FREEDOM!!!!

there is still a lot of underhand snobbery even within England, I remember meeting a nice posh old couple in a museum one day, we got chatting and the man asked me where I came from, I told him Manchester, and all he said was ''oh dear''.
I asked him if he had ever been to Manchester, he said no, ''but one hears stories doesnt one? he said, ''they all have guns and drugs dont they?.
jeez!

My point exactly ! Lack of education. "we" assume far to much ! often because we've been spoon fed misleading information on people ! & in such a tiny country to ! Narrow minded I call it.

Targaryen's from the south and Starks from the north, all heading for lanisters.

darn tootin!

Mrs Figg wrote: I could go whinging on about how Southerners think all Northerners have cloth caps and live with outside toilets.....

[b]

would you think less of me...?

I never wore a cloth cap.

True northerners

Dave it only applies if you are from oop North, and you keep ferrets in your pants.

That's awesome, David

Thanks Ringo!

And thanks for the reassurance Mrs Figg. I'll check my pants in a minute just to be on the safe side....

Edit: Yes, my trousers seem to be clear of carnivores at the moment, but I did find the wikipedia article interesting and thought provoking:

Ferret legging is an endurance test or stunt in which ferrets are trapped in trousers worn by a participant. Also known as put 'em down and ferret-down-trousers, it is a sport that seems to have been popular among coal miners in Yorkshire, England. Contestants put live ferrets inside their trousers; the winner is the one who is the last to release the animals. The world record is five hours and thirty minutes.

.....

In the sport of ferret legging, competitors tie their trousers at the ankles before placing two ferrets inside and securely fastening their belts to prevent the ferrets from escaping. Each competitor then stands in front of the judges for as long as he can.Competitors cannot be drunk or drugged, nor can the ferrets be sedated.In addition, competitors are not allowed to wear underwear beneath their trousers, which must allow the ferrets free access from one leg to the other, and the ferrets must have a full set of teeth that must not have been filed or otherwise blunted. The winner is the person who lasts the longest.
The sport is said to involve very little "native skill", simply an ability to "have your tool bitten and not care". The former world champion, Reg Mellor, is credited with instituting the practice of wearing white trousers in ferret legging matches, to better display the blood from the wounds caused by the animals. Competitors can attempt, from outside their trousers, to dislodge the ferrets, but as the animals can maintain a strong hold for long periods, their removal can be difficult.
The ferrets are occasionally put inside the contestants' shirts in addition to their trousers. An attempt to introduce a female version of the sport—ferret busting, in which female contestants introduced ferrets down their blouses —proved unsuccessful.

Why do I get the idea that large quantities of buckie may be consumed?

Why do I get the idea that large quantities of buckie may be consumed?- David

I believe the Yorkshire variety is called Bitter Dave.

Oh yes, I vaguely remember now.

I think I told the story here of going drinking with the potholing club in Horton in Ribblesdale. A round of 14. I don't remember any ferrets down my pants but it's entirely possible. I hardly would have noticed.

Come to think of it, I was rather sore in the morning...

That may just have been the Yorkshire women!

or the Yorkshire lads.

Sorry Dave! But they do put ferrets down their trousers for fun afterall.

To bring this momentarily back to the fate of my country its been a big day today in the Independence debate.
Today the Treasury released its document on how it sees currency options were Scotland to become Independent- so central to the arguement as money always is.
I have downloaded the document butits a classic Sir Humphrey- dry to read, all the facts hidden and 135 pages of overly small type- all the usual civil service tricks. But because of the length I have not read more than the first section so will have to comment on it fuller later.
However as probably most people will not wade through the document but get info from news heres how the BBC have reported the Chancellors arguments the document lays out-

Chancellor George Osborne has said it would be a "dive into uncharted waters" if an independent Scotland kept the pound in a currency pact with the UK.

The chancellor said the document set out that for the rest of the UK agreeing to the union was "not clear".

And he said an independent Scottish state would have to accept "significant policy constraints" under such a pact. there was no guarantee that the UK and Scotland would be able to come to an agreement on a currency union.

That would mean a separate Scotland was left with three options - unilaterally keeping the pound, creating a Scottish currency or joining the euro.

Mr Osborne said: "All of these alternative currency arrangements are less suitable economically than we have now for both Scotland and the rest of the UK."

The chancellor went on to argue that with a currency pact there would be an unbalanced relationship between an independent Scotland and its much larger neighbour.

Mr Osborne said: "The fundamental political question this analysis provokes is this - why would 58 million citizens give away some of their sovereignty over monetary and potentially other economic policy to five million people in another state?"
"Would a newly independent Scottish state be prepared to accept significant limits on its economic sovereignty? To submit its economic plans to Westminster before Holyrood?"
The chancellor further claimed that the Westminster government could expect to have more control over Holyrood than Germany has over its Eurozone partners.

Salmonds response- cant find the full vid on youtube just a bit of it so I have transcribed it from the BCC iplayer -

What we argue is that it is in everyones interests to have a currency area after Independence.
Its in the interests of Scotland but its also overwhelmingly in the interests of the rest of the United Kingdom.
And for a very simple reason: that would mean huge Scottish resources like oil and gas could continue to protect the Sterling Balance of Payments.

If they didn't. If Scotland was in another currency then the Balance of Payments deficit in the rest of the UK would be doubled overnight.
And I don't think anyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland wants that to happen. Well, perphaps George Osbourne.

Interviewer- On that point George Osbourne says the volitility of those resources and whats derived from them means that, potentially, if things were to go wrong, and there were financial difficulties, in Scotland, the whole of the UK would be at the risk of a bail out. Which he says wouldnt be acceptable.

Salmond- Oh I see, 40 billion pounds protection for the UK Balance of Payments, he reckons is a problem?
Most people around the world would see that as a most enormous asset.
And I havent seen any UK Chancellor over the last 40 years want to give that asset away.
What I am pointing out is that if Scotland stays in this currency area, then that oil and gas and huge exports like the five billion whisky trade for example, continue to protect the Sterling Balance of Payments.

If he says he doesnt want these, then he risks...welll I suppose, this is a Chancellor who has already been downgraded twice, figthing with the IMF, he is reckless and irresponsible.
But I think when serious economic interest takes over, as opposed to the political sabre rattling you saw today, then people sit down and do what is in the best interets of the people of Scotland and of course the people of the rest of the United Kingdom.
Thats what I'm doing. And I thnk George Osbourne should grow up and do the same.

Interviewer- You say Scotland would have control over its fiscal levers if you broke away, but you wouldnt? Would you? You'd have a currenc you'd potentailly have no control over.

Salmond- Well these are fiscal levers.
Fiscal levers are taxation and spending.
You are talking abut Monetary Policy which is run by the operationaly independent Bank of England at the present monent. And it would continue to operate monetary policy in a operationaly independent way.

But Scotland would have control of her taxation, which we dont at the present moment.
And we'd have control of all of our spending, which we also dont at the present moment.
So we would be fiscally independent within that currency area.
A very sensible thing to do.

So basically there are two reasons why, once we get past this sabre rattling, this is a Tory Chancellor trying to scare people in Scotland tying to stop people voting for inependence, of course he is going to say the sort of things he was saying today, but the day after a resounding yes vote in the referendum, when people sit down and start to negoitate in the best interests of all the people of the UK, he will sing an entirely different tune.

Reg Mellor?? must be related.

This is cute. Yorkshire lass

Yorkshire mixed with Viking words, i didn't no that

Oh I like that! By gum, that's a lovely dialect! Did recognize a few of those words, especially lewp - laup, teem - tøym(e) and "sile" - sil.

But of course, Norwegian has changed a lot from it's Norse root.

The Independant
Thursday 27 August 1992

VIKINGS are still living in Britain and can be found in the Conway Valley in north Wales, in the central Lake District, Pembrokeshire, the north-east coast of Scotland and on the Shetlands, researchers disclosed yesterday.

Derek Roberts, professor of human genetics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, said that a new study of genetic differences of the British revealed about eight distinct regions where many inhabitants are descended from ancient settlements.

In Britain, like the rest of Europe, there is a genetic gradient running from the North-west to the South-east that is a remnant of successive waves of migrants from the Continent, he said.

As newcomers arrived from the south, older populations were pushed north to 'regions of refuge'. The inhabitants of Orkney, for instance, are genetically quite distinct from the rest of Britain, and even parts of Europe. They must be 'the relics of an ancient population' that has remained isolated for many years, Professor Roberts said.

Inhabitants of South Wales could be traced back to pre-Celtic times and people living on the Orkneys had the oldest lineage of all, linking them with neolithic settlers dating back 7,000 years.

American researchers who collated years of studies also found that the residents of the central area of the Lake District were genetically distinct from the people who lived on the edges of the district.

They found that the central residents had many genes similar to those of present-day Norwegians. Professor Roberts suggested that this was because about 1,000 years ago Vikings settled in what is now the Lake District.

Another genetic boundary occurs in East Anglia, roughly separating Norfolk from Suffolk. Professor Roberts said that this was possibly the ancient divide between early settlements of the Angles and Saxons.

Knowing more about genetic differences and similarities will help medical researchers understand more about inherited disorders that affect local populations. Orkney residents, for instance, suffer the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in Britain, probably for genetic reasons.

They found that the central residents had many genes similar to those of present-day Norwegians.

oh yeah, we spread out ^^