1st of May

where were we?

oh aye, blah de blah.

the first o’ may, come what may, another day. umm, umm and umm, what to say?

how do we build a healthier society? good question…. Is there even such a thing as society, or did Thatcher kill it off? Should we end capitalism, as George Monbiot suggests. (More than suggests perhaps… urges, recommends, whatever)

Lazy writing this, by the way; just for my own wee relaxation. I’m no trying to become some sort of guru.

And, in actual fact (though that might be some sort of tautology, except, i’m too lazy to look up the definition of tautology), in actual fact…. in actual fact, maybe i forgot what i was going to write there and another great idea goes up in smoke….

In actual fact, life is not that complicated. Just be a decent person. Try to do the decent thing. Pit it in the bin min, Don’t shit in the drinking water. Take care of the place. Be respectful. Respect yourself, and others.

Your man Jesus had some good words to say, so did your man Buddha. Though my mother and granny had good things to say as well, and i respect and believe them more than your man Jesus (because he might have just been a fairy story, like santa claus.)

Nailed to the cross, deed, and came back to life. Son of god, virgin birth, walked on water, etc. Cured the blind and the lame. Ah think that ah could do the same. Funny old game.

Aye, out to lunch now, but keep on writing.

And shortly we will all be shouting.    (shite in?)

Shite in, shite out.

See? No point in following me.

Fend for yourself, there’s naebody else, to show you the way. Make your own mistakes, and live for the day. La la la la, it’s the first of May. and da da da da, i’m here to stay.

Or, i’m here to say, that it won’t be long, til we’re singing the song,

la da te da, ah’m scared o’ ma da.

“Jesus, ya bastard, where have you been?”

“Get aff o’ that screen, and help yir Ma”

the end.

 

 

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the here and now

i actually just think that it’s just around the corner that there’s going to be a massive awakening of consciousness.

if that sounds a little airy-fairy, so be it.

i’m away on the bicycle to enjoy the spring air and look at the pebbles on the beach and hear the cry of the gulls and oyster catchers.

no time like the present.

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October

Things are heating up. The Natives are getting restless, and all that. An a’ that.

Back to Scotland soon. All bets are off. Total mayhem. Ya beauty.

Ha. You’re having a laugh. Detain me if you will. I dare ya.

And so on.

Looking forward to a pint in a real pub. The banter, the patter, the punters.

Edinburgh clubs in the top 3 in the league. Who would have thought it? Livingston beat the Gers, the other day. Goodness me. The Celtic way down. Nonsense. I’m an Aberdeen man ma’sel. They’re not up to much either. C’mon the Partick Thistle. (Always a safe bet in Glasgow. More or less. Maybe Clydebank, or Clyde.) Fitba’. Daft.

Anyway, whit wid william wallace do? I don’t know…ah dinnae ken.

Whit wid i do? I’m not sure.

Mibbe think of something. Will have a pint and mull it over. Go see some friends.

Interesting times we live in. Something has to give.

Maybe a mass awakening? We could call it the Scottish Enlightenment.

Maybe the New Scottish Enlightenment.

People have been put down for too long.

There’s a better way.

Anyway, it’s stirring, it’s livening up, it’s quickening.

See you down the road, in a wee while.

Cheers. Slainte. Up your kilt. And so on.

Scotland.

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Scotland

I’m getting a wee bit homesick for the old country.

Things are heating up over there. The final straw may have been the “British Haggis”.

Christ on a bike.

Brexit is a train wreck. The Conservatives are awful. The politics of selfishness and greed.

Onwards to a fairer society, and the only way now is to break free from the “Union”.

Let England (and presumably Wales) go their own, misguided, way.

The marriage is over.

See you soon, Scotland.

 

 

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August

the heat, the heat.

almost beat.

Aye, another hot day here. Trees on fire. Smoke in the Stoke.

Revelsmoke.

Maybe it’s the way of the future. Hotter, drier, smokier.

Time to move to somewhere with a nicer climate?

Scotland/Antarctica?

 

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July

Full moon, heat wave, forest fires and an eclipse.

Blood moon, silver spoon. and darkness at the break of noon.

With apologies to Dylan.

So hot that ah cannae breathe,

Cat on a hot tin roof, Dancing Zebra.

Wolverine at Pigeon/

Sair lungs.

Smoke.

Deid at 45, barely alive.

Never knew ma granny, ma mammy\s mammy.

 

 

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Memories

The World Cup, 1978.

The group, Netherlands, Scotland, Peru, and Iran.

In Argentina. Ally McLeod as Scotland’s manager. I was fond of Ally; him having been manager of Aberdeen. That was my first time in Glasgow, the occasion of Aberdeen beating Celtic in the league cup final in 1975(?). Davie Robb scoring the winner in extra-time to make it 2-1. The Celtic supporters throwing bottles and cans at us Aberdeen supporters, across the terracing at Hampden Park. The palpable sense of “danger”. The mounted policemen before and after the game as fans came and went from the ground, onto trains and buses. The long drive to and from Aberlour. Stop for chips in Perth, or Pitlochry.

Willie Johnston had been sent home (banned) from Argentina even before the games had started for using amphetamines. But we (Scotland) were really going to shake them up, when we won the Wurlld Cup, because Scotland were the greatest football team. Anyhow, that’s how the song went. But, we had a decent team, for sure. The likes of Dalglish, and Jordan, and we’d looked good in the qualifying rounds.

The first game was against Peru, and i didn’t even see it. It was a weekend meet to the C.I.C. hut (Charles Inglis Clark) on Ben Nevis, with the Moray Mountaineering Club, and the game must have been on the Saturday night. Martin and myself climbed Tower ridge, and North-East Buttress that weekend. Good times. Anyway, a couple of lads wandered in late on the Saturday eve, up the track from a pub in Fort William, with the depressing news that we’d been beaten 3-1 by Peru. The World Cup dream was starting to evaporate, all too quickly.

Things didn’t get better through the week, with an abysmal 1-1 draw with Iran. Come the game with the Netherlands, we were all but out. Only some unlikely large victory would do the trick, and the Netherlands were probably the best team in the competition. Anyway, cue that immortal moment when Archie Gemmill weaved his way through half of their team to chip in for a 3-1 lead to Scotland, early in the second half, and the dream was on. One more goal, and we were through. Amazing, incredible, astonishing. There is a God after all, and he’s Scottish!

Of course, Holland snatched another goal, and we had to settle for a mere 3-2 win. Impressive in itself, but not quite enough to progress. 40 years ago, blimey.

We still had to live through the Thatcher years.

Anyway, onwards and upwards, Scotland. The day will come, touch wood, when we qualify for the World Cup finals again. Inshallah.

And the day will come when we are an independent nation again.

The one might come sooner than the other!

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June, already.

June.

The year goes by so quick. The toilet roll goes round faster and faster as it nears the end.

Midsummer will be upon us before we know it.

Rain. The garden needs it. The kale will be happy. The carrots too. The cherry tomato is hanging in there; saw a yellow flower on it today. The 2 zucchinis, one green, and one yellow, are still there. Courgettes, in another place and time.

The kale will be happy. The kale is happy. I am happy too. We’re all happy/ Life is good.

There, another blog. There’s still a pulse. Scotland, forever. (In Canada).

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Where’s the wisdom?

Where’s the wisdom? That was going to be the title of a wee monthly opinion piece that I’ve been trying to do for the local newspaper. But have dropped the ball on it this month. Where is the bloody wisdom?? (No swearing allowed in the family newspaper, of course.) I don’t know, I just don’t know.

The human race; likely to disappear up it’s own bum. Seeking ever increasing “economic growth”, and such like.

Slow down folks, and enjoy the moment. Appreciate nature. Have a laugh with your pals. And if you don’t have any pals, make some. Say hello to people. Smile. Look after the place. Pick up the litter; plant some flowers. Share a wee bite to eat. Be considerate.

There you go; keeping the blog alive. Where there is a will there is a way.

World peace and understanding!

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