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Newsletter for 13th December 2019

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  • Newsletter for 13th December 2019

    For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
    https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm

    Electric Scotland News

    Note that as this newsletter goes out the voting in the UK General Election will be almost over. Some idea of what has happened will be reported at 10:00 pm GMT (5 pm EST) when the polls close and the exit polls will be revealed. It will be around 1.30 am on Friday that the actual results will start to come in. So by the time America gets up we'll have a good idea on what happened. Last I read was that the Conservatives had an 11% lead in the polls and the SNP looked to the main winner in the Scottish Elections although they found that the Conservative party in Scotland looked to be down only 1% from the last election.

    You might want to have a read of the news item... Life in the SNP’s party state... below in our news feed.

    I did a wee video on the UK elections which you can view at:
    http://www.electricscotland.org/show...-December-2019

    Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
    Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as world news stories that can affect Scotland and all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.

    Moat Brae in Dumfries among Time's coolest places to visit
    Moat Brae in Dumfries features among 50 sites around the world worth seeing with children

    Read more at:
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...tland-50671368

    Dissecting a Deception
    Nicola Sturgeon keeps trying to mislead people by repeating a demonstrably false assertion. The truth is that if the SNP's Growth Commission recommendations had been applied to the conditions as they actually were a decade ago, Scotland would have suffered far greater austerity over the last 10 years - and we can prove it

    Read more at:
    http://chokkablog.blogspot.com/2019/...deception.html

    Life in the SNP’s party state
    By Jill Stephenson in Think Scotland

    Read more at:
    http://www.thinkscotland.org/todays-...ead_full=14037

    It’s time to look again at the BBC licence fee
    The license fee model worked in 1946 - but it is now outdated and should be overhauled

    Read more at:
    https://capx.co/its-time-to-look-aga...c-license-fee/

    The faster we quit the protectionist EU racket the better
    Consumers in the EU pay an effective tax of 17% on food due to the customs union

    Read more at:
    https://capx.co/the-faster-we-quit-t...ket-the-better

    Electric Canadian

    Early Life in Canada
    By J. W. Chafe assisted by Sybil Shack (1943) (pdf). A very interesting book on how school pupils started to research their local history.

    You can read this at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...LifeCanada.pdf

    The Coleman Journal and Crow's Nest Pass Advertiser
    Published in the Premier Coat Mining Centre of the Crows Nest Pass. A Weekly record of Interesting Community News read by Young and Old Thursday, July 27, 1939 (pdf).

    You can read a sample copy at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/magazines/coleman.pdf

    Another 96 copies can be read on the Internet Archive at:
    https://archive.org/search.php?query...s%20advertiser

    Canadian women in workshops, mills and factories
    The evidence of the 1871 census manuscripts (pdf)

    You can read this at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...adianwomen.pdf

    Ukrainian Canadian University
    Added a link to them on our Ukraine History page which goes to:
    https://www.ualberta.ca/canadian-ins...ainian-studies

    The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Collection
    You can read this content on the Internet Archive at:
    https://archive.org/details/ualberta_ukrainian_studies

    Electric Scotland

    Home Preacher
    Added Service 19 by Dr.
    Macduff which you can read at:
    https://electricscotland.com/bible/h...her/week19.htm

    Notes on the early history of the Brig of Balgowny
    And illustrative of the position and legal aspect of the fund conveyed by Sir William Hay of Whytburgh and Newton for its repair and maintenance known as the Bridge of Don Fund compiled by William Paul (1876) (pdf)

    You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history...lyhistpaul.pdf

    An Historical Enquiry respecting the Performance on the Harp
    In the Highlands of Scotland from the earliest times until it was discontinued about the year 1734. To which is prefixed an account of a very ancient Caledonian Harp and of the Harp of Queen Mary, illustrated by three elegant engravings drawn up by desire of the Highland Society of Scotland and Published under its patronage by John Gunn, F. A. S. E., author of a treatise on the origin and improvement of stringed instruments (1807) (pdf)

    You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/music/celticharp.pdf

    Loyalties of Scots were divided in America’s revolution
    You can rea this article at:
    https://www.thenational.scot/news/14...as-revolution/

    Scotland and the American Revolution
    A video of a talk given by Scottish historian Andrew Mackillop

    You can watch this at:
    https://www.c-span.org/video/?464977...can-revolution

    Thatching with Heather: Traditional Skills in Scotland
    Excellent video from Historic Environment Scotland which you can watch at:
    http://www.electricscotland.org/show...ls-in-Scotland

    Scottish Society of Indianapolis
    Got in their end of year newsletter - November 2019 which you can read at:
    https://electricscotland.com/familyt...ssinov2019.pdf

    Clan Buchanan
    Got in a copy of the Clan Buchanan Banner newsletter for December 2019 which you can read at:
    https://electricscotland.com/familyt...anan/index.htm

    Orkney’s Energy Revolution: Leading The Way To A Low Carbon Future
    [Virtual Island Summit] A video presentation.

    I found this to be an interesting presentation and it can be watched at:
    http://www.electricscotland.org/show...-Island-Summit

    David Burns & Co by Stan Bruce. Another book in the series, The Shipbuilders of Aberdeen
    You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history...idBurns&Co.pdf

    You can read other books in this series and read and listen to some of his poems at:
    https://electricscotland.com/history...ipbuilding.htm

    Edinburgh Sketches and Miscellanies (1884) (pdf)
    You can read these stories at: https://electricscotland.com/books/p...ghsketches.pdf

    The Story

    I've always been a touch concerned about the situation with England should Scotland win Independence and I noted this comment which I feel is relevant and should be taken into consideration in any vote for Independence. Of course we won't know until it happens but if you just look at what Brexit has already done to the UK and Scotland with a 40 year relationship how much worse could it be to negotiate a settlement with Scotland after 300 years? I lived and worked in England for 5 years being based in Coventry and Birmingham but travelled over all of England and Wales. The only time I experienced any discussion on Scotland versus England was when there was an England v Scotland football or rugby game on.

    Dissecting a Deception
    http://chokkablog.blogspot.com/2019/...deception.html

    "my upper end prediction is that 20% will be wiped off her current GDP by end of year 3 - which would be cataclysmic and take decades to recover from. I almost want to see this happening"

    From the perspective of an Anglo-Scot who has moved from Aberdeen to central southern England and who has seen the impact of austerity down here, I can understand this sentiment and have sympathy with it. My suspicion is that there is an implicit belief among many Scots that if everything goes wrong after independence then the English will be around to save the day. After all, they helped bail out Irish banks didn't they? (and noticed how little thanks they received from Dublin).

    It is already apparent to me from personal contact that there is a steadily growing and almost total indifference among ordinary English people to Scotland's fate, a feeling that the Scots have done significantly better from the Union than they have in recent decades and yet constantly complain how hard done by they are by 'Engerland'. Nicola Sturgeon is loathed by all I know down here and there is a growing realisation of the underlying Anglophobia in so many SNP pronouncements and actions.

    Breaking the union through independence will cause huge resentment 'down south' ('why do they hate us so much?'), and there will be concern that creating a new economic basket case across the border will lead to an influx of unwanted Scots emigrants seeking jobs. I predict that there will be no sympathy or friendly sentiment for Scotland among those without family contacts there and they will soon be seen as just another (and not very friendly) European country. Many English people will simply not care if a hard border is created, if there are movement restrictions on Scots, or if Scottish imports are reduced, as the affectionate feeling towards the Jocks that has existed for decades is rapidly being washed away.

    The nationalists continue to delude themselves that the rest if the UK will pay their pensions, depend on their economy being propped up by oil (and that bubble is already burst), will share or use their pound sterling without problems, will flock to their universities, build their warships there, etc. No, Trident will move south (Falmouth?), high speed rail links will cease at Manchester, ships will be built at Birkenhead and Portsmouth again, renewable energy and nuclear power will replace oil, fiscal transfers will disappear, the financial industry will head to London and the Scots economy will find itself mired in debt, huge economic strains and a worthless currency. Those Scots who can afford to will relocate to Cumbria and Northunberland.

    But there would be one great benefit:

    Scotland will have achieved Freedom at last and can blame all its new problems on the wicked historical exploitation of the English colonial power. That should generate enough heat and energy until the EU and IMF decide to bail them out to avoid a humanitarian crisis. Somehow, I don't see London making any great effort to assist. If Scotland remakes its bed then it should be prepared to lie in it without expecting the English to do the laundry afterwards.

    6 December 2019 at 10:10

    And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.

    Alastair
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