Tennents Lager Ad : Caledonia

I think this ad would make any Expat Scot want to pack their bags and head home....



This is a classic advertisement for Tennents lager. Its all about homecoming to Scotland, with the amazing song titled "Caledonia" Written by Dougie MacLean and sung by Frankie Miller.

Lyrics.

I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
So I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I came from
And that's the reason why I seem
So far away today
Oh, but let me tell you that I love you
That I think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me
And now I'm going home

Scotland - A Shamless Plug

I thought I'd drop a wee plug for Scotland in this post since living in New Zealand I often have to convince people that we dont just sit around in cold houses drinking beer while it rains outside.

I think these Visit Scotland ads are just the ticket for the doubters...

Highlands


Surfing, Boat Rides, Hill Walking, Concerts...

A Perfect Day


Kayaking, Landing a Plane on the Beach, Crabs, Driving, Beaches and Sunsets...

Adventure


Windsurfing, Abseiling, Mountain Biking, Snowboarding, Paragliding, Surfing...

Edinburgh


Check out VisitScotland.com >>

Dear American, Socialism is NOT a Bad Word

Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth into a small section of society who control capital, and creates an unequal society.

All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly, although there is considerable disagreement among socialists over how, and to what extent this could be achieved.

To me, the greatest reason why I would ever become a Socialist is health care.

100% Free health care. (tax funded of course)

Maybe I am crazy but as far as I am concrned, health care is a Right, not a Privilege which only a certain percentage of society should have access to.

Every human being should have access to free and high quality health care without being asked for a Credit Card or Insurance Certificate, Surely even the most staunch Capitalist would agree that this "basic" human right should be met.

What amazes me about the American system of health care, is the large number of people who seem to have been brainwashed into accepting that any kind of 'free' system is bad because..

Free healthcare = socialism and socialism is a bad word.

Many people in the United States seem happy to pay for medical insurance cover and also seem to believe that it will provide in their darkest hour of need, the cover which it proclaims. I would have serious doubts over trusting a private company to pay for my medical bills, especially after watching the movie 'Sicko' where it was revealed that these companies actually employ people to deliberatly look for reasons to 'deny' your cover and often find one, no matter how small and insignificant that reason is.

I would much prefer to trust the government with my health care. Why? because I believe in democracy, I believe that for the most part, my government (in this case NZ and UK) can be trusted to look after the people. They do not seek profit and therefore are highly unlikely to deny my rights for medical care.

Does this make me A Socialist?

further reading >

• Thread on American Socialism
• Socialism shouldn't be considered a bad word
• NHS Support Federation
  

P.s. If you are against free health care and don't mind paying for cover, that's fine, but what about Police, Schools, Fire service? Should you get a bill from the Police when they arrest a criminal on your property? should you fork out a few thousand dollars for the fire dept who successfully extinguish your burning home?

Muzzerino.

Keep Our NHS Public!

Dear American, this is NOT the Flag of England

No offence, but I just saw a news report from a major American news channel talking about the financial crisis and once again they referred to the UK as "England" with a nice big Union Jack graphic next to it.

Please please please, understand that England is merely a "Part" of the UK, albeit the biggest part, it is a "part" nonetheless.

I am sure if people decided to call the United States of America "Texas" or "Delaware" then a lot of Americans might feel a little annoyed about that.

Just to confirm....

This is the Flag of England

This is the Flag of England

and....

This is the Flag of the UK

This is the Flag of the UK

Below is an example of the make up of the Union Jack (UK Flag)

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make up the "UK"

Wales doesn't have a representation in the flag because they fall under the English flag due to the nature of their Union.

Thanks for listening to me moan.

Muzzerino

In Wir Ain Leid : A Blog Post in the Scots Language

So ah thought ad bettur write a blog fur yince in ma ain language / Leid an dialect, so here goes.

The spelling in the Scots Leid / Language is still much tae debate aboot so ah make nae apologies fur any o the spelling that ye might disagree wi.

Mah Ain Dialect wid said tae be that o the south o Edinburgh wir ah'm fae (Embra) incase yer wunderin. The map oan the right will tell ye roond aboot where this language is spoken.

Ah Grew up speakin whit ah thought wiz jus "slang" but its turns oot thit mah slang is mair o a dialect than jist some kindae Bastardized version o English. Maist o the time ah wid speak like this tae ma pals when ah wiz wee, but yed aywis git pulled up fur it in school! Mair than likely, ye wouldnae git away wi it when ye wur auld enough tae wurk. Ye could nivur get a joab if ye went intae an interview speakin like this, ken?

Ma Mither and Faither wid have both spokin a bit like this tae when they wur wee, coz they are also frae roon aboot the same place o each ither, that being Edinburgh (Embra)

Ah've bin bloggin for aboot 3 months noo and ahm still trying tae get tae grips wi it. Ah've blogged oan politics, wurld news and various ither hings, an so far ah've managed tae git a guid few hits fae you guid folks oot there on the web, so ta very much fur that.

Mair recently uh've bin bloggin aboot the US Elections, even tho ahm no a yank, ah still find it interestin. Ah've also bin bloggin a guid bit aboot the political situation goin on here in bonny NZ tae, coz oor elections are cumin up soon anaw.

Ah've also written aboot military issues such as thae daft Russians an their huge Warships. Aye, ah've goat a bit o a ship fetish yin could say.

Then yeh've goat the mair abstract subjects thit ah've blogged aboot, likesay the price o Brocolli and "how come were still waitin oan mair Freeview channels in NZ?".

Anither yin that stuck me wis the plight o the brave Gurkhas in Britian, ah hid tae write a few wurds oan that yin, fur its a right injustice!

Then ye've goat yer daft blog posts like the Aussies who blew up "hole in the wa" in Melbourne and then what aboot the blog oan the Kiwi Drivers eh? Ah thought that wiz a guid yin even if ah do say so masel, especially the bit aboot the roondaboots.

What aboot the moon? There wiz a guid few comments oan that yin, especially fae ma blogger pal "Ken", ah still dinnae ken, if Ken got it though. Ken what ah mean?
(Music Monkey will ken though, even through she's a Weegie)

By the way for those o you who dinnae ken, ah've goat two ither Blogs, yin oan Sci Fi and Yin oan Widescreen Wallpaper so away an take a wee look if ye can be bothured.

Well thats aboot it fae me on this, ma inagural "Scots Leid" post, ah hope ye wur able tae decipher it enough tae understand whit ahm sayin.

Bear in mind noo that "Scots" is an Auld language, its a derivative o Auld an Middle English. If yer interested in readin mair aboot the Scots Leid, take a wee look at the links below.

• Dicionar O the Scots Leid
• Scots Online - Pittin the Mither Tongue on the Wab!
• A Braw Airticle oan the Scots Leid @ Wikipedia
  

By Fur noo.

Life as a Backpacker

Back in 2002 I flew away from my old world in Edinburgh, Scotland and launched myself into a new one.

This new world was dominated by hot weather, foreign accents, living with strangers and drinking cheap German wine.

This was the world of the backpacker and It was quite possibly the best time of my life.

Billabong Gardens, Newtown, Sydney, Australia

Life as a backpacker for me here in Sydney basically consisted of 3 things.

Sharing a room with strangers in a hostel, discovering something new in a foreign land, then coming back to the hostel at night, sitting down, chatting with strangers who soon become friends and then drinking, talking and laughing into the "wee" hours.

For about 5 months during 2002 I had enough money to ensure that I could live without a job. I had enough money to eat, for rent, for travel around the city and just enough to purchase a "backpackers handbag" every few days.

"Backpackers Handbag"?

I first heard the name "backpackers handbag" was from my friend Helge. A Backpackers Handbag is a box of wine, or a cask of wine if you prefer, as long as it has a handle, otherwise it doesn't qualify.

For example, myself and a few other backpackers would sit around the outside hostel table each night and drink the 4 or 5 litre variety such as "Kaiser Stuhl" or "Stanley" which has a handle on top.

Only the posh backpackers would by the 2-3 litre versions with no handle.

Names such as "Kaiser Stuhl"and "Stanley" became synonymous with those of us who wanted as much alcohol per dollar as possible in our wine, whereas the slightly more affluent backpacker would choose "Yalumba" and "Lindemans" to satisfy their backpacker habit.

It would often be heard that "I had a good night with the 'Kaiser' last night"
or "I wonder if 'Stanley' is coming out tonight?"

Of course, many of use would drink beer too, but often this would be bought by those of us who had jobs or those who had just arrived in the country and had not yet discovered how much they had to value every Australian Cent to keep them going.

Although backpacking is about travel and many will criticise someone who stays in the same place, I do not regret for one moment the time I spend in Sydney, just talking, drinking and meeting new people.

Many of us would become really great friends, many romances would develop between others and of course people also hated each other. The thing about a small backpacker community is there is a regular intake and outflow and I am not just talking about Alcohol and Urine.

Every week new faces would arrive at the hostel, "fresh meat" as it were and some would join our group, others would not. Some would stay only a day, others would stay for months.

Then there is the goodbyes. Frequently as a backpacker you will meet the most amazing people, then they are gone and you never know if you will ever see them again and that is tough. Often they would come back after a trip round the country, but sometimes and all to often you never lay eyes on them again.

A backpackers life is a life of change and about realising just how much fun you can have in a day without the constraints of a work routine.

I loved being a backpacker in Sydney Australia, it was different from being a backpacker in New Zealand or Asia (I will write about that later) and given the money, I'd happily pick up the backpack, quit my job and spend the rest of my life doing the things I just described above. :-)

Long live the Backpacker!

Muzzerino