Celtic Highway

[ionnsaigh]

Both my partner and I visit Kintyre regularly. We enjoy the peace and tranquillity of your place, your People, and your Culture. On entering Campbeltown it is with mixed emotions, seeing the signs of Economic deprivation that litter the Town.
This is clearly partly due to Political neglect- What is the political persuasion of your elected representatives ?

On the one hand the very remoteness of Kintyre brings limited income, through tourism. However when one considers the amount of wealth extracted from your land, by a highly skilled workforce - to the meagre income that comes through tourism then I'm afraid there is no comparison. There is also a danger of deskilling this workforce, to a level that requires the natives to dress up, act the part - and in reality become no more than glorified Uncle Tom's.

Kintyre could be the central hub of a Celtic highway stretching between Ayrshire- Arran- Kintyre- Ireland. This could be achieved by building Two road tunnels employing in the first instance local skilled labour. However I can't imagine the powers that be ever agreeing funding for such a proposal- unless a concerted campaign was undertaken by the Council Tax payers of Kintyre.

[A Horse called Juan Face]

megh

[CATHYM]

to a level that requires the natives to dress up, act the part - and in reality become no more than glorified Uncle Tom's.

Uncle Tom is a pejorative for a black person who is perceived by other blacks as subservient to white authority figures, or as seeking ingratiation with them by way of unnecessary accommodation. The term Uncle Tom comes from the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, though there is debate over whether the character himself is deserving of the pejorative he spawned.

Black ashamed- perhaps this is a local saying, however it appears discriminatory and Racist- chances are that the person who did this was White- so why should they feel Black ashamed ?. What colour would you describe Christ?- certainly not White, with blue eyes and blond hair. What does Black Ashamed actually mean- if it's not racist - then what is it.

No why should I - Your the one you thinks this type of racist trash is funny -so go ahead and give all who think that this highly offensive material is in some way funny- Lets hear the one about the country kintyre village idiot.

[ionnsaigh]

CATHYM

Aye and so what. If you think my comments contain contradiction, then please feel free to point them out. Any indigenous peoples have a right not to be portrayed as Uncle Tom's- Not even the poor Black People of America- who afterall where portrayed in such a manner. So jump aff yer high horse.

[CATHYM]

Well, as the wiki quote pointed out, the term 'uncle tom' has racist connotations itself. I just found it a bit hypocritical to find offence in some racial statements and not others.

[4th gen Suthen']

Oh my!!



I'm naw saying anything, I'm just saying........do' no hoot right enuff!!

[Ross]

[ionnsaigh]

Well, as the wiki quote pointed out, the term 'uncle tom' has racist connotations itself. I just found it a bit hypocritical to find offence in some racial statements and not others.

It is interesting to note that you have deviated from the kernel point of my thread.However I feel obliged to answer-to the best of my ability, the charge of hypocrisy.
The term Uncle Tom has racist connotations itself: Aye of course it has, however to merely point to any given thing, does not in anyway indicate that you support it , by pointing to it as an example of something you would rather not have. Uncle Tomism exists in various parts of the World, to any one of a number of people's, particularly the poor and the Working Classes.

Scotland could be described as a Christian nation-one that has a clear religious lineage. One of the main features of any religion is predestination, see Uncle Tom. Presbyterianism within Scotland holds sway, as does the protestant work ethic, served with a daily dish of loyalty- hence the inherent danger of the Working Classes becoming mere slaves to the dictates of the tourist industry, through these pseudo constraints that religious indoctrination imposes, and reinforces through the pulpit, school, media, etc etc.

I'm sorry that you have nit picked my thread, to reiterate my main points.

1. Kintyre suffers from economic starvation.
2. The Government must be held accountable.
3. The geographical nature - it's comparative remoteness to the rest of the mainland.
4. A highly educated and skilled workforce - eroded by the dictates of the tourist industry.
5.The Democratic right of the Kintyre people to stand and say no, this is not good enough, and until such times, we will exercise our right to civil disobedience by refusing to pay Council Tax.

[Wee Toon Ajax]

ionnsaigh

I have read all your posts with interest on various topics in this forum and until now never bothered to reply. Are you a wind up merchant or as condescending in real life as all your previous posts seem to suggest.

You say that you and your husband regularly visit the town - may I ask how often regularly is and when these visits began.

As a born and bred Campbeltonian who left at the age of 18 and still visit 2 or 3 times a year I would say that Campbeltown is in probably a more vibrant situation now than it has been for many a year. Now I am not suggesting that Campbeltown is yet the place it could be but if compared to what the town was like 5 or 10 years ago the changes are there for all to see and I for one would rather have the version of Campbeltown in 2006 that the one I witnessed circa 2000. With the Vestas factory and the call centre now open these are at least helping in the regeneration of the area by providing employment and therefore income which will be spent in the area in shops, bars etc. Now nobody is going to suggest that a call centre is the perfect working environment but in 21st century Scotland, unfortunately call centres do seem to be a major source of emplyment. So if call centres can be operated elsewhere in the country why not Campbeltown. Better to have a place employing people in the town than nothing at all.

In your first post in this topic you imply that the area's main source of income is from tourism, I would actually argue that this is probably the most under utilised source of income in the area. Hopefully this can be improved with the start of the Kintyre Way Walk, the opening of the swimming pool and if you look at the forums here the many events actually taking place in the town and surrounding area this summer - the music festival, the half marathon, the airshow. Now 2 of these events are only recently established but if they can bring people to the area then they too will contribute to its regeneration. If the proposed 2nd golf course ever comes off then this will also be a major thing for the area and the tourist industry. Other new areas which will help is the ferry across to the Ayr coast and the start of the Whisky trails as run by the local bus company.

Now you ask about the political persuasion of our politicians - why not have a wee look on the net to find this out. As the majority of the posters will point out to you, at the local council level political persuasion does not really come into the equation as they will put aside party politics for the good of the town. Candidates will be elected not on their poilical affiliation but on factors such as how well they are known, how good they actually are at representing the area etc.

Now I am not going to disagee that there could could be more government funding but the suggestion of yours about a tunnel linking Ayrshire to Kintyre and Ireland would be the biggest waste of public funding ever. The Channel Tunnel, which probably cost less than your proposal is still not economically viable and paying its way annually never mind the inital costs then why waste the public money on such a venture. If a link to the heart of Europe can't be financially viable why would a link to the North Coast of Ireland be any more viable. Anyway, I think most people would rather see money ploughed into starting the ferry service again.

Can I ask, apart from your unworkable suggestion, in what ways government funding could be used to regenerate the area. I can only think of one or two. One being in the fishing industry where more support to the industry as a whole in Scotland might assist in bringing that industry back to the area as a viable option. Another being support in starting web design companies such as the ones now operating in the Isle of Lewis which I would hope persuade the next generation of Campbeltonians to wait in the area. The final thought would be the reopening of the RAF base but I know that you would be opposed to this because of the involvement of the military but to me, if it brought jobs and employment to the area then fine.

Throughout your posts on this forum you have brought up racism, opposition to the military and have now started on the working classes and their rights. Do you actually belong to any of these groups yourself or are you coming from a superior moral high ground and telling others how to live their lives.

I for one found your two posts in the subject you raised very condescending to the good people of the town who have had to witness in the last 10 years a serious downturn in the fortunes of the area but as far as I can see from visits and conversations with family and friends that things are on the up and through a lot of hard work from locals can actually see a brighter future ahead.

[A Horse called Juan Face]

ionnsaigh

You say that you and your husband regularly visit the town - may I ask how often regularly is and when these visits began.

is ionnsaigh a woman?
i thought it was a man
although i still thought his partners name was bob

[ionnsaigh]

I said that my partner and I visit regularly, my partner being my wife. We visit approx five/six times a year stretching back nearly fifty years- in fact we will be in Kintyre tomorrow for two weeks- with a thousand pounds to spend on the local economy. Can I ask why you decided to leave the town, if not for economic reasons.

As far as local politicians doing their best for the town.
Well if that is the case they have failed miserably- What percentage of the population relies on income support , or put another way , how many poor people live in Kintyre? What is required is massive public funding such as the development of tunnels, that would link Kintyre to the vibrant Celtic tiger economy. As far as call centres are concerned - you say something is better than nothing- well that may be the case, although it's well worth remembering that the manufacture of gas ovens in Nazi Germany created employment. As far as the Tunnels being uneconomic, a true service lies outside it's own economic viability



I'm a working class Scot who has stayed in this, my country for 54 years - who believes in a fair and just society, I believe I have the right to comment on any part of this dear country and the third of it's people who live in abject poverty- do you have a problem with that? or is that too condescending for you and the good people of the toon. You afteral got up and packed out when you where an 18 year old youth

[ionnsaigh]

ionnsaigh

You say that you and your husband regularly visit the town - may I ask how often regularly is and when these visits began.

is ionnsaigh a woman?
i thought it was a man
although i still thought his partners name was bob

Horse, why don't you come into the public bar at the White Hart tomorrow night Bob would love tae meet you

[Bruce]

Having worked for a call centre for many years I have seen the good and the bad sides to them. However, if one such organisation is bringing employment back to the Campbeltown area then how can that be a bad thing? The connection to any other form of employment is irrelevant (and I don't even understand why the particular example was given!) as the main thing is people being employed and not relying on social handouts! However, I don't know why anyone would expect the people to fund a tunnel when then re-introduction of the ferry service with Ireland would be a much cheaper alternative - and with a direct connection to Ayrshire that would create the Celtic Highway you so desire... and one that I would also use as a means to reach Campbeltown and possibly Ireland (tho I may also use a more direct route for the latter)! Then again, if the ferry connection to Ayr is established then the existing connection to Ireland (from Cairneyan) could be used to complete the Celtic Highway to Ireland - and the only expense would be the setting up of the new Campbeltown-Ayr route (at a fraction of the cost of any tunnel I am sure you would all agree)!

[Wee Toon Ajax]

I said that my partner and I visit regularly, my partner being my wife. We visit approx five/six times a year stretching back nearly fifty years- in fact we will be in Kintyre tomorrow for two weeks- with a thousand pounds to spend on the local economy. Can I ask why you decided to leave the town, if not for economic reasons.

As far as local politicians doing their best for the town.
Well if that is the case they have failed miserably- What percentage of the population relies on income support , or put another way , how many poor people live in Kintyre? What is required is massive public funding such as the development of tunnels, that would link Kintyre to the vibrant Celtic tiger economy. As far as call centres are concerned - you say something is better than nothing- well that may be the case, although it's well worth remembering that the manufacture of gas ovens in Nazi Germany created employment. As far as the Tunnels being uneconomic, a true service lies outside it's own economic viability



I'm a working class Scot who has stayed in this, my country for 54 years - who believes in a fair and just society, I believe I have the right to comment on any part of this dear country and the third of it's people who live in abject poverty- do you have a problem with that? or is that too condescending for you and the good people of the toon. You afteral got up and packed out when you where an 18 year old youth

Thanks for the reply. Yes, you were right I did get up and pack out as an 18 year old youth, like about 80% of my level at school and never regretted it either. Youth being the correct word as at that stage I had not matured into an adult and was unsure of what I wanted to do with myself. I found myself at that age having the opportunity to go to university and this was an opportunity I was not going to turn down. Being an 18 year old youth brought up in Campbeltown and moving away also taught me that there was a great big world out there to be discovered and having this opportunity, that my parents and many of my friends never had, I was going to take full advantage of and still do to this day. There is nothing wrong with wanting to better oneself as a person and if I get the opportunities I have had again - university, living abroad, working in different countries - I will take them again. Maybe one day I will return to Campbeltown or Scotland and use the experiences I have had to benefit others.

I have no problem with people commenting on other areas of the country but the manner of a number of your posts on this board with regard to racism, the military, the working class etc I personally find belittling of people. After all I am entitled to an opinion and the right to reply to what I thought was an unfair posting.

I too believe in a fair and just society and that people should be given opportunities. Yes, poverty is a scourge in Scotland and in Campbeltown and should be tackled but is spending vast amounts of public money actually going to sort out the problem in the long term. Cetainly hasnt helped the Dutch over the years who have wasted billions of public funds. Instead it has created a society in my opinion that has become lazy, greedy and will defraud the system in any way to get an advantage.

I do not think that your proposal on a tunnel to Ireland is viable in any manner or means. And in the world we live in today, economic viabilty is always going to be a major factor. A project of this scale and nature could not be funded by public money alone and no private investor in their right mind is going to plough funds into a project that is not economically viable. And anyway, would the citizens of Kintyre actually want to be linked to Ireland or vice-versa.

As with regard to the booming Tiger economy in Ireland this is an economy which was funded through massive handouts from the EU as Ireland along with Greece at the time were regarded as third world economies. These hand-outs have now stopped as EU money will now be poured into the economies of the former Eastern European countries and it will be interesting to see the effect that this has on the Irish economy in the long run. Also using these hand-outs the Irish government set up many incentives to attract outside investment into the country - low interest rates on loans, grants for company set-ups, low rates on property, tax incentives - a lot of which will run out in the next few years and again will be intersting to see if these companies remain in Ireland.

Indeed hasnt Saint Bono, patron saint of the poor and poverty, just moved the U2 Royalties management company from Ireland to Holland two weeks ago as they will save on tax after the Irish government decided to review their policy on tax breaks for artists. How many other companies will follow suit. And if the European Central Bank decides to increase interest rates as seems likely then this is going to have a huge effect on the Irish housing market where prices are so over-inflated. Does Kintyre honestly need to be involved in the Irish economy.

If public money is going to be used to regenerate Campbeltown could it not be used in a manner that bring the town closer to the main European economy. After all their are excellent airport facilities at Machrihanish which could be utilised and would facilitate the transport of goods manufactured or serviced in this area into the broad European market. In my opinion this would be a better use of public money. In my previous reply I thought I gave sensible answers on tourism and other usage of public funds which I noticed you did not reply too.

Finally, with regard to the comparison the call centre and Nazi Germany and manufacture of gas ovens this was totally uncalled for. I dont like the idea of Call Centres either but to make a comarison with the instrument of mass murder was in very poor taste. As long as the call centre is still employing people in Campbeltown and the money earned is being used in the town then I see no problem, is it not better that people are employed than having to live on state benefits.

Enjoy your two weeks in the town.

[A Horse called Juan Face]

ionnsaigh

You say that you and your husband regularly visit the town - may I ask how often regularly is and when these visits began.

is ionnsaigh a woman?
i thought it was a man
although i still thought his partners name was bob

Horse, why don't you come into the public bar at the White Hart tomorrow night Bob would love tae meet you

ok ill come in, and ill stand there
and ull stand there
cos neither of us knows who the other is
good plan!