This is our Electric Scotland Community and Social Network View our Terms of use and our Privacy Policy Find our contact information and learn more about us. The Home Page of Electric Scotland ES Common Header Bar
This is where you'll find a comprehensive resource on Scottish accommodations. Electric Scotland's Article Service where you can both read articles and post your own. Beth's Newfangled Family Tree is a monthly publication giving genealogy advice as well as what's hapening on the Scottish Scene around the world. This is where you'll find around 300 books on Scottish history that we've published on the site. Our pages where you'll find books and articles about Robert Burns and his work. Gives you some information on the business scene in Scotland. This is where you can view Scottish events around the world and add your own. Learn about the history of Clans and Families of Scotland and the Scots-Irish. The personal site of Alastair McIntyre where he's posted his own mini biography as well as his travel journals. 5 volumes worth of biographies relating to Significant Scots. A weekly newsletter about the political scene in Scotland from the Scots Independent Newspaper. Lots of Scottish recipes along with contributions from our visitors. Play our collection of online games. 6 volume Gazetter on the place names of Scotland. This is our page for trying to give you advice on Genealogy. A FAQ where you go to get answers to frequently asked questions. Information and pictures about Historic places in Scotland such as castles and other properties. Main index page for our very large history section. Children resources including over 800 children's stories and lots of online and offline games. A bit of a catch-all page where you find loads of pages about music, haggis, scots language, culture, religion, humor and lots more. Our nature page where you can explore information on Scottish Wildlife, Plants, Flowers and lots more. Our weekly newsletters archive. Thousands of pictures of Scotland for you to enjoy. Loads of poetry and stories for you to enjoy with many contributions from visitors to our site. Our very own Webcard program which you can use to send online postcard to friends and relatives. Huge resources about the Scots Diaspora around the world and here is where you can find this information. A continually building information resource on the Scots-Irish who emigrated to Ulster and then onto many parts of the world, especially the USA. Create your own family tree with our special software. You can also import and export gedcom files. Our web-based scottish search engine which is a free resource for Scottish companies as well as Scottish organisations around the world. Current Scottish News headlines and links to Scottish news resources. A range of services, both big and small, that we currently offer. Our Tartan pages, giving you access to information on Tartans as well as tartan search engines. Sponsored by House of Tartan. Our travel section where we have loads of suggested tours of Scotland as well as old historic travel books. A wee collection of videos some of which we've produced ourselves. Learn about the last 100 pages we've added to our site which is updated daily.


Click here to get a Printer Friendly Page
Scots Place Names
Scottish Food Overseas
wedding cakes scotland Advertise on all 1000+ pages of the Flag in the Wind
Strathblane Country House
Handmade Gifts

 

Scots Independent

The Flag in the Wind
A weekly online newspaper bringing you information on the political scene in Scotland: part of the monthly Scots Independent.

 Scottish Flag

Home | About Us | Subscriptions | Archives | SNP | Ad Rates | Features | Adverts | Events | Links

CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND
(Owned, Edited and Printed in Scotland since November 1926)
Compiled by Jim Lynch

[29 December 2000]

  Happy New Year
We wish all our readers a Very Happy New Year!

FALKIRK WEST BY ELECTION

frontpage.jpg (498699 bytes)

The Front Page of the Scots Independent Newspaper

Pictures from the Festive Falkirk West by election

Delivering SNP balloons to Falkirk High Street
Delivering SNP balloons to Falkirk High Street

Three of the better looking Nationalist unisex Santas
Three of the better looking Nationalist unisex Santas

David Kerr on the stomp with a Santa aide
David Kerr on the stomp with a Santa aide

A strictly neutral Sally ann band encouraging the canvassers
A strictly neutral Sally Ann band

The Nationalist nerve-centre in Camelon
The Nationalist nerve-centre in Camelon

To-morrow's Prime Minister of an independent Scotland ?
To-morrow's Prime Minister?

Arriving on the High Street early one morning ready to meet the voters. (L to R) Shadow Deputy Finance Minister Michael Matheson MSP; SNP Leader John Swinney MSP MP; and his candidate, David Kerr
Arriving on the High Street

Labour minders assuring Major Joyce of a huge victory
Labour minders with Major Joyce

The candidate,  his party leader and more Santas
The candidate,  his party leader and more Santas

The candidate, Alex Salmond and John Swinney
The candidate, Alex Salmond and John Swinney

Guess Who?
Guess Who?

Some of the other Labour balloons
Some of the other Labour balloons

 DATES IN HISTORY

31 December 1720
Birth of Charles Edward Louis Casimir Silvester Maria Stewart, The Young Pretender, in the Palazzo Muti, Rome. Known as Bonnie Prince Charlie he led the 1745 Jacobite Rising.

1 January 1651
King Charles II crowned at Scone. The last coronation in Scotland.

2 January 1793
Thomas Muir of Huntershill, Glasgow-born Advocate, arrested for sedition. He was released after a few days and went to France, on his return to Scotland, he was tried and sentenced to 14 years transportation.

THE REBELS CEILIDH SONG BOOK

MA AIN CLOSE
(Tune: Ma Ain Folk.   Words: Duncan Macrae)

Faur frae ma hame ah've wandered,
An ah never will return,
Tae ma ain close in the Gorbals,
Juist alang frae Jenny's Burn,
For they're pullin doon the buildin,
An ah doot ah canny bide,
For they're gonnae mak the Gorbals,
Like New York or Kelvinside.

Chorus:
An it's oh, but ah'm longing for ma ain close,
It wis nane o yuir wally, juist a plain close,
An ah'm nearly roon the bend,
For ma ain wee single-end,
Fareweel tae dear old Gorbals,
An ma ain close.

There's ma pal gaun in the boozer,
If ye follie him ye'll find,
Although he's tired an drouthy,
He's got something on his mind,
For he bides up twenty storeys,
So he canny drink his fill,
He micht get up there safely,
Then faa owre the windae sill.

They'll never be forgotten,
The days that we lived through,
When we hung aboot the Gorbals,
An we sterved on the Buroo,
Wi the lassies playing peever,
An the laddies sclimmin dykes,
An the weemin gaun thir dusters,
An the polis gaun thir bikes.

See the Songbook in our features section

A KIST O FERLIES
A Keek at the Guid Scots Tung
By Peter D Wright

(Note:
All words underlined in this section are RealAudio links)

A special Yule poem fir the Scots Independent "Christmas Prayers" 
- Christie Grahame : read by Marilyn Wright.

Yule

I'm gaun to hing a stockin up,
I'll borrow my big brither's,
It's bigger nor my sister's ane
And strang-er nor my mither's.

I'll be in bed on Yule E'en
When Faither Christmas comes.
I ken he'll wale oor chimley oot
Amang the ither lums.

On Yule richt early I'll be up
Afore the screich o day
To see what ferlies Santa Claus
Has brocht me for my play.

I hope he'll mind a cuddly bear,
And cups for dolly's tea
Wi lots o ither bonnie toys
For a guid wee lass like me.

Yule - J K Annand

See Scots Language in our Features Section

THE MONTHLY PRIZE CROSSWORD

Each month the Scots Independent Newspaper offers a prize crossword and we're now offering this online in the Flag in the Wind as well.   Should you complete the crossword by the deadline you can fax it over to the SI and the first correct one opened on the closing date will win a £10.00 book token.

SI Prize Crossword No. 13
[Clicking on the picture will bring up a life size version which you can copy to your desktop or print out]

Prize Crossword 13

AND AS WE CONTINUE.........

If you read our first issue of The Flag in the Wind you will know that this is a weekly Internet commentary on the Scottish political scene; if you desire further erudition click on Archives.

 THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY

The Scots Independent Newspaper is independent of the Scottish National Party, but we support the Party in its drive for Independence; while space precludes us commenting on all the issues raised by the 35 MSPs, 6 MPS and 2 MEPs, also the Party Office Bearers, we have provided a link to the SNP Website.

THE FLAG IN THE WIND

The above was the title of a book written in the early Fifties by John MacDonald MacCormick, one of the founder members of the Scottish National Party in 1934. The sub-title was "The Story of the National Movement in Scotland". His comment in the book said "It is perhaps in the symbols which men use that their deepest sentiments are most readily expressed. Flags as well as straws show which way the wind is blowing". A fuller account appears under Features.

 Sponsor an edition of the Scots Independent Newspaper

WE WOULD WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK

The Flag in the Wind would welcome your feedback on what you think of this weekly service. Happy to receive any comments or suggestions. Simply email webmaster@scotsindependent.org