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Posts

Saturday, August 08, 2015

Can Seo


Over on Twitter the low oxygen level up yon munros has clearly got to Muriel Gray.

I like Muriel Gray.  I bought her books.

Can I refer all involved in the resultant furore to this evidential work.

Back in the very early eighties, following Varsity, I worked as a Field Researcher and Analyst for a very similar and indeed the first National Opinion Survey on Scots Gaelic under the auspices of An Comunn Gaidhealach. I can only say read the research and findings there. 

I also found this article to sum up what needs saying. 

Am I a native Gaelic speaker? Chan eil. 
Do I speak Gaelic? Tha, beagan.

But back to the hyperventilation over at Twitter.

Some observations:

  • Many countries have bilingual road signs where there is a significant linguistic rationale for doing so. Off the top of my head I recall Magyar script on Eastern Austrian road/village signs. This pleases me because my family name is Hungarian, although admittedly our lot emigrated back circa very early 18th century and well before UKIP!
  • Gaelic was, and indeed is, spoken well past (i.e. south) Inbhir Nis agus An Gearasdan for the information of a few so called intelligenti of the SNPout coven. 
  • My recollection and the stats confirmed that the attitude to Gaelic was surprisingly favourable even in the most unlikely spots such as Kirkcaldy and East Kilbride!
  • The comments on Muriel's tweet, and the significant follow up blog by Paul Kavanagh, have now become a political football with #SNPbad and rabid nationalism attributes being flung about in relation to the well intentioned actions to reverse the decline in the language due to the linguistic colonialism of English. This is all the more disappointing as it was George Younger, aye him, Thatcher's Secretary of State for Scotland, that was at the head of the queue pushing Gaelic to the forefront as he had a deep affinity to, and what I like described as, the Gaelic Community. (Jen Topping was deceptively close with her assertion that it was The Iron Lady herself that was the promoter of Gaelic back in the early eighties).  Language has no direct political hue.
  • My forebears on three sides were undoubtedly Gaelic speakers (from Rothes, Strathdon and Scalpay, Harris), the late MiL was a downtrodden native speaker and I have a significant past supporting what I liked to jokingly call the Gaelic mafia. My view was simply that the language, and the cultural strings attached, were being trampled on by the Beurla stampede and some significant positive discrimination was needed. 
Finally, the author of our 1981 survey had this to say to the Leveson Enquiry about Gaelic. If you've ever heard Ken speak in depth about Gaelic, his Rayleigh accent knocks you right off your stot! More fun even than that was myself and his loon (nepotism alert!), whilst surveying in Castlebay, entering a local hostelry and abidy hearing our accents (mine is a Heinz 57 mix of mainly Buckinghamshire and a few other RAF airbase twangs coupled with couthy Doric and his; piercing Essex) and the patrons yapping to each other in Gaelic clearly believing we hadn't a scooby what they were saying.  Like I say, I speak a little Gaelic, but wasn't letting on. My cohort, however, despite the foregoing is fluent. He timed the reveal to perfection. Oh and we both have a particularly appropriate first name for that particular island. Mine is the standard English spelling. Unsurprisingly, Ken's loon is the Gaelic version. The jungle drums went feel thereafter........


UPDATE: Auntie and the PnJ have now had their say too.

BTW - Trident renewal is an anachronistic and abhorrent aberration. 

Feel free to spread the joy by joining the SNP today. 

Saor Alba. 

© McNoddy
Published by Toy Town™ Times

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Canteen mythology


There has been a wee bit of a kerfuffle recently over at Twitter in regards to Polis eating habits and canteens.

Ever prescient, I offer you this piece (sic) from 2008. 



BTW - Trident renewal is an anachronistic and abhorrent aberration. 

Feel free to spread the joy by joining the SNP today. 

Saor Alba. 

© McNoddy 
Published by Toy Town™ Times

Thursday, May 07, 2015

Jockalypse

Jim Murphy wisnae best pleased fan he had a wee keek at 'his' Daily Ranger.

BTW - Trident renewal is an anachronistic and abhorrent aberration.

Feel free to spread the joy by joining the SNP today. 

Saor Alba. 

© McNoddy
Published by Toy Town™ Times

Wednesday, May 06, 2015

Election Eve Message from Toy Town™

BTW - Trident renewal is an anachronistic and abhorrent aberration. 

Feel free to spread the joy by joining the SNP today. 

Saor Alba. 



© McNoddy 
 Published by Toy Town™ Times

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Complete Mayhem






















Combining two of my least favourite things gives you this ludicrous apocalyptic vision of the future.

There's democracy for you.

Funnily enough we Scots ain't feeling the love anymore......

You may wish to check out the Twitter hashtag #

BTW - Trident renewal is an anachronistic and abhorrent aberration.

Feel free to spread the joy by joining the SNP today.

Saor Alba.

© McNoddy
Published by Toy Town™ 

Thursday, April 09, 2015

Sea change



I apologise, well no I don't actually, to my usual reader as I am about to get all Political.

I can imagine reader that you have just planted your forehead firmly on your desk schoolgirl stylee as I suggest this, but.....

I have had an enforced 30 years away from open and public politicking and even more so from an open allegiance and membership of the SNP.  I have lot of catching up to do and sooooooooooo much to say.

Stay with me!

There will be plenty musings to follow in the run up to the General Election and next year's Holyrood elections, but a wee tale to start us off.

I live in WAK (or Toyland if you prefer) and this has been a FibDem / Conservative and Unionist marginal for all the time I have known.  Liebour and the SNP have never really had a shout, such that many (including myself) voted tactically to keep the least worst option out. 

Recently in the Euros and Local elections the SNP have made patient and gradual progress into a challenging position, but I am now told it's a two horse race here in #GE2015. Literature delivered by the FibDems and Tories confirm this as so and that it is the FibDems that are the inferred and 'preferred' challenger for those voting tactically. 

Two observations follow on from this:

I voted partly to keep a party out of this constituency/government last time and then the turncoats entered into an unholy alliance - you can call it a coalition if you wish.  I also voted partly for the individual as he was an old classmate at Varsity and thus a decent enough chap you'd have thunk.  My cautionary tale for tactical voters is - you don't always get what you vote for with second choices.  Stay true, whatever your leanings are.  

Secondly, and much more importantly, I was sat aside a gent some maybe 10 years older than me in the local barbers this morn, when I overheard his conversation with the not overly stretched stylist regarding the forthcoming vote.  He was regaling the lassie with what he appeared to suggest was an awakening to him (and may I suggest the nation) that "that Nicola Sturgeon came over really well and she seems to have some good policies." This was clearly a surprise to him and not the statement of a paid up member of the SNP, but the one next to him was fair chuffed, especially when the lassie agreed. 

There is a sea change happening......

BTW - Trident renewal is an anachronistic and abhorrent aberration.

Feel free to spread the joy by joining the SNP today. 

Saor Alba.

© McNoddy 
Published by Toy Town™ Times

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Endex

Dinna fash yersel.  No finished on here, jist being a bobbie.

Busy daen naithin a noo, bit fan I'm ready tae yap, look oot. Nae holds barred ye ken.

© Noddy 
Published by Toy Town™ Times