Sunday 4 May 2014

IT'S ALL IN A NAME...

Much has been written about Vote No Borders by better writers than I, but Munguin noticed (strange little animal) that once again the No campaign has managed to pick a name that lends itself to a titter.

OK, some would say that it is a tad childish to laugh at the names, because they are either rather silly or can be made to sound smutty. And I agree.

But you have to wonder at the people who invent these names, that they haven't seen the potential for ridicule in them. What happens at the committee stage when they are deciding on the launch? Does anyone look critically at the name as see if it can be used to ridicule the campaign? Are they naive maiden aunt types from the 1950s, or well ...what?

I recall that at one point they set up "Blether Together" (whatever happened to that?). It's objective was to get teams of people to chat on the phone about why we were better together, although frankly I'd have thought that repeating the word "clout" over and over would become tedious after a while.

But did no one think that, at least in certain parts of Scotland, the word "blether" translates into English as something somewhere between 'silly talk' and downright 'rubbish talk'. It never indicates a serious discussion. You never hear of people having a "blether" about quantum physics!

My grandmother used to say that she had met Mrs McDonald  for a "wee blether" when out "daein the messages". She was saying that she had stopped for an inconsequential chat about nothing very much...."pas grand-chose de n'importe quoi" as the French would say. 

Or, when we were kids giving her some excuse about how we had torn something or got filthy or wet... (without telling her we'd been scrumping for apples or wading through the burn), she used to say "Ach awa ye bletherin' wee skite". In short she knew we were making it up... and we were "belthering".

it's an unfortunate choice of words for a serious political campaign about something that will change your lives.

Then they decided that the UK was OK. 

Now that was unfortunate, even at the most innocent of level, because most of us would probably like to live somewhere that was better than just OK.

But the minute that they printed the name out all we could see was "U KOK".

Unfortunate, no?

Now we have No Borders. This so-called grassroots campaign of ordinary, everyday Scottish people, erm based in London and run by a millionaire Tory backer. Still, I suppose he's an ordinary everyday Tory grassroots English millionaire. The website of the second partner actually boasts to have worked on "country branding" for England!

So again, unfortunate on its own. 

I mean if you are going to pretend to be grassroots, would it not be better (and cheaper) to register your address in Scotland and to employ someone whose name isn't immediately associated with the rich and powerful in London?

But to add insult to injury, the name so easily contacts to NoB... that it is an invitation to treat. Tory nobs (short for "nobles" I imagine), are as popular in Scotland as frostbite!

OK...I can hear Niko telling Munguin that he is being childish, sniggering at this... but aren't there a lot of other people who are using it to poke fun?

And isn't that something that people who start organisations like this should have thought about and taken steps to avoid?
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17 comments:

  1. Apparently Mr Michael Offord (n think that is the name) hails from Scotland and does contribute to charity here regardless he is a phenomenon a Scots Tory millionaire. He has had much to do with the Tory Party and therefore a bit out of touch with his countrymen and women that he has no idea what a grass roots organisation looks like.

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    1. Scots Tory???

      Endangered species.

      I haven't a scoobie what this thing is all about. It just seems really weird. Needless to say the BBC was all over it like a rash.

      So it must be bad.

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  2. When I saw that No Borders had a website and you were allowed to comment I though great, as I do, I'll be able to get some in depth questions answered at last. I mean we all have some deep searching questions about U KOK right?

    1) What type of grass is being used in the grass roots campaign, are we talking blue grass or rye grass or what?

    2) Have they been in contact with the aliens about where the Borders will be re-sited?

    3) As a result of no answers being forth coming about the type of grass then surely the grass roots campaign should be re-named the tree roots campaign?

    What I found really funny was that only after 24 hours all these questions as well as others were removed. Why on earth would a true BLUE believing U KOK supporting website remove such questions?

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    1. Now that's a good question...

      Do you have any suggestions yourself, because I'm stumped.. tree stumped even...

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    2. The other man's grass roots are always greener?

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    3. Funnily enough Tris there was someone, NOT from the U KOK supporting No Borders, who suggested that the grass was always greener on the other side of the border but I'm still at a loss I'm afraid as to what type of grass is being used in this grass roots *ahem* movement.

      Personally I still think it should be re-named a tree roots movement. Obviously seeing where it is based the tree in question would be an Old English Oak tree. LOL

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    4. I think it should probably be chopped down and make into firewood for the poor to burn in winter...

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    5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA93sPlY6-8

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  3. Why Scotland must escape 'Westminster's dinosaur'

    Malcolm Campbell has worked on the River Tweed, fishing for salmon, for the past 30 years. He tells Channel 4 News why Scots need to make the leap of faith and vote for an independent Scotland.

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    1. I'm not sure why the guy thinks we would have problems if we didn;t have the pound.

      I mean how does he think countries like Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Iceland manage with their various krona?

      Additionally, the € crisis is over. It would have been naive to imagine that there wouldn't be problems, especially given the way entry was fudged to let countries like Greece in when their economies were in no way compliant.

      However, the test of the economic collapse of the western world (or most of it) has made them strengthen it. I doubt the same thing will happen again. But maybe that's wishful thinking. In a few years I suspect that we might want to join the euro... if that's what the people want.

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  4. It's beyond me how the UKOKs keep making an arse of everything they do. Is it as simple as hubris and arrogance? It wasn't even two hours from their launch before poor old Vote No Borders was known as Nob Orders. Then someone grabbed the .com domain and used it to direct Nob readers to Wings. The nobs themselves allowed comments to stay on their wacky site for a day before removing them. Most worryingly for them, the funniest comments were from their own supporters: one wanted them to remove the border between Slovakia and somewhere else because it looked ugly on a map; another mentioned chaffinches; and another didn't want to have to apply for a visa to live in France. Forget the chaffinches, I'm hearing cuckoos!

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    1. I'm a bit worried about the chaffinches myself.

      I found one in my garden the other day... fine looking little fellow, but obviously looking a bit concerned, because he had a great aunt in Carlisle and he was wondering how on earth he was going to get there without a passport.

      He'd clearly forgotten that he was a bid and could fly over their borders...

      OK, so now I sound mad... but hey, we''re talking about nut cases here...

      If they want no borders anywhere, are the Conservatives and Labour not a bit worried that they will try to force us into the Schengen agreement?

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  5. And I forgot to mention Tory Rory's hands across the border.co.uk extravaganza which is begging for people to sign up. I believe the sort of people who send empty envelopes to UKIP's Freeport address are signing up the likes of Vladimir Putin and Waynetta Duncan-Smith to Rory's jaunt using Nob Orders' consultants' email - info@acanchi.com Isn't that terrible? If Margarets Thatcher or Curran knew, they would be appalled.

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    1. They are probably foreigners that are doing that!

      Terrible... shouldn't be allowed.

      I wonder how many people are going to do it... If I remember aright it's across Hadrian's wall which isn't actually border...

      May as well do it up Kirkcaldy High Street...

      Ejits!

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  6. I was at school with that Rory kid. He was in the public speaking and debate society.

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