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December 31, 2004
SNP calls for more aid
The SNP is calling for more aid for the victims of the tsunami disaster.
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2726
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2725
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2724
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:51 PM | TrackBack
December 30, 2004
Mobile VOIP
A company in the States is offering unlimited mobile phone calls within America for ten dollars a month (GBP 5). At the moment the calls are indirect. You have to call a service number to get a dialing tone to then call the number you want. They are made over VOIP.
Will the Brits be allowed to make cheap phone calls? Or will the government step in to protect the substantial profits of BT, Orange and Vodafone etc.? We can only wait and see!
www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,66124,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 04:44 PM | TrackBack
December 29, 2004
Mountains of Scotland DVD
I was looking forward to seeing the Mountains of Scotland (Binnein nam Beann) DVD. Unfortunately it’s a disappointment.
Originally shown on Scottish TV/Grampian TV as a six part series, this is a helicopter tour of the mountains (with almost no ground shots), made in variable weather. All the shots were apparently taken at the same time of year (probably summer). There is no snow on any of the hills and no heather in bloom. Image quality is all low resolution: adequate for television, where nobody expects much, but poor for DVD.
While the mountains do hold your attention throughout, in the mist and on overcast days as well as in sunshine, you regret they didn’t re-shoot when the mountains were obscured or the light was poor. (It’s rather like hill walking in bad weather, you enjoy it but you wish you’d picked a different day.)
There is a light-weight television-style commentary with the usual explanations of the names of the mountains and some obvious statements about the views, but little on the fascinating geology of the highlands, and almost no wildlife. All heights are in feet (goodbye foreign audiences!) and there are no subtitles for the notoriously difficult Gaelic names. Those familiar with the hills will learn little new. Those unfamiliar with them will not know what they are looking at. Some technical terms, like ‘corrie’ for example, are also not explained.
The worst feature of the disc is the music, a dreadful generic ‘easy listening’ New Age Music drone repeated again and again, ad infinitum. Possibly bearable in a short television series, in a DVD lasting 150 minutes, it is not!
Our mountains are some of the finest and most interesting in the world, but not well-known abroad - so a significant opportunity has been missed here. The people responsible for this effort need to look at some other nature documentaries that have been produced recently, Jacques Perrin’s ‘Winged Migration’ for example, to see the kind of image quality that is desirable in a DVD. (They might also try to get their website together. At the moment it’s a pig’s breakfast, with type doubled up on top of itself and unwrapped paragraphs.)
[Mountains of Scotland (Binnein nam Beann) is published by Enlightenment Unlimited. Produced and directed by Malcolm McKissock, it is the first in a ‘Window on Scotland’ series of DVDs. It is available through the John Muir Trust who benefit from each sale with a GBP 1.00 donation.]
Posted by Simon Holledge at 05:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 28, 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami
Everything seems insignificant compared to the (as yet unnamed) tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean, especially as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, India, and Sri Lanka are all countries that I know, some of them well.
The news services are now saying that more than 55,000 are dead, but there are still incomplete reports from islands near the epicentre and from much of the west coast of Sumatra. The final toll must be very high.
There has been talk of starting monitoring systems for the Indian Ocean (and the Atlantic) so that people can be warned about tsunami before they hit.
There are systems for the Pacific. I have seen how they operate in Japan. Even small earthquakes are reported immediately on television. The programmes do not stop, there is simply a news flash text displayed at the bottom of the screen. At first you are informed that an earthquake has occurred, then after a minute or two more information comes through to pinpoint the position of the quake and its intensity.
If the quake is offshore and sufficiently powerful to cause a tsunami, people are told to avoid the coast. (There are also sirens on beaches.) The amount of warning given varies. Sometimes it is only a matter of minutes. Tragedies occur when the news doesn’t reach the people in danger, but in general the system works well.
In the case of very large tsunami, like the ones in the Indian Ocean, there is more time to organize evacuations - if there is a warning given in the first place. I don’t have an accurate chronology of this disaster, but it seems the tsunami hit Phuket (Thailand) about 30 minutes after the earthquake. Sri Lanka was hit two and a half hours after that.
The Indonesians do have a system of earthquake monitoring. The Meteorological and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia have stations throughout the seismically active archipelago and projects in which the Japanese, French, and Americans are involved.
What is needed is a system of sharing the information internationally when there is a large quake. This really shouldn’t be too difficult to set up. There are issues about interpreting data - some earthquakes are followed by tsunami and some are not - but clearly the greater the magnitude and intensity, the greater the danger.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 06:12 PM | TrackBack
December 27, 2004
Neglecting our built heritage II
More from Richard Gray in the Scotsman about the neglect of Burns monuments and now a possible threat to the future of Abbotsford House, the home of Sir Walter Scott as well. The more information we have the worse it looks.
Adam Ingram MSP of the SNP is leading a rescue effort to persuade the Scottish Executive the pay for the repair of the Burns cottage, however I suggest there should be should be some kind of built heritage fund available with a system for evaluating individual cases and working out priorities.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1465202004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:11 AM | TrackBack
December 26, 2004
Electronic tagging
Kate Foster in the Scotsman has a piece in the Scotsman about the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS) approving the electronic tagging of dementia patients.
I have no particular problem with this - if handled sensitively - especially if it means fewer locked doors and a little more freedom for patients. Is the ‘tag’ a worn device, perhaps on the ankle? Perhaps radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are too limited in range to be practicable?
Actually, I am surprised that this technology has not been adapted to track hostages in the Middle East.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1464782004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:49 PM | TrackBack
December 25, 2004
Merry Christmas
Ben Ledi from Callander Photo © SCH
Merry Christmas to Skakagrall readers from a beautiful white Callander. This is a view from the bridge looking over to Ben Ledi, the fine, 879-metre mountain lying immediately west of the town.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:33 PM | TrackBack
December 24, 2004
EDM 281: visa charges
I wrote before about Home Office proposals to raise visa renewal fees (Foreign Students to be hit again, 26 October 2004). I also contacted my then MP Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith). I am delighted that he and a number of other MPs have signed Early Day Motion Number 281, which is as follows:
“That this House notes existing charges for international student visas and the Home Office consultation on the review of charges for immigration applications; further notes that international students contribute five billion pounds a year to the UK economy; believes that international students make an invaluable contribution to student life, education and research at UK universities; further believes that increasing visa charges will place a greater financial burden on international students and hinder the Prime Minister’s initiative to attract more international students to the UK; and calls on the Government to grant an exemption from visa charges to international students studying in the UK.”
Unfortunately only Michael Weir has signed for the SNP. This is disappointing. Regrettably it’s an example of the patchy coverage that the party give to many issues. We should avoid the temptation to cherry-pick popular issues Liberal-Democrat style. It would be preferable to monitor each and every conceivable issue in order to respond relevantly, intelligently and immediately when they surface one by one in the media. We cannot have too much political exposure.
edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=281
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:12 AM | TrackBack
December 23, 2004
Against press embargoes
Adam L Penenberg has an interesting article in Wired News arguing against press embargoes. This is the practice under which news is released to journalists on the condition that they do not publish before an agreed date. Penenberg argues that embargoes are good for publicity, but bad for journalism.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66112,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 08:39 PM | TrackBack
December 22, 2004
Skye Bridge Lib
Lib may stand for liberation or liberals, and both fit when the news is the buy-back of the Skye Bridge - and the removal of the GBP 5.70 toll - as a result of Liberal Democrat pressure on the Scottish Labour government. A victory of sorts.
The history of the Skye Bridge demonstrates that PFI (private finance initiatives) don’t work when they impose an unpopular burden on local people.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1456832004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:09 PM | TrackBack
December 21, 2004
Parliament House revamp costs
Dan McDougall in the Scotsman reports on the rising costs and delays to the redevelopment of Parliament House (including Scotland’s High Court and Court of Session). The Scottish Court Service has stopped the work for six months to review the project, now costed at GBP 133.6 million.
Without knowing anything about the background to the project - it may well be that the money is needed to preserve important and historic buildings that are part of our heritage - it is remarkable that huge sums of money are again being spent to ensure that a prominent section of the Edinburgh establishment have a comfortable working environment, while the need for new public facilities - hospitals, schools, prisons, arts centres etc. - is neglected.
thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1444982004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:41 PM | TrackBack
December 20, 2004
Deleting Cabinet Office email
Every now and then we have a story - usually originating in London - that runs contrary to common sense.
Today we hear that the Cabinet Office has ruled e-mails more than three months old must be deleted starting from Monday. Of course that’s perfectly sensible from the government’s point of view. There are a lot more incriminating email around than letters. (The Cabinet Office’s 2,000 civil servants have been told to print and file important email - but at their own discretion.)
It is claimed that the ‘deleted’ e-mails will actually be stored on back-up systems but nevertheless will not be accessible under the Freedom of Information Act because of the cost of getting at them!
However anybody who uses a computer knows that the whole point of using email is the convenience of storage and the ease of retrieval. There are only two conclusions we can come to: either the Cabinet Office are fooling us, or they really don’t know what they doing.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4107563.stm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:14 PM | TrackBack
Outside talent
According to the Scotsman, Lord Sewel says there is a lack of ministerial talent in Scotland. He thinks the Scotland Act should be changed so that ministers could be appointed from outside parliament. Apparently this would be similar to the system In Scandanavia.
Excellent. Why not? How else can we get competent specialists into government to advise on technical matters? Many of the current MSPs (of all parties) lack the most basic 21st-century skills. They can’t mange their own websites, how can they run government departments?
It would be even better if foreigners were eligible. If Scotland wishes to emulate successful policies in other parts of northern Europe, the best way to do this would be to invite appropriately qualified people from these countries to help us. Why not?
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1449932004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 03:18 PM | TrackBack
December 19, 2004
Neglecting our built heritage
The most important Scottish book of the 20th century? Perhaps George Orwell’s 1984? It was written at a house called Barnhill on the north end of the Isle of Jura.
We visited it in July. Was it signposted? No. Was there a museum there? No. Was it open to the public? No. Do tourists ever go there? No. It is at the end of a closed (and almost impassable) five-mile road only accessible to walkers. The house itself is privately owned and let for self-catering.
The good news is that the house seems to be in a reasonable state of repair - more than can be said for the birthplace of our national poet, Robert Burns. Jeremy Watson in today’s Scotsman writes about the deteriorating condition of the cottage, due to various complicated schemes that have gone wrong.
The SNP MSP Adam Ingram has urged the Scottish Executive to come up with a solution to looking after it, but maybe what we need to is a proper policy? It is less than a month since Rob Roy’s birthplace was sold by a public body to a private buyer for less than half a million pounds (see ‘Rob Roy’s birthplace sold’, November 25).
It seems extraordinary that we should have a well-organized and funded system for acquiring paintings and works of art for the nation to prevent them going abroad, and yet we don’t have relatively small amounts of money available to protect important built heritage sites.
www.orwelltoday.com/jurabarnhillvisit.shtml
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1448152004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:59 PM | TrackBack
Thatcherism there and here
Fraser Nelson in the Scotsman has an interesting article on Thatcherism as the acknowledged inspiration behind government policies in America.
How long will it be, I wonder, before New Labour formally declare themselves to be the legitimate heirs of the Baronesss and all her works?
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1448142004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:00 PM | TrackBack
December 18, 2004
Answering Hoon
The Scottish regiments have been consigned to history. In the Commons, Annabelle Ewing MP called the Minister of Defence a “back-stabbing coward”. Moderate language in the circumstances but against the rules, so Ms Ewing accompanied by her fellow SNP MPs walked out.
Hoon, probably the luckiest government minister not to have lost his job in this parliament, later commented: ” … Members of that party (the Scottish Nationalists) do not believe in membership of NATO, nor in European defence. They have opposed every deployment of British troops in recent years. I wonder what the point of having an army in the UK would be if that party ever got into any kind of power anywhere.”
Hoon may not be able to grasp this, but the SNP would like to see the Scottish Regiments deployed for peace keeping, and not used in support of operations involving the the killing of large numbers of foreign civilians - as at Fallujah.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1439652004
www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2004-12-16.1195.0
Posted by Simon Holledge at 05:02 AM | TrackBack
December 17, 2004
Snow on Ben Ledi
Ben Ledi from the southeast Photo © SCH
Glorious day in Callander. We woke to see snow on Ben Ledi and later drove round to Loch Venachar to see the mountains from the south side.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 06:31 PM | TrackBack
December 16, 2004
Forth Railway Bridge memorial plan
Alastair jamieson has an article in the Scotsman about a plan to create a memorial to the 57 (or more) men who died in the building of the 1890 Forth Railway Bridge.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1433652004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 05:41 PM | TrackBack
December 15, 2004
Blunkett resigns
A personal tragedy, but Blunkett’s authoritarian policies were distasteful and it is a good thing that he has gone. He may be an unhappy man, having lost in both his political and his love life, but there are many people who have suffered as a result of bad, tabloid-oriented, Home Office policies and my sympathies are with them.
Will this lead to a gentler, kinder, more honest, more straightforward Home Office? I would like to hope so.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 08:23 PM | TrackBack
December 14, 2004
Rubbish
The air is better in Callander than in Edinburgh, and the water is a lot purer. (The Auld Reekie supply - at least in the New Town - is yellowish, almost brown in a full bath.) Not only that but surprisingly the refuse collection here is also much better.
Stirling Council separate household rubbish from garden waste and cardboard, and collect recyclables (glass, steel and aluminium tins, PET bottles, paper and clothes and other textile items).
When we lived in Edinburgh we could take some items to the local Tesco dumps for recycling, but collecting directly from people’s houses is more efficient.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 04:31 PM | TrackBack
December 13, 2004
Scottish Opera Tosca
Opera companies are constituted in different ways. Some are dominated by conductors, other by directors, occasionally they are run by singers, or even ex-carpenters or stage hands. Some are based on a famous building, others on a chorus, or a fine ensemble of soloists, or an orchestra. The point is that there has to be something at the core of a company to give it life.
After the performance of Tosca by Scottish Opera in Edinburgh on November 30, I’m delighted to say that this politically-battered company does have a core - an excellent orchestra.
Conductor Guido Ajmone-Marsan inspired a consistently beautiful and dramatic reading of the score from his players. The chorus also acquitted themselves well, though they don’t have a lot to do in Tosca, except for the impressive Te Deum ending to Act I.
The main weakness of the performance was the drama direction - there didn’t seem to be any! The blocking was awkward, singers sauntered on and off with little feeling for the tension of the drama, and the action was not synchronized with the text: enter a relaxed Angelotti (who should be in fear of his life), sings ‘Ecco la chiave!…’ pauses, goes to wall, picks up key etc. etc.
The principals were strong rather than subtle, but rose to the big moments. In Act II, John Hudson as Cavaradossi sang an impassioned ‘Vittoria! Vittoria!’, and Elena Zelenskaya delivered a fine and studied ‘Vissi d’arte’. Unfortunately Hudson and Matthew Best as Scarpia sang the Italian with so little fluency, and such awkward phrasing, that one wished they were singing in English. Given that the action was so unfocussed, it is likely that they didn’t entirely understand what the words meant. Zelenskaya may be in a different class, but unfortunately she made little attempt to act the role as well as sing it.
The staging was set in the Fascist period, rather than Napoleonic times. This made little difference as the locations are unchanged. However there were some over-the top touches to liven up the old war-horse. Scarpia was in bed with a prostitute at the beginning of Act II, despite the fact it is early evening and he is waiting for Tosca. (He is obviously insatiable!). Also at the end of Act Three, the Castel Sant’Angelo was lit up by rockets, like a firework display. The Americans had arrived!
This was my first visit to the Dress Circle of the Festival Theatre, it’s notable how much better the acoustics are there than in the stalls.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:54 PM | TrackBack
December 12, 2004
Food heroes of Strathyre
Bad Scottish food has had some publicity recently, so it’s good to take note of some spectacular Scottish food successes as well.
Yesterday evening we ate in Creagan House in Strathyre. This is a local restaurant, just up the road from Callander, with a Michelin Bib Gourmand. This is a designation for exceptional food, available at a modest price. To qualify a restaurant has to offer a three course meal for less than 25 pounds. There are only 5 or 6 such restaurants in Scotland: a couple in Edinburgh, one in Glasgow, one in Pitlochry, and one in Tarbert (Kintyre), so it is something special.
The restaurant is owned by Gordon and Cherry Gunn who do much of the work themselves. The food is rich, more for special occasions than everyday, and the quality is excellent throughout. The most interesting dish we had last night - the starter - was made of fresh salmon mixed with smoked haddock in a sherry sauce wrapped in smoked salmon!
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:05 PM | TrackBack
December 11, 2004
IPTV
Recent research has shown that people are giving up the old-fashioned passive television for the internet, but does that mean the TV is doomed?
Probably not according to Frank Rose on Wired.com. When we have enough bandwidth, IPTV (TV on demand over the internet) will be available.
www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/start.html?pg=7
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:32 PM | TrackBack
December 10, 2004
Video feeds
Following the success of RSS and Atom newsfeeds (of text), and podcasting (audio feeds for the iPod), there are now experimental video feeds.
This introduces, logically enough, the possibility of receiving television feeds in the same way that we get newspaper feeds.
www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,65925,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:14 AM | TrackBack
December 09, 2004
Open Glasgow/Edinburgh Day?
Donald Anderson of the Edinburgh Council and Charlie Gordon of the Glasgow have apparently made a ‘pact’ to initiate greater cooperation between the two cities. Sharon Ward has an amusing piece in the Scotsman about this, accompanied by some good quotes.
There is nothing unique about twin city rivalry. Coming from Japan, it’s remarkable how closely the Edinburgh/Glasgow relationship mirrors that of Kyoto/Osaka - with Tokyo in the place of London.
All considered, 42 miles (68 kilometres) is no great distance. Perhaps the relationship is just determined by the cost and convenience of transport? The closer we are the better the synergy.
Perhaps we should have an annual Open Glasgow/Edinburgh Day: free transport and admissions for Edinburgh people visiting Glasgow, and Glasgow people visiting Edinburgh. In the noble cause of joke replenishment!
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1408082004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 09:37 PM | TrackBack
December 08, 2004
Iraq body count inquiry demand
It’s a measure of our progress away from tribalism that we recognize the suffering that war brings to nations other than our own. For that reason it is important that we know both the number of our own casualties in Iraq and those of the Iraq people.
Unfortunately the government are refusing to make public its own estimates (if any) of Iraqi deaths, and are referring enquiries to the published figures of the Iraqi Ministry of Health as the source for the information. (The Ministry give the very low figure of only 3,853 deaths for the period of April to October, a figure that does not relate to the conservative baseline number published by the Iraq Body Count site now at 14,668 to 16,853, or indeed the Lancet study which suggested, based on fieldwork, more than 100,000. )
A new group of ex-diplomats, military men and academics are demanding that the Prime Minister set up an independent inquiry into the number of civilian deaths in Iraq since the invasion. This would be good providing the inquiry actually does its work on the ground in Iraq. (The one thing we don’t need is another foolish Whitehall effort.)
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1403832004
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4079059.stm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:12 PM | TrackBack
December 07, 2004
Sunlight into hydrogen
Hydrogen Solar of Guilford are working on a process to turn sunlight into hydrogen. The sun’s energy is used to break up water particles into oxygen and hydrogen. A prototype station in Las Vegas will have the ability to dispense hydrogen fuel.
Hydrogen Solar are talking about the possibility of garage top installations that will produce enough fuel to supply a family car. Four other groups in the States are working on similar technology.
www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65936,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 06:09 PM | TrackBack
December 05, 2004
Tourism Survey II
Gillian Bowditch has an excellent follow-up article about tourism in the Scotsman. Perceptively, she identifies the middle of the market as the problem area for food and accommodation. Luxury and budget services in Scotland tend to be rather good.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1389312004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:59 PM | TrackBack
December 04, 2004
Tourism Survey I
Surveys often tell you what you know already, albeit in more detail and with greater precision.
VisitScotland (a silly name for tourist board!) surveyed 1,300 tourists about what they think needs improving in Scotland. Not surprisingly they put the weather first, perhaps partly out of politeness? The others listed were ‘value for money’, exchange rates, accommodation and the food.
Scotland is, of course, expensive. Not much can be done about that while the pound remains at such a high level and economic policy is controlled from London. It would be impossible to bring prices down to European levels without putting hotels, B&Bs and restaurants out of business.
Many, perhaps most, hotels in Scotland need renovation and proper management. B&Bs can be excellent, but they don’t suit all visitors. There is excellent food, but you have to search for it. The bad is pretty awful, and it’s much easier to find than the good.
Positive aspects of visiting Scotland were said to be the scenery, the natural environment, ‘the number of things to see and do’ and the attitude of local people.
Ironically it’s all the rain that makes Scotland so beautiful, so we can win on this point! Scotland offers a great range of outdoor activities, mostly on the wilder side compared to other European countries. Perhaps that needs to be emphasized more in advertizing? Scotland does offer something special.
news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=106&id=1381212004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:05 AM | TrackBack
December 03, 2004
Where is Callander? II
Yesterday I was wondering why so many people, including the Bank of Scotland and Scottish Gas, think that Callander is in Perthshire and not Stirlingshire, although Stirling Council are providing all the services here.
Today I found the ‘Vision of Britain’ site. Despite the inappropriate name, this is an excellent map site, with a wealth of information about the political geography of Britain.
I now understand that all the Scottish counties, including Perthshire and Stirlingshire, were abolished In 1975. They were replaced by ‘district/unitary authorities’. Confusingly many areas are still called X-shire or Y-shire, and there are still bodies called ‘county councils’, even though counties no longer exist.
Perthshire and Stirlingshire were changed into ‘Perth and Kinross’ and ‘Stirling’, dropping the ‘shires’ and redrawing the boundaries. Those villages and towns, like Callander, in the southwest of former Perthshire evidently decided to keep their traditional addresses, rather than completely lose any kind of county designation at all. The shires dated back to the late medieval period, so it’s not surprising that many people still want to maintain them - at least in name!
www.visionofbritain.org.uk/index.jsp
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:11 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
December 02, 2004
Where is Callander? I
Well, it is located on the Highland Boundary Fault, an emphatic geological uplift between the lowlands and the highlands of Scotland. It looks impressive in the diagram, a narrow column of rock thrust up through the surface of the earth. It was once at the bottom of the ocean and fossils of sea creatures can be found around the town.
That’s perfectly scientific. Unfortunately when it comes to political geography, things are not so clear.
Our local constituency is Stirling, and I’ve verified that our wheelie-bins are emptied by Stirling Council. On the other hand when we gave our new address to the Bank of Scotland, their database, relying on the post code, insisted we were in Perthshire. This doesn’t seem to be a unique error: since then we have come across a number of Callander businesses including Perthshire in the address and indeed Perthshire appears on correspondence from Scottish Gas.
Checking the history of the town I found that Callander was indeed in Perthshire, but only until 1975 when the boundaries were changed. That’s a long time ago. Do we have a group of Perthshire irredentists at work here? Perhaps bankrolled by the Halifax Bank of Scotland and Scottish Gas? Something to ponder …
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:17 AM | TrackBack
December 01, 2004
Moving to Callander II
Today is our first in Callander: the beginning of a (doubtless) fascinating and exciting experience of country life. Moving was an effort: one van load and six car loads transported from Edinburgh to Callander, but now that is over. All we have to do is unpack and enjoy the fabulous clean air.
Last night, we said goodbye to Edinburgh with a Scottish Opera Tosca at the Festival Theatre - more about that later - and drove here afterwards with the back of the car stuffed with miscellaneous belongings. In fact we couldn’t get all of them in. We had to leave a table and chair with friends en route - for later collection.