Competition blog: My New Scotland, Sunday Herald

We can’t seem to shake off this notion that Scotland needs its freedom. Braveheart. Flower of Scotland. ‘Free by 93!’ Remember that! Soon after we were lambasted for being 90-minute patriots. John Buchan would have agreed as he said, “The truth is that we are at bottom the most sentimental and emotional people on earth.” Well, certainly the case when our national identity is being debated.

Freedom for Scotland? Doesn’t this put it best? “Scotland will be reborn when the last minister is strangled with the last copy of the Sunday Post” alleged Tom Nairn. Ask a granny and she’d say ‘it woudnae be possible to strangle somebody wi’ a newspaper!’ Typically pithy, practical, and dour. A glass-half-empty worldview. McConnell at least tried to do something about the poverty of ambition, and then said what all the problems were, but nothing about what the ambition could be.

I’m with Tom Nairn’s assessment. We need to throw off our wee encumbrances. Our ‘cannae dae’ and ‘aye been’ culture. Its great there are signals of this abandonment already even with our in-by-the-pants-of-wan-seat Nat government. Why not have a Scottish Broadcasting Corporation. Why not have a seat at the UN?

Isn’t it odd that the Irish, Italian, Indian, Pakistani and now a plethora of diasporas find their new found freedom in Scotland? Yet Scotland’s own that find themselves with a perceived barrier to that same freedom. Like these entrepreneurial and risk taking immigrants we Scots need to reintegrate ourselves with some ambition and vision. What do I want Scotland’s freedom to be like? One that's moved on from subsidy junkie talk, and had some inspired grand dreams fuelled by hubbly bubblies on Great Western Road cafes. No more what’ll it cost us? What about the cost of staying on as constitutional co-habitees?

“Scotland's separation is part of England's imperial disintegration” said John Mclean. Of course a new Scotland means a new England, new Wales and new Ireland. A determined diversification rather than a homogenous huddling. Bring it on! Until the last Sunday Post wraps the last deep-fried mars bar supper in Scotland.

Inheritance Tracks

A friend of mine recently started a great email discussion about what your earliest musical influences were and what you wanted to pass on the next generation. Its based on a radio programme in Scotland, you need to recollect the person who introduced you to the earliest piece of music you can remember, then you need to think about what music you would now introduce to a child and why.

Here was my answer.....

My earliest memory of a piece of music that I really loved and was passed on to me by my father was the andante from Sibelius’ 3^rd Symphony. It’s a wonderfully gentle, minimal, sparse, a delicate weft and waft of strings and woodwind. I used to ask for it to be played on my dad’s ‘Binatone Music Centre’ again and again when I was about 7 or 8, maybe 8 or 9?

It puts you in mind of crystal clear lakes and sunsets in the artic north, of floating over jaggy snow capped peaks and fjords. Being Finnish I suppose gave Sibelius that clarity and subtlety. Its fairly repetitive for orchestral music but the rhythms are so lulling and soothing, layering up to a very pleasing uplifting crescendo. Such a contrast to Finlandia and En Saga with their Viking like brass blasts. But if you’re familiar with the Swan of Tuonela you’ll have a sense of the 3^rd’s simplicity and striking clarity.

The other piece was the theme tune from M*A*S*H which for a period of about 6 months marked my bedtime. I wasn’t allowed to watch it but I was allowed to listen to the theme and watch the helicopters swoosh about and land in the army hospital. I had no idea it was called ‘Suicide is Painless’ or indeed what M*A*S*H was about. That was also true even when I watched it when older!

Well from there I developed eclectic and seasonal tastes, dipping in and out of everything; pop, rock, heavy metal, progressive rock(!) jazz, folk, country and classical. . Went with the crowd on a lot of the time, so much so that I actually did go and see Simple Minds three times!

Many of the songs l love are melancholic, wistful, turning on unrequited love and the bittersweet. I’m not sure why. I suppose these kind of songs have a realism and rooting in emotional reality that I felt connected with me and my experience in the world. Its so difficult to pin down a song that I would pass on but I have picked out two that may serve the task in hand.

The first is this lovely album track from Crowded House – just recently gloriously reformed again. It’s the sentiment of not being imprisoned by the past that I like. This track also has soaring strings and maybe that harps back to my early exposure to classical.

All I Ask

Crowded House

Written By N. Finn & T. Finn

All I ask is to live each moment
Free from the last
Take the road forgotten
Don't leave me here
Oh please let me stay
Far from familiar things
All I ask is to live each moment
All I ask is to live each moment
Free from the last
Strange roads going nowhere in particular
All I ask is to live each moment
All I ask is to live each moment
Free from the last
Free from the last
All I ask

I am an unashamed U2 fan. I saw them in Hampden Park, Glasgow two years ago. Undoubtedly the best concert I have ever been to. I can air guitar and sing so many of their tracks better than Bono and the Edge (but only alone in the living room.) Bono to me is one of the most inspirational Christians alive. He has a streetwise sassy faith unbound by tradition and form. Many of the U2 songs are better than the dreadful contemporary worship splurging out from the Matt Redman school of blessed navel gazing.

U2 deliver songs racked with doubt, raw energy and spirit. Anthems that reverberating in your mind. Words that speak about the search and hunger for more of God and for more out of life. And the best of all of these…………..

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

U2

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you.

I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
(I was) burning inside her.

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one.
But yes, I'm still running.

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

Has everything under the sun already been done?

My friend Kieran posed this question on Facebook. Only 50 words are allowed in response. Obviously I need more verbiage space.This is my attempted answer.

Well ‘the Bible says so’ as the refrain of the grim verses in Ecclesiastes say; ’there is nothing new under the Sun.’ with its pessimistic take on the world and humankind. But I don’t think that is anything to do with human activity or our perception of relentless progress or terminal moral decline. Rather it is about the relentless cyclical nature of death and rebirth in the created world, the seasons, in nature and the ‘three score and ten’ of man. Nothing is actually new, its been before and is renewed, dies, is born again. When we discover a new species, its not actually new, its always been, but was just outwith our detection.

If it were, about humankind, history and progress, then I suppose the question you may be also posing is– what new things are there still to do? On this score there is a lot. Ecclesiastes was in a pre-technological age. It was about toil. No-one then could have ever thought we could change the temperature of the earth, or even fly out from the world into orbit in space. We are living in the transition from the industrial to the post-industrial to the information age and then the biogenetic age. Just edging into another technological orbit under the sun.

Maybe, to take a ridiculous example, in the next 100 years, in the same way as we see piercing in places you didn’t before; (noses, bellybuttons, lips eyebrows) we’ll see biogenetic cosmetic enhancement; natural hair extensions any colour your like (or think!) Maybe for the macho male, some cranial horns, skin colours and tints of all hues (already available for eyes) webbed feet for swimmers or sea dwellers (due to global warmed sea level rises.) In this sense there is plenty of invention and change ahead beyond our wildest imagining.

So there will still be plenty of technological advances, new things to be done, our sons and daughters taking up careers serving and served by technologies not yet invented. There will be the merging of electronic with neural, of machine and body. But is that ‘nothing new under the Sun’ in the sense of the scripture? I don’t think so.

These words I think point towards the limits of evil and the impossibility of renewal on earth. There is no shocking crime or evil that has not been committed before. In this sense the verses are very encouraging. The world is not getting worse and worse. Its just the same. It seems worse to us because of the scale, speed and awareness of events. There are many billions on the earth now (6.5Bn) More living now than have ever lived in all history (itself a mind boggling proposition.) So it seems there is a proliferation of evil. But paedophilia existed in ancient Greece and Rome. These are not modern phenomena. Same for conflicts and wars, only the technology and scale has changed.

So, in this world, under this sun, nothing really changes. So everything has been done. The world and we are fixed, limited and natural and therefore fallen and unrenewable. The only possibility of change and of meaning (as opposed to meaninglessness as complained of in Ecclesiastes) is change that comes beyond our selves and the world. It is limitless, spiritual, supernatural and it is of course a new creation – and all of those have not yet been done.

Ha Ha I'm back! Was blogged out for months!

Its like coming out of a hibernation. I got blocked out since the change to Beta and Google accounts and could never get reset to get in again until now!! Not that Ive been trying every day or anything.? Swithed to Bebo and Facebook for a while, which are a lot of fun, but not expansive enough to drone on like here.
So now I need to think of more postings;
Things that have bothered me in the media - coverage of Madelaine McCann's disappearance, expecially criticism of the parents; broadcast of clearly inflammatory vox pops after the attempted bombing of Glasgow Airport; LIVE Earth's undermining of climate change campaigns; the non event that was Brown becoming PM

Climate chaos-ed my week!

Have been a mild climate chaos victim last week. I was in Euston station, after two days of wall-to-wall business meetings in London, really looking forward to the 1715 First Class Virgin to whoosh me home with a nice meal and several glasses of red. Unusually for me I was quite early and had time to mooch around. I saw somebody taking a digipic with their phone of the departure board. I thought 'how totally sad.' But it caused me to focus on what could possibly be picture worthy in such a frame. Then I saw it in bright LED yellow letters; Cancelled, Cancelled, Cancelled, Cancelled.... I was stuck in Euston, in a moment I couldn't get out of.

There had been a mini-tornado in London! In December! Christmas lights blasted along the street, people had even been killed. This was scary. This wasn't 'freak weather events' anymore, it felt like a real threat, a clear and present danger.

Along with throngs of fellow strandees I sought hapless advice from rail staff about alternatives. The West Coast line was completely out. Suggestions of routes to Birmingham, Manchester then Preston were sketched out to me which stupidly I followed and found myself sharing a cab with a couple of city gents. We took an incredibly congested cab ride to Marylebone and one of the guys made a comment about how 'scary it was that the system was so close to capacity, just a little disaster and were choked.' This led to him talking about 'adaptation industries.' He was forming an investment fund for climate change adaptation. So I told him all about our campaigns being on the 'NGO side of the world.' He raved about the 'Inconvenient Truth' and that he really thought we had to sort it for our children's sake! It was great, so inspiring to meet a corporate type so on-message and up for it. But the other guy was a complete sceptic; 'my son in geography class is learning there were warmings before and its natural!'

Anyway after another detour to Kings X and finally on a GNER to Edinburgh, then a midnight taxi ride back to Glasgow, getting in climate chaos-ed at 130am, I still had a residue of hope and inspiration that maybe we can fix this and turn it around.

By the end of the week I saw the Inconvenient Truth for myself. Steady, plodding, incontrovertible, compelling and unassailably convincing it makes you want to green your life totally. So get on to www.climatecrisis.net and www.stopclimatechaos.org

Findingbennyandjoon

Just watched a fabulous feel-good, heart-warming, tear-jerking, and other hyphenated superlative movie; Benny and Joon. You must see this, early Johnny Depp, luminous Mary Stuart Masterton, simmering Julianne Moore and the dreamy, misty eyed guy, Aidan whatsisname. Its 13 years old! How did I miss it first time round?
Great to see Hollywood tackle issues like mental illness in a light-hearted, comi-tragic, yet serious enough way with a light dose of schmaltz. A British attempt would have been brutal, flourescent lit and have bucketfuls of spit and snot. I suppose Little Voice is a close contender, playing out the thin line between madness and brilliance in the way that Sam's Buster Keaton antics do in B&J. I loved the Boo Radley reference and the fabulous bohemian home they lived in. Gosh, I wish I lived with mad people who toast their sandwiches with the iron (on steam.) Now that's something you can try at home!

That bit of Africa in your mobile....

Seems there's more reportage on this story than I expected. The 'black gold' of coltan, that mineral you've probably never heard of, and never knew was in minute, micro-engineered quantities in your mobile has come a long way on a chain of war, child labour, smuggling and global corporate silence and shame.
As Labour MP Oona King put it to an Independent journalist in May 2006: "Kids in Congo are being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms."

The links below spell out the story, armed with killer facts, lot more eloquently than I ever could;

http://greatreporter.com/mambo/content/view/1322/2/

http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/Africa/Articles/TheStandardColtan.asp

http://www.ethiscore.org/info.aspx?info=reports/full/mobilephones

What do we do? Give up the mobiles? Or buy more ethically, ask more questions, I quite like Ethiscores suggestion of labelling along the lines of 'Dolphin friendly tuna.' Wonder how long it will be before Phones4U are offering 'child labour free mobiles.'

Scotland Malawi fusion

Well tonight I was schmoozing with the rich and powerful as we patted ourselves on the back over our benevolence to little Malawi. A relationship going back 150 years to David Livingston! We presume! The really humbling thing was the startlingly passionate speech by one of the visiting Malawian Government minister's Joyce, a mama who spoke with genuine warmth and conviction about the sacrifice of the 20 year old Scottish men who those many years ago, woke up and decided to leave this wonderful land of Scotland and go thousands of miles (no business class then) to Malawi 'to bring health, education and Christianity.' I was really warmed by that by the obvious privilege she felt to be in Scotland and to share in celebrating this heritage of benevolence and help. I really hope she doesn't meet any Torys who think the Scottish Executives International Fund is illegal or those dreadfully noxious 'charity begins at home' naysayers that pervade the schemes of West Central Scotland- especially in Blantrye, birthplace of Livingston and Buckie drinkers.

After canapes and wine (some actually really disgusting- a blue cheese filled profiterole- who thinks up such pestiferous nik naks!) This was followed by an evening of really quite fantastic cultural entertainment. Village Cultural Troupe - A troupe of young Malawian dancers and drummer stomped, shimmied and sparkled in a stage set normally used by classical musicians and wannabe divas of the RSAMD. There was a really cool fire eater, so cool he thrust a flaming torch down his trousers without a wince. Then there was TNT 'a kilt wearing boy band' -so the programme promised-who turned out all to be wearing black shirts and trousers (not flammable) But they were good, boy the skirling of the pipes makes you a patriot. Then real Scottish culture with a Gaelic singer Catriona Watt with Eno-like piano accompaniment. A few impenetrable drama scenes with a great young Malawian actor named Talent Phoya. He was joined by RSAMD actors Martin McCormick (who looked like Fran from Travis) and Hannah Donaldson (who looked like a River City extra) They were ok - but something about Scottish accents and drama - do Americans, Australians, French, feel the same cringe in hearing their accents in drama, radio, TV? Maybe a Scottish cringe thing?
Anyway all this Malawi Scotland culture got stramashed in the end with 'fusion,' a free for all pipes, drums and stomp n twirl n twang. We swayed and clapped in our 'business attire and national dress' as the invites directed. You know bring it on more, I'd love to see more of this stuff and what with Madonna and Malawi maybe a little bit of Africa needs us all. (Apart from the little bit of Africa in your mobile phone!- that's for another blog!)

Blog tourism 2

Well day 2 and completely lost my way already! Probably an hour of obsessive and frantic doubleclicking before I realised you need to actually log on to make any changes! Doh! However have passed that Kryton Factor test (remember that! what happened to the Krypton Factor!) Well if you've forgotten, or didnt grow up in the late 70's, then all you need to know about KF is here

http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php/The_Krypton_Factor

Or maybe I'm the weakest blog link............

http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php/The_Weakest_Link

Whatever, well if you check next week I may even be using emoticons!

Gavin finding bloggin

hello blogland! have arrived here like a tourist in need of map. So much blank space to fill. Before I got this far I had to go through the blog naming process. Here are the also-rans for your delectation and boredom alleviation; the-exploding-pluke, rocket propelled exploding babies, ethical hypocrite, fairtrade is rubbish and faithnchips. Please tell me your favourites! The most popular will be set up - but you must promise to post!!