Monday 31 July 2006

The taxing classes

Last Friday one of my sisters visited Edinburgh with a friend. Together with Mrs F&W we took a trip round the city with Mactours. As we were able to hop on and off, we passed across George Street on two separate occasions. The different guides both drew our attention to the statue of William Pitt and made suitably sarcastic remarks about his "temporary" introduction of income tax.

When passing the Scottish parliament building we got another burst of anti-politician commentary. The multinational tourists on both buses clearly appreciated the guides' lack of appreciation of the governing classes.

I did have one quibble though. We drove past the former Royal High School building, which everyone had expected to be the location of the Scottish parliament following the 1997 referendum. The guide told us that "our parliamentarians" had rejected that site in favour of constructing the present building at Holyrood. Well, sort of. The decision to reject the RHS building wasn't made by MSPs - none of them had been elected at the time! Holyrood was given the go ahead by the British cabinet in London. Everyone I know thought that the modest RHS building would be used as planned.

1 comment:

David Farrer said...

Comments made on previous template:

Godwinson
No no. Not that one! I mean Sawn Cannery, him of the loud skirt and hairy knees, hero of the Mc Nonresidents and star of screen and SNP. 
And not that Cumberland, I mean the cuddly little sausage who lead the major scotch contingent at Culloden. What a bonny wee soldier boy. I can just picture him having at it to the skirl o' the pipes! Ay! There was muckle haggis and whasky that night, as Burns would have said, in the absence of an interpreter.

1 August 2006, 11:49:40 GMT+01:00
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David Farrer
Rob Roy: a tourist attraction in the Trossachs 
 
Tam O'Shanter: a pub in Ayr (nice barmaids) 
 
Cumberland: a southern suburb of Scotland 
 
"Canary": for birds, see the second remark 
 
"Mel" Gibson: isn't he now in custody? 
 
Donald Dewar: Yep, that's the one!

31 July 2006, 15:40:03 GMT+01:00
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Godwinson
"Holyrood was given the go ahead by the British cabinet in London". 
 
... and more specifically by the so-called 'Father of the Nation' 
 
As an Englishman, I do not claim to know who the father of the nation was, (suggestions; Rob Roy, Tam O'Shanter, Cumberland, Wee Seen Canary, Mel Gibson?) 
The Westminster cabinet you mention was however personified by Donald Dewar, the gaunt Trot, Scotch of Scotch, and as sad a leak as ever dribbled from a sour burn.

31 July 2006, 14:45:19 GMT+01:00
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Bill (Scotland)
... and more specifically by the so-called 'Father of the Nation' who pushed this whole vanity project through when the RHS would have been much more appropriate if we had to have this extra tier of government at all.

31 July 2006, 12:03:13 GMT+01:00