Incidentally, acting on a dimly remembered suspicion...

wikipedia wrote:Bank of England notes are the only banknotes that are legal tender in England and Wales. Scottish, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and Manx banknotes are not legal tender in England and Wales. However, they are not illegal under English law and creditors and traders may accept them if they so choose.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland no banknotes – not even ones issued in those nations – are legal tender, although Bank of England one pound notes were when they existed: Bank of England notes of under five pounds value are legal tender. Scottish and Northern Irish notes are 'promissory notes' (defined as legal currency), essentially cheques made out from the bank to 'the bearer', as the wording on each note says.

The UK Treasury has proposed extending legal tender status to Scottish banknotes. The proposal has been opposed by Scottish nationalists who claim it would reduce the independence of the Scottish banking sector

Like I said. Just keep pointing at the bit that says Sterling. They can't understand a word you're saying anyhow.

fraser wrote:I like football, i do not support England, i support Scotland.

I've often wondered why we don't have a British Team. Spain has a united one and its component parts are as independent and anti-union as ours if not more so (ETA still bombing and killing and that and recently the military threatened Catalonia (i think) over concern over it declaring independence). Maybe a united sports team would go some way to reducing this race hatred. What you think? Then the media would be saying nice things about all of us.

fraser wrote:No. The industry i work in (video games development) has all but died out in Scotland, as new money and new business in this industry becomes increasingly London-centric. When i got made redundant for the 2nd time in 3 years, there was literally no jobs left in Scotland for me. I got offered a job in england, and i accepted.

Was just having a josh there really. Ironic though cause a friend of mine (Welsh as it would happen) moved from England to Edinburgh after getting a job in the games industry working for Rockstar. Does the 'skins' (?) for buildings and props and stuff on San Andreas don't you know.

fraser wrote:I guess scotland has a chip on it's shoulder about being the smaller, weaker nation, and while there's been a union for many hundreds of years, much of scotland, like many employees doesn't like it's boss.

Here I think we hit the nail on the head. The problem I think is that it really shouldn't see itself as a seperate nation anymore (or course in an ideal world I'm with Chapter Two and I'd rub out the borders (though not before buying a big old fucking gun)).
Britain has had Scottish Kings, many members of the British Parliament are Scottish and our soon to be Prime Minister will be. There has been such cross pollination of people from the different nations in the Union that to hold a grudge against someone because of the place they were born isn't reasonable as their parents might have been getting pissed with your Dad just thirty years ago (in fact I scratch that for the Irish. The Irish have had British Soldiers shooting at civilians within living memory so I can dig their being pissed off).

And re mention of Thatcher. She was a cunt sure but I'm from the North East of England and our region was lain waste by her policies at least as much as Scotland was. Our industries destroyed leading to massive unemployment the shockwaves of which we'll be feeling for years. Even post Thatcher I remember reading an interview with the Governor of the Bank of England a few years ago in which he said that it was worth pushing the people of the North East into a depression as a sacrifice for the rest of the country's economy.
Scotland in the last ten doesn't have to pay tuition fees, the ban on smoking in public places came in earlier, Its electoral system is better and arguably its overall education system is better so quit feeling fucking sorry for yourself.
If it's a good thing you also still have a strong cultural identity which is more than most English (that aren't shooting pheasants)can say.

If it wanted independence then I agree, I don't think Westminster should stop it but I also don't think England should waste billions of pounds in helping it establish itself. It would be a total waste of time and money and the Scots would soon realise that Scottish politicians would be just as capable of fucking the populace over as anyone else. They always have done.
And for anyone thinking it would be able to stand on its own two feet cause it has oil they should remember what brings the most money into this country. The financial sector. That's based in London but is owned largely by people who come from none of the nations in the Union.

Did anyone see David Starkey's Monarchy last night, which covered the Act of Union? It was very informative about a historical period that I know little about. He was saying the benefits of Union were principally mercantile, allowing free-trade and saw in the most prosperous period in Scotland's history (admittedly, though they were strongarmed to the table). It also put paid to religious conflict, with the acceptance of the Hanoverian succession and saw an end to ambitions of the absolutist Catholic Stewarts. In effect, Union shored up the politcal health of both nations.

I think devolution has been good for the English as well, in that it has made us begin think a little harder about our own national identity.

Poll tax was introduced in Scotland a full year before it was in England and was, by all accounts, a fucking disgrace. Tories are still apologising for it almost 20 years after.

Edinburgh is the 6th largest financial centre in Europe, and it's not it London.

With regards to the bank notes, it's a lot more difficult in practice to get them accepted than fiery jack seems to realise. But that's more a matter of the idiots taking (or not, as the case may be) money from you during a transaction.

Nico Adie wrote:With regards to the bank notes, it's a lot more difficult in practice to get them accepted than fiery jack seems to realise. But that's more a matter of the idiots taking (or not, as the case may be) money from you during a transaction.

As indicated I have direct experience to draw upon, being Scottish by birth and Northern Irish by upbringing I fairly regularly end up bungling my finances and bringing odd notes back to England. By passing them over in big shops (e.g. Tesco) I've had no bother in recent years, the sole exception being the amazing Northern Bank plastic fiver.

Unfortunately, a misdirected attempt to civilise and exploit theDarien Gap, was instrumental in pushing the union with England. Basically, Scotland faced bankruptcy when it ploughed most of it's wealth into the (ad)venture and had to go cap-in-hand to England for a loan to remain solvent.

Mind you, The guy who led the scheme, William Patterson, founded the Bank of England and there was some jiggery pokery regarding English and Dutch investment. So, it could have been just another occasion where we trusting and honest Scots were fucked over for political reasons.

fiery jack wrote:

Nico Adie wrote:With regards to the bank notes, it's a lot more difficult in practice to get them accepted than fiery jack seems to realise. But that's more a matter of the idiots taking (or not, as the case may be) money from you during a transaction.

As indicated I have direct experience to draw upon, being Scottish by birth and Northern Irish by upbringing I fairly regularly end up bungling my finances and bringing odd notes back to England. By passing them over in big shops (e.g. Tesco) I've had no bother in recent years, the sole exception being the amazing Northern Bank plastic fiver.

I stand corrected.

Apologies.

Happy St Andrews day.

Which is now a (semi)official holiday north of the border.

Expect a large number of our American cousins to rediscover their inner Scot and commercialise the wazzoo out of it

Mark wrote:Which is now a (semi)official holiday north of the border.

Expect a large number of our American cousins to rediscover their inner Scot and commercialise the wazzoo out of it

See Tartan Day. NYC.