Proud to be...?

Whose flag? 

For a great many years now we have heard the tired old mantra from Unionists, “Proud to be Scottish, proud to be British”.  Yet when push comes to shove, this slogan seems to nothing but a soundbite and empty rhetoric, with little or no substance to back it up.

One of the most common instances of the empty rhetoric of such Unionists is their attitude towards the national flag of Scotland, the Saltire.  Some Unionists claim that the independence movement, and specifically the Scottish National Party (SNP), have hijacked the Saltire, while others outright claim that it is a Scottish nationalist symbol.  As far back as 2008, then Labour MP Jim Murphy was boasting that he would “reclaim the Saltire” from the independence movement, and he repeated that claim for years afterwards, right up to 2014 when he was campaigning for a No vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum.  Ten days before that referendum, then Labour leader Ed Miliband tried a “Reclaim the Saltire” PR stunt, in calling for Saltires to be flown on public buildings and other places right across the UK.  The call backed up by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, the Saltire even flew for a short while outside 10 Downing Street on that day – not helped by the flag slipping from it’s moorings at the first attempt to raise it.  Otherwise, this call fell upon mostly deaf ears, with only a few places flying the Saltire.

Even after the referendum Jamie Greene, in 2015 Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ayrshire launched a Change petition “Reclaim the Saltire” under the banner of “I am Scottish Too”, which grew into a campaign.  Greene claims on his website “Are you afraid to fly your national flag for fear of it being interested as a pro-separatist symbol?”  That is not a simple question.  By the very wording of it, it is a loaded one.  Notice the use of the term “pro-separatist” (as for “interested”, I think he means “interpreted”.

More disturbingly still has been the sheer antipathy towards the Saltire, which has people and organisations ordered to take Saltire flags down on the flimsiest of reasoning.  One man in Kirkcaldy flying the Saltire was ordered by the Labour-controlled Fife Council to take his flagpole down because it apparently contravened health & safety guidelines, despite it being up for several years previously, with no complaint.  Also stating health & safety rules the SNP group Renfrewshire Council were ordered to remove their Saltire flag from their office windows by Council leader David Martin.  That was in December 2013, when the windows of many offices in the building were festooned with Christmas decorations, yet the order from the Labour Party leader made absolutely no mention of them.  

Earlier in 2013, the Labour-Tory coalition on Stirling Council passed a motion to remove the Saltire flag from their headquarters and replace it with a Union flag.  In an obviously biased joint statement, Tory councillor Callum Campbell and Labour councillor Danny Gibson wrote;

“Council notes the tone of some of the debate, especially with regards to symbols have fought and died under for 300 years, Council deplores this debasing of our symbols.

"Council resolves to stand for the symbols of  our country by flying the Union Flag from the main pole above the council building and the council flag from the freestanding flagpost in the ground of Old Viewforth."

The more bizarre part of the Stirling story is that the Saltire which flew from Stirling Municipal Building was not even a national Saltire; it was as stylised one with a lion rampant at it’s centre, to reflect and commemorate the city’s connection with the Battle of Bannockburn, 1314.  Something Stirling has every right to be proud of.

"Salty" in happier times

Sometimes this hatred of the Saltire goes way too far.  In 2006 Edinburgh was host to a Cow Parade event, in which 96 brightly painted fibreglass cows were placed around the city (and one in Prestonpans, East Lothian), which were later auctioned to raise money for cancer and animal charities.  It was an amazing event, which really captured the public imagination and brought many visitors to the city.  The Scottish Parliament sponsored one of the cows, Salty, which was located outside the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood, and was painted with, you guessed it, a Saltire.  A few cows were vandalised, but none more than Salty, who was smashed to bits, and her head stolen.  Whoever did this – they were never caught – I do hope they are proud.  For apart from degrading their own national flag, Salty was the award-winning design from a little boy who entered a competition in the Edinburgh Evening News.  So if the perpetrators are reading this, hang your heads in shame.

Meanwhile the flag ban on public buildings continues, most recently in North Ayrshire.  Cunninghame House in Irvine, headquarters of North Ayrshire Council, for a long time had a Saltire flying outside it.  At a council meeting on 28 June 2017, Conservative councillor for Irvine West, Scott Gallagher, put forward a motion requesting that the Union Flag be flown alongside the Saltire, claiming he had received emails asking why it was not flown.  “We have had numerous emails asking why the flag is not always flying outside this building,” said Councillor Gallagher, “I’m not trying to have the Union Flag replace the Saltire outside this building.  I’m making an attempt to have both flags flying together.”  SNP Councillor for Irvine East, Marie Burns, made an amendment rejecting the motion and asking that the council retain the status quo, while at the same time lambasting the Tories on the council for making a flag their first priority in the face of swinging Tory austerity cuts.  “This council has struggled to protect the people of North Ayrshire against the impact of Tory austerity,” said Councillor Burns, “a policy that has wreaked havoc on many of our most vulnerable residents, and what do their newly-elected Tory Councillors have to say? 'At least you can see the Union Flag from Cunninghame house.”

In stepped Robert Foster, Labour Councillor for Irvine South, who echoed Councillor Burns about discussing a flag in the face of austerity.  However, rather than move on, Councillor Foster put forward his own motion, that no flag be flown, except on special occasions, when both the Saltire and the Union Flag be flown side-by-side.   The vote between the motions of Councillor Gallagher and Councillor Burns was split 10/10, which meant it went to a draw of cards.  Councillor Gallagher drew the Five of Clubs, while Councillor Burns drew the Three of Diamonds, which should have been the end of the matter; the Tory councillor had effectively won the vote.  However, members then had to vote on the Labour amendment, and with the SNP councillors refusing to take part in the vote (churlish, guys – no-one likes a bad loser), the motion was carried by 11 Labour votes to 10 Tory and Independent votes.  So it is that no Saltire – and no Union Flag – now flies outside of Cunninghame House.  Just how bloody childish can you get?

But amidst all these accusations of the Saltire being ‘hijacked’ by the independence movement as a ‘nationalist symbol’, the most bizarre thing is there is not one iota of truth about that.  To the best of my knowledge nobody in the independence movement has ever tried to suggest that we have some sort of monopoly over the Saltire, nor has anyone ever tried to hold it up as a symbol of Scottish nationalism

SNP "thistle" symbol

Do the SNP hold the Saltire as their emblem?  No, they have their own symbol, which comprises of a circle, which is crossed at the top.  This symbol does indeed incorporate a Saltire, but is also meant to represent a thistle.  And note that the SNP symbol is black on yellow, and not the silver-white on blue Saltire – “A Saltire argent, a field azure” – which makes up our national flag.  Have Yes Scotland ever tried to claim the Saltire as their own or an independence symbol?  No, they simply had the word “Yes”, in a particular style, usually but not always white on blue, or blue on white.

And if anyone is going to claim that using the colours of light blue and white is enough to make the Saltire a nationalist symbol, then I suggest they consider the railway stations of Scotland in the 1950s and 1960s,

when they were painted white with blue woodwork, and station signs were white lettering on a blue background.  Are the Unionists then going to try to claim that British Rail (Scottish Region) were diehard Scots Nats due to this regional colour scheme?  You know, they may well.  I once read an attempted smear story in the Daily Telegraph claiming that Nicola Sturgeon was trying to send a political message by having the Saltire emblazoned on Scottish trains.  Actually, it was Abellio, the company who took over the Scotrail franchise, who decided to paint their trains blue, interspaced with stylised silver Saltires.

A nationalist symbol?

Likewise, I have a Scottish Rugby Union cap which has a little Saltire tag on the back of it.  Would the Unionists then try to claim that the SRU are Scots Nats?  And if they do, are they aware just how many rugby fans vote Tory?  Try well over 50% of them, and even of those who are not Tories, the vast majority are indeed Unionists.

Do we who campaign for Scottish independence wave, carry and even wear Saltires? Yes, we do – because it is our flag, we are proud of it, and we are not afraid to display it.  Do we give little Saltire hand flags out, including to children? Yes, we do.  People often ask for them, particularly people who are so skint due to Westminster austerity that they cannot afford to buy anything from a stall or make a donation.  And yes, that includes parents who particularly ask for flags for their kids.  But here’s also a thing; I don’t like to include children in politics, but I have on occasion from a Yes stall given little Saltire flags to the kids, not as a political gesture, but purely because every bairn loves a flag, no matter what that flag is.  But think on, Unionists, when you shove little Union Flags into the hands on every kid on occasions such as royal visits, just exactly what are you doing?

The Lord Lyon, King of Arms, is the authority on all heraldic matters in Scotland.  This is what the Court of the Lord Lyon has to say on the matter of the Saltire flag;

“The flag of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. Blue with a white or silver diagonal cross reaching to its edges, this is the correct flag for all Scots or Scottish corporate bodies to fly to demonstrate their loyalty and their Scottish nationality.

Its proportions are not fixed, but 5:4 is suitable.

It is correct both to fly it with or instead of the Union flag. If both are flown they must be on separate poles, the Union flag being on the most important pole.”

If anyone reading the above still thinks that the Saltire is a symbol for Scottish Independence, then that is tantamount to suggesting that the Lord Lyon himself is a diehard Scots Nat, which I am sure would raise at least one eyebrow of the Right Honourable Joseph Morrow, the current Lord Lyon, King of Arms. Whatever Lord Morrow’s political affiliations may be, it is worth noting that as the Lord Lyon speaks for the monarch in Scotland, like the Queen, he has to remain officially neutral on political and constitutional matters.

I may not like the fact that when the Union Flag is flown with the Saltire, the Union Flag has to be flown on the most important pole.  But hey, we’re still in the Union, and as long as we are, even I have to abide by the Lord Lyon’s rulings - only independence can change that.  In fact, it angers me that the Scottish Records Office in Edinburgh, which has nothing to do with the Union (and right next door to the Court of the Lord Lyon) has a huge Union Flag flow atop it.  However, amusingly enough, the staff don’t like it either and commonly fly the Union Flag upside-down, which is a sign of distress.  One of the staff has actually said when it has been noted upon “It’s nothing to the distress we feel working in here.”

But by equal measure, as much as I intensely dislike Tory policies, I actually liked the proposals of Councillor Scott Gallagher in North Ayrshire; he wanted the two flags side-by-side, and in all fairness, as he stated, he did not want to remove the Saltire.  True, the council should have been getting on with more important things, but it was a magnanimous gesture, which actually would have broken the ruling of the Lord Lyon, but which would have placated both Unionists and Scots Nats.

Where Stirling Council went wrong was replacing the Stirling Saltire with the Union Flag.  You will notice that the ruling by the Lord Lyon says it is right to fly the Saltire instead of the Union Flag, but says nothing about flying the Union Flag instead of the Saltire.  But then, the Unionists on Stirling Council did refer to the entire UK as “our nation”, thereby ignoring the nationhood status of not just Scotland but also England.

It is interesting to note actually that if there is one thing disturbing about the entire flag debate, it is actually the Tories who are more likely to embrace the Saltire than Labour, who are the ones who all too often want it taken down.  Indeed, the current Scottish Conservatives logo is a stylised Saltire, while the Scottish Labour Party symbol is the same as that of their London-based parent party – a red Rose, which many would argue is actually a symbol of England (or are they Lancastrians and do Labour fare poorly in Yorkshire marginals as a result?).  Now, that is fine for England; honestly, I have no problem with that.  I believe that the Labour Party claim it is a symbol of socialism, and may be linked to the song by James Oppenheim "Bread and Roses" ("Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses.").  Well, I very much identify as a socialist, but when I see the Labour Party symbol, I don't think 'socialism', I think 'England'.  And it is not being in any way anti-English to say that is wholly inappropriate for Scotland (or Wales, or Cornwall).  If anyone wants to argue with me or that, would you stand in an English constituency with a thistle as your emblem?

It is also interesting to note that plenty of Labour supporters will more than happily fly the Irish Tricolour, for the Palestinian Flag.  So to some Labour supporters if you seek the six counties which make up Northern Ireland being reunited with the Republic, or freedom for Palestine, you are a champion of freedom, but if you seek Scottish independence, then suddenly you are right-wing, anti-English “separatist”.  That’s the sort of perverse logic we are dealing with here.  Just a note to anyone who thinks like that;  most Scots Nats, myself included, do also support a united Ireland, a free Palestine, freedom for Tibet, for Catalunya, for Quebec, for Wales, for Cornwall (whose nation status we recognise, which is more than Labour, Tories or the Lib-Dems do), and anyone else who wants it.  You cannot support self-determination for one people and not others; to do so is nothing short of hypocrisy.

I can already hear the cries of “closet Tory” from some Labour supporters and members reading this.  Not at all.  I despise the Tories with a vengeance and actually know people in Labour for Independence and other Labour members and supporters.  I am merely making observations and it is not my fault if your party is less likely to embrace Scotland’s national flag – your flag for Scots Labourites – than the Tories are.  You may wish to reflect upon that.  Oh, and for the record, I'm not a member of the SNP either; I am not a member of any political party.

If you are a Unionist and really do think that the independence movement has somehow hijacked the Saltire as a Scots Nat symbol, then there is an easy answer to that; embrace it yourself.  If you are the one claiming that the Satire is your flag, then by all means, take it back – not that it was ever taken from you in the first place. 

The words of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, are plain enough; “this is the correct flag for all Scots or Scottish corporate bodies to fly to demonstrate their loyalty and their Scottish nationality.”   There is the official line.  The Saltire is your flag, and nobody can ever take that away from you.  The only people stopping Unionists from displaying the Saltire are themselves, or other Unionists who have an antipathy towards the flag and seek to take it away from all as a result.

So, here is my challenge, Unionists.  You claim that you are “proud to be Scottish, proud to be British”, put your money where your mouth is and prove it.  If you want to fly the Saltire, by all means, please do.  In fact, this Scots Nat would be the first to champion your right to do so, and could not be happier or prouder to see you take pride in your country’s culture and nationhood.

If you do not, then we can all draw our own conclusions as to your true intentions, and where your allegiance truly lies.

An Open Letter to Ruth Davidson

Dear Ruth,

I today received a shameful Scottish Conservatives leaflet, written by you, "We need to send Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP a message they CAN'T ignore".

In this leaflet, you claim "The SNP promised the 2014 independence referendum would be a 'once in a generation' vote." and accuse the First Minister and her party of breaking that promise.

In fact, no such promise was ever made. Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon both gave their opinions that the vote should be a once in a generation event. You and your party have continually tried to twist these opinions to make them sound like SNP policy, which they never have been.

Not two weeks ago your boss, Theresa May, was saying there would be no General Election until 2020. Was that a promise? And if so, is that now a broken promise?

You say "Nicola Sturgeon is demanding another independence referendum". In fact, in 2015 Scotland sent 56 out of 59 MPs to Westminster, whose goal is Scottish independence. Nicola Sturgeon stood for election as First Minister in 2016 on a mandate to seek a second referendum on independence, and the majority of the Scots electorate voted in an SNP government on that understanding.

And while we are on about broken promises, in the run up to the 2014 referendum, the Scots electorate were told that staying in the Union was the only way to stay in the EU.  The subsequent vote to leave the EU, opposed by 62% of the Scots electorate across all 32 local authority areas, gave a distinct change in constitutional matters, which gives even more impetus for the importance a second referendum on independence.

If the Scots electorate do not want a second referendum on independence, then the continued popularity of the SNP is a very strange way of showing it.

You say "We need to send her a clear message - we don't want another vote on independence." And who do you quote on that? The Scottish Daily Express, the Scottish Daily Mail, and the Scotsman; three newspapers known to be extremely sympathetic to the Conservative Party and Unionist views.

You say "Only the Scottish Conservatives can be relied on to send that message", and supply headlines of Jeremy Corbyn, saying it should be held, a "Labour Deputy" saying they would not stand against it, and Nick Clegg warning against trying to block it.

Have the Conservatives learned nothing from the 1990s, when yours was the only party to completely oppose a referendum on devolution? That referendum went ahead despite Tory opposition - and ultimately gave you the post which you hold today. Now that senior political figures are saying that a second independence referendum should be held, do you not think it would be wise to listen to them? Or are you intent on being on the wrong side of history yet again?

On the rear of the leaflet you say "her government should get back to the job they were elected to do - improving our schools and hospitals and growing our economy".

That would be the Scottish schools which are doing better than their counterparts in England in the core subjects, in a Scotland which is the best educated country in Europe. The Scottish hospitals which are outperforming hospitals in England. And yes, the Scottish economy did fall, along with the rest of the UK, in the wake of the EU Referendum. Yet Scotland has the lowest unemployment in the UK, and businesses continuing to start up and locate in Scotland. The Scottish economy is in fact doing rather well, despite the Westminster and the Union holding it back from its true potential.

When I look at the way that Westminster is mismanaging education, health and the economy, compared to Holyrood, I know which I prefer.

You say "Week in, week out, we will continue to demand the SNP drops its obsession with independence." Go ahead. And you will only make people sick to death of your continual one-issue parroting. It will be about as effect as your petition to block a second independence referendum was; not at all.

You then state that you will challenge the SNP to deliver "better public services, safer streets, and more jobs", while conveniently failing to mention that Scotland has excellent public services, crime is at an all-time low in Scotland, and - again - unemployment in Scotland is lowest in the UK.

But then, neither do you make any mention, nowhere, not once in the entire leaflet, the policies of the Scottish Conservatives on any of these issues.

All you have is negativity. All you can do is keep whinging about a second independence referendum. And given that we have local authority elections in May and a general election in June, for you to fail to make any mention of what your policies are on any of the above, indeed no mention of any Conservative policies at all, is utterly despicable.

And here's the rub, although I do want a second referendum on independence, I am not even a member of the SNP, or any political party for that matter. As such, I was completely turned off by your leaflet and all the negativity it contains. I am only writing this before I put your leaflet in the bin, which is the only fit home for it.

This is one voter you have completely failed to reach, and have only made all the more determined to vote for the SNP; who are delivering upon their election promises, despite the Westminster government doing their utmost to try and stop them doing so.

If you had any courage of your convictions, you would not oppose a second referendum on independence. That you are so vociferously against it suggests to all is that your real fear is that it would deliver a resounding YES for an independent Scotland.

If you are so sure Scotland does not want independence, put your money where your mouth is, persuade the Prime Minister to allow a second referendum, and allow the people of Scotland to decide.

Yours faithfully,

A well-informed Scot

Sit Doon An' Haud Yir Wheesht, Ruth

Ruth Davidson MSP ~ Proud to be ???

Oan 1 June 1999, the devolved Scottish Parliament wis convened for the first time. Amang the opening ceremony, singer Sheena Wellington sang the Robert Burns sang "Is There for Honest Poverty", alsae kent as "A Man's a Man for A' That". The sang wis performit as written, in the Scots leid whit the bard penned it in.

It is efter a' the Scottish Parliament; the parliament o' Scotland, whaur people commonly spik their ain tongue. So whit wad be mair fitting than tae open it wi' Burns's anthem o international britherhood in the Scots leid?

No' good enouch it seems for the Scottish Conservative Party leader, Ruth Davidson MSP. Oan Monday, 28 March, during the debate oan whether or no' tae ask Westminster tae rin a second referendum oan independence, the Tory leader quoted the words o' SNP MSP Joan McAlpine, and then added "I won't do the accent."

The accent! I ask ye? It's aye lang been kent that the Tories dinnae and wullna recognise the Scots Leid in it's ain richt, and there's yir proof. The leader o' the Scots Tories decided tae deride oor native tongue in the debating chamber o' Scotland's ain parliament.

Joan McAlpine, for her pairt, later Tweeted "I'm a member of the Scottish Parliament who speaks with a Scottish accent - like vast majority of the population. Tories find it funny."

Weel said, Joan, but jist ane thing; ye dinnae spik wi' a "Scottish accent" ~ ye spik the Scots leid.

And it's no' like Ruth spiks perfect RP English either. Aiblings she micht want tae, but ends up wi' a sort o' strangulated 'Edinburgh Fine' / ploom in the mou English, which because o' the inflection she pits oan it, ends up sounding mair Scots.

It seems tae me that becoming the leader o' the opposition in the Scottish Parliament, when the Tories owertook Labour in the 2016 elections, the power has gane tae Ruth's heid. At anither point First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP tried tae intervene oan her speech, and Ruth Davidson snapped at the leader o' Scotland "Sit down."

Cud ye imagine whit wad happen if Theresa May attemptit tae interrupt Jeremy Corbyn in the Palace o' Westminster, an' the Labour leader tellt the Prime Minister o' the UK tae "Sit down"? There wad be mayhem and wee Johnnie Bercow wad hae tae tak steps agin the leader o' the opposition, and wad be weel within his ricths tae dae sae. Why the Prisiding Officer o' the Scottish Parliament didna therefore intervene and ask Ruth Davidson tae withdraw her remarks and apologise is ayont me.

We a' weel ken jist how high-falutin the Tories think themseels tae be. But Ruth Davidson's behaviour went weel ayont the boundaries o' common decency and respect we should expect in the Scottish Parliament. Grantit, the debate wis a heated ane, but sic outbursts shouldna e'er be allowed tae gae unpunished.

But whit's really got ma dander up is Ruth Davidson's denial o' her ain culture, by ridiculing the Scots Tongue. When ony English person derides Scots, then as odious as it may be, it comes o' ignorance, and because o' that, if the person apologises and is contrite aboot it, it kin be forgien, and e'en understood tae an extent.

Ruth Davidson, has nae sic excuse. She is Scots through and through, wis brocht up wi' the mither tongue, an' for her tae therefore deride it canna e'er be forgien. I can stomach an anti-Scots English person tae an extent. The ane thing I canna, and wullna, e'er respect or forgie is an anti-Scots Scot, which is mair than a hunnert times warse, forbye.

Fowk like Ruth Davidson aye claim tae be "Proud to be Scottish. Proud to be British." but by their ain words aye gie awey whaur their true loyalites lie. These are the fowk o' the same ilk o' thae wha systematically erodit the Scots Leid in the schules, in law, and in everyday life. They claim tae be Scots, but in reality they're ashamed o' their ain culture; ashamed o' being Scots.

We see the same frae 'Scottish' Labour, whae claim to be proud Scots, but gae oot o' there wey tae e'en appear remotely Scots. The Labour cooncil in Glesca ance tried tae pressurise the SNP group tae tak doon a 'nationalist' banner frae a windae lookin' oan tae George Square. Whit wis this 'nationalist' symbol whit made Labour sae black affrontit? A Saltire flag. The national flag o' Scotland, the auldest national flag in existence, their ain flag, that's whit. Is it ony wonder I refer tae Labour in Scotland as "Labour (North British Branch)"?

I dinnae mind fowk haein opposin' political views tae ma ain pro-independence anes. Thon's democracy. I ken weel that there are fowk whae are proud Scots but support the Union, e'en in ma ain family. But when someone claims tae be a Scot, I expect them tae staund staunchly by thon statement. When they fail tae dae sae, then I canna consider them tae be Scots at a'.  Ian Hamilton, ane o' the lads whae walked aff wi' the Stone o' Destiny oan Christmas Day 1950, hud it richt aboot sic fowk in a magazine article he ance wrote, 'Bringing it Home' (Daily Record Story of Scotland, 1995), Hamilton said o' fowk like Ruth Davidson, "They're not Scots; they are North Britons."

But e'en then, when ye consider fowk frae the north o' England kin weel understaund we Scots, and that there are thae Scots wha dae spik RP English (but dinna deride the Scots leid) yet are Scots a' the same, and wi' her owerstepping her ain authority, ablings Ruth Davidson disnae e'en see herseel as a 'North Briton', but rather as a Middle Englander wannabe.  Efter a', it wis jist in September 2016, when Ruth wis invitit tae an event attendit by the Prime Minister, she respondit "Usually they put the Scots in a place where nothing can be broken. Or stolen for that matter!"  Sae as heated as the debate wis, she kin hardly claim it wis a momentary lack o' judgement.  Naw, Ruth is an anti-Scots Scot, richt enouch.

Weel, Ruth is nae Miss Jean Brodie (wha in the buik wis actually a very proud Scot), sae she kin tak her schoolmarm strictness, and her derision an' denial o' her ain tongue and culture elsewhere. But as she does, tae return tae Burns she may weel consider that when Burns decidit tae publish his poems in the Scots Leid, ayebody said they wad ne'er sell. Aroond thrie hunnert years later, a pair o' young laddies ca'in' themseels The Proclaimers decidit tae record sangs in the Scots Leid, and ayebody said they wad ne'er sell.

Perhaps Ruth Davidson wad like tae teel us jist whae wis richt, and whae wis wrang, oan baith occasions?

An' whiles she ponders thon, she may herseel want tae consider some o' the words o' "Is There for Honest Poverty":

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a couf for a' that:

For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.