The First Minister revealed his official Christmas card; a powerful Peter Howson depiction of the fourth wise man; Derek Ferguson from Sportsound.
Much as I admire the story behind the fourth wise man choice; the reason for Artaban's tardiness wasn't down to the wrong trees on the track but by stopping off to do good things for the weak and vulnerable.He sold his gifts to help the needy.
The others on the caravan went on ahead of him and by the time he reached Bethlehem, baby and parents had fled to Egypt. He finally tracks Jesus down thirty-three years later as he's being crucified.
From a political point of view, the choice could easily be spun into Artaban missed the boat, just like the FM?
The card depicts an aggressive looking Artaban, muscular, pumped up, with deranged eyes. The fourth wise man doesn't look like he's grasped the finer points of the universal message of peace and love to all men as he stares in a distinct Howson characterisation, part Rambo, part stressed out postman left on his own in the collection office.
The guy who is unable to deal with the queue of seventy all demanding the mountain of parcels that were missed from their online shopping because they had to work to pay for the items they couldn't afford for Christmas. There's so much anger, maybe it's a modern depiction of Christmas and Artaban's lost out on the must have toy on eBay or blown his lot on Amazon and needs a pay day loan? Frankly, if that's his attitude I'm glad he missed the Baby Jesus's birthday.
All sarcasm aside the choice of Howson will raise money for four worthy charities so maybe it isn't as daft as it seems.
The Yes campaign took a bit of a painful hammering in the polls this week. They came back well though when a brace of second half OGs saved their blushes and ended the week with the points in the bag in a much needed victory.
At the end of the day; it's a funny old game, they both worked their socks off, gave 110% and left it all out on the field. There are no easy games at this level and they need to take it one game at a time. It was a bad time to concede, the town's buzzing and every game's a cup final from here on in.
Sorry, now for the facts: according to a new poll 27% of Scots said they supported independence and this came days after the publication of the flagship White Paper.
Better Together should've gained some mileage with an unexpected result. Then lost it with two gifts. First up, anyone switching on the radio will have heard the Budget Speech and Piers Fletcher-Dervish from The New Statesman AKA Chancellor George Osborne speak at Westminster. They might be encouraged to follow Bill Clinton's favourite Fleetwood Mac song and let Scotland go their own way.
Letting that assortment of public school scoundrels roar and bully each other was despicable and shameful. The late winner may have come from the hastily denied whispering campaign emanating from Number 10 that they are allegedly unhappy with Alistair Darling's performance as spearhead for Better Together and are about to go Doris Day on us and sing Move Over Darling and bring in Michael Gove.
Game over; 2-1 for the Yes campaign. North of the border, in fact north of Watford, it's quite difficult to quantify the level of sheer disdain and contempt Michael Gove exudes.
Star of this parish, Brian Taylor takes his magic psychedelic braces to Airdrie in his BBC Radio Scotland show Brian Taylor's Big Debate. I'm proud to be a son of North Lanarkshire yet receive a continual barrage of abuse for living there. People who have never been there mock, condescend and throw in the usual array of socio economic jibes. I find myself hypocritically defending their attacks while inserting Dundee into a punch line.
I am over protective about both Airdrie and Coatbridge, towns in which I was brought up, educated and now reside.
Scotland thinks it's a lovely warm friendly country; it isn't. It's besotted with insecurity, elitism and snobbery and people who desperately feel the need to bully and look down at other people. Their lives are only marginally better than yours but they remain governed by lazy cliché; their outlook is perilously close to the Cleese, Barker and Corbett in the 'I Look Up To Him' sketch on the Frost Report.
It sounds like I have a chip on my shoulder. Wrong stereotype. I like people, I'm not insecure or afraid, or quick to judge and base my judgment not on religion, colour, creed or where people are from. I'm far more shallow than that. I'd be put off by someone's record collection.
Having said that, I hope Brian Taylor and the BBC show from Airdrie High Kirk passes without major incident. Shame it's not on TV and we could see Brian's matching braces and crash helmet- which of course he won't need.
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