Charles Bannerman

I thought I had better copy on here what I have just written on the Rumour Mill thread which was..... I seem to have misunderstood the situation here. I had heard this story so often about the town, including from 100% reliable sources, over the preceding three or four days that I actually assumed that it had already been done by somebody else and I had missed it so I thought I had better play catch up with a brief line this morning. However it has since emerged that it was simply a case of a story which was in wide public circulation but had not yet reached the media. If I had known that I might have waited since they might have preferred to release it officially.

I seem to have misunderstood the situation here. I had heard this story so often about the town, including from 100% reliable sources, over the preceding three or four days that I actually assumed that it had already been done by somebody else and I had missed it so I thought I had better play catch up with a brief line this morning. However it has since emerged that it was simply a case of a story which was in wide public circulation but had not yet reached the media. If I had known that I might have waited since they might have preferred to release it officially.

Yes, I do remember Davy Denoon who might have been a couple of years older than I was and hence not fully fledged in a life of crime when we used to wander the streets of Dalneigh as kids. I recollect him as a bit on the wild side, a bit sinister and a bit strange but it would seem that in the ensuing years he managed to descend somewhat into the lifestyle described by Caleyboy. I also have a vague memory of his somewhat stressed mother in what was (in these days) the relatively unusual single parent situation. What I mean by that is that if someone "didn't have a dad", that was something that would be remarked on.

So was your sister's husband Pat Young then? And was it next door to Scotty's barber's shop that the hoover place was rather than him becoming the next tenant after Scotty? And exgrover... would Scotty Bernardi's barber's shop therefore have been where they eventually built River House in the early 60s to allow the Tax Offices etc to move from Longman Road?

Did Toich's interaction with lamp posts not amount to a bit more than simply talking to them? I have to say that the recent election would have been a lot livelier if Willie Bell had been standing once again and with Granville back as his Agent!

I am really dissapointed by how poor the Socialist Parties have done. Yup... I see Coamrade Foaxy only polled about 300 votes. Was Coamrade Toammy even standing or is he still in that swingers' club? And whatever happened to Sister Rosy? I suppose moderate Socialism has sort of been a victim of its own success while extreme Socialism simply got rumbled as the ultimate oppression of the Proletariat. After a steady build up, moderate Socialism came into its own in this country post 1945 due to special conditions prevailing as a result of the war which had just ended and also to meet a demand for the Welfare State (which worked) and to Nationalise various industries (which broadly didn't). It enjoyed a 30 year heyday but, with many of its objectives achieved, went into decline - helped on its way by gross misbehaviour on the part of the Unions in the 60s and 70s. However it took the entire 80s and a bit more for it to dawn that it wasn't working and Socialism had become unelectable. So indirectly, Socialism's extremes landed us with over a decade of Thatcherism. Then Tony and Cronies twigged that to become electable, Labour was going to have to ditch Socialism (and with it Clause 4 - common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange) but what the hell... Socialism is the greatest political philosophy in the world... until you have to apply it to yourself. Never mind, though. It didn't really work in Russia either, despite Stalin and friends doing their best to impose it and bumping off about 20 million people in the attempt between 1917 and 1990. In summary... I think we have moved into a post Socilalist world where the likes of Coamrade Foaxy are mere dinosaurs. Scabbed the teachers' strikes then Chuck? Don't quite see the relevance of the question but... no, I was out each and every time - until the Labour Party started bricking it about losing the forthcoming 1987 election and instructed John Pollock to pull out the troops and come to an agreeement, which Pollock obediently did to the extent that he even threatened to resign if we didn't comply with his most dramaticc of U turns. They mightn't have bothered, though - Wurzel Gummidge in the Donkey Jacket and his Fellow Travellers had long since made Labour unelectable. A wee thought, though, about the negotiations which are currently going on between the Tories and the LibDems at a time when the country desperately and urgently needs a format for stable government. What is REALLY driving the negotiators? Is it the need of the country or the personal or party interests of their respective sets of politicians?

Yes, I think the Citizen Smith comedy back in the 80s, where poor Wolfie was such a stereotype, exposed this kind of politics quite brutally. Otherwise, I'm getting quite worried about stories about all these MPs "taking the whip". Is this what they'll be up to next, now that it will be more difficult to fiddle expenses? Remember Harvey Proctor anybody?

Are you just back from visiting Ally MacLeod on "the other side"?

Barry signed for the first time in 96.

Was Scotty's not further up Greig Street nearer the bridge, the shop eventually taken over by Pat Young the hoover repair man? PS - oops... I must be getting old. I see that in my post last night I actually repeated the anecdote about the meeting in Finlays which I initially quoted in my original post!

No - honest, Dr. Freud... some cyclists just very simply p*ss me off!! As some allegedly intelligent posters do so to me. :P

As long as you don't have to travel Ryanair!

So are you Denis's son or Jill's? Obviously Diggar was enough of a Telford Street legend to be afforded Boardroom hospitality on a regular basis. I have a clear recollection of being in Finlay's Bar on the Sunday afternoon (Sep 12th) following the September 9th 1993 Merger votes, getting the exclusive story (sorry if I sound like Chic ) that there would be organised opposition to the Merger. This was immediately after the inaugural Rebel meeting there and I well remember a quote from young Brooman, grandson of Diggar's great mate John Brooman, who made the rather dramatic statement that: "Diggar McGillvary isn't even cold in his grave and look what they're doing to the club." Diggar had indeed died just a few weeks previously. I sometimes wonder what Diggar would have thought about the merger..... and indeed about his equally beloved Rangers getting beaten home and away by an Inverness team?!

It's a strange consequence of demographics and statistics. The way the population of the UK is distributed is such that in order to get the threshold 326 MPs, Labour has to realise the smallest % of the vote, the next is the Tories while for the LibDems the % is a good deal higher. It's to do with concentration of vote and it's quite demographically biased towards Labour. If you are highly concentrated in certain areas, you will be strong enough there to be first past the post in more that half of the seats and sod the rest. Hence Labour are wiped out in Cheltenham, but it doesn't matter. The more evenly you are spread, the more difficult it is for you to the 1st past the post in a large number of seats. On the other hand the LibDems actually gain in Scotland because their vote is more patchy than elsewhere in the UK, especially in the Highlands and Islands where they have five seats. By the way, whatever happened to Big Alec's 20 seats he said he was going to get to make them "dance a Scottish Jig? The SNP seem to have tumbled big time back to 2005 levels since the heady days of the 2007 blip which got them into power at Holyrood by a few hundred votes. With less than 1 in 5 now voting for the SNP, Alec must now be bricking it big time about next year's Scottish elections. Maybe Wee Wendy's challenge to "bring it on" with an Independence referendum was really quite a politically astute opportunity which the non SNP .... sorry "London Parties" ... have missed. And what about the Tories? Since Maggie Thatcher, nobody (unsurprisingly) seems to love them in Scotland. As for Yngwie's suggestion that the BNP polled more than the SNP... that's inevitable since the SNP only stand in 59 constituencies whereas the BNP have got 650 to choose from and in each one you are bound to get 1000 or so Fascist Loonies or complete cretins who just don't understand just how utterly sinister these Sons of Adolf actually are. See British Politics. Between one thing and another, not a lot to choose from, eh? :angry:

I am really dissapointed by how poor the Socialist Parties have done. Yup... I see Coamrade Foaxy only polled about 300 votes. Was Coamrade Toammy even standing or is he still in that swingers' club? And whatever happened to Sister Rosy? I suppose moderate Socialism has sort of been a victim of its own success while extreme Socialism simply got rumbled as the ultimate oppression of the Proletariat. After a steady build up, moderate Socialism came into its own in this country post 1945 due to special conditions prevailing as a result of the war which had just ended and also to meet a demand for the Welfare State (which worked) and to Nationalise various industries (which broadly didn't). It enjoyed a 30 year heyday but, with many of its objectives achieved, went into decline - helped on its way by gross misbehaviour on the part of the Unions in the 60s and 70s. However it took the entire 80s and a bit more for it to dawn that it wasn't working and Socialism had become unelectable. So indirectly, Socialism's extremes landed us with over a decade of Thatcherism. Then Tony and Cronies twigged that to become electable, Labour was going to have to ditch Socialism (and with it Clause 4 - common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange) but what the hell... Socialism is the greatest political philosophy in the world... until you have to apply it to yourself. Never mind, though. It didn't really work in Russia either, despite Stalin and friends doing their best to impose it and bumping off about 20 million people in the attempt between 1917 and 1990. In summary... I think we have moved into a post Socilalist world where the likes of Coamrade Foaxy are mere dinosaurs.

No - honest, Dr. Freud... some cyclists just very simply p*ss me off!! :004:

:015: Have you ever experienced the sheer fanatical intensity of some of these two wheeled Mullahs whose biggest running cost is a wee dab of 3 in 1? :ph34r:

Except that their owners don't have to pay any taxes and are hence heavily subsidised by owners of motorised vehicles whose taxes pay for the likes of cycle paths which seem almost permanently empty. We seem to have miles and miles of them which are barely used and indeed, one of the emptiest and least used cycle paths I have ever seen is the one that runs along Stadium Road past the Caledonian Stadium which was largely paid for by ICT since the provision of same was a condition of receiving planning permission for the Stadium. In their own defence, cyclists usually play the self righteous CO2 card. I believe that VAT is still levied when purchasing a bicycle. Pedestrians do not pay taxes to use footpaths or pavements, yet these are still maintained using the same pool of money as the excise licence goes into. I am not a cyclist but I do find your, and others', arguments bizarre when it comes to cyclists using the road. VAT is still levied when purchasing most things. Pedestrians use footpaths in far greater numbers than cyclists (or even motorists) use roads, to the extent that being a pedestrian is a universal activity and therefore effectively paid for from general taxation. Being a cyclist is an optional and minority use of the much more expensive facility of roads. (But they seem to use pavements with impunity as well - how often have innocent pedestrians found themselves in danger of being mown down by some some crazy eyed, dayglo clad zealot on two wheels? :clapping04: ). Cyclists also enjoy free use of roads and in a manner which often inconveniences and holds up those who pay lavishly for their provision. They are therefore the ultimate subsidy junkies, aren't they? PS - I now expect to be the subject of a Fatwah from the Evangelical wing of the Two Wheeled Brotherhood. They may even incorporate this into the plot of their latest movie... Mad Max 13 - the Pedal Cycle Sequel. :D :D

Except that their owners don't have to pay any taxes and are hence heavily subsidised by owners of motorised vehicles whose taxes pay for the likes of cycle paths which seem almost permanently empty. We seem to have miles and miles of them which are barely used and indeed, one of the emptiest and least used cycle paths I have ever seen is the one that runs along Stadium Road past the Caledonian Stadium which was largely paid for by ICT since the provision of same was a condition of receiving planning permission for the Stadium. In their own defence, cyclists usually play the self righteous CO2 card.

That I don't know.

From what I'm hearing, I don't think ICT fans will be disappointed with tomorrow's Courier.

I think I would also like to pay tribute to the contribution of my colleagues over at Scorguie. MFR did a really fine job on Saturday afternoon, splitting frequencies to give separate coverage of the "party" aspect of the day from Gino Conti and contributions from Ian Auld into the normal sports programme. This is what the local media are for and they did it very well. It's not an option we have locally with the BBC, although frequency splitting is the backbone of Saturday afternoons nationally. But within the MFR transmission area, especially given the interest in ICT, this worked very well.

Donald and EWS, I fully appreciate what you're saying but I obviously couldn't comment on the Record's sports editorial policy. All I'm doing is to try to shed some light on the general background to this scenario and in particular to respond to 12th Man's comment about BBC coverage.

There's maybe a hint there in the bit I've highlighted. The media can't go on covering this ICT story in depth forever. What you have to remember is that Caley Thistle won the title away back now on April 21st amid great media acclaim. In the case of the BBC, commentary on Raith v Dundee was laid on just for that purpose and Ross Tokely was on air within minutes of confirmation. Then there was a great celebration at Ayr and a 7-0 away win which also attracted a great deal of coverage - in the case of the BBC, Chic on Open All Mics and a great deal of follow up, including parts of the manager's impromptu speech. By the time you get to Saturday's event, yes it's a great day for ICT fans, but the fact that ICT did what they did is no longer NEWS. On the other hand, Stirling wininng the Second Division IS now news, and so is the relegation of Ayr and the ongoing Killie/ Falkirk scenario in the SPL etc etc. I think you also have to look at this from the perspective of the vast majority of people who use these media and who are NOT Caley Thistle fans. Newspapers and other media have a major onus to report breaking news and the kind of gratifying ongoing coverage which, OK the fans of successful teams really enjoy, is only a minority taste and there is therefore a limit to the extent to which it can be indulged. As for the BBC, coverage of Saturday's game amounted to the following - * Robbo on air all afternoon on Open all Mics. There was also commentary (I'm not sure if it was used live or otherwise - I certainly used it on this morning's local news report) on the moment Grant Munro held up the trophy. * A TV match report at 4:50. * Further radio coverage on Sports Report at 6:30. * An online match report on the BBC website from around 7:30. * Extensive coverage on the BBC local news bulletin this morning, including interviews with Terry Butcher, Grant Munro, George Fraser and David Sutherland. You also have to remember that something like this will obviously have a rather longer shelf life in the local media where it's a much bigger deal (but be prepared to be overshadowed very soon, possibly in all but the most very locally based Inverness media, by the run up to Ross County's Scottish Cup appearance). Nationally on the other hand there are far more fish to fry, so there really is a limit to which any one story can dominate other, breaking, fresher ones.

Aye but Terry's not trying to do it with a Learner at the wheel!! :(