More details of the 'celebrations' for the centenary of the start of the imperial war to end all imperial wars have been announced.
Glasgow will play host to Her Majesty the Queen at a church service of commemoration, the week after the end of the Commonwealth Games.
I don't care what your views on Scottish independence are, no one, but no one celebrates the centenary of the start of a war. Not even a little war, never mind a bloody great huge totally unnecessary war.
And if you can't find a better or a more decent way to spike any feeling of Scottishness that might come from a few weeks of Scotland competing in Games as "Scotland", only a month or so before the referendum, then shame on you, Cameron. To try to take some advantage from the numbers of Scotsmen that died for the Empire, well over 100,000 of them, is beneath any person with ordinary decent morals.
Celebrate, by all means, the end of the war in 2018. Celebrate the end of the hideous carnage of ordinary lion-like men, who were, you will remember, led by donkeys.
Ahhh..but that would be too late for your purpose, wouldn't it?
What a horrible little man Cameron is.
There is a good piece over at Rod McFarlane's place on this. It culminates in this poem which Rod wrote. It really is worth reading. He once told me I could use any of his stuff on this blog and I do so now with thanks.
Dancing on the Graves of the Dead
We can have a Celebration Cameron said
Breaking out all these Union Jacks
Flying that tattered torn empire battle flag
We can have a Celebration Cameron said
Breaking out all these Union Jacks
Flying that tattered torn empire battle flag
A Cross between a Diamond Jubilee
and the Olympic Celebrations they agreed
The main even in Scotland
The day after the Commonwealth Games
6 weeks before the referendum
They will Celebrate the Dead and the Maimed
and the Olympic Celebrations they agreed
The main even in Scotland
The day after the Commonwealth Games
6 weeks before the referendum
They will Celebrate the Dead and the Maimed
An Appeal to British Patriotism is the plan
Wave those little flags about, every woman child and man
Celebrating the worst war in mankind’s history
When we should be mourning them instead
Where They used them once as fodder
they are still using them when they're Dead!
Wave those little flags about, every woman child and man
Celebrating the worst war in mankind’s history
When we should be mourning them instead
Where They used them once as fodder
they are still using them when they're Dead!
Her Majesty and Heads of State will kick the whole thing off
When She deigns to come to Glasgow with her dogs
There is the “Spectacular” and the “Theatrical”
These Shows will keep you all enthralled
Come on line the streets in Britishness when you’re called.
When She deigns to come to Glasgow with her dogs
There is the “Spectacular” and the “Theatrical”
These Shows will keep you all enthralled
Come on line the streets in Britishness when you’re called.
Rod Macfarlane
I wonder who among unionists will ever (if ever) bring up the anniversary of Bannockburn again?
ReplyDeleteStrangely enough, Scotland's press corp haven't reported any criticism of Cameron's choice of timing...
I can't imagine why...
How weird, Pa. Perhaps it escaped their notice?
DeleteStill I expect Bannockburn could be forgotten now as a stick to beat us with. After all it would be really stupid to ....
Ah yeah, I nearly forgot. We are talking Iain Davidson here.
It's actually like they thought that they would "see your Bannockburn and raise you the First World War! How do you like them onions!?!"
The thing is, of course, no one here ever talks about Bannockburn at all, and probably 60% of people wouldn't know what it was.
I thought it was a cake until I was otherwise informed...
ReplyDelete;-)
Boom boom!
DeleteQuestion:
ReplyDeleteHow do you drive the people of Scotland towards INDEPENDENCE without really trying?
Answer:
You arrange to have "her nibs" visit Glasgow and "celebrate" the START of WWI a week after Glasgow Commonwealth games. SIMPLES!
Well Arbroath, let's hope it backfires.
DeleteThey can't tell us WHAT is so great about their union or how we will be better together, except for all the usual nonsense about embassies, bombs and self importance, so what they do is give us the Queen (who happens to be quite independently our queen too) and British soldiers (god don't they love hiding behind the khaki; very far behind of course) and make us celebrate the fact that we lost 100,000 of our men fighting for an empire whose days were done.
I've always thought that the right way to go to war was as they used to ...with the king at the head of the troops...out there on the battlefield.
There would be an awful lot less fighting if the likes of Blair, Bush and Cameron were actually out their risking THEIR lives... But hey that's a different song.
Nasty unpleasant low life of a British government. Always was, always will be. Damn them all.
It’s so obviously and transparently a way of encouraging wavering Scots to wave the red, white and blue and go all gushy eyed at the thought of Queen and country and forget to vote for their own best interests by ditching all that garbage.
ReplyDeleteThe first world war was the mother and father of all unnecessary wars in which the pointless carnage was simply horrific. But no doubt at that time the UK was probably one of the top two military spenders and not fourth as now. And it was all to keep the toffs that ran the country propping up a creaking empire. In fact exactly what we want independence to avoid: pointless deaths in illegal wars, to prop up the great and good and give England a false sense of greatness it does not deserve; spending all the countries wealth (in this case Scotland’s) on keeping up with the jones in terms of nuclear weapons, G8s, Security Councils and the PM getting to feel equal to Kings and Presidents of big countries instead of spending our wealth improving our record low life expectancy, child poverty rates and giving a decent life to the sick and vulnerable instead treating them with heartless cruelty.
I don’t hope that David Cameron dies suddenly; I hope he has a stroke that renders him a dribbling wreck for the rest of a long and lingering life.
It's a cheap nasty cynical trick, as you say, Munguin.
ReplyDeleteYou celebrate the end of carnage; not the beginning.
I think it's obvious the 'tactics' are London driven.
ReplyDeleteAnyone with an inkling of the Scottish character wouldn't do this. We hate folk trying to tske the pish.
I see the stamp of the Eton Boy all over this Jutie.
DeleteWe just have to suck it up. He can use our city for his odious prank; he can even make the Queen attend.
He will just lose even more respect from right thinking people who won't want to see men's deaths used to secure a victory for David cameron.
Hopefully it will backfire on him.
tris and the other malcontents
ReplyDeleteLook we all Unionists as well know the reason for
the centenary of the start of a war. Is just political
propaganda some of us believe it is an insult to
those who fought and died.
the ending of the war is time to honor the fallen
who gave there lives so we could choose to be free.
British Patriotism??? oh I dunno just consider
how many of those wounded and injured returning
in 1914/18.If they were met by Camerons lot they would all fail
there ATOS assessments. And be branded
lazy scrounging skivers.
For not dying for the 'fatherland', rule Britannia.
DeleteAye Niko. That sums it up.
DeleteUnionists too will see just how low life this is. Maybe even some of his faithful 200 who turned up a their turgid little get together will think it a good idea. Hopefully the rest of us will be appalled at the brazen opportunism.
I wonder what iain Davidson makes of it...
That second part is true too. There were guys among those who DID come back, who were never right again.
Even then they branded some of them as cowards. Branded a coward by a ruling clique of people who, if they made it to France, rarely made it out of the local chateau and its excellent cellar.
Let's hear it loud and clear now Cynical
DeleteRule Britannia,
Britannia rules loads
As long as Obama
Gives Dave the codes
Just a wee thought here Tris but I wonder if all this "celebrating" that Cameron is concocting for next year will include as its CENTRAL theme the "celebration" of the central fact about WWI which is that the war was fought out to appease three cousins, King of Germany, King of Britain and Tsar of Russia, ALL grandchildren of Queen Victoria!
ReplyDeleteNo Arbroath. That will never be mentioned.
DeleteThe celebrations will be for the fact that we could only take part in this because we were part of the UK. And together we stood shoulder to shoulder to fight for the king and the Empire against erm, well against other kings, but that's not important.
The fewer facts that are known about the great War, the better. Of course Cameron didn't even know anything about the last war, so how the little spiv would know anything about the 14-18 one, heaven only knows.
I hope someone puts the worm on the spot about it.
I hope so too but don't expect ANY of the MSM or BBC to be the one's that put him on the spot they'll all be too busy tugging their pathetic little forelocks and mumbling "yes sir, no sir three bags full sir"!
DeleteWell, although I agree with you, I still hope that somewhere there will be someone, one journalist with enough guts to ask why.
DeleteWhat a ghastly and grotesque idea to even think of commemorating the beginning of the carnage that left millions dead. As Munquin said it is so bloody transparent that it will leave most sensible people livid that this waste of lives and the futility of war is being politicised.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Queenie coming to wave condescendingly at the peasants in August when the war started in July? Surely they are not going to have parades and flag-waving for a fortnight or longer?
Is her speech, written by Cameron and co, going to say "Feck's sake, it was just a family squabble and my forebears were blood-thirsty bastards as long as it was not their blood being spilt"?
No doubt the media will be focusing on asking the question "Why the start and not the finish"?
Hard to imagine, if it weren't happening, John.
DeleteIt's another one of these scenarios where in a political drama, the script writers would reject the idea as being too far fetched.
It would fit in nicely to "The Thick of It", but nowhere else.
In answer to your question about the timing, two possible answers. HM will already be in Scotland in August for her holidays. It will save her a journey. And, July is too far back in the calendar. The place will be a mass of saltires for the games. The August dose of red white and blue bleach is designed to cleanse the place in preparation for the referendum.
I think that on this occasion she will be silent. The less said about the reasons for all these common people's deaths, the better, don't you think?
Perhaps we should all write to Downing Street and ask His Etonness why they have decided to mark the beginning of this horrific carnage... What do you think?
DeleteI've e-mailed Mr Moore the Scottish Secretary to ask why they are upsetting my old mum who lost her dad whilst still a baby in 1918 and why they are commemorating the beginning of the senseless slaughter?
ReplyDeleteGood one, John.
DeleteI'll be interested to hear Mr moore's explanation.
I had missed your post earlier Tris.....Of course you are as always more than welcome to use anything of mine....We are after all, all on the same side ;)
ReplyDeleteI remember you telling me that from way back Rod, so I took advantage of it...for a touching poem. :)
Delete