MetaFilter posts tagged with uk and scotland

Cherokee, Dirty Harry and Big Billy

fearfulsymmetry — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 07:31:20 -0800

1973 news report on the training of Glasgow bouncers, This Week: Documentary about 1960s Glasgow Gangs

You can't eat scenery

Wordshore — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 01:26:27 -0800

The governments of the United Kingdom and Scotland agree on a framework for the latter to vote on independence. Other reporting in the Telegraph, Guardian and the Scottish Sun. The referendum, for this nation of 5.25 million people and a unicorn as its national animal, will be held before the end of 2014. 16 and 17 year olds will be allowed to vote; the paper will contain just a single option on independence. Bookmakers currently predict a 'No' result. In 1979, Scotland voted on devolution. The referendum resulted in 51.6% support which, with a turnout of 63.8%, fell short of the required 40% electorate approval level. In 1997, a referendum resulted in a Scottish parliament with tax-varying powers.

British Council Film Collection

Abiezer — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:34:37 -0800

The British Council Film Collection "is an archive of over 120 short documentary films made by the British Council during the 1940s designed to show the world how Britain lived, worked and played. Preserved by the BFI National Film Archive and digitised by means of a generous donation by Google, the films are now yours to view, to download and to play with for the first time." A couple of essays and case studies also already up, with more to come.

The drop

fearfulsymmetry — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:17:57 -0800

Hanging With Frank - a 1997 short film portrait of a Glasgow prison's execution chamber and a man that worked there in the 50's.

You say smile I say cheese

schmod — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:02:13 -0800

A year after spending some time in Edinburgh, and subsequently finding his way home across Scotland, Danny MacAskill unexpectedly finds himself in an abandoned ironworks. A zen-like state of bicycling ensues. [via kottke]

Dog and Deco

The Discredited Ape — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:34:33 -0800

Dog and Deco. My name is Pickles McConchie. I’m a 15 year old Art Deco and camera loving Terrier from Scotland. I like to travel the country with my bitch and pose in front of art deco factories and industrial buildings from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, as well as other twentieth century architectural gems.

The Lockerbie Deal

reenum — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:49:54 -0800

How Britain's largest corporations helped engineer the release of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber.

Grown men cried

Artw — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 07:13:15 -0800

The 1906 fire that sent rivers of burning whisky flowing down the streets of Dundee

Adoption Confidentiality Being Bypassed Through Social Media

zarq — Sun, 23 May 2010 20:05:44 -0800

UK adoption agencies are reporting "huge numbers of calls from 'deeply distressed' adoptive parents whose children have been contacted" through Facebook and other social networking sites, in violation of the traditional, confidential reunion process between birth parents and their offspring who have been placed with other families. Full report from Channel 4. From the Guardian article:

Where once adoption tended to involve a young, single woman giving up her unplanned baby, now two-thirds of adopted children have been removed because their parents abused or neglected them. In many cases, the birth parents dispute the removal, blaming social services.

Additional resources: Channel 4: Adoption Experience: Adoption Search Reunion UK

By amfibus across the Clyde

acb — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:26:05 -0800

Originally developed for military tasks, amphibious buses have found a niche running tourist services in various cities around the world. But now, Scotland is about to get the first timetabled amphibious bus passenger service, replacing a ferry route in Glasgow and extending it inland to a nearby town and a shopping centre. While tourist operations typically use modified military personnel carriers, the Glasgow service will use a purpose-built amphibious passenger bus named the Amfibus, of which costs £700,000, looks much like a regular road bus and has been used by tour operators in the Netherlands, and will cross the Clyde between Renfrew and Yoker. The service made its maiden voyage today, but was temporarily grounded afterward after a flotation bag had worked loose.

"To say that I am a patient man would be an understatement."

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 05:38:59 -0800

Seventeen years Steve Feltham sold up everything, bought an old mobile library van and parked up alongside Loch Ness to look for Nessie... He's still there.

A grave situation

dersins — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:49:52 -0800

ukgraves.info has thousands of photographs of cemeteries and gravestones all over the UK, from City of London to the Kirk of Lammermuir, and random points in between.

Rebus Retires

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:46:24 -0800

Exit Music. The King of Tartan Noir, Ian Rankin has retired his detective John Rebus. Ageing him with each novel, Rebus has finally reached the retirement age at Edinburgh CID; Although that may not stop him... Though Rebus will probably now have more time to spend in the Oxford Bar, his creator had not slowed down, producing a newspaper serial, writing for and appearing on television including his 'Evil Thoughts'- here interviewing Anne Perry, writing a libretto and a comic book, giving away Kidnapped, having a public row with "bloodthirsty lesbians" and starting spurious rumours about that other famous best-selling Edinburgh writer.

Question Time

chuckdarwin — Fri, 04 May 2007 02:07:14 -0800

So, how is that whole Iraq thing working out for you, Tony? What's going on with Scotland? Is the rise of the SNP your party's fault? Are they laying the groundwork for Scottish independence?

Too much of a good thing

0bvious — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 06:18:07 -0800

The ashes of the recently deceased contains high amounts of nutrient rich phosphates, just perfect for sprucing up that garden of yours. On the iconic peaks of Scotland though Mountaineers have decided that enough is enough.

Libyan gets minimum of 20 years for Lockerbie Bombing by Scottish Court.

wackybrit — Wed, 31 Jan 2001 10:20:16 -0800

Libyan gets minimum of 20 years for Lockerbie Bombing by Scottish Court. Why are British courts handing out such tiny sentences? After all, in America it's not uncommon for people to receive 99 years for a single murder. Some people are doing over 10 years for rape alone. This Libyan could have easily received the death sentence if he were in the US, as it was similar in scale to the Oklahoma City bombing.

Yet, in the UK, it's possible to kill people through negligence, and get away with it. Just last month an uninsured driver was speeding, killed a pedestrian, fled the scene, and although found guilty, only received a driving ban!

Is the UK overly soft in its sentencing? Or is the USA overly draconian?

"States' Rights" hit the UK?

holgate — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 15:13:48 -0800

"States' Rights" hit the UK? First abolishing tuition fees, now providing long-term care for the elderly: the Scottish Executive is making life, um, "interesting" for its progenitor in Westminster. The downside of an unwritten constitution?

Mom who laughed as she threw child off 14th-floor balcony sentenced

rcade — Sat, 05 Aug 2000 13:11:04 -0800

Mom who laughed as she threw child off 14th-floor balcony sentenced ... to five years in prison. I'm definitely committing all my murders in Scotland from now on.