A Question for the People

Most of my blog readers know that I'm living in Scotland. Most of you also know that Scotland isn't an independent nation - it has been under English rule since 1707 when they dissolved the Scottish parliament and basically handed power over to London. It's been a cause of debate since then, and now, 300 years later, the question has come up again.

I knew that when I was planning on coming here that the question of independence was a hot topic. With the UK General Elections coming up (and the current Labour party not thought to return), the question of independence is becoming more and more of a hot topic. Today, one of the Scottish Parliament members (the parliament was reformed in 1998, though it has very limited powers), basically came out asking for independence. A member of the SNP (Scottish National Party), he wants to put out a referendum, giving the Scottish people a say in what they want. However, the SNP doesn't hold a majority power and the other parties have stated that they'll put the bill down.

Ok. So there's the explanation. Roughly. My question is - what are they afraid of? Ask the people what they want? There were interviews with several other MSPs tonight, and they were all so sure that the Scottish people don't want independence. They might want more power transferred to Holyrood from London, but they don't want to be an independent nation. One parliament member in particular was almost hostile about this.

But how do they know what the Scottish people want if they don't even ask the question?

I have plenty of friends who are all for independence. Some people have made the point that an actual dissolution of the Union might wait until the current economic crisis is over, but they want independence.

I know that I'm American, and this might flavor my opinion, but I firmly believe that in order to claim to be a real democracy, they need to represent this to the people. They need to get a say from those that it would most affect.

This wouldn't be the first time there was a referendum. London generously "provided" the opportunity for Scotland to vote for a chance to have their own parliament again, but the stipulations were so strict that it was impossible for it to pass. They finally succeeded in 1998. It's been 11 years, and I think that's enough time to ask the question, even if they do get a "No" for independence this time around. At least then they would know the actual answer.

Queen Elizabeth would still be the recognized monarch. There wouldn't be border controls put in place throughout the UK. Basically, the only thing that would change is that Scotland would be a recognized country in the EU and finally hold the power to run the country the way that they want to.

As a student of Scottish literature, I have spent two and a half years reading literature calling for independence. Others have praised the Union and tried to shore up a national identity for Scotland with a loss of political independence. I can tell you that this debate has been going on since 1707. It's not a new debate, and there have been stronger surges throughout the years, but I would take just the literature as a representation that the Scottish people want something else. When I was in Edinburgh in 2007, there were different graffitied signs of "Scottish Not British" and "End London Rule Now."

So, even though I'm outside of this debate, I poise the question - why not let the Scottish people decide - finally - what they really want? The fact that the majority of the Scottish Parliament don't even want to ask the question really worries me. Just as rich landowners decided to enter the Union in the 18th century, so the politicians are making a decision that should be left up to the people.

Updates

A lot has happened at home in the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago today, my landlady had to put her 9 year-old dog, Breagha, down. She had renal failure, and Jenny nursed her and the vet tried everything they could, but in the end, there wasn't much they could do. Poppi, who's about 1 1/2, has never been on her own. She's obviously been missing Breagha, and she's been trying to figure out how her own little routines are now different.

Tonight Jenny went to go look at some puppies (she prefers Maltese Terriers) and came back with the cutest Maltese/Yorkshire mix! No name as of yet, but she's 10 weeks old and adorable. I love her already, and I'm sad I'm leaving in a week!

Two more essays to write within the next week, but then my semester is done and I'm headed back to the States. I can't wait!!!

I've Been Initiated

Apparently. I got splashed by a car on my way to work this morning, leaving me pretty much SOAKED. Getting to work with wet socks, soaked jeans, and damp hair just isn't all that fun when you know you can't change and get dry for hours. When I mentioned this drive-by assault, I was told that I am now initiated into Scotland. I guess I should be grateful, but it was awfully cold.

It's been raining so much that I was tired of never having dry feet. I noticed a pair of wellies on sale for only £5 at Shelter, a charity shop, so I stopped in and bought them. Funnily enough, another lady had the same idea, and we both got the same pair. The cashier thought this was hilarious, then preceded to ask me if I was going to be wearing them out of the store. By this point, I was on my way home from work, and Shelter is only about 3 blocks from my flat, so I kind of thought it would be ridiculous for me to wear them out. Plus, I was soaked already anyway, no point of sticking wet jeans and socks into dry boots. But I did wear them to class tonight, and I'm glad. My top is covered with my water-proof jacket and umbrella. Calves down are now covered. If only there was some way to keep my jeans and purse from getting soaked when I go outside over the next few days.

Another frustrating thing about all this rain is the flooding. I live on the hill, so I'm not terribly worried about house flooding or anything. As far as I know, there isn't that much flooding in Stirling, but I know there are several places farther south that are having a horrible time of it. And the rain's supposed to continue basically non-stop until next Monday at least.

But it's making the buses run much slower because the roads are filling with water. Tonight, when I got out of class, the bus was over ten minutes late. If I get out right at 9, I can run down the hill to catch the bus. But if we go slightly past 9, then I've got to wait until 9:30 for the next set. There's usually two or three that come around the same time, one of which was unusually absent tonight. I wonder if they've pulled that line altogether. It's just the Uni Link, which serves from the city center to the university, so they might have let the other lines pick up the slack for the night. And apparently, the road is flooded by some of the postgraduate housing, so the bus driver had to go down a side street and shout out to let these kids know they'd have to walk from there. Yuck.

I have to say, I knew about the rain here. That's one reason I love it. I love rain. But I didn't really realize how much it can upset the daily routines and lives of people in the UK. I just kind of thought that they were used to it and it wouldn't affect things like bus schedules. Goes to show how little I know!

I have to say, I'm looking forward to seeing some sun when I get home in about 2 1/2 weeks!

Essay Woes

My first postgraduate essay is due this week. I'm working on it, but having a hard time communicating the ideas from my head onto the page. This isn't a new phenomenon by any means, but it is frustrating every time. There are days I'd rather just talk than write. Those are rare, but they do happen. Today is one of them. Can I have a verbal test instead?????

The Smallest Cultural Differences

Right now, my laundry that I did yesterday morning, is hanging outside getting more wet in the rain. Because it's so cold, and there's little sun, it wasn't dry when I went to bed last night. And today it's raining. The next dry day is supposed to be Thursday, so it'll be then when I can bring it in.

I know this sounds crazy to a lot of my friends. Why am I not using a dryer, you might ask? Well, they just don't. I don't know if it's a Scottish thing, or a Stirling thing, but when I asked my landlady how to use the dryer, she looked at me like I was crazy. Almost everyone here line dries their clothes. I have a little thing that I can unfold to dry the clothes in the house, but it's not big enough and now the clothes would be dripping wet all over the wood floors if I brought them in now. I'm not sure if the dryer part of our washer/dryer even works (it's the same machine), so I get to wait for my clothes. It's definitely different. I think I've gotten too used to the instant gratification of the States.

This even applies to food. Take away is pretty common here. There are plenty of shops where you can get fantastic cheap food (usually an array of chips, fish and other fried meats, kabobs, etc.) but there isn't a place to sit. It's a real take-away. I've seen plenty of people stand out on the sidewalk with friends to eat when it's nice out, but a lot are like me and they live close to the shop and walk home to eat. But there are very, very few drive thrus. I was discussing this with a car full of people on the way home from church the other day. I made the remark that you have to get out of your car to get your food, and I'm not used to that. I kind of miss my drive thru (not to mention Wendy's and Taco Bell, neither of which are over here).

Americans are lazy and impatient. We are so used to getting what we want when we want. I knew when I came here that there would be differences to get used to, but I have to say, I wasn't thinking about how I did my laundry. I did know about the food, though. I'm going to miss chip shops when I'm state-side again. Now if we could just get drive-thru chip shops in the States! Haha.

Ugh, sick

I swear I've been sick for two weeks out of the five I've been here. I had a cold flying in (provided by my loving mother - great parting gift, huh?) and now I've caught another nasty one. Granted, I'm fairly susceptible to respiratory infections because I'm asthmatic and I'm in a completely new area, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I mean, I get to enjoy headaches and a possible fever along with the other perks of a cold.

I've also learned I can't let the dogs sit even close to my knee anymore. I'm hoping the pain will abate once I change some habits though. It's been a year since my surgery, and it really feels like that's been forever, but I know I could have done a lot more to take care of myself. For one, I was supposed to (well, recommended to) build up my thigh muscles so that the knee itself would have more support. For another, I really should be more careful on how much I bend and sit on my leg awkwardly. On an episode of "House" the other night, he cured this guy's 36 year-long pain by using a mirror box. But the guy was an amputee. Too bad it's not that easy for me since I still actually have my leg and all. haha

So you don't just end up reading the ramblings of a sick, annoyed person, I'll lighten the mood a little.

I'm thinking about doing my Master's dissertation on Scottish crime fiction. I knew it was a pretty popular thing over here, but I don't think I knew how much. For one, the small Waterstone's in Stirling has a wall dedicated to crime fiction. The wall's almost the same amount of space that they give to general fiction, with Ian Rankin taking a huge chunk of it. Another interesting thing is the obsession with the same type of programs. I could turn the TV on almost any time of day and find a murder mystery. And I only have 5 channels, since I'm not hooked up to the cable. There's a whole cable channel called Alibi, dedicated solely to crime shows, and a new local STV show that'll show real murder investigations going through the process. I think I'll be watching at least some of that one.

The interesting thing about these shows is they're mostly procedurals. By that I mean cops and lawyers, sort of like Law and Order or CSI. There aren't as many "amateur sleuth" shows like we have in the States. In fact, of the ones I've watched over the last month, I can't think of one I've seen. No "Psych" or "Burn Notice," though they do broadcast reruns of "Murder She Wrote," "Monk," and "Diagnosis Murder." Kind of strange choices to take from the American selection I thought. Well, except "Monk" because it is pretty much the most awesome sleuth show. Though he did used to be a cop, so I guess he doesn't really count as an amateur sleuth. Please feel free to debate that grouping in the comments. I would be interested to know your thoughts.

And you can probably tell I have a sinus headache. I guess it's off to bed for me. With one quick shout out to my brother and sister-in-law: You have yet to post pictures from October. And Aunt Marisa would like a video of Owen just like Grandma got. That's just unfair. I'm farther away. :P

Stirling Jail

It's been a few days, but I went to the Stirling Old Town Jail on Friday with my friend MJ. The funny thing is, it's really the "new" jail. It was built in 1847 by Victorian reformers who didn't like that the Tolbooth Jail was named the worst in Britain. Of course, they had twenty or so inmates to a cell and the only way they got to eat was by begging through the window, hoping passersby would give them something. A cell to themselves and regular meals, who wouldn't prefer the "new" jail!

I have to admit, it was kind of a waste of £4.50. Interesting, but not extensive enough to warrant it. The tour guide was so into his characters, all four to be precise, that it was a little unnerving. When you finally got to walk around, you learned that most of the building had been renovated and turned into offices. That businesses use and work in . . . isn't that weird? Just a different set-up than we're used to in the States. Anyway, the ground floor has examples of cells, and the top floor has the old exercise yard, which is just a balcony outside, and an exhibit on prison life in Scotland today along the corridor. It did provide some fantastic views of Stirling, though.
If you've done a lot of traveling, a lot of these tourist attractions renovate the building so that it looks like it "would have" done in the original times (complete with creepy wax figures). When I first poked my head through the door, I wouldn't have been at all surprised if this wasn't wax and was instead another worker who was going to jump out and scare me to death. If you'd met the tour guide, you would've thought so, too. Luckily, on closer inspection, he was wax. So no worries! Just creepy to look at.

I was more interested in the non-refurbished cells, of which they have two. The jail fell into disuse and they started the work to reopen it to tourists in 1994. This is what they found: I frankly think this is more like what the actual conditions would have been like, if you add the hammock and the chamber pot back into it. Disgusting and dirty, and it was supposed to be the nicer prison.

I'd been to Stirling once before I moved here, and I have to say, there's a lot to see right in my own area that I never knew existed! Now I just need to get some mail and go up to the castle to get in free (I have to have proof I'm a resident).