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...good tae be back...

...readers can expect a bittae mair action on this Blog...these are interesting times as they say...

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The Way the World Is Run

One of the striking features of late capitalism is its inability to meet any challenge except with savagery.  The former socialist states transformed themselves almost overnight and by and large bloodlessly into (more or less) liberal democracies. One cannot comprehend the reverse transformation without mass killing. Let’s take a brief look back in history, less than a blink in time… I recall watching the TV news during the 1980's Miners strike in “Britain”.  One evening I watched with disbelief a report of a protest by striking miners in Poland. Busloads of miners had driven up from the coal mining regions of Silesia to make their demands re pay and conditions to the central government in Warsaw.  Fascinated, I watched as the Polish miners sat down in the street and blocked the traffic in central Warsaw.  I waited with anticipation, sure that the police would come in with batons swinging and break a few heads.  No such thing happen...
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Remembering Angus Neil...

I first met the artist Angus Neil in Glasgow in the early 1980s.  I was living in Garnethill and married with a family and gainfully unemployed. This was the height of the "Thatcherschina" and times were hard, particularly in Glasgow.  Nonetheless Garnethill was a wonderful community to be poor in. There was a diverse mix of people from a great variety of ethnic groups, The clergy were simply crawling all over the place, with a convent, a buddhist temple, a chapel, a synagogue, a free presbyterian mission and a host of other faiths.  My stepson went to a primary school where thirty three languages were spoken at home. The Glasgow School of Art was the most imposing building in Garnethill, in a close contest with St Aloysius' School.  The Art School ensured a continuing connection with Bohemians from an earlier age.   Bill MacLellan and Hamish MacQueen were prominent in these circles. One very dark and dull day it was a signing on day and as usual the day...
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Summer Holidays, Syria and Stirring Up Shit...

GTF is back from its summer holidays. It is now September and the summer is ending.  soon the geese will be returning from the north, passing overhead daily as they migrate to graze on fields and return to roost on the Montrose Basin. There has been a bumper crop of Geans (wild cherries in English) and the Plum tree overhanging from next door's garden is heavy with plums.  The air is getting chillier and winter approaches.  I will be heading for Barcelona soon for a few days to top up on some sun before digging in for the winter and the cold times to come. This week has seen the start of my reduction in hours at the day job to 21 per week.  Three days in effect.  This will give me more time to write and play music and do a bit of other work on the side with a view to keeping body and soul together. I am looking forward to some more freedom and self-efficacy.  For too many years I have been working too damned hard. That is not a rare complaint.  We ...
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