scottish pillar box blown up

In the early 1950's just before the Queen Elizabeth's coronation, the Post Office in their haste to keep ahead of the game and following tradition, set about erecting new pillar (post) boxes throughout the United Kingdom. They decided to erect the first of these iconic bright red post boxes at a place called the Inch in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city. It bore Her Majesty’s royal cypher: E II R, standing for Elizabeth II Regina.

Red Royal Mail Pillar box complete with E11R logo

28 November 1952, a group of officials and other dignitaries unveiled the 'E ll R', post box at the Inch, Edinburgh. My goodness what a national stooshie then developed. To some it seemed reasonable that Royal Mail should recognise the new head of state in this fashion.However not everyone agreed and the situation quickly descended into national outrage with wide scale media coverage, debates in the House of Commons and intense police surveillance.

To the uninitiated, Elizabeth may well be England's second ruler bearing that name, however she was only the first to so do in Scotland and therefore any reference to Elizabeth in Scotland should reflect that fact and to do otherwise would be disrespectful to the Scottish nation by taking it for granted.

In fact, so enraged were some Scots that the Pillar box with the offending insignia was blown up and had to be replaced. The manager of the iron foundry where the post boxes were made was warned, under pain of death, that all boxes manufactured forthwith and destined for a Scottish location had to be innocent of the number ll (two). Yes, he received death threats.

So, why do I recall this piece of Scottish history so vividly? My first job after leaving school in 1961 was as on officer junior at Carron Ironworks in Falkirk, to be more precise, Mungal Foundry, which was part of the foundry complex and had once been a separate foundry. The main items manufactured in Mungal Foundry were, Telephone Kiosks, Lamp Letter Boxes and the free standing Pillar Boxes, the subject of this tail. Part of my job was arranging the shipping for said items, along with the correct keys. I was under no illusions about my responsibility to ensure ER to Scottish locations and EllR to all other parts of the UK. I was reminded on a regular basis by the, under threat, foundry manager. I did not let him down.

This whole episode saw a few ditties penned and sung in appropriate watering holes throughout Scotland; 
'Sky High Joe' by Thurso Berwick, sung to the tune, Ricky Do Dum Dey
'Billet-Doux' by Thurso Berwick, sung to the tune, Corn Rigs
'Sky High Pantomime' by Thurso Berwick, sung to the tune Harlaw

N.B. Thurso Berwick's real name was Morris Blythman, a Fifer by birth.

and finally; 'The Ballad of the Inch' (tune - castles in the air ) I do not know who penned it.

"Ah'll tell tae ye a story,
An' ah'll swear tae ye it's true,
A' aboot the Pillar Box -
The ane wi' ER ll.

Chorus:
Fa'll blaw it this time?
Fa'll blaw it noo?
The anes that blew it last time ,
Canna blaw it noo.

They took this mickle Pillar Box,
An' stuck it in the groon',
Wi Edinburgh C.I.D
An' Polis a' aroon.

A noble Lady in the Sooth
Said, 'Let it weel be seen
By a' thae traitrous Scots up North
That I'm their English Queen.

'Sae watch it weel ma merry men,
An' keep it in your care,
For England's nearly bankrupt
An' we hav'nae ony mair.'

They guardit it richt faithfully,
They guardit it fell weel;
But in ahint their backs there nipped
A big black coated cheel.

Ye read it i' the papers,
Ye saw it i' the news-
How he stuck his 'Coupon' in,
Wi' a yaird-lang, fizzin fuse.

As he hirpled back across the road'
Tae the Cops he bade, 'Guid Nicht!'
Ah widnae staun sae near the box,
For yon wis gelagnite.

A minute later aff it went,
Wi' a flashin' an' a thump,
An noo they've taen awa' the bits, 
Tae the Corporation Dump.

The bottom bit they left it there,
A' ragged-edged an' shairp;
Bit the lid wis in St Peter's hands,
Be'in played on like a harp.

It's said that on the next day-
Pit there tae get their rag-
Upon the mound o' rubble
Wis a wee bit yella' flag.

So, there you have it, a wee snatch of Scottish history. 
Not told in schools I bet.

brown vow is empty promise

In a land a long time ago a husband and wife resided in an apartment in a block of similar apartments. There were many such blocks. Then one day the wife thought the family should move on, as did some of the other residents. It seems the conditions were not too their liking. The husband was not sure about what to do.

Then just before decision day the factor of the apartment appeared, along with envoys, the head gardener, the site agent and the rent collector. The owner of some other property also came along because it was not in his interest that people should be unhappy with their lot, because who knows, maybe the unhappiness would spread to his fiefdom. The residents were promised better things, they would be listened to, they would all have better heating installed, more regular servicing and decorating of their apartments and all manner of things good.

And on decision day the residents decided against moving and so did the uncertain husband, because the promises were presented as vows and so were believed.

Time passed, not a lot of time actually and lo and behold the board of directors addressed the factor and the envoys and said, you had no business promising anything to these upstarts. In fact we will now have a look at their rent because they have had it easy for too long.

And so it came to pass and the vows that had been made were seen for what some of the people had suspected all along, empty.

And the factor and the board got on with their other business and took upon themselves 15% of a rise in their yearly gold sovereign allowance and also made sure that their expenses reflected their worth.

But many people had, for the first time in their lives, looked up and they saw and they understood and avowed never to look down again.

scotland, a vote for destiny

It is the evening before our destiny is decided. For months I have listened, watched and sometimes read a tsunami of opinion, most of it bilge water, on the merits or demerits of Scotland as a nation.

I have watched an army of politicians spouting there dire warnings as they set about frightening people to leave things as they are. Trust us, we will make things better. If you leave it will be a disaster, you cannot do it. You will be poorer, you will be defenceless, the banks will move away, shopping will be more expensive, the big stores will put up their prices. Leave the National Health Service to us, it will be better that way. Trust us, trust us, trust us.

Gordon Brown has been taken out of cold storage and trotted out to warn us that we will be better together. Is that the same Gordon Brown who dismantled hard earned pension schemes and left thousands of working people in the grubber, oh, and sold off our gold reserve for two buttons and a bar of chocolate, Belgian chocolate, then introduced the PFI or PPP scheme that sold huge tracts of our land to foreign investors. Oh,was it not him that was in a government that went to war against Iraq to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction, that were not even there. So we have to listen to him? WHIT! 

We are in a democratic deficit and we need to change it.

Why are we so important, why do they even care. Is it their benign, caring nature coming to the fore? No, I do not think so. It has nothing to do with us, they could not care less about us. Do not be fooled.

Old Obama will have been on the blower to young David to spell it out. 

“ Gee Dave, how are you doing over there. I thought you told me all was under control. Give them a vote you said, it won't matter they will never go for it. Dave my boy, get this sorted. If I had claim to a Scottish connection, you know, like a few of my predecessors with their roots going back to the old land, places like Kirkcaldy and Limerick, I would be right over. I will have to have another look at my birth certificate, maybe not. Listen and listen good, we want their oil, we want their water and we want their Health Service sold off to our guys and the Trident thing Dave, c'mon Dave get with the programme. And another thing, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, we are putting a lot of work into that baby. Last warning, get it. Have a nice day."

It is really quite simple;

If you in your heart of hearts believe you are a Briton first and foremost, vote NO.

If on the other hand, in your heart of hearts you feel Scottish, above all else, vote YES.

This is not about being better or worse off. If however that is how you will decide, you have my sympathy, you are a person without principle and you will sell yourself to the highest bidder, whether NO or YES. You will forever be enslaved. Remember the 'Bought and Sold' bit.

A country whose people have dignity, self respect and belief in themselves will be a better country and a better neighbour.

Get out and vote for your self respect.

children's act

The more I hear about this Act the more it concerns me. I appreciate that children have to be protected. However I am not convinced that parts of the Act will enhance their safety, in fact bits of it are likely to be counter productive. My concern is about the 'named person' element.

It is just another step on the road to State interference and control of people's lives.

Even before the Act comes into force, their are enough worrying interferences at work.

Presently the files of children, mostly on line files, kept and maintained by Children and Families Social Work Services are able to be accessed by other services, for example Education. The families have no say in this practise and in fact, neither do the Social Work professionals, who are not even consulted. Their 'confidential' files can be accessed by third part 'partners' remotely without the case worker knowing.

The files of children held by Education Services are not open to access by Social Work professionals. So it is a one way process and worrying to say the least. In fact I am not sure what the Information Commissioner would make of the practise.

Back to 'named persons' and the Children's Act.

Having worked for many years in the fields of protecting people I am only to aware of how a policy or piece of legislation, designed and penned with a clear view of what it is to achieve, can be misunderstood, manipulated or misused over time.

While the 'spirit' of the legislation will be clear to many, those operating with intuition and understanding, it will not stand the test of the grey suits, the 'jobsworths'. The late Friday afternoon brigade who have been aware of some issue for a day or two, however, lacking the courage of the normal person, they leave it to one side, then ditch it on another professional just as they are shutting up shop for the night or weekend.

Oh, the wee one did not appear for the school trip, oh the wee one has been looking a bit tired lately, oh the wee one has not been concentrating lately, oh, and I noted he was a bit smelly last week.

Get the parents in, get the Social Services involved, make them the big bad wolves, check out the parents drinking habits, check out their bank account.

You will see where this is going. Innocent families will be in distress, who cares? The most vulnerable parents, the poor and perhaps not as well educated, the ones who cannot afford a lawyer, they will fall foul of the actions of the grey suits. Remember, the law is aimed at them anyway.

Oh, I was only doing my job. You know the one's I mean, the untouchables, the ones with no intuition, no grey areas for them, their attire apart, simply black and white.

This is another step, even if the authors did not see it, on the road to more State interference in family life, a Police State.

The trouble with most Police State situations is, you did not see it coming.

labour councillors deny equal pay to low paid women

I see that South Lanarkshire Council has been instructed to pay about 3,000 or so of their lower paid staff, mostly women, £75 million in back pay. The women have been fighting for this money, equal pay actually, for near on a decade. In fact some of the claimants never lived to collect what they were entitled to.


Even today, having lost their ten year delaying action to pay the workers what they in fact were entitled to all along, South Lanarkshire Council are still in denial. The women were seeking equal pay, not a 10 % rise in their wages, not a 5% rise in their wages, no, not even a 1% rise in their wages. No, none of that. They merely were asking to be paid what they were lawfully entitled to under equal pay legislation. An Act that came alive in 1970, forty four years ago.


A senior figure said that South Lanarkshire has long been committed to equality of pay for those in comparable jobs, regardless of gender and we are glad to be in a position to continue to lead the way on this issue by settling with these claimants. Oh, is that so?!


The Chief Executive of South Lanarkshire Council goes on about people being the Council's most valuable asset and how they work in partnership with their Trade Union colleagues, so they, the Council, can continue to take a lead in delivering best practice in their people policies and procedures. We, South Lanarkshire Council, are the area’s “natural leader” and we aim to set a good example for other employers.

The Council's values include the following commitments:

The Council will be honest, open and consistent in all our dealings with people, so that we can earn and maintain their trust. We will demonstrate decisive and impartial leadership. We will promote the development of a just and equal society.

We will behave with courtesy, decency, dignity and tolerance.

We will be an excellent employer, leading the way in recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. We will treat our employees fairly and we will not tolerate unfair discrimination. 

So, where is the decency, the dignity, the trust, the promotion of a justice, equality and the bit about not tolerating unfair discrimination.


Not only that, it is a labour controlled Council who have no doubt been in the vanguard of this ten year denial of workers rights. Yes, a labour Council. Overwhelmingly labour with 37 elected councillors, 11 of whom are female.

Present day Labour assails us with their commitment to fairness and equality, including equal rights and equal pay for women. They even 'fix' party lists to load up with more women.

I will remind you of some history: 'Labour stands for equality between men and women: equal political and legal rights, equal rights and privileges in parenthood, equal pay for equal work.' That is lifted directly from the Labour Party Manifesto of 1923.

It is a disgrace and it evidences the true values of a Labour Party who have consistently ridden on the backs of working people to the Party's benefit. In fact it is logical for them, the Labour Party, to keep working people down, otherwise where would they find a back to steal a lift on?

ancient evidence against minimum alcohol pricing

'Give strong drink to him who is perishing and wine 

to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget 

their poverty and remember their misery no more.'

Proverbs, 31: 6-7.

The drinks industry seem to have powerful support in their bid to challenge the Scottish Government's plan to introduce a minimum alcohol price. A policy aimed at the poor.

A spokesperson, speaking for both major churches in Scotland, was philosophical as she saw the opportunity to increase their flock with the lure of communion wine and a wee biscuit.

'There is always a silver lining', she quipped.

scottish police stop and search half a million

Police Scotland has just announced it's 'stop and search' results. Of some half a million searches about twenty percent seem to have been positive.

As all such searches have to stem from reasonable suspicion or with the agreement of the person being searched and as, as far as I understand, all such police activity is intelligence led, how does one explain the four hundred thousand negative searches?