DAM

Would I be banned if I called someone a hadfoop?

There's no way you can argue that League is a more physical game. It may have more plays/tackles, but the overall action is tame in comparison to Union. It's exactly what you say it is....a version of the sport that only has any real place because it's more spectator friendly....a bit like one day cricket.

Well, lets put it this way. I knew a Hawick player who was also in the Scotland squad, he moved to England and played League and his opinion was that he thought Union was hard until he started playing League rugby. When he got hit playing rugby Union he knew about it but when he got hit in rugby League he knew very little about it!!!

Did you do anything I told you?

Check your router settings, wireless settings (if you are connecting through a wireless connection), get Windows to repair the connection etc. There are tonnes of things you can do yourself to have a look at the problem and see if it is anything at your end.

I just tried logging out of my account, and when I'm on the forum as a guest, I could go through the forum as normal with no problem at all. When I re-log in, the same problems start again.

If it's already with the mods and stuff, do they think it would be a good idea to deleted the "Renegade" account, and re-apply as "Renegade MK 2" or something? Cause the problem might just be with my account, and if I get a new one I won't have the same problem again.

Pretty sure it won't be your account. There is nothing at account level on IP Board (the forum software) that would cause "browser refreshes" like your describing.

I suggest clearing out all of your temporary internet files, cookies and browser cache.

I cleared all my cookies and internet and files and stuff, but it didn't seem to make much differenece. Though today this site seems to be working fine. :)

Don't speak too soon Renegade, I have the same problem now!

I love Rockness so much I'm leaving Inverness for the weekend

Very wise - I wonder how many cases of Swine Flu we'll read about in the Courier next week!!

If we are are to discuss personal incomes that would be rather unfair on the high and low paid ones in this discussion, as the level of personal income does not make a point any more/less valid.

The salary for an MP is very low for the given occupation and is earned by many in the oil industry/financial industry/etc.

Expense claims, to me, have no bearing what so ever on a persons ability to carry out their duties.

I offer you the the choice of two surgeons to operate on your child, one has however been found to be heavy handed at claiming expenses and the other has not claimed at all. Which is your choice to carry out the critical operation. One has an income of ?147000 plus his high expenses, the other is earning ?70000.

Do I hear the cry go up 'Sack him for taking expenses from the public purse, I don't want HIM to operate on my child'??

I don't think so. Hypocrisy or what??

I'm involved with the oil industry and I don't get paid anywhere near an MP's salary, neither do I receive any expenses.

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The vast majority of Muslims (the absolute vast majority) don't want to turn the UK in to some ultra Islamic country.

It's no more than a matter of opinion debating "what they want", we don't have a crystal ball, nor are we mindreaders, but here's what Golonel Gadafy has to say on the subject...

The grand old dictator of Libya has a simple theory for the conquest of Europe, one that requires no bloodshed. He claims that they don't need homicide bombers or Jihad fighters or military equipment at all. No need to blow up planes over Lockerbie in Scotland, just let nature take its course.

The muslim population ofEurope today stands at around 52 million and that figure is expected to double to 104 million within two decades, so allowing natural fertility rates to work,

Europe will become an Islamic nation.

Since 1990, about 90% of all immigration has been Muslim.

It is estimated that Germany will be Islamic by 2015 if current trends continue.

The Netherlands will be a 50% muslim country within 15 years, and Belgium by 2025. Even Russia will be 50% Muslim around 2050.The only way for Europe to avoid becoming Eurabia (in my humble opinion), is to severely limit muslim immigration and to start charging a "breeding tax" for muslims.

Mind you, it won't be all good news for the Muslems though, the corner shops will cop it, no need for razor blades, cigs, Penthouse, The Sun, Star, Mirror, you'll be cancelling the Radio Times too, there'll be no be time for the telly when yer down at the Mosque 5 times a day. You'll no be starting yer day with bacon an' eggs either, nor will there be a pork chop for yer tea, you'll be having a bowl of couscous to start yer day off, and think yerself lucky...

As for Christians minding their own business and WASPs being 'enlightened' - ever heard of World War II? Burning witches? Stopping ferries running on Sundays? Which country had the holocaust? Christian or Islamic? Which country developed nuclear weapons? Christian or Islamic? Which country sailed the seven seas violently converting their landed country? Christian or Islamic?

And while all this was happening the Muslems were just brewing up hey ? take a look at their Fixture list for the last 1400 years.

Peace & Harmony, I think not...

I'll bet they have killed as many as Christians have in that time, and as an EW bet, if they haven't they've had a bloody good go at it...

That was then, this is now, who do you think is blowing each other up right now in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan and elsewhere right now ?

Muslims living in the dark ages?! Rarely have I heard something more ridiculous.

Try coming back as a Muslem woman then, or better still a Gay...

16 year old girl hanged...

Executed for becoming a Christian...

Death sentence for being Raped !!!

Girl stoned to Death !!!

Stoning's alright, even in Denmark...

Let's not leave the Gays out of it...

and on it goes... seems to me they are a nice bunch, I'm hoping some of them will move in next door.

Unless you consider Scotland and the entire world as 'the dark ages'.

Maybe we should compare Scotland to Afghanistan to figure out who's still in the Dark Ages...

You think the local newsagents serves you newspapers, then makes the evil eye behind you as they secretly prepare their dirty bomb? Nonsense! I grew up hearing that about Catholics. Oppress someone and they'll feel oppressed.

Put it this way, the WASPS have the bomb, and they don't want to use it on anyone, the Muslems don't have it [yet} but if ever they do et their hands on it, then the UK better look out, and don't think it would bother them knowing that they'd be blowing thousands of their own up, they are going to Alah, we're be dust in the streets...

And take a look at what Britain was like in the dark ages, then you'll see true oppression. Nothing like most Muslim countries.

So them Muslem Wars and the atrocities of Darfour now are nowt to do with them hey ?

I regularly have a laugh with 'non-whites' over what some might deem taboo subjects. Probably because I laugh 'with' them. Persecuting a minority in the way that comedians like Manning did isn't going to make me laugh and it sure ain't going to raise a smile on their faces either.

Bernard Manning hey, odd how folks think that his stage persona was how he was in life, I know different...

Go along to a radical mosque as the only white person and see how harmless you find people denouncing you through sheer ignorance is. I'm sure they'll have a laugh at making you feel so insecure, will you?

I doubt that you'll believe it, but I've been to the main Mosque in Bolton many a time, on me own too, that turned their heads, have to say that I was treated with regard and respect, even though I had a vigorous debate with them, as to why they were so quiet when the Ken Bigley was beheaded.

I've also met up with the young radicals from Lancaster University 3 years ago, spent a lot of time "debating" with them, but came to the conclusion that they are potentially a bad lot, a dangerous lot, a group that I'd be surprised if MI5 isn't watching.

"they plan to fly the flag of Islam over Scotland one day" - again, utter b*lls. Which Western country has Islam invaded in the last 500 years?

Err, Spain, Portugal Scicily, Sardinia, MaltaBosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, southern Ukraine, Moldova, what is now Greece, Serbia, parts of Croatia and Hungary and a good bit of France before they got kicked out... Might not be a good idea to wait until they are crossing the Tweed before you figure out what's going on.

Now answer which Islamic country has the West invaded over the last 10 years! You do the maths.

Err, Bosnia comes to mind, my mates son went there to stop the Serbians killing the Muslems, I note that no one went from Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Iran to bail their own side out. I guess we could add Darfour, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and so on, where maybe, just maybe, Tony B Liar conned us as to why we went to war, but that don't devalue the lads and lassies who went there in good faith, not just serving King & Country, but homestly believing they were there to help the people of these countries. I'm proud of the folks who have served, they didn't go to "invade" they went with good intent, putting their lives on the line, and many of them never seeing home again.

To judge people by their religion is patently ridiculous.

Mention that when you visit Saudi Arabia, fact is, because of your religion {or lack of it, meaning I doubt you're a Muslem}, they won't even let you into the country, unless you have a work permit.

Then again, you could sneak in through the bad lands, but don't be taking a Bible with you, it's a crime punishable with flogging and a lengthy time inside, but you'd have time to mention to them how "ridiculous" they are, juding people on their religion. What you're missing is, it supposed to cut both ways...

What does a Christian believe in? Killing people for cutting the sides of their hair? The expansion of Israel at all costs? Women as inferior beings? Witchcraft as a reality that should be exorcised by brutal death? Some of them.

Can't follow some of what your saying above, do you actually know anyone who thinks or acts like that ? I think you've got yer threads crossed when you speak of women being inferior beings, yer on the rang horse...

What does a Muslim believe? That women can choose to cover up or not? That selfless sacrifice to his fellow man is his true calling? That al Quaeda is fundamentally wrong? That people should have absolute freedom to choose their own religion? Some of them.

Aye, but it only takes one to light a fuse...

Most are somewhere in between.

Agreed...

But if you're going to choose an extreme poverty ridden country like Afghanistan as your measure of Islam, then please do the same with Christianity and choose somewhere like the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Lord's Army.

I'll have a few bob on DROC, the country is potentailly on of the richest in Africa, the only reason they are in the shyte is due to tribalism and incursions from neighbouring countries. They have been killing each other for 10 or more years now, around 5 Million people killed in tribal and other clashes, how you can blame Christianity for that gawd only knows, add to that they have one of the highest literacy rates in the whole of Africa, as many as 80% of them are fluent in French, and are able to read and write.

By the way, The Lords Army did most of their damage in Uganda, the remnants of them are now hiding out in the Congo.

As for Afghanistan, only 43% of the men can barely read and write their OWN language, and only 12.6% of girls can read. I'd venture to say that Islam hasn't shed much "enlightenment" here in the last 1,500 years...

You could also look at the mortality rate of newborns, it's about 80 per 1,000 in Congo, it's over 150 per thousand in Afghanistan. After that, the rest of the figures can't really tell you which is the better country, as both have been knee deep in conflict, but at the end of the day if I had to chose between them it would be a no brainer...

Excellent post Bob and it's all fact. I have lived in the Middle East - I know the score.

Don't be fooled, Cameron is a Tory through and through.

He's just the face of a P.R. department that realised pretending not to be Tories was the only way to become electable again. Cameron and today's Tory party stand for all of the things that most people in this country rightly despise. Cutting investment in public services and promoting private healthcare and education. Lowering taxes for the rich and victimising the vulnerable people in our society.

Labour's twelve year spell in power has been a great disappointment, but punishing them by voting Tory would be cutting of your nose to spite your face.

Who's voting Tory? I, for one, certainly am not. The Tories will be lucky to win a single seat in Scotland at the next election. As far as "victimising the vulnerable people in our society" goes Gordon Brown made a bloody good job of that when he was Chancellor - for one thing, remember the 75p he awarded the OAPs , that couldn't even buy them a loaf of bread.

Now that the dust has settled, I find that I am looking at this situation in a different light and agreeing, in part, with Davie.

We have a system of remuneration that has an accepted 'nose in the trough' element. The action to keep the basic pay low is not too silly as the salary level impacts on pension and severance pay-offs, very high costs to the system - our money- for no return as the recipient is no longer doing the job. Maybe higher income and lower pension/pay-off costs is an idea.

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However much are you earning AF? Are you seriously suggesting MPs aren't paid enough?

Government Ministers are paid a basic salary of 144K - many of these have second jobs and others agree to their names being used on company letterheads - so called non-executive directors - for which the going rate is around 20K a year.

They are paid handsomely! Why then have so many claimed ludicrous additional payments - expenses for mortgages for (alleged) second homes, even when they have been paid off?

It's deception, it's utter greed, it's an obscenity. Some of these people should be barred from ever holding public office again, and be made to face criminal proceedings for theft from the public purse.

Couldn't agree more Johnboy. Some people on here are missing the point - even if the MPs were on one million pounds a year basic some of them would still fiddle the "expenses".......and they have the cheek to accuse some other countries of being corrupt.

What a shocker out there today. Especially considering this was our 'cup final'. Dougie Imrie GTF. Seriously, what a shockingly terrible player. His howler in the last minute sums him up, free at the edge of the box, time and space to pick his spot, men over waiting for a tap in, he tries to swerve the ball into the top corner and puts it in the stand, what a clown. He contributed sweet FA to our cause today.

Richie Foran misses 2 sitters in the opening minutes that would have seen us all but safe, and spends the majority of the second half strolling around without a care in the world, he didn't chase anything, lost every challenge he went in for and proceeded to gift possession back to Falkirk every time he got the ball. Kerr was little better, the game just passed him by. They can b*gger off to Dundee as far as I'm concerned.

WTF was Butcher thinking with his subsitutions? How on earth did Imrie and Foran stay on the park for 90 minutes? Why were Morais and Black, arguably our 2 best players hooked?

We were awful today and got what we deserved. When we went down to 10 men we were content to camp deep in our own half and allow falkirk to work the ball down the wings under no pressure whatsoever and float balls into the danger zone. Was anyone in the stadium suprised when they scored? We were never going to hold out for an hour playing like that, it would have taken a miracle for the ball not to end up in our net, especially as we had Fraser between the sticks (why????) and no Tokely.

Brewster cannot be scapegoated for all our shortcomings this season. We had plenty of chances to secure our place in the SPL after the split, and we absolutly blew it.

Utter crap all season. We were relegated long before the split.

"we were relegated long before the spilt" Did you even think that when TB took over???

Yes. If TB had taken over in early December I'm convinced he would have kept us up. The Board f****d up.

You never wrote back DAM........?????????

I did write back Wyness - read it again, it's immediately above your last comment.

What a shocker out there today. Especially considering this was our 'cup final'. Dougie Imrie GTF. Seriously, what a shockingly terrible player. His howler in the last minute sums him up, free at the edge of the box, time and space to pick his spot, men over waiting for a tap in, he tries to swerve the ball into the top corner and puts it in the stand, what a clown. He contributed sweet FA to our cause today.

Richie Foran misses 2 sitters in the opening minutes that would have seen us all but safe, and spends the majority of the second half strolling around without a care in the world, he didn't chase anything, lost every challenge he went in for and proceeded to gift possession back to Falkirk every time he got the ball. Kerr was little better, the game just passed him by. They can b*gger off to Dundee as far as I'm concerned.

WTF was Butcher thinking with his subsitutions? How on earth did Imrie and Foran stay on the park for 90 minutes? Why were Morais and Black, arguably our 2 best players hooked?

We were awful today and got what we deserved. When we went down to 10 men we were content to camp deep in our own half and allow falkirk to work the ball down the wings under no pressure whatsoever and float balls into the danger zone. Was anyone in the stadium suprised when they scored? We were never going to hold out for an hour playing like that, it would have taken a miracle for the ball not to end up in our net, especially as we had Fraser between the sticks (why????) and no Tokely.

Brewster cannot be scapegoated for all our shortcomings this season. We had plenty of chances to secure our place in the SPL after the split, and we absolutly blew it.

Utter crap all season. We were relegated long before the split.

"we were relegated long before the spilt" Did you even think that when TB took over???

Yes. If TB had taken over in early December I'm convinced he would have kept us up. The Board f****d up.

What a shocker out there today. Especially considering this was our 'cup final'. Dougie Imrie GTF. Seriously, what a shockingly terrible player. His howler in the last minute sums him up, free at the edge of the box, time and space to pick his spot, men over waiting for a tap in, he tries to swerve the ball into the top corner and puts it in the stand, what a clown. He contributed sweet FA to our cause today.

Richie Foran misses 2 sitters in the opening minutes that would have seen us all but safe, and spends the majority of the second half strolling around without a care in the world, he didn't chase anything, lost every challenge he went in for and proceeded to gift possession back to Falkirk every time he got the ball. Kerr was little better, the game just passed him by. They can b*gger off to Dundee as far as I'm concerned.

WTF was Butcher thinking with his subsitutions? How on earth did Imrie and Foran stay on the park for 90 minutes? Why were Morais and Black, arguably our 2 best players hooked?

We were awful today and got what we deserved. When we went down to 10 men we were content to camp deep in our own half and allow falkirk to work the ball down the wings under no pressure whatsoever and float balls into the danger zone. Was anyone in the stadium suprised when they scored? We were never going to hold out for an hour playing like that, it would have taken a miracle for the ball not to end up in our net, especially as we had Fraser between the sticks (why????) and no Tokely.

Brewster cannot be scapegoated for all our shortcomings this season. We had plenty of chances to secure our place in the SPL after the split, and we absolutly blew it.

Utter crap all season. We were relegated long before the split.

They've been corrupt thieving b*******s since government was formed, if it's not the current climate that's generating the uproar then why have people, on the whole, been willing to accept the situation for so long?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending what's going on, but people need to obtain some sense of perspective on all this.

Firstly, the majority of claims are perfectly legitimate under the current system. Yes, the people claiming are the ones who put the system in place, but the information that it existed has been available to us all for years and only now has it become a big fuss. I bet there's not many people who've had expenses accounts who haven't made full use of them at some point or other....every one of them calling for the sacking of MP's is a hypocrite.

Part of the problem is that your average man/woman in the street doesn't fully understand what's happened to send the world economy off the rails and they are looking for someone to blame....so what we have is people who think the country is in financial strife because MP's have generous expenses packages. The media are feeding off that with their "lists" and although they are careful when it comes to mentioning Fraud, they haven't done anything to correct those making such claims.

It smacks a bit of the situation around 9/11 and using it, indirectly, as a way to justify going in to Iraq. Nobody ever blamed Saddam for 9/11 (rightfully so), but they never exactly went out of their way to explain to the hard of thinking that the two were unrelated.

Sometimes it's just as important to think about what the press don't say as what they do say. Think for yourself people and stop being media puppets.

I trust you don't include me as a media puppet you condescending ****. I am more that capable of thinking for myself and the fact of the matter is that if it was not for "freedom of information" we would never have found out the extent that those morons have ripped the tax payer off.

In answer to the original question "can it get more sickening?" then I think the answer is yes.

Every job, be it street sweeper or 'high and mighty ruler of britain', has its perks. Workin in retail I get a ?6 per day food allowance, so I obviously use as much of that 6 quid as possible and use it to my benefit (especially when the airport itself charge over ?4 for a bacon role!!!) I make sure i get a drink on this expense and depending on my mood, a dessert too.

I can certainly see what CaleyD was trying to point out in terms of it happening accross the board but we're only in uproar because of the current climate.

what I will ask is this....

With the country heading on a downward spiral, and these MP's claiming for anything using the public purse rather than their own platinum credit card (which, by the way, they probably didnt earn), where does the very thin line between fraud and claiming expenses get crossed?

I mean, there are polish in this country who are menipulating the system and get away with it, yet Joe Bloggs who doesn't pay his TV license for 2 months so he can feed his kid is done for fraud. The muslims who are followed for years on susspition of terrorism are only interviewed and released (not deported), yet Mrs Bloggs down the street looses out on her child benefit cash as soon as she enters a working environment, thus leaving her only a few pounds better off for a much more difficult lifestyle... The who lots stinks!!!!

"but we're only in uproar because of the current climate". This makes it right then does it? They are just corrupt thieving ******** in my book and NOTHING makes it right.

Don't worry Bob, it appears that the politicians are stepping aside and letting Joanna Lumley run the country.

She'd get my vote long before the hapless and ineffectual Gordon Brown...

What would you expect of Gordon Brown anyway, he's from Fife is he not, and you know the saying "beware of a Fifer"!!

This thread seems to have changed direction....

Canada Bob was commenting on the fact that the Labour Party is not the party it once purported to be....and I for one strongly agree with him.

The Labour Party, for many decades, represented a host of working class traditions...it was also a very democratic party. As Bob rightly suggests it now appears to have been hijacked by a bunch of elitists hell bent on pursuing their own narrow agendae - most of these related to utter greed.

I still say this "hijacking" process really took off with the appointment of Tony Blair and the creation of something called "New Labour"

What did you do in the Great War, Dam?

This thread seems to have changed direction Johnboy.

It's sad that Labour once the party for "the workers" has been hijacked by a bunch of elitist b*sards with such persistent, pervasive and arrogant assumptions of how they will run our world.

It began with the death of John Smith and the appointment of one Anthony Charles Lynton Blair as party leader.

I had high hopes that Gordon Brown would bring about a change the direction of the party after Blair's disastrous last few years in office....

I couldn't have been more wrong.... These hopes were very quickly extinguished.

I disagree with that. The rot began in the 80s when first Tory then Labour employed spin over substance. The electorate then made their choice that was what they wanted. That's who I blame - the voters. And they are going to do it again. The Tories have profited from Labour's Iraq and Credit Crunch crises despite both parties being of the same mind. Vote for your party as though it was a football team, then there's every chance you'll get a poor result.

You're correct starchief. Unfortunately some of the voters are too young to remember things like that and think that today's standard of politics is normal. Us older ones can make a comparison with how it used to be and how it is today.

I hope that the Labour Party hasn't stooped this low, yet looking at the connections and the pedigree it's hard to see it any other way...

We'll chose who you'll vote for...

It's sad that Labour once the party for "the workers" has been hijacked by a bunch of elitist b*sards with such persistent, pervasive and arrogant assumptions of how they will run our world.

Well Bob, I for one will not be voting for the Westminster Wankers be they Labour or Tory.

I find it strange that although these pirates have been active for years its only once an American ship is targetted that the International community seek to take action .

How about trying the old idea of "Q ships"? These originated early in the First World War as a means of sorting out Uboats. The Uboats used to prefer to accept surrender on the surface and sink their prey by gunfire rather than waste torpedoes from beneath.

What the British did was to send apparently defenceless merchantmen out and when the Uboat approached, the crew would appear to abandon ship. However what was less obvious was that they had left behind a party to man the gun which suddenly materialised when a false wheelhouse fell flat. The gun then proceeded to blow the **** out of the Uboat.

It should be even simpler off Somalia since these pirates don't have the option of submerging to attack which the Germans eventually did once they wised up to the Q ships.

Quite simply, arm a few merchant ships to the teeth with concealed weapons, wait until the pirates get quite close, show the teeth in question....bye bye pirates. This might well also provide a huge disincentive for some of their mates to try it on.

I say, do the honourable thing Carruthers and blow the bounders out of the water!

The most remarkable thing about reading the Koran - in so far as it can be truly translated from the original Arabic - is to understand how progressive it is. I speak with great diffidence and humility as a member of another faith. I am not qualified to make any judgements.

But as an outsider, the Koran strikes me as a reforming book, trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins, rather as reformers attempted with the Christian Church centuries later. It is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and way ahead of its time in attitudes to marriage, women and governance.

Under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands was breathtaking. Over centuries it founded an Empire, leading the world in discovery, art and culture. The standard bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian ..."

I hope that none of you were thinking the above were my words, but could you guess who came out with such crap ?

I'll give you a clue, although a Protestant when he was the PM, as soon as the job went so did his association.

He then became a Catholic and within weeks, had met the Pope and within days was assimilated into Opus Dei.

Around and abouts the same time, as a Middle East Envoy, and soon after started to spout shyte like this.

All things to all men hey, I guess if it helps him dodge a bullet it will serve his purpose...

What's the difference between a cactus plant and the Houses of Parliament ?

On a cactus plant the pricks are on the outside...

Nice one Bob! you and I are always singing from the same hymn book. I enjoy your posts immensely.

On and on it goes...

Even the Chancellor is at it...

Not to mention their wives, and the sprogs...

I don't give a sh!t what the rules say - this is blatent theft from every taxpayer in the land.

What about the latest expenses fiddling scandal? Jacquie Smith, having just been found out for falsley claiming allowances for her second home, has now been found out again for allowing her husband's insatiable appetite for porn films, to also form part of her expense claims. That is just utterly obscene - the expense claim I mean - not the porn films..

You having us on Johnboy ? I haven't heard about it, mind you we're a bit out of touch here in Galway. Hope you dint hear about it in the pub, I can't see a Minister being that stupid or arrogant, not after the trouble she's just been in.

It's absolutely true Bob.... She has already owned up and is promising to repay the costs of these porn movies.

We appear now to be governed by the lowest of the low, the very dreggs of society..

What are you doing in Galway? You're not by any chance representing an Indian tribe of native Americans trying to recapture a canoe?

see here

According to the papers she has also claimed 88p for a bath plug but that's understandable, after all the poor lassie is only on 141 thousand pounds a year plus all other perks.

The reason we speak such a clear (or more accurately, non accented) English in Inverness is to do with the fact that we were, and to some extent still are, a market town which services the needs of a wide variety of dialects and it was something which was born out of necessity.

Getting back to the road signs again, which is what this topic is about. I had to take a trip to Skye today and as a result of this conversation I took special note of the road signs. Aside from the fact that I still think bilingual signs are totally unnecessary, it was interesting to note that not only do they become more prominent the further west you travel, but in many places the bilingual signs are then followed by other (official) signs about 50 yards further on which are entirely written in Gaelic, there's even places where there's official road signs entirely in Gaelic with no English reference whatsoever.

The whole situation is far more bonkers than I had realised!!!

You've seen nothing yet, I hear that plans are afoot to add Polish names once the proposed Tornagrain development is completed.

Bilingual Signs are a luxury... what we need is to get back to basics first. Decent road surfaces would be a start.

Graham

I am not for or against Gaelic signs but if the signs had never existed does anyone seriously believe that any money saved would have been used to improve our road surfaces? Recently some plonker of a councillor here in Aberdeen stated that Aberdeen's roads were the best in the country. I suggest he gets off his fat shiny erse and drive around the streets but take his blinkers off first. The point I am trying to make is that the money spent on Gaelic signs is minimal in the wider scheme of things and any savings made by not having them would certainly not be utilised for road improvement.

Well I certainly don't class them as "bloody dangerous". I concentrate on reading the English words and not the Gaelic words and can't understand what the problem is.

Are you, by any chance a gaelic speaker Dam?

I haven't a clue what the Gaelic names mean.

The bottomless pit of money always readily available for bilingual signage annoys me a lot.

How come there's never any money for anything else - such as general improvements for our roads?

I'd say these signs are downright bl0ody dangerous - even more dangerous than talking on a mobile phone as you drive.

I imagine CTO represents a fair cross section of our community. It might be interesting if someone could set up a poll to see how much support or interest there is for the promoting this "dead" language in our local area.

Let's see democracy in action!!

Well I certainly don't class them as "bloody dangerous". I concentrate on reading the English words and not the Gaelic words and can't understand what the problem is.