Future of the UK and Scotland

Yesterday around 200 people got together in the Old College to talk about the white paper made by the government of Scotland. It's already impressive that this amount of people would choose to spend most of its St. Andrew's day talking about politics. But even more impressive was how well the debate went and how obviously interested people are in reflecting on the issue before making a final decision in 10 months time.

I know that's how Democracy should be like. Unfortunately, it's so rare that it really is like that. So often people don't care about getting to know more about the consequences of their vote. That, of course, when they do decide to vote... So this event was refreshing and gave me confidence on Scotland's future: in or out of the UK.

In the morning we had five academics' thoughts on five different questions. Would Scotland be wealthier? A fairer more equal country? Safe in the world? Greener? And what kind of Democracy would it have? In the afternoon we had five other academics who, assuming a yes vote in the referendum, reflected on dividing assets and debts, EU membership, role in the international community, currency union and constitution.

Both panels were followed by debates with people with different opinions and from distinct professional and political background. In the morning there was also a period of audience discussion. Unfortunately, the gadgets they provided for the audience to vote were not working very well but the discussion was still very lively. Another unfortunate fact was that there was a fire alarm in the afternoon that made us all freeze outside for one hour and loose the time for audience discussion. These two technical malfunctions still could not cast a shadow over how great the exchange of ideas was.

Congratulations to the organization and to all the participants! (uops, this last one also includes me...)

Feta with the Queen

Those who know the fringe of Edinburgh well, also know that it's difficult to find good free shows. Sometimes they're terrible (I already had to leave one after 15 minutes), sometimes they're ok but when you find a good one you have to share it. I went to a very funny one, Feta with the Queen, reason why I'm sharing it here.

Katerina, the comedienne, is from Greece but has been living in the UK for a long time. The entire gig is about the stereotypes of British and Greeks. However, in this last point, I have to stress that the stereotypes of the Greeks can be easily applicable to most Mediterranean peoples: the equally bankrupted Italians, Spanish and Portuguese; the Bulgarians, Romanians and the Balkan Slavs enjoying their first steps in the EU (welcome to the club); Turks, Egyptians, Maghrebians... If someone comes from around the Mediterranean, it is very possible that they will feel that Katerina is talking about their own people.

Watching this gig made me think about other characteristics of the Mediterraneans. We build strong relations with our families, friends and neighbors but very week ties with the rest of the society. The state, that abstract entity that connects us all, belongs to all and, consequently, belongs to no one. And if something belongs to no one, as our Roman ancestors taught us: quod nullius est, id ratione naturali occupanti conceditur. Which means, things that belong to no one, belong to those who find them. 

This leads to avoid paying taxes, celebrating contracts that are disadvantageous to the state and advantageous to our family or friends, using public money for private reasons... All that is not as strongly condemned as it is, for example, cheating your family and friends or, God forbid, not call your parents with regularity. People may turn a blind eye to hiring a unqualified relative to a public position (actually, they'll even expect it) but they won't forgive easily if you don't spend the most relevant holidays at home (Christmas or Eid Al-Fitr, depending if you're in the North or in the South of the Mediterranean).

I imagine that for British (and Germans, Dutch, Scandinavians, etc.), the Mare Nostrum may seem a bit like the geographic basis for a big Cosa Nostra. But do indulge with us, please! Indulge with our strange relation with the state as we indulge with your strange relation with alcohol.

Old College

Old College is one of the many buildings of the University of Edinburgh and, as its name indicates, the oldest one. It's a Classical style building designed by Architect Playfair, from whom the beautiful library of the building takes its name. It's a very elegantly styled library but it's not in use anymore. Nowadays is used for ceremonies and events. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't be a bad place for a graduation ball...
It houses the School of Law, an art gallery - the Talbot Rice gallery - and other services of the University. People say that until recently this central patio was a car park, which, useful as it might have been, was a pitty! Apparently when I arrived in Edinburgh they had just finished renovations and that's the way it should be: everything ready to receive me in style!
Located between the National Museum of Scotland and South Street Street, it really is worth a visit.

Weddings in Scotland

One thing I used to love about living in Macau was to see couples taking their wedding photos in the streets. It's a very common sight anywhere in the historical parts of town to see couples dressed up taking photos with their best-men and mades-of-honour waiting and attending to them. I thought that was something I wasn't going to see until I could visit Macau again. I was wrong!

Apparently in Scotland they do the same! Now, in China what they do is they take all these pictures BEFORE the wedding. That has at least two obvious advantages. The first is that guests can already see the wedding album on the wedding day, which is quite convenient. The second is that in the wedding day, couples only take pictures with guests, not making everyone wait for them.

Here in Scotland, they wander off from the ceremony, like this couple I saw in Holyrood this weekend. This probably means that all guests are waiting for them and getting bored to death. This also probably means that most guests will never get to see the pictures... Well, lets not be pessimistic, this is facebook's century.

Arthur's Seat

The path I used to go up to Arthur's Seat.

A view over Edinburgh

The Sea at my feet.

Another perspective. Every perspective in Arthur's Seat is a good perspective...

The ruins of St. Anthony's Chappel.

The lake.

Beware, oh cyclists of Edinburgh

For those of you who might not know, it's compulsory to have lights on your bike when cycling at night even if you are in the middle of the city with a lot of lights. I know it because I was just stopped by the police without lights and was told the fine was 60PS! Yes, you read well: sixty quid! Can you believe that?
The police was actually nice and let me go (on foot) with a warning... Probably due to the fact that I'm foreigner, new in Edinburgh and was genuinely surprised. But actually it makes sense: even with the lights, Edinburgh's weather is not exactly like the Sahara's.
Two other things:
- If you're in a red traffic right, even if you're going to turn left, you have to stop like the cars (this rule, lets be honest, it's a bit foolish but dura lex, sed lex).
- Helmet is not compulsory but it's advisable to have it in case of accident because all compensations for injuries will be reduced to only 20% if not wearing helmet.
Cycle safely!

The meadows

The meadows is an enormous park in Edinburgh. It's a park with not so many trees or plants but instead large fields with grass.
I'm lucky enough to be living near the meadows, which allows me to jog there in the morning and cross it at different times of the day. Whenever I cross it, there it's always full of people playing with their children or their dogs, doing some sport from football to golf, not forgetting rugby or just pure and simply gymnastics, etc.. As such, the meadows is very much part of the social and sportive life of the city.
And that's precisely what a park is supposed to be for.