BY EFFIE DEANS In recent weeks we have seen the power of the sovereign nation state deal with a crisis in a way that has not been seen since 1945. The British Government has been able to spend almost without limit to keep our people safe. It has taken other extraordinary measures to keep us in our homes and to keep essential services running. Other … Continue reading Rebound of the Nation State
BY EFFIE DEANS I think I saw the Killing Fields (1984) when it came out, but I really don’t remember. I may have seen it on video afterwards. It’s a film about the Cambodian genocide that took place between 1975 and 1979. I don’t remember the details of the film, but I remember the ending. John Lennon’s Imagine plays over the final scenes and the … Continue reading Imagine
BY EFFIE DEANS The problem with Scottish politics is that we have a devolved parliament that is uninterested in devolution. Scottish politicians of all political parties pretend to be interested in those areas of life that the Scottish Parliament actually controls, but campaign primarily on issues that we don’t control. The same goes for supporters. What areas are controlled by the Scottish Government. Well here … Continue reading The SNP Whelk Stall
BY EFFIE DEANS I don’t think many people in Britain had heard of Wuhan or Hubei province before the present outbreak of Covid-19 (Coronavirus). The fifty largest Chinese cities each has a population greater than two million, yet few of us could name more than two or three. Chongqing, for example, was first settled in 316 BC and has a population of 30 million, but … Continue reading Little Bottle
BY EFFIE DEANS There is a view I like on the west coast of Scotland which takes in the islands of Raasay and Rona, behind them Skye with its Cuillins and in the far distance the Outer Hebrides. It is perhaps the best view in Europe if you can find an evening in June with the sun about to set and fine weather. Scotland is the … Continue reading An English Appreciation Society
BY EFFIE DEANS I haven’t been back to Cambridge for many years. I doubt now that I ever will. There is a tension there like a runner just before a race. It never quite relaxes. It builds up and builds up until after a few years you let out a gasp and realise you haven’t quite been breathing properly for almost as long as you … Continue reading Club 18-22
BY EFFIE DEANS There’s a long street in Aberdeen called Union Street, but the name has nothing to do with England and Scotland. It was named after the Act of Union between the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland in 1800. The Conservative Party is officially the Conservative and Unionist Party. But the Unionist bit is due to the merger in 1912 … Continue reading Union Beware
BY EFFIE DEANS In Moscow Lavrentiy Beria, Head of the NKVD, used to cruise around in his limousine looking for cute girls. When he found what he was looking for he would point her out and have her brought to his dacha. There would be wine and food and afterwards he would sleep with her. On departure the girl would be given a bouquet – … Continue reading Scotland Becoming Russia
BY EFFIE DEANS I was sleeping when we left the EU. It is a matter of complete indifference to me if a fifty pence coin turns up in my change marking the event. If something about being European trends on Twitter I feel slightly amused that some people might think that such things matter. Symbolism doesn’t matter. Reality matters. It’s already clear that nothing bad … Continue reading The Dwindling Sect of Rejoin
