Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Possibilities Are Endless

Last week I voted with heavy heart.


Heavy because I was under the impression that most people would do the whole "I vote this party because I've always voted them/my father voted for them/I'm deluded into believing they stand for the 'working class'" gig.


But no.


Not only was Black Bitch* Alec Salmond returned as First Minister but this time with a majority that shows perhaps people have actually thought about their vote. 


And now the opposition leaders topple, showing a complete lack of backbone and belief in their own party.  The only one I'm sorry to see go is Tory Annabel Goldie.  She was the only one to offer debate with Salmond beyond the petty, childish, playground insults of Labour and the Lib Dems.


I feel a new found respect for my countrymen/women.  Independence may still happen in my lifetime and that is a good thing!


*No I'm not being incredibly racist - here is the story...



Linlithgow's coat of arms features a black bitch dog against an oak tree, and townsfolk are known as "black bitches". In his account of a 1677 tour of Scotland, a Thomas Kirk described the arms of the town as "a black bitch tied to a tree, in a floating island. We enquired for a story about it, but could meet with none: their schoolmaster told us it proceeded from the name of the place. Linlithgow, in Erst, is thus explained: Lin signifies Lough; Lith, black; and Gow, a hound." 
A more recently recorded legend holds that this was a black greyhound whose master was sentenced to starve to death on an island in Linlithgow loch. She used to swim from the town every day with food for him, and managed to save his life. The townspeople took the symbol of the dog's loyalty and bravery as their own. The local pub named "The Black Bitch" is reputed to be one of Scotland's oldest pubs.
FYI I was told when I moved here that you can only be a Black Bitch if you are born in the town.  Not at the nearby hospital but in the town.  Must be the only place on Earth where being called such a thing is a badge of honour!

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