Better “a Scotland busier being born than busy dying…”

A typically passionate piece from Pat Kane in the Scotsman, arguing that Scottish independence is not something you can enjoy something of if you don’t have it at all. He believes this is a once off opportunity to re-arrange power relations on the island of Britain that won’t be coming back any time soon, if the Yes camp fails. I don’t know for certain whether Pat was inspired to write the piece after reading retired academic David Marquand’s hefty essay …

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#London2012: Blake, Jerusalem and the re-imagination of a new looser Britishness?

This is a short except from a longer conversation I did with Pat Kane on Saturday morning on the Opening Ceremony (ie, before it fades from memory). Pat’s view is generally positive (“a triumph for creative London”) we started off with a short conversation on Danny Boyle’s successful tableaux for the opening ceremony, not least where it leaves independence seeking ‘celts’ like himself… If you are puzzled by where all this generosity towards Britishness from an advocate of Scottish independence is going, …

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How was #London2012 for you: Scotland, Ireland, England and GB?

For those of you intrigued by the digital lunch format, but not really that grabbed by the subject matter, here is something that might interest you… Tomorrow morning myself and the Scottish thinker cum singer, Pat Kane (he of Hue and Cry) will be talking about the London Olympics and what they mean for all of us, Irish, Scottish, English, and British. Starts at 10pm… If you can make it, give us your comments, questions and extended thoughts below? Mick …

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