Is The Forth Bridge Scotland’s Best Loved Landmark?
Not my words, but those of Network Rail on a web site describing their plans for the Forth Rail Bridge, called The Forth Bridge Experience.
If the experience is as well thought out as the web site, they might be on to something.
After all if Tower Bridge in London can have an experience, why not the Forth Bridge!
Thinking about it though, recognisable landmarks in Scotland, that are recognisable to non-Scots, are thin on the ground.
I think if I go back to before I first visited Scotland in 1965, I would suspect that the Forth Rail Bridge would have been the only landmark I could recognise.
Carney’s Sense On An Independent Scotland And The Pound
Mark Carney has pronounced on how an independent Scotland would use the pound. It’s reported here and this is the first few paragraphs.
The Bank of England governor has said an independent Scotland would need to give up some power to make a currency union with the rest of the UK work.
Mark Carney said such a move, proposed by the Scottish government, “requires some ceding of national sovereignty”.
He also said the risks of not having a strong agreement had been demonstrated by problems in the Eurozone.
I think it is more complicated than he says, as would a government of what is left of the UK, want to let Scotland share a currency? There are plenty of politicians, who would want to settle old scores
And would Scotland be allowed to use the pound by the European Union?
I don’t care one way or the other, so long as I don’t have to foot the bill for extra taxes to pay for the mess politicians leave us in! Which of course, they always do!
How To Lose Money Bank of Scotland Style
If we thought Fred the Shred and his crew of comedians were a wunch of bankers, this story from the Herald in Scotland is up there with his worst.
The Bank of Scotland loaned £11.2 million to an ex-banker to fund a new stadium for his football club; Dunfermline Athletic. Everybody then went bust leaving Lloyds Bank holding the baby with the gold-plated nappies. Here’s what the article says about the final outcome.
Despite being valued at £11.2m in 2011, the East End Park stadium was sold by administrators KPMG to a fan-led buyout team for just £700,000.
It strikes me, that there has been a bit of hanky-panky here. After all why would a club with average gates of a few thousand want a stadium that holds over eleven thousand? I wonder if Gordon Brown has any links to Dunfermline and its football club!
Tories Fear Scots Will Break Away
This is the headline on a piece on the front page of The Sunday Times today.
Whether the Scots vote for independence is up to them, and I don’t care one jot, as I see advantages in both outcomes.
If the Scots leave the United Kingdom, whether we are English, Scots or Welsh, we’ll see a whole lot of tortuous and very lengthy negotiations, which will make those in Northern Ireland at the present time, seem like a couple of two year-old twins arguing over a cake.
On the other hand if they stay, we’ll avoid any hassle with lots of domestic things, like travel, banking, insurance and energy. At the present, I don’t use any companies domiciled outside of England for my basic needs, as I don’t want a foreign government interfering in my affairs.
But there’s the advantage if the Scots leave, in that the English parliament would then be able to vote for what is best for England and Wales. We could for example move our time to that of France, Germany and most of Europe, as Scottish backwoodsmen wouldn’t be able to sink the legislation.
If Scotland breaks away, they will probably take control of their fishing industry and pictures like this one, will become more common.
Peterhead fish In London
I lkike good fish, but whether the EU would let them keep it from the Spanish and the Dutch is another matter.
If they did break away, that would of course, be the end of it and we wouldn’t have to have the argument again. Unless, they wanted to rejoin, but I do think the English would have a view on that!
Scotland would probably make a go of it alone, for one of the same reasons Ireland did. There is a large diaspora, who will support the country, through thick and thin.
At the moment the English and the Scots are like a couple trapped in an unhappy marriage. Both, to kiss and make up and go for a divorce are better options than struggling on!
I do hope that both sides accept this referendum as a full and final conclusion. but I doubt they will!
Are Scots More Dangerous Pedestrians?
When I was in Scotland, I saw an article in The Scotsman entitled Scotland is ‘deadliest place to go for a walk’
Here’s the first paragraph.
Scotland has Europe’s worst record for pedestrian deaths in towns and cities, campaigners claimed yesterday, as new official figures showed the total soared by one-third last year.
I don’t know but as a careful pedestrian, who always waits for the green, I found that in Edinburgh and Glasgow, I’d wait and found when it went green, everybody else had long gone.
So perhaps Scots do walk more dangerously!
Over The Border Into Scotland
Compared to some railway journeys in the UK and Europe, the East Coast Main Line doesn’t have the best of views and give many photo opportunities. Perhaps crossing the Tweed into Scotland is one of the few.
I was on the western side of the train and in many ways the other side is best for the views, which include the cathedrals at Peterborough and Durham, the bridges of Newcastle and the sea once you’ve passed Newcastle.
Off To Scotland
I’m off to Edinburgh today by train to see an old friend. Then it’s over to Glasgow and on Saturday down to Bolton to see Ipswich play.
I’ll be having a good breakfast at Leon in Kings Cross, as it would appear that gluten-free food on East Coast is a bit thin. I may be wrong, but we will see!
Scotland Score 12 Out Of 15
Kate Muir is a fan of three films about Scotland released this week; Sunshine on Leith, FIlth and For Those In Peril.
All scored four out of five in her reviews in The Times.
Electrification At Eccles
I got off the train at Eccles station and took these pictures of the electrification.
It’s all coming on at a pace faster than I had expected. And it looks a lot more robust than I’m used to seeing on railways in the UK. More details on the electrification of this line are given here in Wikipedia.
The first benefit for rail users will be Manchester to Scotland services by Trans Pennine using new Class 350 electric trains,, which are scheduled to start at the end of this year. Liverpool to Manchester services should start in a year or two, using refurbished Class 319 trains.
A Dilemma For Alex Salmond
I didn’t know that Scotland had a dark sky park and a gold tier one at that in the Galloway Forest Park.
It was funded by the Scottish government and as an amateur astronomer, who recently saw the wonderful skies in Sweden, I think that these dark sky reserves and parks are a very good idea.
But now Alex Salmond has a dilemma, as outlined by the BBC in this report. As a big supporter of wind turbines, does he give planning permissions for these around the park. As they are lit at night, they wouldn’t make the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory any better.
The Astronomer Royal for Scotland is not amused and has said this.
Installing any large structures that require illumination (whether visible or infra-red) would be akin to putting a factory in Glen Coe or electricity pylons along the Cuillin Ridge.
I have no direct interest as I live in London, but knowing the pleasure I get from observing the skies when I can, I think we need more dark sky parks. We also need one that is very easily accessible. Obviously, a road through such an area to an observatory would be a generator of light pollution, but surely there must be somewhere in the UK, where a train station is in a dark sky area, that could be used to take visitors in and out, without making too much light pollution.
The Anonymous Widower 