Anyone got any big celebrations planned for Independence Day at the end of next month? Might be a job lot of fireworks available from Sydney if you can get them shipped over quickly enough.
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Anyone got any big celebrations planned for Independence Day at the end of next month? Might be a job lot of fireworks available from Sydney if you can get them shipped over quickly enough.
Whoopy Doopy Doo. :):):) The streets of Scotland will be dripping with Union Flag bunting, and the tables laden with good auld British Whisky and British Shortbread. I have already looked oot ma thermal simmet an' drawers. ;) (might be a bit cauld next month). Then we'll all dance aboot with bells on our knees and waving hankies and wee Union Flags in the air, while Boris sings, from the big screens set up, his version of that well known Proclaimers song.....♪♫♪♪ I will tell 500 lies and I will tell 500 more.♫♪♫♫, and joy will be echoed across the glens.
It will be so much fun, just like all they street parties Scotland has for the Queen's Birthdays and things like that. Ye know the ones?
A cannae wait.
Oh dear oh dear. The biggest threat as far as I'm concerned is climate change and for that, we need folk from all over the world to come together not this endless bickering. The next vital meeting is to be held in Glasgow....
Don't worry Fulmar, what you desire is already happening. By the time of the Glasgow summit, there will be an extra 100 million people on the world who can come together. And many of them are already risking life and limb to get here. You'll have plenty people able to come to the Glasgow summit. It will not be a washout.
I think I have vaguely heard about them on the 19th of July every year for the last 5 years or so. But they don't really happen up here. Its more a Central Belt thing.
As an aside, why do the folk in the south of Scotland call it the Central Belt, when the actual centre of Scotland is up between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie?
Surely you don't mean that in Scotland, those in the deep south of Edinburgh and Glasgow don't give a jot about the real North? God, imagine if we were totally ruled by, say, Hollyrood. Us up here in the North wouldn't get a look in. Oh, hang on a minute, that happens already. https://www.orcadian.co.uk/scottish-...ouncil-leader/
Can I see the evidence for Westminster calling Scotland 'North Britain'? At which debate did this take place?
Shabby....a geography lesson for you (does that sound familiar?) Look at the picture, Scotland is in fact the Northern part of Great Britain Attachment 35026
Must ask, how heavy is that chip on your shoulder?
Nice piece written by Prof Adam Tomkins about North Britain (I don't understand why you see this as a slur on Scotland) https://notesfromnorthbritain.wordpr...ritain-and-me/
Well, aside from the above discussion on North Britain, do you really believe Holyrood would do better for us up here in the North? They already erroneously claim that Edinburgh and Glasgow in the centre of Scotland - :roll: - and probably think that North Scotland starts at Dunblane and ends at Aberfeldy.
Since Thurso and Wick have so much in common, shouldn’t they be renamed Caithnesstown North and Caithnesstown East? Or, if either has a remote link to Tomkins, they could be Tomkinstown North and Tomkinstown East.
Happy Independance Day everyone!
Gonna be a busy one here. Union Jack underpants already on, but lots of preps to make for later. Aside from all the party food and drinks too look out, we'll better get ready for all the issues that the remoaners have been warning us about.
Better get the bath filled with water, the torches and candles looked out and do some last minute panic buying of food. Get to the bank to buy euros and dollars for when the pound falls through the floor at 2301. Get the fuel tanks all filled up, as apparently there will be none by morning. Check all the clocks are working as once the world stops turning at 2300, we'll need them to know when night stops and day starts.
A busy day then.
Like most folk, I am aware that the UK is about to enter the Brexit transition phase which means that nothing much is going to change overnight. This transition is due to end on 31 December 2020 after which time the full impact of Brexit will hit home.
In the meantime the scare stories above, which have been so gloatingly dismissed as the UK leaves the EU, will still be employed to scare people about the prospect of Scotland leaving the UK.
It makes one wonder why, if Scotland has been such a drain on England's resources for the last 300 and odd years, they were so keen to capture us in the first place...and are still so keen to hang onto us now, doesn't it? If the Union has such benefits for Scotland, you'd think that the supporters of it could come up with some specific examples of those benefits, wouldn't you? Six years on from the last indyref, and I still see nothing we get from the Union that we couldn't do for ourselves if we felt that way inclined.
I also wonder why, if the UK Government and every unionist is so sure that we don't want independence, why not just allow a referendum, to prove it?
because we just had one perhaps
You're a bit early MI16 - The independence occurs this evening at 2300. After that, seems little point in having any more referendums as we will already be independent.
tru dat....
This illustrates why so many of us wish Scottish independence.
Attachment 35120
we are already higher taxed than anywhere else in the UK
The SNP cater for those on the welfare system, the working person foots the bill and is considerably heavier hit than the working person South of the border
I'm sorry but that just isn't true - "Most Scots are paying less in the current tax year than in the previous year. The Scottish Government estimates this equates to 99 percent of taxpayers." see here.
But even if it was true then I would gladly pay more tax to get Scotland out of this Union.
How come you didn't copy & paste the rest of the article?...………
However, when compared to the rest of the UK, many Scots pay more tax. All those earning more than £27,000 pay more in Scotland.The Scottish Government estimates that 45 per cent of taxpayers will pay more than their counterparts in the rest of the UK. This means that the majority of those living in Scotland will be taxed the same or less but those earning in the higher tax brackets will be more affected.
Or, I could have quoted this part:- "Boris Johnson’s claim that Scotland has the highest taxes anywhere in the UK is misleading. He is accurate that Scotland’s top band tax rates are higher than other UK nations but these affect those earning over £27,000, which the Scottish Government estimates to be around 45 per cent of the country. Scotland also has lower council tax bills due to a nine-year freeze on rates.".
Overall assessment that Scotland is the highest taxed part of the UK was found to be - "Mostly False".
The problem is the country needs higher rate tax payers.
My guess this is why Scotland is depopulating. youngsters go off to university, then consider job options. Now, work in Scotland and pay more tax, or work in England and pay less with probably better prospects...ummm.
So work in England until kids are approaching 16, then move back to Scotland, cynical? Maybe.
the problem is that many folk are better off on the benefit system than they would be in paid employment, this is fundamentally wrong.
No person should be better off sitting at home than they would be out doing a 40 hr week.
This has bred a terrible work ethic in the nation.
I'd love to see some evidence that Scotland is depopulating. If it is then it is likely to be as a consequence of EU and other foreign nationals leaving because their status is so uncertain as a consequence of Brexit. As immigration policy is a reserved matter and the UKG dismissed out of hand the SG's proposals for a Scottish Visa there probably isn't much we can do whilst part of the UK.
Your second assertion is highly debatable as it ignores so many other important factors. Even if Scotland were the highest taxed, which it isn't, the cost of living in those areas of the UK where wealth is concentrated, ie. SE England, is so great it dwarves any supposed higher tax bill in Scotland. Anyone on average earnings is far better off in Scotland than they would be in London.
Since UKG still controls around 85% of the Scottish economy if there are poorer prospects in Scotland then that is another sad indictment of the Union.
Of course, moving to Scotland when you become "empty-nesters" is quite common these days. As you get older you are likely to worry more about health care, cost of living, quality of life, crime, etc. Lots of folk from other parts of the UK are recognising how much better things are up here compared to E, W & NI.. They are right and are very welcome.
Exactly. The SNP like to think that Scotland will attract employers offering high quality, high paid jobs. Instead these go elsewhere because of the high tax they would pay if in Scotland, whilst they would get lower tax if these high quality jobs were set up elsewhere in the UK. So what is created is a low tax, low pay, low skills, low work ethic country.
Well, so far, nothing untowards seems to have happened. The sun seems to have risen, and everyone appears to be alive! The taps still run, and the hydro is still on. Even the internet still works!
Ultimate proof will be to go to Tesco later. If its open (does anyone know when that is?) and they have kumquats in stock, then all will be good. If not, then it will be that bloody Brexit's fault!
In over ten years since I moved to the far north I've noticed a gradual increase in people from England moving here too, mostly 'empty nesters'. My family in the central belt have noticed increased number of families moving from England too. The reasons are wide and varied but unfortunately include 'white flight' because of tensions in some of England's northern towns.
Of course there are attractions too; more affordable housing, cheaper child care, no university tuition fees, free prescriptions, free hospital parking (except in two of Scotland's hospitals), which are all attractive to growing families. The slight increase in income tax more than compensates for the benefits that England doesn't yet enjoy.
I'm fortunate to have friends from Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany living and working in Scotland. All of them are disappointed that England chose to leave the the EU and are concerned about the problems that might cause.
Don't forget, over 1,000,000 Scots voted to leave the EU. It wasn't only 'England', I think Wales voted to leave too.