Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Tuesday 29 April 2014

The Scottish Referendum


The referendum on Scottish Independence in September appears to be covered very spasmodically south of the border in the English media. We get aflurry of reports of speeches from each side, then the topic goes quiet for a few weeks. This is rather worrying to my mind - this is after all, about the very survival of the country of which we are all a part. 

I fear too many people in England are not interested, or do not bother to reflect upon the implications, or in some, blinkered cases, want to lose the Scots for their own political advantage.

A friend directed my attention to an article by Dominic Lawson in the Daily Mail, which is, I think, quite a good portrayal of the range of opinions in Scotland, of the choices facing voters there, and of the ways in which they are forming their decision. Those choices certainly are not always quite what one might expect in terms of consistencey, or in some cases rationality. The piece is certainly reflective of the Mail's house style, but nonetheless has many interesting insights as to the debate. The article can be read at Heard the one about the Englishman who walked into a Glasgow pub and delivered some home truths on independence?

This is a topic to which I strongly suspect I shall return in the coming months.




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