This week is a fairly momentous one for Scotland. I saw this morning the videos and pictures on social media of the light show on the Queensferry Crossing to mark the hand over in ownership of the bridge. I give not a toss for the ‘official’ opening by Her Majesty. This was the true celebration of the completion of the bridge. The men and women, in their work gear, handing over what had been their baby for 6 years. The people who braved all the elements of weather the Forth estuary has to offer to produce a unique design in engineering. What brought a tear to my eye was the young apprentice who said that his great grandad worked on the rail bridge, his grandad worked on the road bridge and now he had worked on the Queensferry Crossing. Some history for one family.
There has been much negative hype about this bridge. Estimated targets being delayed, blaming weather, the sad death of one of the workers. Do the people making the negative comments ever get out of their stale little rooms and away from their digital devices? The nature of our firths and the ridges of mountains do cause extreme weather conditions at the drop of a hat. We have observed the construction of this bridge from the road and a couple of times from the air. These people are heroes. I certainly would not be out working in the conditions they have. We have also been witnessing the dualling of the A9 and the building of the south and west parts of the Aberdeen periphery route. Massive engineering going on throughout the country to ensure that we can move more easily to visit family and friends that we have had to move away from for work. As, quite rightly, the Scottish Government has been encouraging employment to move North, it means our infrastructure cannot cope. We look forward to the many projects on the go being completed. We also hope that people in other areas waiting for road improvements will get their turn. For some of us there is no alternative as once the railways were shut by Beeching, the rail lines were built on or turned into walking routes/cycle paths. The Government could rebuild the railways I suppose but I am also guessing there would be an outcry at that cost as well.
And on to the other story this week. The Brexit talks……………….or not. The European negotiating team are getting rather impatient with the UK team. It’s all getting rather tedious. One has to remind oneself that this farcical nonsense is actually rather important to us all. Even the most ordinary of us understand that if there is a divorce then the assets have to be looked at and a divvy agreed on. With our UK negotiators it is all too obvious that they do not play by our game. They still have this archaic Empire style of thinking that if they just keep saying no and turning their backs that the other side will back down. How many times in history have we read witness to Great Britain deciding to leave Countries they invaded and just walk out and leave total chaos behind. Do they really think the other Countries in the European Union are eventually going to say ‘okay UK, off you go Scot free (if only!) and we’ll pick up the bill for everything’?
Take a look at England, still struggling with issues that we in Scotland have addressed (maybe not totally resolved, but dealing with). They have a habit of ignoring what is happening to their people as long as their privileged way of life carries on un-interrupted. We in Scotland are moving forward, making moves to improve the lives of our people. It really is time that we left these dinosaurs behind and continue our journey to a better country.
What can one write but just agreement with these sentiments. The Queensferry Crossing is a magnificent achievement of world class in the Scottish tradition.
I move in international circles, and what eats me up is the manner in which Scotland has effectively been written out of the main descriptions of the bridge and the opening ceremony that have been circulated, and its location is invariably given as The United Kingdom. It is presented as a UK achievement and the Scottish Government might as well not exist.
The Firth of Forth has been anglicised as the Forth Estuary. Even Google has evidently been got at. Taken together with much else that has been happening since 2014, it is evident that the ongoing campaign to emasculate Scotland’s identity in the world has been stepped up since the May government took control in London, in addition to confiscating ancient Scottish powers that had previously been handed over to the EU. They are not going to get off with it.
hear hear. No other comment necessary.
Another brilliant blog by Margaret Hamilton highlighting sickening levels of humiliation that May-hem’s Wastemonster Tories dish out on a daily basis.
This is epitomised by a dearth of the Saltire which should be flying proudly throughout Scotland. Iain Ramsay’s revelation of this scandal in his letter to The National on Saturday, 26th August had my eyes popping out like chapel hat pegs!
Seems the coverage of the bridge in the mainstream media is causing anger among many Scots. Wonder what the reactions will be like once the pomp and ceremony bit is over? Mind you, lot’s of ordinary Scots are participating so maybe that will help water down the pomp bit.