Tag: scotland

Sent Them Homeward

Scotland 18 – 12 England. What a match. At the end of the first half I had real doubts about the Scots. They had to defend most of the half and it was looking grim. Second half though saw the English tire badly and the Scots had most of the possession. Great performance, great defence but most importantly a great win and thoroughly deserved. Disappointed that we had the Scottish commentary team not because they were poor – would have loved to have heard what Jeremy Guscott had to say after that win.

Jill Douglas – At what point did you think you could beat England

Frank Hadden – Last week

Loved that quote – summed up the confidence that Scotland now have. Bring on the Irish.

Scotland 20 – 16 France

Yes it was at home, yes the French had injuries but did anyone really expect Scotland to not only win but play so well at the same time. I’m not a rugby fan but there’s something about the Six Nations that captivates me and a whole host of other sport but non-rugby supporters.

The true test is not next week against the Welsh but two weeks today against England who looked awesome on Saturday. However let’s enjoy this win while we can – it was fantastic

Traitor?

Its Scotland vs Norway on Saturday and I really am confused as to the result I want. 40% of me wants to see Scotland do well. The other 60% wants them to get cuffed and hopefully move a step closer to getting rid of Berti Vogts. His comments this week on how this game is not win or bust (a draw will do) were disappointing and made only to try and protect his job. His press conference at the start of the week when announcing the team was also very unprofessional and it’s now time for the Scotland manager to move on. I don’t believe a new manager would make a dramatic difference but do believe a Scottish manager would install more passion and pride in the players.

Scottish Pairlament

So. First reaction to above is that I’ve spelt it wrong. Nope – it’s taken directly from the Scottish Parliament website. Clicking on ‘Scots’ to the left of the site takes you to a Scots welcome page.

We hae producit a publication cried “Makkin Yer Voice Heard in the Scottish Pairlamentâ€? that tells ye aboot the different weys that you can let the Pairlament and the Memmers o the Scottish Pairlament (MSPs) ken whit ye think.

Bloody hell. I think it’s bad enough we have to put up with Gaelic versions of sites and the Gaelic TV that we have to suffer but this is taking the piss. Also added are some spiffy new video’s for each of the MSP’s. All filmed in the new parliament building and lasting just over 4 minutes for each MSP, Tommy Sheridans is worth a watch just for the line on how he prefers a Tory as although he dislikes them at least he knows what they stand for unlike the Labour party. Class. If he wasn’t a buffoon and the policies he stood for added up economically I would consider voting for him. Would never carry it out though. Not with that suntan.

I never actually realised that there was a Holyrood.tv website where you could watch most of the parliament debates live. The server is fast and quality is good. Watching first ministers questions from last week shows just how much the SNP had Jack McConnell on the run.

Scottish House Prices

If you live in Scotland and looking to buy a house (or are just nosey neighbour) then you’ll have heard of MyHousePrice.com which allows you to find the price of a recently sold house for £1. While good, it still costs money. For a free alternative try HousePriceScotland.com. While it doesn’t allow you to search and find local houses if you know the exact address your looking for it works a treat. Even better, use the postcode searching at myhouseprice.com to find the pucker local addresses and then use that info at the other site to get the house prices for free. Joy.

Swinney Goes

John Swinney, SNP leader has finally stepped down. Really was about time – the SNP have had no better opportunity against Labour than in the last year, yet their share of the vote has still dropped. Swinney had no charisma or leadership qualities but did stike me as an honest and hard working guy. With any luck they’ll get a leader with a bit more drive, but looking at the list of candidates it’s hard to see where from unless Alex Salmond stands again which is unlikely. And I can’t see the nippy sweetie getting elected and heaven help them if the Star Trek geek becomes their leader.

The worlds most intelligent community is…

Glasgow. How bizarre. Especially when you compare this news to the list of the most deprived areas in Scotland. The top ten are all in….Glasgow. Definetly looks like an us and them attitude – pretty poor that the council spokesman gets all excited about some crap broadband award but fails to speak on the poverty issue.

As an aside, the website detailing the poorest places (called the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)) is actually very impressive. Requires a plugin but well worth the 2 meg download, although I can think of far better ways of spending the exec’s money.

Chancers

Just watched a BBC Scotland documentary called Chancers. The programme follows the Airborne Initiative which tries to help persistent young offenders and change their ways. What struck me was the determination and faith that some of the Airborne workers had and just how difficult their job is. I thought my day-to-day job offers challenges and problems – theirs is an absolute nightmare. Constant abuse, threats of violence, persistent drug-taking and a total lack of discipline and respect yet throughout the course they must show they have belief in the offenders. And looking at the Airborne website I’ve seen the salaries offered – that�s a low wage for the stress they go through.

More desperate are the offenders themselves. Even though they are in last chance saloon they still push their luck taking rules to the extreme. Some of the behaviour……can’t put it into words.

But what�s left me confused is how best to deal with the offenders? Lock up and throw away the key? More initiatives like Airborne? Just don’t know which is why it’s so difficult to fix.