since the last post i've been home and then away again to Dorset this time, visiting family.
I was away for the election. It was very interesting and a bit depressing seeing it all from the South of England - well, England really.
As I took many walks around the area I noticed with surprise how many 'Vote UKIP' posters there were, but also with surprise and hope quite a few 'Green' posters. Obviously a lot of conservative ones - a given really for that part of the world i suppose, although all my family are firm Labour voters.
I talked to people in shops etc, always asking about Scotland and the SNP etc., and was quite disturbed to find how much misunderstanding there is about what is going on up here. Apparently Nicola Sturgeon is more or less 'evil' - a shock to hear - I have no idea about that myself, she just seems to be bright and speaks clearly - but 'evil'? wow. so who's psychic? I'm afraid the media's propaganda is by and large quite often believed.
So more often than not I found myself having to put a bit of perspective into people's ideas, thoughts, beliefs of how people in Scotland are feeling, as far as I could and being as objective as possible, and including the fact that not everyone who would vote SNP would be doing so for the same reason and that probably quite a few people would still vote Labour .. etc..
Then the actual election (I had a postal vote) happened and we all woke up to all that blue. I am afraid Scotland is being blamed quite a bit for the massive conservative take over, because of the SNP surge. It is actually quite a big blow for Scotland as well, I think. Personally I had hoped to have much more of a hung parliament with a few parties' voices and much less of the conservatives.
Couldn't be more wrong.
Here is an interesting article in the New Statesman, worth a read ..
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/05/dont-give-angry-population-hard-govern-depressed-population-easy
On a slightly cheerier note - one of my walks view
I was away for the election. It was very interesting and a bit depressing seeing it all from the South of England - well, England really.
As I took many walks around the area I noticed with surprise how many 'Vote UKIP' posters there were, but also with surprise and hope quite a few 'Green' posters. Obviously a lot of conservative ones - a given really for that part of the world i suppose, although all my family are firm Labour voters.
I talked to people in shops etc, always asking about Scotland and the SNP etc., and was quite disturbed to find how much misunderstanding there is about what is going on up here. Apparently Nicola Sturgeon is more or less 'evil' - a shock to hear - I have no idea about that myself, she just seems to be bright and speaks clearly - but 'evil'? wow. so who's psychic? I'm afraid the media's propaganda is by and large quite often believed.
So more often than not I found myself having to put a bit of perspective into people's ideas, thoughts, beliefs of how people in Scotland are feeling, as far as I could and being as objective as possible, and including the fact that not everyone who would vote SNP would be doing so for the same reason and that probably quite a few people would still vote Labour .. etc..
Then the actual election (I had a postal vote) happened and we all woke up to all that blue. I am afraid Scotland is being blamed quite a bit for the massive conservative take over, because of the SNP surge. It is actually quite a big blow for Scotland as well, I think. Personally I had hoped to have much more of a hung parliament with a few parties' voices and much less of the conservatives.
Couldn't be more wrong.
Here is an interesting article in the New Statesman, worth a read ..
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/05/dont-give-angry-population-hard-govern-depressed-population-easy
On a slightly cheerier note - one of my walks view
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M xx