TALKING ABOUT HIS FUTURE OPPONENT " HE CAN RUN BUT HE CAN'T HIDE" (JACK DEMPSEY)

The article in the paper carried a picture showing the unmistakeable battered friendly countenance of Ken Buchanan; delivering a straight left for the camera; as has been the case several times before; my heart sank, and the usual questions sprang to mind, is it good or bad? has he won an award, opened a boxing club or; is he in jail, is he in hospital and most inexplicably why should I care? I sometimes ask myself that; I remember some time ago something similar happening with a man who could hardly be more different from the great boxer; Stephen Fry the great polymath, writer actor, comedian etc. went missing on the eve of a West End opening for several days, I’ve never met Fry and yet I was very worried about him, I like him he seems decent, a bit fragile and good natured; it’s strange when this happens, and you say what has it to do with me why should I care, it’s part of the human condition, that’s why.

Stories emerged that he had sold his 5 boxing belts; Lonsdale, European, WBC, WBA, & the Ring. Buchanan vehemently denied the story but; the journalist knew it would run because it was Ken; needless to say he never bothered to speak to the boxer, the belts it turns out are headed for permanent display in a museum. Ken it has to be said has inflicted more harm on himself than most of his opponents in the ring ever did; a fact that he is painfully aware of and something that he continuously struggles with; his problem is he’s always been good copy for the lazy gutter bastards of the tabloid sports sections and gossip columns who like nothing better than twisting the knife in the back of someone who was a genuine great, as well as being a man with ‘no sides to him’ He was compared to the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson by that most cynical of world sports institutions ;the American boxing press, nuff said!

I remember watching the slim young ‘peely wally’ kid in the ring clad in tartan shorts and wondering at his courage and nerve; I might be wrong and I’m not about to check now but he always seemed to be in against guys who were physically stronger and mainly bigger; countering that disadvantage though was a classic boxer; you can teach boxing and classic boxing is the easiest of all to teach, 90 % of boxers fight in the same style, the way they were trained and coached, notwithstanding Ali who doesn’t really count; no boxer approaches an opponent with arms at his side; this similarity in style makes it difficult to rise above the crowd but Buchanan did just that. He managed this through speed, composure, native intelligence and the aforementioned courage, my old man who loved boxing once described him thus “he’s quick and he has the nerve of a burglar” no matter how rough it got, when the fighters were mauling and wrestling; when the ref. pulled them apart Buchanan sprang like a wound up robot into the immediate classic stance with guard up and feet dancing, tremendous discipline.

He was the real world champion when there weren’t 3 versions of every weight and he fought everyone, he was never anything other than approachable and friendly, to friendly to some whom he treated regularly and who exploited his good nature. There is no doubt that he has come through hard times and had his share of trouble mainly because of that opponent which many great fighters never managed to beat; booze, but he is still doing OK and still fighting that particularly remorseless opponent. I recall two incidents concerning him which make me smile at his character; one was when he had been out of boxing for a while and was back on the tools as a joiner on a large building site, (he tells this in his book) sitting drinking tea at dinner time with a couple of young joiners high up on the site structure; a couple of older workers approach and ask for his autograph, he obliges and they leave, one of the young joiners turns to him and says “f**k me Kenny you must be some F*****g joiner” on another occasion I was in a restaurant in Leith having dinner with my daughter when the unmistakeable figure of Buchanan came through the door, he was clearly ‘feeling no pain’ and in good form; the passageway was narrow and being rather large I stood and moved my chair to let him and his mate pass, he fixed me with a smile as he approached and offered his hand I shook it and said “howye doing Kenny” he fancied that he knew me and stopped for a chat; he asked about my companion and on hearing she was my daughter he said “ listen hen; me and yer Da go back a long way and if anybody ever gies ye bother let me know OK? I won’t be able to do anything aboot it but let me know anyway” he was clearly welcome to the diners and was great ‘craic’

I would like to see Edinburgh recognise him in some way; I hope he continues to soldier on for years and I hope he remains fit, he was a great champion; I know he would disagree with what I’m about to say but I pay him great respect when I recall that awsome night when he lost to the great Roberto Duran at Madison Square Garden. The fight became notorious because of the controversial ‘low blow’ which stopped the fight but; I recall it for a slightly different reason and that was his bravery bordering on foolhardiness. After 3 rounds it was clear that we were watching something pretty special in Duran who won each round, this went on until round 13 and Duran won every round; I think that he almost stopped Buchanan in each round from 4 to 13 when he eventually did stop him with ‘that punch’ After 3 or 4 rounds it was obvious that he would lose and he took a savage beating from one of the all time world greats, he would not allow his corner to throw in the towel, he was the world champion defending his title and he was taught to believe that a real world champion only goes out beaten one way, on a stretcher, he lost a brutal war that night and spent 3 days in hospital after it but; he never quit; the boxing world watched in wonder then stood to applaud, he is now in the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

He is not the first and won’t be the last great sporting champion to fall from grace, boxing alone has many of them; too many and too painful to mention in fact. When boxing fans get together the old debate usually takes place about who was the best ever it’s good fun and never reaches a conclusion, in this case IMO as far as Scotland is concerned he stands shoulder to shoulder with Benny Lynch “the Gorbals Boy” I can pay him no greater compliment and sadly; like Benny, he has no recognition from his native city, no memorial, no statue, it’s tragic.

"THERE ARE LIES; DAMN LIES AND STATISTICS" (BENJAMIN DISRAELI, P.M.)

Following my article about the arrogance and lack of integrity in Alex (the spiv) Salmond’s statement of interests in Holyrood, we now have the leader of Renfrewshire Council Cllr. Derek Mackay exhibiting the very same unsavoury traits; I wonder if he could be a clone; a kind of “Stepford Cllr.” Labour MSP Wendy Alexander had a large expose story in the local Paper; the Paisley Daily Express about the callous SNP education budget cuts. Here were the facts laid out and merciless; the further damage being done to Renfrewshire’s children incontestable; between this year and last a total of £6.9m slashed from the education budget; it’s unforgiveable educational vandalism being carried out by the SNP/Lib. Dem. Administration supported predictably by the Tories, just like Holyrood, “the next best thing to a Tory administration is one which acts like a Tory administration” look at the SNP, it’s a true saying.

Wendy’s expose listed 81 job losses on top of secondary school cuts already made this year;
twenty eight more teachers will go
eight classroom assistants will lose their jobs
seven instrument instructors are earmarked to be axed
all foreign language assistants will go
ten school secretaries are in the line of fire.
N.B. the council hopes to achieve this by offering voluntary early retirement. The 27 year Labour guarantee of no compulsory redundancies is gone; there will be more job losses outwith education and there will be no guarantees of how they are achieved, workers/Unions beware you are about to see the SNP’s treatment of it’s workers and it is not going to be nice. “the SNP/Lib Dem administration ensured education was protected as far as we could” (Cllr. Mackay) 'as far as we could' doesn’t amount to much does it, a contemptible inadequate response from someone who is supposed to be the council leader.

Knowing that the limelight was going to be on him and knowing its glare would be harsh he slipped into Salmond (the spiv) mode by coming out with this piece of disingenuous double talk; “When faced with the facts, no wonder even Renfrewshire Council’s Labour Group rejected Wendy’s views in their opposition budget last week.” Labour Cllrs. were left asking each other what he was talking about; as well as asking if anyone had been asked about this by the reporter, no one had and, no one had a clue what he was on about. This was the panic reaction of someone whose sins are catching up with him; his tenure has been a disaster especially for education and he knows it, he froze and made this up or, perhaps he truly wants people to believe that Labour Cllrs. and their MSP are really in disagreement about our reaction to £6.9m. of SNP/Lib. Dem. cuts in education in the nearly two years of their administration.

You must make up your own minds up about this suggestion, presumably he hopes to be taken seriously on this; he is after all the council leader, honest he is, strange I know but; true honestly!

"YOU CAN'T FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME" (ABE LINCOLN)

Which politician would you be reading about if you read the following from the Register of Members Interests at Holyrood. "I consistently rank in the top ten of hardest working Scottish MPs". The hubris gives it away a wee bit ; it is of course Alex (the spiv) Salmond, he is not referring to how hard he works because of having two seats; he is bizarrely referring only to his Westminster seat; note the words “hardest working Scottish MP’s”

You would have to have the kind of arrogance that would make Mrs. Thatcher look like Mother Theresa to say such a thing knowing that it was a load of bulldung but; this is (the spiv) we are talking about here, the man who can strut while seated. But the (wee spiv) should have paid more attention to Scotland’s famous drunken workshy plagiarist Bobby Burns instead of displaying his counterfeit appreciation of him. The poet wrote once in a rare moment of sobriety and; when not delirious from some squalid infectious disease or other that "facts are chiels that winna ding,/An downa be disputed" or if you like; for the cod Burns fans and the dumb patriots the translation is, ‘But facts are fellows that will not be overturned,/And cannot be disputed’ not even it would seem by Alex (the spiv) Salmond.

His voting record covering his ‘two jobs’ period is the worst among Scottish MP’s; in the year 07/08 he was present for only 9.1% of votes, better only than Labour’s John MacDougall who was tragically afflicted by terminal cancer at this time. Also in that year he spoke in seven debates; one of the worst records in the house; his last comment in Westminster was a full year ago, he did not table a single question either; can this be described as cheating the system? Perhaps the thing which will make decent people recoil the most in all of this; is his grubby stunt of donating part of his salary to a children’s trust in his seat, why so? Well, the trust has his name on it that’s why; he clearly lives by the cynical self seeking maxim, “what’s the point of doing good if no one notices it” “Alex Salmond for First Minister” anyone? That’s not a bad ‘quid pro quo’ for money off his salaries is it; it’s not lost is it? he can spend tax payer’s money boosting his popularity what a guy, what a low life.

Are the people of Banff and Buchan OK with this? Let’s face it, leaving aside the stench of these donations they don’t really have an MP do they; they are being cheated and others are now asking the obvious question; why do they put up with it? Broken promises and lies to the electorate are not the half of it are they, this is grand larceny and he is once again treating the Scottish people and particularly the honest hard working people of Banff and Buchan with contempt.

All of this foul mess arose because he arrogantly made false claims about his performance at Westminster, already SNP fire fighters are trying to dampen this down with their stories about other politicians whom they claim have worse records, these smoke screens are irrelevant, the story here is the first minister’s lies and arrogance nothing else; Scotland’s First Minister and his unsavoury character is what is on show here and it doesn’t look good, it’s about lying to the people folks, it’s that simple.

"EVERY CROWD HAS A SIVER LINING" (Phineas Taylor Barnum)

“What is robbing a bank to owning a bank?” (Bertolt Brecht) - who is the bigger criminal asks the great playwright. Imagine a police picture of criminals with numbers hung round their necks, thieves; fraudsters; con men and Tax Dodgers, responsible for destroying the dreams of millions, lost homes; lost life savings; abandoned holidays, vile criminals indeed. Imagine these to be pictures of well groomed expensively dressed senior executives of the top British banks and financial institutions, the captains of industry and the backbone of the British establishment. These people are the biggest villains since “The Great Train Robbers” but; ‘porridge’ is not for them, ‘porridge’ is for the burglar; the car thief; the drunken brawler, not for these masters of malfeasance. Doesn’t it just “rip yer knitting” to see that they are ‘lords’ and ‘sirs’ no affair of state or Royal Garden Party is complete without them; munching canapés and swilling champagne like pigs at a trough, remember these are the people who are at the top of what most British people would describe as a ‘decent society’ a cruel deception indeed for those who are ever so proud to be British, proud they now find of a country dominated at the highest level by swindlers. .

Scotland has plenty of them as well with “the world’s worst banker" Fred the shred Goodwin out in front, a “Feegie Boy” apparently, as if we didn’t have enough image problems. Lots of Scots are proud of a vile concoction called whisky, they take great national pride in it; how cruel on them to find that one of it’s most famous names ‘Johnnie Walker’ relocated it’s brand abroad to avoid paying taxes to it’s native country, does it surprise you when we have a first minister like Alex (the spiv) Salmond? Approx. 230 of the top British companies pay no tax at all, this is 'sorted' for them by our top 4 law firms, the kind of firms who are responsible for ensuring that justice is done, this is a game that only the rich and powerful can play, most ordinary people can’t afford it, most ordinary people pay their taxes, these rich and powerful people have a word for us it’s “MUG”

Meanwhile another mighty scandal which has been going on for decades continues to shame our society; billions of pounds in benefits go unclaimed by those who are entitled to them because the state is not proactive enough in looking after those who need help. When you think of the fat cat boss getting his millions in pay off deals despite his failures and disreputable behaviour you should also think of the old age pensioner who can’t afford proper heating because they don’t understand the system, or the person with learning difficulties who’s life could be greatly improved by receiving full benefit entitlement, there are thousands of such cases like this and the fact that it is allowed to go on is a scandal.

Capitalism is staggering around like a boxer ready to go down for the count, now is the time to land that blow, now is the time to introduce rules and laws that will prevent these parasites from ever prospering again. The need for the state has never been more obvious, we need to tackle tax avoidance once and for all and extend co-operation to other countries to do likewise, it’s time that those who need help were given it, those who have worked their shift and deserve a comfortable retirement without money worries.

The real scroungers; the liars and exploiters have inadvertently highlighted that the resources are there, we just need the political will to seize them.

OFFICER - WHOS'E IN CHARGE HERE? DOPED UP MARINE - AINT IT YOU? "APOCALYPSE NOW" - MOVIE.

Renfrewshire Council Budget Day; the protagonists and spectators assemble for the meeting at 9.30 a.m. the first surprise takes place before the meeting starts; the SNP offer a 10 minute recess to allow both sides to examine each other’s budget proposals. This cheers us up on the Labour side, we have always allowed this courtesy when in power but the SNP refused to offer it last time, they are clearly nervous, the reason becomes obvious when we see their proposals.

Bombshell number two then takes place as SNP leader Mackay decides to publicly humiliate his finance spokesman Cllr. Noon by delivering the budget speech himself, can you imagine Chancellor Gordon Brown sitting in the House of Commons on budget day and watching Tony Blair deliver Brown’s speech? This is not just a humiliation for the hapless Cllr. Noon but, it is a glaring example of poor leadership by Mackay, to treat one of your conveners in this way at one of the years biggest public meetings is quite intolerable.

He has shown this complete lack of confidence in his colleagues before, most notably if understandably in the case of Cllr. Cameron the Education Convener who must rank as the worst appointment since Berti Vogts, she has been sidelined often because he has no confidence in her, its poor leadership to treat a colleague in this way but, more importantly; it’s unpardonable folly to appoint her in the first place.

The SNP proposals are cuts and more cuts; amounting to closures and job losses, speaker after speaker from Labour and Tory savaged them, the Tories of course have a bark which is much worse than their bite and they; true to form; voted with the SNP, it’s absorbing watching them as the genial and eloquent Cllr. Langlands disdainfully attacks them and makes them squirm while all the time everyone in the chamber knows that he will side with them on the vote, likewise his young apprentice Cllr. Clews, it was ever thus, genial and good natured they may be but, in the final analysis they are still Tories; and they know a right wing budget when they see one.

I said in my contribution that they (the SNP) set out by saying that they would improve Social Work, how? by cutting it’s budget by £1m that’s how, they would improve education, how? by cutting its budget by £2.5m. that’s a cut of “6.5m. in two years, that’s how. I reminded Cllr. Mackay to his embarrassment that he seems to have turned around a “bankrupt council” a council which was “in the red” a year and three quarters ago into one which was now “financially stable” ( Cllr. Mackay) I suggested he replace “Fred the Shred Goodwin” - if looks could kill.

Mike Holmes (Labour) then produced a fierce forensic attack aimed at the 'loosely wrapped' Cllr. McCartin who had made a speech in praise of the budget, he baited her mercilessly and she was shaking her head one minute and nodding the next and sometimes a mixture of both as Mike ran rings round her. This had the chamber roaring with laughter which as usual didn’t bother her, she has been over this kind of humiliation many times and once again she was the only one in the chamber who was not aware she was being made a fool of, she is impervious to everything but blows.

Cuts are on their way in Arts & Museums, Primary & Secondary teaching jobs, School Admin Support jobs, Social Work and more, this is the reality of electing an inexperienced and incompetent administration, the people of Renfrewshire are paying the price for them and it will get worse. This dire administration continues to cling to the comfort in the chamber of pathetic false laughter and transparently orchestrated cheering and desk banging but I think the people of Renfrewshire will be seeing through them.

Did I mention that the last vestige of competence and trust in the SNP went west at Holyrood the day before the meeting; with the abandonment of their ‘Loco Income Tax’ their “flag ship policy” do any voters feel betrayed? I suggested; again to pitiless laughter from some of the rougher elements present that the shambles of the Scottish Govt. is a result of their cruel treatment of Renfrewshire SNP’s finest; big Brucie McFee the SNP at Holyrood were beastly to him and him such a nice man as well, everyone calls it Holyrood while big Brucie refers to it as “The Bermuda Triangle” what can he mean? Some rather unpleasant types reckon that it’s because he went missing there without trace for 4 years; still he’s back now and that’s what matters right?

In the old council chamber Cllr. Mackay sometimes sat with Cllrs. McFee, Mitchell, & Nicolson behind him, not something we will see again I fear.

“ Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown “ (Henry IV. W Shakespeare) still Derek what did he know? He wasn’t even Scottish.

ALEX (THE SPIV) AND THE DUMBING DOWN OF THE CABINET

What is the difference between; Scottish Tory MSP and Holyrood Presiding Officer Alex Ferguson and the SNP MSP and Chair of Holyrood’s Standards Committee Keith Brown? Answer: - the former Mr. Alex Ferguson; is honest and honourable while the latter Mr. Keith Brown is a disingenuous dishonourable coward.

Consider two decisions which had to be made using the casting vote of the respective chairpersons of the Parliament and the Standards Committee; I refer first to the casting vote which Mr. Ferguson used to prevent the SNP/Tory budget being passed, the Tory Chair despite his party supporting the budget maintained the convention of deciding in favour of the status quo when the vote was tied and the budget fell, despite this being a quite momentous thing to do there was never any doubt that he would do the right thing, the honourable/decent thing. It is to his and his party’s credit that there was never any doubt that they would play fair which they did.

Contrast this with the underhand behaviour of SNP MSP Keith Brown when he was presented with an identical choice as chair of the Standards Committee when the vote was tied on whether Wendy Alexander should be pursued further over the accusation of breaking parliamentary rules over an illegal donation; the same convention of the chair supporting the status quo should have applied; by any standards of decency and honour it should have applied that is; but remember this was the SNP; and they don’t recognise such things as decency and fair play, this ‘humble servant’ of Alex (the spiv) did not adhere to the convention of support for the status quo, shameful.

At the time this happened I wrote about this MSP Keith Brown and predicted that he would be promoted for showing his willingness to grovel to Alex (the spiv) Salmond and; today I hear he is the new education minister, this is his 30 pieces of silver for his cowardly ambition. He is one to watch; he will carry on ignoring the contempt in which he is held by everyone at Holyrood his own party included, they will smile and be courteous in his company but they have his measure and they will not want to have him sitting or lurking behind them. For Alex (the spiv) Keith Brown is bought and paid for; (the spiv) has also brought in some other crackers in his reshuffle, they are as follows.

“Republican Rose; Roseanna Cunningham” a former rebel who crumbled humiliatingly in the face of Winnie Ewing who bullied and ridiculed her; this so called anti monarchist no longer mentions her Majesty; Alex (the spiv) is of course a Royalist who knows what her principals are worth.

The treacherous and very malleable Alex Neill (ask Jim Sillars) another former ‘rebel’ who has literally changed from being anti Salmond to the most loyal toady of them all he has begged and crawled to this reward.

And last but not least the king of the crawlers himself Mike Russell, this guy wrote a book about politics but; after a “chat” with (the spiv) he was “made an offer he couldn’t refuse” and agreed to let (the spiv) dictate the parts he wanted changed. “Iron Mike” folded right away, spineless.

Throw in the ever so humble Swinney who is about as scary as ‘Scooby Doo’ + the besotted Sturgeon and you can see an awful lot of solidarity taking place in the cabinet can’t you; Alex (the spiv) Salmond rules right? the execrable Mr Keith Brown has found his true home.

One of the most notable things about the SNP is the total lack of dissent, Labour, the Tories, even the ‘stand for nothing’ Lib. Dems. have dissenters and members of their awkward squad; it’s one of the signs of a healthy political debate going on. This is further proof if it was ever needed that the Nats. are a one man band and the leader is a multi instrumentalist and soloist, he gets to pick the tunes and if he says so “everyone can be out of tune except him”

This is not a healthy political party it is run by fear and threat, only the yes men/women get promoted, this trend will continue and worsen because there is no-one with the courage to challenge it.

THE IRON LADY'S BRASS NECKED DAUGHTER.

Mrs. Thatcher’s daughter completes the full set; first she and the revolting Dennis, then Mark who is still in hiding because the security police of the state he tried to overthrow to grab their oil are still after him, now we have Carol. Carol caused a great deal of resentment as she was shovelled in-to prominent journalistic posts because of her odious mother’s clout, it was plain to those in that already dubious profession that she was a complete turkey with no talent to speak of. This situation was exacerbated by her arrogance and sheer bad manners, she comes across as a female Borris Johnstone who predictably made a plea on her behalf to save her job. like Borris she revels in her ignorance and displays an attitude which clearly shouts to the world, “I don’t give a f*** I’m the daughter of the iron lady and that’s all that matters, like my brother Mark I am Teflon coated. The daughter of the Thatchers uses racist language, ignores other people’s sensibilities, refuses to say sorry and like her half wit brother sees no need to apologise while acting as if she is above ordinary people, she doesn’t think she needs to act within the normal rules.

There is now an argument about the rights and wrongs of her sacking; Cllr. Kelly has some golden rules in such situations; one is; swap places with the protagonists and; I think that if I were Carol Thatcher’s employer she would be off hire with a very bad reference. ‘Shock horror Cllr. Kelly wants to fire Mrs. Thatcher’s daughter for racism’ well he would wouldn’t he I hear you say; so, for the avoidance of doubt I offer the following. If it was my business and my reputation and my decision I would sack :- Thatcher for racism, Prince Philip, Princes Harry, William and Charles for the same, Ross and Brand for crass unacceptable behaviour, Clarkson likewise by insulting the disabled, I throw in Paxman for good measure when he was caught paying immigrants below the minimum wage. Feel free to add your own names. The BBC has got one right; at least it’s a start. The Daily Mail; beyond parody as always describes it thus; “she was summarily convicted by a kangaroo court in Stasi Britain” (Melanie Phillips) - so perhaps Carol is not quite so bad when you read Melanie Phillips.

Those who cling to their deeply ingrained bigotry while trying to hide their poisonous attitudes will describe it as PC gone mad, this is the phrase which they use to cover their ugly views. When I condemn someone for using racist language like Paki, Sooty or Golliwog or abusing someone because of a disability such as “one eyed Scottish idiot” I say if that is PC gone mad then I am pleased to plead guilty.
So polluted is British Journalism that Carol Thatcher will gain from this by selling her story, she deserves sympathy in only one sense.

LOOK AT HER PARENTS, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?

"THE QUALITY OF MERCY .........."

To Paisley Arts Centre to see a one man play called “Yasser” the plot is about a young Palestinian actor called “Yasser Mansour” the play is set in the dressing room of this young actor who is about to take the stage in “The merchant of Venice” playing ‘Shylock’ perhaps the best known Jew in literature. The character Shylock is of course an anti Semitic caricature; not uncommon for it’s time although not quite as brutal as that created by Dickens when he dreamed up Fagin in Oliver Twist, anti Semitism has been rife for hundreds of years and writers have exploited it to sell tickets. It still lurks under stones today, waiting to re-emerge; evil forces would like nothing better and they will use anything to re-create this evil. That is one of the reasons why we must always make the distinction between Jews and the state of Israel.

This was a “tour de force” by the actor William el Gardi, moving at breakneck speed between a host of characters; he played Israeli leaders such as Begin as well as Arab leaders like Hussein, Gadafy and Arafat with uncanny accents and mannerisms, describing how he and his friends as young kids used to mimic them as world events took place, Palestinians are among the most politically aware people in the world; well you would be wouldn’t you, at one point the young actor says “being born a Palestinian is a political act”

He relates the horror of the Middle East and the effects of the occupation on him and his family and tortures himself with doubt as to whether he can portray a Jew with any sympathy, can a Jew sympathise with a Palestinian? Would a Palestinian not be the perfect person to show sympathy with ‘Shylock’ ? It’s a very powerful provocative piece; and I would recommend that people should go see it, it is still touring and worth the effort. It won’t explain the conflicts to everyone’s satisfaction but; it might just help people to understand a little bit more, that’s worth the production alone, and the young actor who plays the part is mesmerising.

"I AM HIS HIGHNESS DOG AT KEW; PRAY TELL ME SIR WHOSE DOG ARE YOU?" - (ALEXANDER POPE)

Was there ever a more devastating description of the sheer mind numbing stupidity of nationalism; than today’s spat between the SPCA and the RSPCA; On national broadcasts no less; it would appear that the money collected by the RSPCA in Scotland is not spent in Scotland, only the money collected by the SPCA is spent in Scotland, people we hear, are appalled, some people I say are appalling, some people are an embarrassment to the human race.

If you donate to an animal charity do you really want to make sure that it only goes to sick Scottish animals? honestly! What about an animal born in England and living in Scotland, does an Irish Terrier get treated, an English Setter, a Welsh Corgi, we need to be told, these damned English animals are stealing “oor Scotch poonds” if a sea creature or bird is treated is there any way we can make sure that it doesn't fly or swim away and stays in Scotland.

Perhaps the parochial, nationalist thinkers who are exercised by such c**p could expand on this; do they want to make sure that donations to e.g. the cash for kids doesn’t go to English kids or Welsh kids, why would they want to donate to e.g. Great Ormond St. Children’s Hospital when we have got a perfectly good supply of sick Scottish weans here of our own? How about cancer charities, help the aged, guide dogs for the blind? should we not be checking that money for guide dogs goes to blind Scottish people’s dogs.

This is a perfect example of how nationalists think and where nationalism leads; it is definitely as Albert Einstein said, nationalism - “an infantile disease, the measles of the planet earth”