He has a great way with words and a sharp political insight. He has a rather good article published today about this week’s announcements on the referendum by Alex Salmond.

McWhirter like all journalists though sometimes fails with the crystal ball gazing. His take on the Eurozone financial crisis for instance proved to be somewhat less prescient than may have appeared at the time it was all fermenting in 2009/10.

This quote in today’s article may come back to haunt him:

“They had also expected a second “fall back” question on devolution max so that Salmond could have his cake and eat it. In the event, there was neither. The spin was that there was no spin, just Salmond’s 10 little words: “Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?”

Eck strikes me as a man who eats up any cake he can.

Voraciously.

And if there were ever a politician to spin better than any man with some poles and plates it is he. He is the very personification of a peerie (it’s a Scots word for a spinning top which may be derived from the similarity in shape of the object to a pear)

McWhirter is right in the main thrust of his article though. Salmond has left Cameron et al at the starting line. His (Cameron’s) response to Scots Tory MP (for Epping Forest) Eleanor Laing, demonstrated the level of his misunderstanding of the Scots cadence and pronunciation.

David, it is pronounced bree-stie to rhyme with beas-tie.

And if you haven’t already properly checked the meaning of ‘sleekit’, I’d recommend you do it post haste.

Oh aye, and if I were you I’d stick auld Michael Forsyth back in the box he’s been in for the last twenty years. Like he is going to advance the unionists’ case eh?

One more reason to dislike Stephen Hester.

To be fair he precedes that word with “on the surface at least, they appear”

He also says Scotland (not the SNP) is “slick and professional”.

There is no denying that Eck’s performance at Edinburgh Castle was indeed slick and professional. He announced the question “Do you think Scotland should be an independent country?”. The sub text was that depending on how this question is received by the public then there will be another question asking something along the lines of “All right then, if you’re not convinced by that, how about Devo Max?”.

As a humble voter, and whilst I acknowledge that the SNP are the full length of the M74 ahead of the opposition in the PR front, I wonder in what other respects they are “unbeatable”? Most of the people I speak to on the subject are against independence, even those who voted SNP last time, although to be fair many of them work directly for HM Government. As for Devo max, we still don’t know what that is. There will have to be draft legislation in place to study, otherwise the words pig and poke come to mind.

Having thought about it, I remain unconvinced either way or each of three ways if you like.

There are too many unknowns at this stage.

Let the debate continue.

Yes, tastless, blingy type garments for wee lassies whose parents should know better.

But let me tell you that I received an email this morning advertising the said product and many more similar ones in the range. For those who don’t know me and may not already have twigged, I own a pet shop.

These dresses are for wee bitches!

It can’t be long now until the apocalypse.

I suspect this clip has already gone ‘viral’!

Rabbie’s 253rd birthday.

This week a survey was done in Scotland to find out peoples’ favourite Burns work. Whilst the most popular answer was “don’t know”, just behind that with 25% was Tam o Shanter.

It is a masterpiece, which you can read in full along with its English translation HERE

What about this for imagery?

But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white–then melts for ever;
Or like the borealis race,
That flit ere you can point their place;
Or like the rainbow’s lovely form
Evanishing amid the storm.–
Nae man can tether time or tide;
The hour approaches Tam maun ride;
That hour, o’ night’s black arch the key-stane,
That dreary hour he mounts his beast in;
And sic a night he taks the road in
As ne’er poor sinner was abroad in.

(Thanks Toronto Tam)

If he had written
Haikus we would drink far less
Whisky on Burns Night