GIVE SCOTLAND A CHANCE! Guest Post on Independence by Winston Smith

I’m not a football fan and I generally wish you would all concentrate on more important issues. But, I have to say, there is a sense that Celtic’s victory last night was one of those special historic moments. It’s a great result for Scotland too and goes beyond football.

Little wonder then that Rangers fans are hurting today. They hurt because they have separated themselves from Scotland. Rangers fans revel in Scotland’s failures nowadays, not our successes. Just recently on a Rangers forum, for example, I was shocked to read that a majority of them wished England success in a football game against Scotland.

Celtic fans need to understand that there is a growing rejection of what Rangers stood for, all across Scotland. Proof of that is there for all to see, in the groundswell of opposition to Rangers being crowbarred into the SPL last year, in voting trends, in football forums up and down the country, on the streets and in coffee shops — almost everywhere.

CHRISTMAS: A TIME TO GIVE – Guest Posted by JohnBhoy

There is never a better time to be a child than at Christmas. The cornucopia of festive pleasures: glistening snow on Santa’s rooftops; good-natured snowball fights; sparkling Christmas trees adorned with colourful baubles and silver bells under the glow of tiny twinkling Christmas lights, draped in shimmering tinsel; sentimental films and hidden tears; Christmas Carols full of merriment that lift the heart and heighten anticipation. And when Christmas morning finally comes, the shrieks of delight and scramble to open presents!!

 

Equally, there is never a better time to be a parent of young children than at Christmas. The childish fun in searching out the Christmas Tree and box of decorations. Teasing out the toys to be got from Santa. Imagining Christmas morning and the sheer happiness in your child’s eyes as every package is opened. The games, where Dad always cheats and gets caught out. The forgotten batteries! The half-eaten selection boxes. The self-satisfaction in giving your own child the Christmas that you had, or never had. The quiet, blissful peace at night, when the mince pies have been eaten and all the family is sitting in the warm afterglow, huddled together and content.

 

In Newtown, Connecticut, presents for 20 children and their four teachers and the school  psychologist will sit unopened.