Sunday, 29 April 2007

Will Scotland Secede??

(A Scottish protestor yesterday)

A brief history lesson:

The current United Kingom is the result of a long process of mergers and acquisitions. Once upon a time, more than a thousand years ago, England, Wales and Scotland emerged as independent politically-centralised powers. In the thirteenth century, Wales was brought under the control of the English monarch. For centuries, England and Wales were not very popular with their northern neighbours, the Scots, who occasionally took to face-painting as a form of protest (see inset picture). From about the eleventh century onwards, the English invaded and settled Ireland as well, although it wasn't until the nineteenth century that Ireland became more than just a colony. The fierce English - Scottish rivalry was suddenly eclipsed when in 1603, in a shock move, the king of Scotland made a reverse takeover bid for England and Wales. James VI of Scotland became James I of England and Wales, etc. But although the three countries were all ruled by one person, it wasn't until 1706 that the countries formally merged into one country (Great Britain). Finally, in 1801, Great Britain merged with Ireland, and the result was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This was the UK at its peak. Then, in 1922, Ireland became independent of the rest of the United Kingdom.

Now it looks possible that the United Kingdom will lose another constituent state. Scotland's local elections are this week, and although it is unlikely that the Scottish National Party will carry an absolute majority in the Scottish Parliament, they are very likely to be the largest party. The Scottish National Party's main platform has been an independent Scotland and so, if they become the dominant party in Scotland, will it be only a matter of time before the United Kingdom will be referred to as 'the United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland'? In fact, with the power-sharing process underway in Northern Ireland, how long will it be before it is simply 'the United Kingdom of England and Wales'?

At the moment, the British are still being polite, and refraining from expressing strong views against the potential break-up of the United Kingdom. It is hard to imagine silence in the face of such a sweeping change in the United States. Imagine California deciding to go it alone. Would the rest of the United States stand by in silence? You can be certain that such a vital carve-up of the body politic would not be met with the (apparently) disinterested silence which attends the Scottish question.

Finally, aside from the emotional arguments for preserving intact the 306-year old Great Britain, it is worth considering what impact a separate Scotland would have on both England and Scotland. Financially, (for now) this would very much depend whether or not Scotland keeps the North Sea oil. With the oil, Scotland could maintain its present public expenditure for at least another ten years (after which it looks likely that the oil reserves will have disappeared). Without it? Well, that's a very good question.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/scotland/story/0,,2068186,00.html

Friday, 27 April 2007

Happy Birthday, Megan!

I pathetically made no effort for Annie's birthday (sorry, Annie), so I'm making up for it with this cake for Megan. Congratulations on coming of age, Megan! Now, only three more years until the next big birthday!

Wednesday, 25 April 2007

The London Marathon

This past Sunday was exciting because the world descended on London to compete in the London Marathon. Strictly speaking, the competition was a 26.2 mile run on Sunday, although I am tempted to think, from the anecdotal evidence I have gathered over the past few years, that the real competition is making it to the start line. As many as 125,000 people originally applied to run in this year’s race. something like 1 in 4 applicants manages to get a place on the open ballot, and those who don't get a place then scramble for a 'golden bond', or a place with one of the myriad of charities which have reserved places in the Marathon and allocate them in return for a pledge to raise a certain amount of funds for the charity in question.

This year, according to the Marathon website, by 6.45pm 35,674 runners had crossed the finish in the Mall.
Nearly 37,000 people had registered on Saturday (which leads me to think that perhaps not all of the runners finished the race...).
This Marathon was especially exciting because the Niblocks of Bangor descended on London. Barry (pictured, right) arrived on Saturday with a supporting cast of thousands (well, at least seven). On Sunday, we followed Barry around the Marathon route, cheering him on at the 6, 17 and 23 mile marks. We were in position to cheer him on at the finish, but as it happens we had been standing there for quite some time before Barry himself informed us that he had finished some time previously.
The atmosphere of this event is incredible! People throng the sidelines the whole way along the 26-mile course, supporting complete strangers. I found the whole event so inspirational that I have decided to try to get a place to run next year's marathon. So if I come knocking on your door, asking you to support a cat shelter, have your wallets to the ready.

Tuesday, 24 April 2007

Birthday

So I talked to both Megan and Annie today -- both in the SAME DAY! It was truly historic. I'm thinking there's probably a novel in this.

I keep trying to upload photos, but it isn't working. I give up.

Wednesday, 11 April 2007

I'm on my way

I'm on my way!

Ben K, while you're waiting, thought you might like to reflect on this tragedy in the news today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6541457.stm. It involves a Bosendorfer.