In praise of: Steven Brown Art

The image of the famous Highland cow is known worldwide as a symbol of Scotland and Scottish tourism - it pops up everywhere from postcards to other souvenirs and of course soft toys. In case you're unfamiliar with what it looks like, here's a picture of a Highland cow:

By the way, although I've never seen one in its natural habitat, I have seen them at the Royal Highland Show (the famous Scottish agricultural show which takes place at Ingliston near Edinburgh) and they are mighty fine specimens!

Anyway, what do you get if you combine Highland cows with the colourful imagination of Ayrshire artist Steven Brown?  Answer: the McCoos! ("Coo" is a Scottish word for a cow, in case you didn't know)l. 

In recent months the colourful art of Steven Brown has crept into our consciousness here in Scotland, and there is now even an advert on Scottish TV.  Everyone who knows me knows how much I love everything cow-related so it was inevitable that I would invest in some purchases from the Steven Brown Art shop in Newmarket Street in Ayr when I visited last week.  Yesterday I bought a couple of frames for my prints so they can finally go up on the living room wall at EuropeCrazy HQ.  Meet Lizzie McCoo and Arran and Isla McCoo (love the way that every one of Mr Brown's creations has its own name!)

At this point I must throw in a disclaimer here: OTHER ANIMALS ARE AVAILABLE.  So if you're not really a fan of all things bovine, there is something for everyone at Steven Brown Art, from lions to penguins, chimps to deer, dogs and even celebrity icons like Marilyn Monroe and Amy Winehouse.

Steven brings a lot of colour into our lives in very dark times, so his colourful art deserves to be celebrated and I hope it reaches a much wider audience.  Check out https://www.stevenbrownart.co.uk/ for his considerable body of work to date. 

Here's a little video from YouTube as well, where Steven describes his work and how his business has grown over the past year.  

Thoughts from my day off

I have been off work today, as per my current working pattern where I work the same hours per fortnight, only over 9 longer days which therefore entitles me to a day off every fortnight.  It is a most wonderful thing, I have to say, and here's hoping that it becomes a more permanent arrangement, all being well.  I have now been doing this for 4 months and at times I have felt that my day off's been all work and no play, so I made sure that today would be a more leisurely one, where I stayed at home, took it easy, chilled out, listened to music, and put some research into future holiday destinations.  So it's been a big success!

May usually means spring holiday time, which means that exciting things are imminent....of course I will be writing about our spring holiday over at EuropeCrazy.  Although there was initially a plan for our spring holiday, alternatives are also being considered therefore at this point I really can't say where we are going, because I genuinely don't know... It could be somewhere old, or somewhere new, or the combination of an old country with a new destination.  It could be anywhere.....more to follow!

Over the past 24 hours I've been coming to terms with the possibility of another Scottish independence referendum, as proposed yesterday by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. I have already heard many negative thoughts about it, but in my own view I think it's worth another try.  The outcome of the 'Brexit' referendum revealed very distinctive differences across the UK and I think that many of us in this part of the world do not relate to the rather negative views which emerged from much of that referendum campaign.  Before you ask, I am not a 'Scottish Nationalist' but in the last referendum I clearly examined every argument in detail and formed my own opinion, going from a definite no to yes, for the reason that I felt that we could build a very different, progressive, compassionate and inclusive nation.   However I also respect and acknowledge the views of those who chose to remain in the UK; for there were many unresolved questions/issues which will no doubt raise their ugly head again in the referendum campaign and will still need answered.  My own view, however, has not changed; I will vote yes again, because I think it's time for self-determination.  I know many other people who voted 'no' in 2014 but who would definitely vote 'yes' this time round....but I know many, many others who are much more determined to vote 'no' so it's going to be a bumpy road ahead....

18th September 2014: that independence referendum.

45% of Scottish voters said yes: I was one of them.  However, 55% of Scottish voters said no, therefore Scotland will remain in the United Kingdom. 

I was on holiday in Croatia during the week of the Scottish independence referendum, and had cast my postal vote (pictured above) in advance.  As the arguments became more heated in the run-up to voting day, I was glad to be away from it all.  What more could I say or do?  Once I had made my decision to vote yes, that was it.  There was no going back, no changing my mind.  I may be a typical indecisive Libran but once my decision is made, I will always stand by it.

Being surrounded by No voters in my working environment, coupled with the torrent of scare stories being fed to us by the mainstream media, I had an idea that No would triumph.  It was hope versus fear, and of course I understand why a lot of people just don't want to take that risk, that chance, that leap of faith into the unknown.  So, despite my own high hopes and desire for change in this country, I can understand why people would vote no.  It was their choice. 

What I wasn't prepared for was the level of disappointment which I felt on the morning of Friday 19th September.  As I woke to another bright and sunny morning in Trogir, I reached for my tablet and went online to discover the result.  In just one second it felt as if we'd been plunged into the abyss, soundtracked with the sound of a nation's bottle crashing. And my other thought: "how am I going to explain the result to that lovely Croatian girl in the hotel who couldn't understand why we would not want independence?".

Hope had been replaced with hopelessness, with only Glasgow, Dundee, North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire daring to dream of a new future. 

"If we are going to be better together, then why are we not better together now?"

Someone asked this question during one of the televised debates and I thought it hit the nail on the head.  In the last days of the campaign, the leaders of the UK's three main political parties suddenly remembered that Scotland existed and they came north in a last-gasp bid to save the Union, and even went as far as to jointly sign a promise that Scotland would be given extra devolved powers in the event of a No vote.  This 'vow' appeared on the front of the Daily Record, and was supposed to convince the remaining don't-knows to vote No.

But as we all know, it wouldn't be the first time that a political promise turned to dust.  Just hours after the referendum result was confirmed, the debate was suddenly steered in a different, federalist direction, and the possibility of extra devolution was now buried beneath new arguments about powers for England, Wales, Northern Ireland....and a general feeling that we should all now move on and forget that the referendum ever happened.  I have never liked Alex Salmond or the SNP, but the referendum was bigger than that.  When Salmond conceded the result on 19th September, he did it with statesmanship and dignity, and then he later announced that he was stepping down as First Minister and SNP leader.  Nicola Sturgeon is very likely to be his successor, which will mean that the three main political parties in Scotland will all be led by women.  Whether you agree with their politics or not, that gives you an idea of Scotland's progressive potential.

Of course we need to move on: dwelling on the result can leave you looking like a sore loser filled with sour grapes, but moving on should mean building on what the referendum started - a feeling of democracy, empowerment and a desire for positive change.  People are doing it in different ways: whether joining the Scottish National Party, participating in the '45' movement, keeping the arguments alive online, but as a 'working-class Yes voter looking for a political home' I feel that the time is right for a new party to be established in Scotland, or some kind of new alliance to represent us.  I found this fantastic article by Cat Boyd which perfectly articulates my own views: http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2014/09/23/a-scottish-podemos/  I can only hope that someone, somewhere steps up to fill that political void. 

Regardless of the result, I'm glad the referendum happened.  It provided a rare opportunity for empowerment and democracy, and it woke Scotland up.  The next big challenge is staying awake and keeping the momentum going.

The journey from Naw to Aye: my last word on the Scottish independence referendum

Finally, this is my last word on the subject.  (Aren't you all glad of that!)

In September 2013 I wrote a blog post on why I would be voting No in the Scottish independence referendum which takes place on 18th September.  By June 2014 the confirmed 100% No voter had become a Yes-with-reservations, as I devoured every intelligent argument (online of course - you won't find these in the Scottish press) about the reasons why Scotland should be an independent country, and a potentially successful one at that.  But I still had my doubts.

The referendum is now just over 5 weeks away.  I will be voting Yes.

So what changed my mind? Well, I have taken the time to explore all views and opinions, for and against, from all sides of the argument.  It has been a long time and a lot of work, but the research is worth it when the future of your country is at stake.  I have deliberately avoided the arguments from the SNP and Better Together, preferring to focus on rational, intelligent arguments and explanations by people who are independent (pardon the pun) of thought.  The Scottish National Party (SNP) may have facilitated the referendum, but I do not share their views and I can't stand its leader Alex Salmond.  And don't even start me on that awful TV debate last week between him and Better Together's frontman Alistair Darling: a shouting match which did neither side any favours.

I know more people who will be voting No than voting Yes.  Everyone to their own decision, but I would guess that many of those will not have taken the time or trouble to seek out all the information available, and only listened to the fear-driven arguments of much of the Scottish media.  I have chosen to take the time to make an informed decision. 

Breaking away from the UK is going to be a tough decision to make.  We have so much in common, we like a lot of the same things, we watch the same TV shows, listen to the same music, we have shared experiences.  But Scotland's political life has always been more distinctively different from the rest of the UK: we have always been more left-wing/socialist in our outlook.  There is a lot of exciting debate coming from the radical left and who knows - this could even lead to the creation of a new political force in our country.  Whilst acknowledging there are certain parts of the country which will always vote for other parties, the fact remains that in all my life Scotland has always 'been Labour' and which in the past two Scottish Parliament elections, punished the party for its swing to the right in the rest of the UK.  This brought the SNP to power and ultimately gave that party a mandate to hold this infamous referendum. 

The decision to choose independence for Scotland is purely based on our right to run our own affairs.  It's a chance for Scotland to reinvent itself, to make a fresh start as a progressive country, to create a  fair and just society where people are not punished for being poor. As the southern part of the UK dangerously spirals towards an extreme right-wing future and a potential Tory/UKIP coalition, can you blame us for not wanting to be part of that?

The forthcoming referendum has had some positive side-effects.  Political apathy took hold of this country a long time ago, so who'd have thought that so many people are getting out there to attend public meetings?  I had never been to a political meeting in my life, but recently I attended a public meeting where more relevant points and questions were raised and addressed in one night than you would ever get in a year's worth of televised debates.  Finally, people are beginning to take an interest in the future direction of our country.  However, when it comes to voting time, I just can't see the majority of my countrymen and women voting yes. 

But I have finally made my own decision.  In answer to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?".  I will be voting yes.  In the words of John Lennon, Citizen Smith and Molly Smitten-Downes: power to the people.