Back in the summer of 1995 the new laddish .net magazine caused a stushie by describing the Scottish web presence as a 'ghetto'. The usual anti-Scottish racism, of course, but this time with a grain of truth. Far to much effort has been spent trying to reproduce in digital format the same tired old stereotypes that have dogged us the entire century. Tartan, bagpipes, clan societies - we got em'. Ay an ye kin fin thaim yersels, gin yez lyke tha kin o thing.
- The tour (weill, mair a stravaig) starts, therefore with Lonely Planet's Guide to Scotland "Its people are feisty, opinionated and fiercely loyal. The country is wild, untamed and beautiful. The bad climate adds an edge to both. Scratch the surface, however, and contradictions appear....". Good stuff, and some nice pictures.
- Next stop is the
FAQ from soc.culture.scottish, which is OK, though reflects the US Scot's preoccupation with tartanalia. The soc.culture.scottish newsgroup is itself worth tuning into. It is very busy, but all to often pure havers. There is also a range of 'scot.' newgroups which are quieter.
- The best Scottish jump site is/are Gordon Dick's Tartan Pages. .net magazine called them 'a total hoot', which may indicate thai dinna ken thair erse frae thair elbuck as it is in fact a pretty comprehensive site.
- The (Glasgow) Herald, one of Scotland's top papers has a good site (with quite a nice section on the Burns bicenternary). At the other end of the scale, The Daily Record (Scotland's bestselling rag) is as dire in bits as in atoms. We are waiting for 'The Scotsman' and 'Scotland on Sunday' to get their acts together.
- There are also a couple of news feeds, the Scottish Daily News and the disappointing Scottish News on the Internet.
- If you want to dig deeper into the Scottish condition, try Hamish's Independence Page. "Take the Scots Independence Tour. Find out why Scotland needs Independence. Scotland is trapped in a Union with England (the United Kingdom) that has been, and continues to be, detrimental to Scottish ideals, institutions and her economy". No doubt with your appetite whetted you'll want to go directly to the Scottish National Party, described by the Financial Times, nae less, as "Probably the best British political party page":
- Incidentally, the vast bureaucracy which runs Scotland on behalf of the British governement,
The Scottish Office has its own site. Check out Education and Training in Scotland for the telling quote "Although it is part of the United Kingdom, and English is the language in daily use, Scotland has its own language - Gaelic...". Sae whit dae thai ken? Our kintra maun as weill be rin bi the nyaffs o .net magazine.
© Clive P L Young Februar 96