Blogs

Civic leaders in a Scottish town have made a stand on the cruel slaughter of Whales in the Faroe Islands. Wick (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Ùige) in the far north of Scotland has cut all ties with its twin community in a row over the islands’ annual slaughter of whales. The Wick councillors received representations from constituents who feared the slaying last month of 250 pilot whales on the beaches of Bøur and Tórshavn, would damage Wick’s reputation as it is twinned with the Faroese town of  Klaksvík.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Militarism is very much to the fore these days throughout the UK and the Isle of Man. There’s a veritable ‘orgy of events’ taking place to commemorate the two world wars. Not content with remembering the very real sacrifices made by those particularly in WW 2 new memorial gardens have been opened in the UK to National Servicemen who for the most part were involved from 1945 onwards in the questionable repression of National liberation struggles.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Poet Benjamin Zephaniah has called for a wider expression of multiculturalism with the cultures of the Celtic countries being avaiable as part of the wide-stream English education system.

He made his statement at the National Eisteddfod of Wales which he visited earlier this month.

He said:

"Hindi, Chinese and French are taught [in schools], so why not Welsh? And why not Cornish? They're part of our culture,"

His comments were widely reported in Wales and Cornwall (see links):

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

BBC 4s well trailed documentary ‘Inside Sellafield’ told us nothing really new about the ghastly nuclear waste repository on the doorstep of several of the Celtic countries.

The programme touched on the amateurish way the whole operation was run at the outset and the cavalier way in which waste was handled but all this was information long in the public domain.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

In an initiative that could well be replicated in other Celtic countries (particularly the Isle of Man) ideas for tackling fuel poverty have been discussed today by a new group meeting for the first time in Inverness in Scotland

The Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force has been established by the Scottish Government. Its remit is to find ways of making it easier and more affordable for people in rural and remote Scotland to heat their homes.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

There will be Easter Rising commemorations in North Wales. Following the rising in 1916 many of those detained by the British Army were imprisoned at Frongoch Prisoner of War Camp in Gwynedd.

Amongst those imprisoned in the Camp was IRA leader Michael Collins who want on to lead the pro-treaty military forces during the Civil War.

See attached link with quotes from local politicians in Wales:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-33994718

For those with an interest in World War II, this weekend's special 1940s event on the Island's vintage steam railway should be just the ticket.

Advertised as a family-friendly event, it's a chance to relive the nostalgia of 1940s wartime with the Isle of Man Steam Railway's fifth Island at War weekend.

A number of events will take place at three of the main railway stations, bringing history to life at Douglas, Castletown and Port Erin.

Isle of Man Post Office has teamed up with the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the legendary battle with a special set of collectable memorabilia.

Kezia Dugdale, as predicted has been elected as the leader of the Scottish branch of the London based Labour Party. No doubt she will continue to encourage the role of Labour in Scotland as no more than the powerless branch office of London Labour. They are incapable of acting independently in the interests of Scotland.

With the Snaefell Mountain Railway still going strong and as popular as ever, special celebrations will mark the network's 120th anniversary on the summit on the 20 August.

There will be special trams and activities throughout the day, which will culminate in the inaugural presentation of a specially commissioned forty minute work for a chamber ensemble, which will be performed inside the Summit Restaurant and simultaneously relayed over loudspeakers across the surrounding countryside.