Brits go home

ATM at the house

There was once talk about a cashless society. Not in Soller. I might as well have an ATM installed at the house these days as so many people like to be paid in cash. This includes the local water channel chap who was askance that we didn’t have fifty quid sitting in our wallets when he called for his annual fee. I’m sure some of these good folks pay their taxes like the rest of us but it does make you feel that you’re somehow the biggest loser dutifully paying your dues to the tax office while a good number of wily folk go tax free.

Mum’s the word in Scotland

The newly introduced Hate Crime & Public Order Act in Scotland has certainly got everyone in a lather and rightly so. The news was pushed out appropriately on 1, April causing confusion among wags globally who understandably thought it was just a bad Scottish joke.

But sadly, this was no spoof, and the news was 100 per cent real. This draconian law, the brainchild in waiting for three years by the SNP, will allow the Scottish police force far reaching powers to prosecute and imprison anyone who is deemed insulting or ‘likely’ to be ‘stirring up hatred.’ Much as First minister, Humza Yousaf, is getting kickback over it, the actual legislation was inaugurated under Nicola Sturgeon and has only now been rolled out officially.

The new law will allow anyone to accuse others of stirring up hate on the basis of disability, religion, age, transgender identity, sex orientation, and race and yet there’s not a murmur about protection of women in this worthy line up. A disgrace in itself.

The law will now make vulnerable public performances at iconic events such as the Edinburgh Fringe and even plays such as Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice could be outlawed under the new act with its anti-Semitic theme. Heaven help any Scottish comedians hoping to perform in the country. They might as well start packing their bags as one ill-placed joke could have them serving a seven-year prison sentence.

Any law that protects the vulnerable is of course welcome, but the new act goes way too far, and paves the way for thought crime, the stuff of George Orwell’s 1984. Am I mistaking fiction with reality? Open your eyes, people. Thought crime and the end of free speech has nearly arrived, folks. If this law has been so easily slipped into Scotland, what and where next?

Imagine having a dinner party and someone makes a silly joke about the Irish or about elderly people. Any guest can immediately report that person and the old bill will be round to make an arrest. This is a simplistic thought but let’s look at more sinister options. For example, a contact or neighbour might be harbouring old grudges against you. All they need do is get on the blower to the Scottish police and accuse you of a verbal hate crime and you can be hauled in for an inquisition session at the local cop shop. Where will it end? The whole thing smacks of witch hunts, public drownings and burnings, and the kind of snitching that was rife during the Spanish Civil War when neighbours turned on one another over political allegiances.

Thankfully, the likes of global master podcaster, Joe Rogan, Elon Musk of X and JK Rowling are calling out the new law. These kind of people have the funds and power to create change. Most of us poor mutts do not. The Free Speech Union with support from journalist Toby Young, is taking the act to the European law courts. This is a slippery slope. We need to fight this new evil now or stay mum forever.

The Shoap by Auld

A new thrill has hit the Angel in London in the form of a new Scottish deli called, The Shoap by Auld. This new social media sensation serves up Scottish goodies and fresh pies and bakes every day with long queues forming on the street. I’m back in London soon and friends galore in the Capital have been urging me to pop by. I will be staying with a good chum very near this Scottish haven so have every intention of visiting. Aside from plentiful servings of Irn-Bru, Tennent lager and sweet tablet, the shop and deli sell mutton pies, East Neuk smoked salmon and cheese toasties, veggie and real haggis, Lorne square sausage, potato scones and different types of tatties with orders. As I have Scottish rellies and am married to a Scotsman, I really feel a visit is a must.