewshire the “voice of Holyrood” EX MSP Cllr. McFee and wee Jim Mitchell the EX Parliamentary candidate are completely cowed, they are yesterday’s men, they should have done the decent thing and left with Martin and Vassie, both barking of course but, true Nationalists and loyal to the cause, now referred to as “The real SNP” they can at least still look at themselves in the mirror, “put a Scotsman on a spit and you can always pay some other Scotsmen to turn him for you” (to borrow from Jonathan Swift)

Trump will build a palace for Philistines on what was once a magnificent landscape which will never be seen again, and the people of the area will become caddies and bar tenders, that is Salmond (the spiv’s) vision for Scotland, the SNP have humiliated Scots. with their actions. Planning laws were circumvented and the democratically elected chair of the planning board was dumped to allow this sell out to happen.

I write occasionally about our fantastic natural environment, it is something we should cherish for future generations not sell off to global billionaires, in years to come people might take their children walking and look from a distance at the huge monument to the twin egos of Trump and (the spiv) Salmond, (they won’t be allowed near it) and tell them about the magnificent wildlife and spectacular scenery that was once here, back in the days before the SNP vandals got the whiff of Trump’s money.
What the Scottish Govt. Did here was to diminish and weaken their country in the eyes of the world, they showed themselves to be small timers, easy meat for the money men.

The SNP have wailed for years about people whom they accuse of not having the courage to let Scotland stand alone, "we can handle our own affairs" is their mantra.

Donald Trump knows different.

THE PEOPLE v THE SNP - THE BATTLE FOR SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL (PART 5)

The stone hard face of the SNP and their council masters was once again on show, this was at the last consultative meeting on the closure of South Primary School which took place at Lochfield Primary. Lochfield will be affected by a large number of children moving there if the closure goes ahead. A large crowd of concerned parents from South and Lochfield were in attendance, and the same road show was trotted out again, the parents once again wiped the floor with the platform trio who are now delighted that that part of the process is over they have stuck it out or, put another way displayed their “ Brass Necks” How they can close this school after going through this process beggars belief but I suspect that they will, they have been hammered into the ground at every meeting by angry parents who are concerned at their proposals to close South Primary.

Parents have quite rightly highlighted the hypocrisy of the SNP led administration who promised reduced class sizes and are actively now increasing them, while at the same time damaging the job prospects of young teachers. It is a complete betrayal of those who voted for them. I hope people remember this. Cllr. Cameron displayed her hostility blatantly at this meeting where the parents from each primary sat on different sides of the isle; she pointedly refused to bring in people from South Primary who were incensed. Not only did she curtail the meeting against the wishes of the parents but she ignored the raised hand of a young woman who sat among the South parents, despite being from Lochfield, this caused Cllr. Cameron to deliberately ignore her. She finally got in and tore strips off the chair for her behaviour and made some hard hitting points, highlighting the fact as I have previously done that at no time did the platform mention the welfare of the children, they talked exclusively about money to the exclusion of what was best for the children, a total disgrace.

The pipes played and the drums banged, balloons were let go and placards waved as the parents, children and opposition politicians, took off on their demonstration march to the Council Chambers on Friday afternoon November 31St. 08 from South Primary. Down through the town to Cotton St. marched the noisy good natured riot of colour and movement which was applauded all the way by the paisley Buddies who witnessed it and there were plenty who did. Pedestrians, shoppers, smokers in pub doorways etc. all gave encouragement, cars and taxis hooted their approval, this was no surprise, education matters greatly. The ordinary people on the street that day do not need to be convinced of that. The SNP however do.

The local paper the Paisley Daily Express also covered the demo. and ran the story with colourful pictures and interviews with participants, the paper and the citizenry are becoming more and more aware of the educational vandalism which is going on in Renfrewshire, ask any teacher.

Something strange also happened that day, the local press, the radio, even the tele. knew about this march. Politicians from Holyrood, Westminster and Cotton St. knew about it and attended in protest along with the parents and kids, the public knew and cheered them to the echo but, there is always a but isn’t there ? guess who didn’t know about it ? well you might not be surprised to know that the following didn’t know, or so they say.

No one from the SNP led administration knew about it Cllr. MacKay the council leader stated he did not know about it. Cllr. Cameron the Education Convener was missing she hasn’t commented and no one from education was seen and they haven’t commented either.

Perhaps they think that if they stick their heads in the sand for long enough it will go away, having met the parents from South Primary I have a feeling that they might be reading that wrong. Everyone should support this school, and help to stop the SNP attacks on our children’s education.

I HOPE ROSA PARKS IS LOOKING DOWN ON AMERICA TOMORROW.

I was born the year after the last recorded lynching in the USA which took place in 19 47, many people will no doubt be shocked to read that black people, mainly men were being lynched in their life time, there is a misconception that these things took place a long, long time ago. They didn’t, racism was so common and so acceptable that black people lived in fear constantly, a great many Americans of my generation have parents and grand parents who would have been involved in this barbarism, and very few were ever brought to justice. It’s an ugly part of American history but, we can’t point the finger at anyone, our own history is even more bloody because for one thing we were at it longer, in fact we made the American racists look like amateurs.

All the more reason now to say to Americans, you can be the great country that you have always strived to be, in a short space of time you have gone from the unspeakable cruelty of slavery and murder of people because of their skin colour to the brink of electing one of those former put upon black Americans to the highest office in the country and, the most important leader in the world.

The knuckle dragging racists and the fundamental republican right wing bible bashers will foam and rant but America is about to stand tall despite them, America is big enough to take them on and win. The corporate gangsters like Cheney, Bush etc. are at last losing their grip, no more Bush, Reagan, Nixon, America is better than that, America strives to be cleaner than that.

The bravery of Rosa Parks still shines like a beacon along with MLK, Paul Robeson, Ali, James Baldwin and the countless others whose names we will never know who suffered and died under racist laws. Still today the black population of America is approx. 1/3 rd. While the population on death row is 90 % and this in the greatest country in the world ? what could America have achieved by now if all it’s citizens of every colour and background had always been given equal treatment ? Science, medicine, sports etc. what a waste, the same happens here in Britain because of class, and that will change also some day.

I have many relatives in America and some of them read my blog and I’m now saying to them, remember why you went there, remember the discrimination you faced, remember the arguments we have had over the years about America’s role in the world, remember the many times you have been shocked by what I have said about your country, here’s your chance to shut me up, at least for a little while, here’s your chance to do the right thing, prove that “all men should be judged, not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character” MLK.

Vote for Barack Obama !

CRUEL ABUSE OF ANIMALS PRESERVED BY THE SNP.

One of the things that Scots. have which is the envy of the rest of Britain is our natural countryside, when you move north it becomes wild and beautiful, there are areas such as the Lakes in England and the Mountainous parts of Donegal in Ireland which are also lovely but, for the truly spectacular the highlands of Scotland is the place.


Added to that blessing is the wild life which is there and can’t be found anywhere else in Britain in such numbers, Sea Eagles, Golden Eagles, Ospreys, Pine Martins, Wildcats, foxes and deer etc. make Scotland a wildlife haven. In past years I have roamed around some of these areas, mainly the Cairngorms and the Spey Valley. Over the years I have been lucky to see most of these creatures in the wild, even a Wildcat once and strangely it was not up north it was on the moors above the Glennifer Braes in the dead of winter when the roads and fields merged into one because of the deep snow, a total white out.

A workmate and I were sent out to trace the position of a pipeline using electronic location devices and at one point we became conscious of a creature sitting about fifty yards away like a statue looking at us, we both froze and started to whisper, “do you see that? it’s not a dog, it’s not a fox or a cat” having seen Wildcats in captivity and seeing it’s distinctive size, shape and above all it’s ears which taper upwards into long thin points I whispered “it’s a Wildcat” we stood looking at it in wonder, it stared back motionless, clearly the boss, it is a very rare sight indeed, we moved first and it vanished in a flash into the deep snow.


Recently the Scottish Govt. had a chance to strike a blow for such creatures and wildlife in general by imposing a ban on the cruel practice of snaring wild animals, this is a barbaric practice and causes animals to suffer a lingering agonising death, animals have been known to chew off their own paws which have been caught in snares to escape. Environment Minister Mike Russell refused the calls for a ban from SNP members at their conference; he said he “did not want to alienate those working in the countryside” meanwhile foxes, badgers and deer are dying in these hideous contraptions, this was a shameful piece of cowardice by Russell, this was nothing more than the SNP backing down before the landed gentry. Some people like killing animals for fun and they are not about to give this up lightly, like the Fox Hunters they will fight to preserve what they call “country ways” this means killing and torturing creatures for fun and can not be justified. Russell should be replaced with someone with a backbone.

A statistic emerged stating that 85% of vets were opposed to snaring animals, this is a high number but, it leaves me very uneasy to think that there are Vets working in Scotland who are not opposed to what is a cruel and vicious way to treat wild animals, what kind of Vets are they ? My understanding is that a majority of delegates were clearly in favour of a ban which is of course good but, they did not carry out their intention when it came to a vote which is shameful, why go to conference if you are only going to be browbeaten by the executive, the same happened over the quite ludicrous ban on selling alcohol to under 21’s the platform won because the delegates are cowards.


Innocent, beautiful wild animals will continue to suffer at the hands of man because the SNP members suffered a failure of nerve, wild animals have no voice, all they do is provide us with a sense of wonder at their existence and occasionally allow us to have a glimpse of them like the Wildcat.

I urge the SNP members to revisit this issue, rectify this ignominy and bring in the ban.