"Feeble little country"

[EMDEE]

Dr David Starkey (who?) says Scotland is a "feeble little country".

Here he is:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8016440.stm

[gizmo]

Surely we would only be a feeble little country if we took offence at every perceived slight. The man is a self publicist, very good at it by the way.

[Lossit Lass]

"...Scotland is a feeble little country....Burns is a deeply boring provincial poet..."

Hmmmmm
More like: "David Starkey is a feeble, deeply boring, provincial little man..."
Now THAT"S (very apparently) a true statement.

[EMDEE]

It is surprising that someone like this, who is such an opinionated subjective bigot has achieved any recognition in academic circles.

[Pete Reek]

The gentleman in question is a member of a rather exclusive group of people.

He is in fact a Royal Shakespearean Oratory and Language Expert. In short, an RSOLE

[Lossit Lass]

I agree, Emdee. His pith is overrated. & his fellow academics & cronies should be ashamed to be associated.

[hugh]

Aye, should stick to what he knows best. Queens of England.

Hutch must be turning in his grave.

[gizmo]

Starsky is probably a bit miffed as well

[petewick]

"...Scotland is a feeble little country....Burns is a deeply boring provincial poet..."

Hmmmmm
More like: "David Starkey is a feeble, deeply boring, provincial little man..."
Now THAT"S (very apparently) a true statement.

You took the words right out of my mouth Lass, well done.

[Govangirl]

He's well known for courting controversy, best to be ignored although he would do well, in remarking about small nations,to remember the famous words of Churchill:

"Off all the small nations of this earth, perhaps only the ancient Greeks surpass the Scots in their contribution to mankind"


And no, these were not the wise words of that wee Insurance dog on the telly!

[Lossit Lass]

Someone should mail Dr. Starkey a copy of this....with a BIG & a stamped on it:

Who's Like Us - Damn Few And They're A' Deid
written by Tom Anderson Cairns.

The average Englishman, in the home he calls his castle, slips into his national costume, a shabby raincoat, patented by chemist Charles Macintosh from Glasgow, Scotland. En route to his office he strides along the English lane, surfaced by John Macadam of Ayr, Scotland.

He drives an English car fitted with tires invented by John Boyd Dunlop of Dreghorn, Scotland, arrives at the station and boards a train, the forerunner of which was a steam engine, invented by James Watt of Greenock, Scotland. He then pours himself a cup of coffee from a thermos flask, the latter invented by Dewar, a Scotsman from Kincardine-on-Forth.

At the office he receives the mail bearing adhesive stamps invented by James Chalmers of Dundee, Scotland.

During the day he uses the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

At home in the evening his daughter pedals her bicycle invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, blacksmith of Dumfries, Scotland.

He watches the news on his television, an invention of John Logie Baird of Helensburgh, Scotland, and hears an item about the U.S. Navy, founded by John Paul Jones of Kirkbean, Scotland.

He has by now been reminded too much of Scotland and in desperation he picks up the Bible only to find that the first man mentioned in the good book is a Scot, King James VI, who authorised its translation.

Nowhere can an Englishman turn to escape the ingenuity of the Scots.

He could take to drink, but the Scots make the best in the world.

He could take a rifle and end it all but the breech-loading rifle was invented by Captain Patrick of Pitfours, Scotland.

If he escapes death, he might then find himself on an operating table injected with penicillin, which was discovered by Alexander Fleming of Darvel, Scotland, and given an anaesthetic, which was discovered by Sir James Young Simpson of Bathgate, Scotland.

Out of the anaesthetic, he would find no comfort in learning he was as safe as the Bank of England founded by William Paterson of Dumfries, Scotland.

Perhaps his only remaining hope would be to get a transfusion of guid Scottish blood which would entitle him to ask "Who’s Like Us".

[£3.73]

... to remember the famous words of Churchill:

"Off all the small nations of this earth, perhaps only the ancient Greeks surpass the Scots in their contribution to mankind"

Not bad, coming from an English !

If he'd been Scottish he'd have left out the part about the Greeks

(didn't we invent Ancient Greece ?)

[four eyes]

Someone should mail Dr. Starkey a copy of this....with a BIG & a stamped on it:

Who's Like Us - Damn Few And They're A' Deid
written by Tom Anderson Cairns.

The average Englishman, in the home he calls his castle, slips into his national costume, a shabby raincoat, patented by chemist Charles Macintosh from Glasgow, Scotland. En route to his office he strides along the English lane, surfaced by John Macadam of Ayr, Scotland.

He drives an English car fitted with tires invented by John Boyd Dunlop of Dreghorn, Scotland, arrives at the station and boards a train, the forerunner of which was a steam engine, invented by James Watt of Greenock, Scotland. He then pours himself a cup of coffee from a thermos flask, the latter invented by Dewar, a Scotsman from Kincardine-on-Forth.

At the office he receives the mail bearing adhesive stamps invented by James Chalmers of Dundee, Scotland.

During the day he uses the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

At home in the evening his daughter pedals her bicycle invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, blacksmith of Dumfries, Scotland.

He watches the news on his television, an invention of John Logie Baird of Helensburgh, Scotland, and hears an item about the U.S. Navy, founded by John Paul Jones of Kirkbean, Scotland.

He has by now been reminded too much of Scotland and in desperation he picks up the Bible only to find that the first man mentioned in the good book is a Scot, King James VI, who authorised its translation.

Nowhere can an Englishman turn to escape the ingenuity of the Scots.

He could take to drink, but the Scots make the best in the world.

He could take a rifle and end it all but the breech-loading rifle was invented by Captain Patrick of Pitfours, Scotland.

If he escapes death, he might then find himself on an operating table injected with penicillin, which was discovered by Alexander Fleming of Darvel, Scotland, and given an anaesthetic, which was discovered by Sir James Young Simpson of Bathgate, Scotland.

Out of the anaesthetic, he would find no comfort in learning he was as safe as the Bank of England founded by William Paterson of Dumfries, Scotland.

Perhaps his only remaining hope would be to get a transfusion of guid Scottish blood which would entitle him to ask "Who’s Like Us".

feels suicidal thanks to gordon?

[ionnsaigh]

Perhaps Dr Starkey has a point - regarding our national backbone. We appear feeble when juxtaposed with the might of Great Britain - and the glory of England. In other words - we have stood in the imperial shadow so long now - that our identity has suffered.