If Burns lived today would he have voted for Brexit? Prior to the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 many newspaper articles posed the question: “How would Robert Burns have voted?” So as we approach the anniversary of The Bard’s birth I thought it would be a good idea to pose the same question…
The beginning of the end of life as an employee The beginning of the end of my life as an employee. My days of working ‘on the tools’, mainly on trade union, National Agreement sites, were brought to an end following a strike I took part in. The strike was unofficial and we were dismissed…
Published on: Nov 6, 2014 POPPYCOCK? I have never been one for symbols or logos of any sort. However in my younger days I have bought and worn the remembrance poppy without giving it much thought, but recently that has changed and I now am acutely aware of the remembrance poppy and the way it…
Things weren’t quite like the papers said. From an interest in Andrew Carnegie I knew of the Meal Riots of the late 18th century. Knew a little of the aims of the Chartists, which Carnegie’s father and other radical relatives, uncles, Tom Morrison and George Lauder supported. But I knew little about the Dunfermline riots…
1850 Riot Reflections based on my experiences. This post looks at the common perception of Dunfermline and also my view of it based on my life experiences, as enlightened by my research into the 1850 riot, and seeking to draw lessons from both. ANDREW CARNEGIE’S DUNFERMLINE 1835-1848 The general perception of Dunfermline as a town…
Elgin knew the best way to get special ancient features for his Broomhall house was to go to the Ottoman Empire territories and simply take them as was the long established practice. He could do this as a private antiquarian collector, or as an ambassador. In 1798 Elgin knew that because of the defeat of…
Verdict on the Mob and the Magistrates RACE & RELIGION? In looking for reasons why so many leaders of the Dunfermline community had sympathy with the prisoner Alexander Black it is worth noting something the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Hope, identified. He stated: “That the Magistrates & others may have a strong feeling agt…
Thomas the 7th Earl of Elgin’s collection of marbles and other artefacts now scattered around the globe. The specious arguments used as justification for the removal of the Parthenon and other Marbles/relics by Thomas the 7th Earl of Elgin at the beginning of the 19 century have long been discredited. The Earl’s dodgy Firman<sic>, lying…
The Charges, Prisons, Petitions & Clemency THE CHARGES Even a quick scan of the Indictments exposes the myth perpetuated in some press reports of the trial that this was an Irish Navvy riot. It wasn’t. No Irishmen were charged with Mobbing and Rioting. The definition of such a charge is that a group combines…
Referendum reflections Independence was something I was always going to vote for, but I wasn’t fired up by the prospect ; realising that I would probably be backing a loser and the people of Scotland would act out their “canny” stereotype and bottle it. But with 9 days to go the Yes camp took a…
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