Nae Langer Tae Lie Hodden In a Pauper's Grave

Peter Milne - Fiddler
Originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Taken from the Press and Journal on the 17th March 2007

Riches denied, thy boon was purer joys What wealth could never give nor take

Inscription on Monument to Peter Milne

AS A LAD that lo'es the traditional fiddle music o wir ain country an specially fae oor North-East neuk, I hae dauchl't in reverence eence or twice at the monument tae Scott Skinner (1843-1927) in Allenvale Cemetery and the een tae Peter Milne (1824-1908) oot in Tarland bearin the inscription as abeen.

Dash't tho, I wis nivver sae touch't as at the unveilin at Nellfield Cemetery on Sunday efterneen, o a granite heidsteen tae Milne, dubbit in's day, the Tarland Minstrel.

That the Lord Lieutenant o Aiberdeenshire saw fit tae be there made it aa the mair impressive bit fin young Eilidh Anderson, aa spruc't up in her clan tartan kilt, gaed forrit tae lay a posy in front o the heidsteen, it got till's - maist o ye wid o seen the photo in Monday's P &J.

Eilidh is the niece o the lad that bears the accolade o the modern day "Tarland Minstrel", Paul Anderson, an it wis aa throwe him that at last Milne wis nae langer tae lie hodden in a pauper's grave.

PAUL, jist noo, a research Fellow at Elphinstone Institute cwidna lat things abee as his myn wis set tae find far Peter Milne wis beerit haein deet in the Aiberdeen Peerhoose an dumptit wi ithers somewye in the toon.

The ootcome wis that Paul's researchin pyntit tae es spot in Nellfield cemetery and raisin siller throwe concerts an donations wis able tae mark, in a fittin wye, the contribution Peter Milne made tae oor music.

Ere's links wi the self-styl't Strathspey King, James Scott Skinner, fa started oot as an aucht-eer-aal playin in Milne's band at dances roon aboot Don an Dee.

Skinner wis tae reca in articles for the People's Journal those days o yore far the barns the dances were held in hid earthen fleers, plunks laid on tap o secks o corn wis the seatin an myn transport wis shank's meer or the bike.

Aboot fower in the mornin, they aa made for hame an Skinner wis tae write 'I often wonder how I, a boy of eight or nine years, survived the physical strain and the loss of sleep . . . it was nothing for Peter and me to trudge eight or 10 weary miles on a slushy wet night in order to fulfil a barn engagement'.

Weel they were tae gyang their ain roadies an Scott Skinner's career his been weel documentit bit lang overdue his been the acknowledgement o the debt we owe tae Peter Milne for pittin his mark on oor unique fiddle music, describit as 'perhaps the very best interpreter of Highland Strathspey Deeside could ever boast till the after days of the vastly popular Scott Skinner'.

Foo than did sic a talent fa on hard times? Weel apparently Milne wis said tae tak tae opium as a cure for rheumatism fin workin doon in Manchester an syne a daft caper in a pub fin somebody ruggit a cheer fae oot aneth him cripl't him, spennin the hinmaist ten eer o's life in hospital.

HE DIDNA write aa that mony tunes bit the eens he did were toppers. Een that comes tae myn is 'John McNeil's Reel', composed for a celebratit heilan dancer an still play't ower an ower the day, a tune that fun its wye ower the Atlantic far the French Canadians claim't it as their ain, bit they jist ca'd it 'Big John'.

Ay, nae only dae we owe a debt tae Peter Milne bit tae Paul Anderson for the valuable darg an gran tae see the name Elphinstone Institute on the gravesteen at Nellfield.

Noo fae greats o the past, lat's get richt up tae date wi the news es wikk o twa freens o mine that hae made their mark in their ain lifetime an for that, richtly honourit in their ain circles.

First, congratulations tae that gentle giant o the hivvywechts o the Heilan Games scene, Bill Anderson, on bein inductit inta the Scottish Sports Hall o Fame anent sic like as Ally McCoist an Yvonne Murray.

WELL deserv't and acknowledgin the Heilan Games scene at last - toorist billies tak note.

Syne there wis Jim McColl bein recognis't at the Royal Television Society Awards as bein best Nations an Regions presenter, es efter the eident darg ower 30 eers in front o the cameras.

That they be MBE's afore jist rubber-stamps their achievments athoot ony cash-for-honours capers.

Blair announces Iraq Withdrawal to Media.

I see our "Glorious Leader" is announcing his plans for withdrawal from Iraq.

Tony Blair is expected to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq.

The prime minister is due to make an announcement in the House of Commons on Wednesday in which he is expected clarify the details.

Mr Blair is expected to say hundreds of troops will return from Basra within weeks with more to follow later.

As usual the announcement is made first to the newspapers and media rather than to Parliament. Not surprising this as the "Glorious Leader" seldom wants to be associated with debates on Iraq in the House of Commons.

As usual the details are leaked to the press with no real substance and are probably aimed at quieting his back benchers after todays bad news in the Polls.

From what little details are available it looks like the promised withdrawal will be longer and slower than expected, though I'm sure this will be glossed over.

As my wife wrote on Political Betting

"Whatever decisions this government have taken over Iraq, it has been been for their own political agenda rather than the good of the Iraqi people or the British military"

"I have concerns about how much involvement the commanders on the ground in Iraq have had in the withdrawal details and media operation before this announcement was leaked."

"Before every newspaper in the UK has it on their frontpage, I hope that the MP’s sitting in the chamber remember that comment (A Downing Street spokesman said: “It is right that the prime minister should update Parliament first").when they read about before they troop into the HoC tomorrow!
Still never let it be said that Blair has ever shown any regard for the British soldiers and their families injured or killed, or parliament when he could not be bothered to even turn up for the last debate on Iraq. Watching the panarama programme last night I was struck by how little media coverage has been given/allowed or figures issued for the casualties in Iraq.

Obviously the "Glorious Leader" will be hoping that this announcement will be part of his legacy as Prime Minister, unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth, his legacy will be Iraq but it will be a hollow legacy.

His real legacy will be how he brought us into the war via a series of lies and half-truths, His legacy will be the hundreds of thousands of dead civilians because of a horrific lack of foresight, His legacy will be the thousands of dead soldiers and allied personnel and finally his legacy will be the grieving families of all the British Armed forces killed in Iraq.

Let us hope that this withdrawal is accomplished safely and that Iraq will be a more peaceful place.

Perhaps I am cynical but tomorrow may also bring other announcements that may not reflect well on the Blair government.

UPDATE 21-02-2007 12:48

Amazing as prophesied by my Wife and agreed by me news of further interviews in the "Cash for Honours" scandal is released this morning. Oh what fortuitous timing. This continues the unbelievable stench that now surrounds Mr Blair.

Let us only hope that withdrawal from Iraq has been properly discussed, correct strategies have been developed and politicians have not been forcing the pace.



BBC NEWS | UK | Blair 'to confirm Iraq timetable'

Equality from Discrimination - But not Us of Course.

Dizzy via the Independent and an article by Dominic Lawson points out that after all the ho-ha going in Parliament about the Catholic Church and Abortion and how no-one could possibly be exempt from Discrimination that the following ARE exempt:-

This is the full text of the Equality Act 2006. Section (52) titled "Public Authorities" says the following

(1) It is unlawful for a public authority exercising a function to do any act which constitutes discrimination.

It then says,

(3) The prohibition in subsection (1) shall not apply to-

• (a) the House of Commons,
• (b) the House of Lords,
• (c) the authorities of either House of Parliament,
• (d) the Security Service,
• (e) the Secret Intelligence Service,
• (f) the Government Communications Headquarters, or
• (g) a part of the armed forces of the Crown which is, in accordance with a requirement of the Secretary of State, assisting the Government Communications Headquarters.

Dominic Lawson then goes on to say.

When I inquired about these exemptions I was told by a government official that, at least in respect of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, they were made "on grounds of national security". The official wasn't immediately able to explain why the Houses of Parliament were exempt. The point is, however, that if this law, as Falconer states, "applies to everybody" then "everybody" cannot mean "everybody except us and the spooks". It is also not clear, to me at least, why it is perfectly proper for national security to be used as a reason for special treatment, but outrageous for religious conscience to be put forward as an argument.

So there we are nobody is above the Law apart from Spooks and Westminster of course.

Perhaps this explains why Tony and his cronies don't feel they have done anything wrong in the "Cash for Honours" saga. Maybe they feel all laws only apply to "The Proles".

Remember

• WAR IS PEACE
• FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
• IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Honours police arrest Blair aide

I previously noted in my blog that the whole cash for honours affair was beginning to look like the Tricky Dicky affair. Well now with the arrest and bail of Miss Turner this is beginning to look more and more true. What price a tearful Blair appearing on our screens to announce his resignation in the not too distant future.

According to Political Betting it may not be too long now.

Also it is well to note that Guido reports that the Attorney General is also being investigated. A little reading between the lines on this seems to indicate that someone has been leaning on the man. Wonder who that might be?

BBC NEWS | Politics | Honours police arrest Blair aide

Who Else Knew?

If, as reported on the BBC, the donations have been going on for four years, and Peter Watt has only been General Secretary of the Labour Party for under two years, then who else knew about the donations funnelled from David Abrahams's.

The previous General Secretary of the Labour Party was Matt Carter who, according to the always correct Wikipedia, organised the legal aspects of loans from individuals to the Labour Party that were central to the Cash for Honours political scandal. Did he know anything about the set-up or was he ignorant of the deal?

Update I. BBC reporting a further 200k of donations found through Mr Abraham's solicitor.

Update II. Lib Dem Voice reports that Peter Watt must have known the rules.

Update III. Comments on Guido indicate the matter is now going to the Police.

Update IV. Now it seems Harriet Harman trousered 5K from Mr Abraham via a similar arrangement. Hilary Benn received 5K direct from Mr Abrahams

Where is Macavity?

The Daily Mail speculates that the Damian Green affair might be Gordon Brown's Watergate. It might well be if it carries on and gains legs as it has this weekend. Despite all "Spliffer" Smith's attempts to portray Green as the Devil incarnate, all we see is the desperate misinformation of a dying goverment and the stench of corruption.

Just in case you don't think this is going to be a problem, just realise that the Big Feartie, our own Macavity the Cat has yet again disappeared from view, preferring to put out his minions to try and save his hide. This is the man who has now written two books about "Courage", this is the man that is supposed to be our "Moses", this is the man who is the great Leader of the World's Economic Recovery, so where is he when he is needed?

Yet again this man is cowering in his Bunker hoping this will just blow over and that he can avoid all or any of the blame for the actions of his government. Even his beloved Sun is turning on him calling this Country a Police State , here and now.

And yet again we hear that the real story may yet be still to be released. The murky goings on of this Government and it's Political minions is starting to unravel. The jobs for the boys and the cash for honours are coming home to roost not a moment to soon. Let us hope that they don't reach into the Police or we are all in trouble.

Could this be Brown's Watergate? | Mail Online

Cluedo Game

The BBC were last night stopped from broadcasting an item about the "Cash for Honours" scandal that has Tony Blair's fingerprints all over it (The Scandal that is).

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, a well known lackey of Tony Blair, obtained the injunction on Friday night at a hearing which lasted about two hours at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Lord Goldsmith's office said he had acted

"Completely independently of government" on the matter.

Back in the land of reality various people have speculated on who the injuction might cause embarrassment to. Benedict White implicates Lord Levy, hints from Iain Dale point at him also.
Guido meanwhile points to Ruth Turner or Sleazy Levy. Interestingly the BBC early on had a photo of Ruth Turner on their article.

My take is it's probably both of them with more than a hint of Tony Blair in there as well.

Charges relating to this now look imminent.