Pie in the sky?

Numbers. Just numbers, for now. The Earth receives around 12.2 million watt-hours per square mile per year. This equates, worldwide, to 274,000,000 gigawatt years. Another way of putting that is that we receive 8.2 million quads (quadrillion Btu). With me so far? Now, the earth's population, use around 400 quads to serve all our energy needs. So, is it possible that we could eventually serve all our energy needs from solar radiation alone? Yup.

It's not easy. We're up against lots of problems. There are definitely some huge technological hurdles to be overcome, but we are a race which managed to put men on the moon using technology less powerful than your mobile phone. Of course it's possible and if we all want it badly enough, it's likely. Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done.

Proud to be Scottish - honest.

It's been a while coming, but at last Scotland is to lead the way in the UK by enacting legislation to enable same-sex marriage. Another group of our citizens are to be given equal treatment and equal responsibilities. I for one am delighted, and I'm proud that the majority appear to be on board with the idea. Mind you, there are some nay-sayers. Philip Tartaglia, the new Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow claims he's received letters and emails accusing him of homophobia after the statements he's made on the subject. Welcome to the world of the LGBT community Phil. You ought to try living in a society where those who ought to know better whip up all kinds of hysteria against minorities. Oh, wait, you do live in such a society, and you're doing a lot of the whipping. Live with it.


He went on to say he believed religious freedom was now under threat from undemocratic and intolerant forces. So, kind of like his church then? Tolerance and democracy aren't exactly the watchwords of Catholicism.  Here's some more.

"A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said: "The Scottish Government is embarking on a dangerous social experiment on a massive scale.

"However, the church looks much further than the short-term electoral time-scales of politicians.

"We strongly suspect that time will show the Church to have been completely correct in explaining that same-sex sexual relationships are detrimental to any love expressed within profound friendships.

"However, in the short term and long term the Church does not see same-sex marriage as an appropriate and helpful response to same-sex attraction."

A social experiment? Is that how this Neanderthal sees it? Equality is a dangerous social experiment. Remember that. That's the official church line. This from the organisation that won't countenance the use of condoms to counteract the effects of one of the world's worst epidemics, AIDS. The church doesn't look further, it looks back and yearns for a time when it ruled with a rod of iron.

Not that the RC church is alone in its opposition to progress. Many other churches take a similar stance. I'll repeat what I said before to a member of the clergy. Stand for election, get elected and make a difference. You don't get two votes, one for you and one for the club of which you're a member. Stinks, doesn't it?

So, well done the Scottish Government, I was against devolution. I've already admitted I was wrong. Now I know I was right about being wrong.

Keith, I'll vote for you. Aye, right.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien hit the papers today, attempting to 'intensify pressure on Alex Salmond over same-sex marriage by calling for a referendum on the proposals...'. Uh huh. Apparently 'far more people' are concerned about same-sex ceremonies than independence. Uh huh. Apparently over 27,000 people have signed a petition against the government's plans. Out of a population somewhere south of 5 million. Uh huh.

Let's deal with the word marriage first. It's a word. Nothing more nor less. It's an English word, so reference to Biblical concepts are meaningless. The Bible wasn't written in English, so the word is irrelevant. Next, to the concept of equality. If heterosexual couples are given certain rights based on their formalised nature of their relationship, then those rights are bound by any laws of common decency to be afforded to all who form similar relationships, same-sex or not. 

The Biblical arguments put forward by the RC and other churches are, of course, powerful anti-gay motivators. However, I do feel 'Christians' ought to be careful of what they wish for. If Biblical exhortations are to be used, how do we select which ones to be used and which ignored? Ought we to stone people for adultery? Ought we to execute gays? It's not exactly light reading, but try ten minuites or so of Leviticus. You might see things a tad differently.

Now we reach morality. I get mine from what I believe to be a well-grounded sense of right and wrong, instilled in me by a father who was not a believer, a mother who was but never once attempted to force her beliefs on me, and a lifetime of experience, observing as I went how cruel both the spiritual and secular organisations who loom so large in our lives could be in achieving their, ultimately, identical ends. Those ends are control and profit. You don't think the churches seek profit? Uh huh. Take a wee peek in the Vatican vaults.

Here's the deal. If Cardinal O'Brien will accept as binding a referendum on the RC church's attitude to birth control, I will canvass votes for him when he resigns his nice comfortable job to stand for election to the Scottish Parliament. Otherwise, my advice is, nice try. In a democracy, we value the whole of the people, not a narrow interest group, although I can't for the life of me understand what interest is served by a 'Christian' persecuting a minority group. You've probably noticed the inverted commas I've used around the word 'Christian' a couple of times. They were deliberate. Since Christ appears to me to have preached love and tolerance in his teachings, perhaps these people ought to use another name. Persecutionists perhaps?

What if we called it Team England?

I'm British. I live in Great Britain. I'm told I should support Team GB in the Olympics, but I can't. The reason is that it isn't really Team GB. Northern Ireland isn't in Great Britain, but it is in the UK. Given that those who administer the UK effort know this, they are also aware that to call it Team GB is to insult the 1.7 million or so people who live there. If you're Scottish or Welsh, would you support Team England?

Of course, there will be a lot of people who simply laugh this off. It's not important. So here's the deal. Have your say. Let's see how many people from NI say it isn't an issue. I'll watch the Olympics, but I won't take any pleasure in Team GB wins.

Paisley RFC 2nd XV 31 - 10 Renfrew RFC

Paisley 2nds played host to Renfrew on Saturday on what was a near perfect day in terms of weather. Paisley had had quite a few call offs, so found themselves with several players out of position, notably with center Andy Conroy in his first start at fly half. Conroy's kicking game was virtually non-existent, but he did well in an unfamiliar position, leading the charge with one or two line breaks and some sharp passing along the line to new centres Marcus Cooper and Pascal Nissen.

Renfrew kicked off and immediately felt the pressure as Paisley set about camping in their half. For the next ten minutes, Paisley battered away at Renfrew's line until, after a flurry of quick rucks, scrum half Calum Walker made a break, feeding lock Gary Riddell for the opening score, duly converted by Paul Di Duca. Paisley were then guilty of a lapse in concentration as they allowed Renfrew to come back at them almost immediately, the home defence allowing a chip to the corner to be dotted down by the visiting winger.

However, Paisley were quickly back in familiar territory, moving fluently through ruck after ruck, recycling with uncharacteristic efficiency. After 32 minutes they got their reward for all the hard work, as Nissen, spotting that the Renfrew blind side wing had gone missing, screamed for the ball, duly provided by Walker, allowing Nissen to canter in unopposed from around 35 metres out. With Di Duca again converting, the game turned around at 14-5.

The second half saw more of the same, although a series of changes in personnel interrupted the flow somewhat. Five minutes in, the spectators were treated to what was probably the most dramatic moment of the afternoon as captain Gordon 'Flash' McPhee took the ball for a run starting at the half way line, sidestepping several flailing tacklers before rounding the corner and touching down under the posts. Nine minutes later, Number 8 Paul Di Duca had a fine individual run, committing the defence before releasing Euan Stuart to score in the corner. Shortly after that, paisley committed their second and final error in judgement of the afternoon, allowing the Renfrew 8 to pick up and trundle over for second try.

However, Paisley were not quite done. Five minutes from the end of play, hooker Antonio Jimenez picked the ball from the ruck and barreled over the line for the final score of the game. As the score suggests, Paisley dominated this game, with the scrum suffering no real problems. Scrum half Walker made his opposite number's life a misery, causing some the put-ins to be taken against the head, with Jimenez having one of his best days stealing opposition ball. The line out functioned well and the back row made things very difficult for the visitors with Colin McKay, the under 18 open side, proving why his coaches wax lyrical about him. Matt John stone at full back didn't have an enormous amount to do, but covered his position with confidence. Late in the game Iain Milne replaced Walker at scrum half, a position he has very little experience in, but handled it well.

After the game, team manager Jim Lewis said, " This is what makes it worthwhile putting in all the time arranging, worrying and organising it takes to get a game played. To watch the joy with which Paisley played the game today was wonderful. I'm very proud of every one of them. Even Craig Thomson, out with an ankle injury, showed how a team member behaves, running touch, delivering first aid and generally helping me to do the job. It's good to be King!" The Man of the Match award went to Pascal Nissen, player in his first season who has shown a real talent for rugby and played with intelligence and bravery while playing in a position which placed him outside his comfort zone.

Aren't we the lucky ones?

I am deeply honoured that a man as busy and so deeply respected worldwide as the saviour of Aberdeenshire and its natural heritage, Donald Trump, has once more leapt to the defence of the Scottish environment. He's at war with that wicked Alex Salmond, whose only mandate is through a majority in the Scottish Parliament, so long the bane of the life of St. Donald of Trump Towers, over the said demon's determination to meet green energy targets by having all of Scotland's energy needs serviced by renewable sources by 2020. That seems a bit unrealistic, so we shouldn't bother trying, right?

Saint Donald has wheeled his mighty organisation behind Communities Against Turbines Scotland. Cats (for such is their witty acronym) quite rightly voice concerns over the proliferation of admittedly ugly turbines, particularly in one spot it seems. From his spokesman:

"All the great links golf courses, that people from all over the world have enjoyed for centuries, are now being threatened."

Really? I really didn't know that people had travelled from all over the world to play golf, and for hundreds of years. Wow.

 "Another proposal we were shocked to find is at Loch Ness. If you stop 90% of the people in the street in New York they would associate Scotland with Loch Ness. It is an iconic part of Scotland.

"We were shocked to find out there is a proposal to put 150 turbines above it. It is complete madness. What we found was there is tremendous local opposition to many of these proposals."

Quite right. And if you stopped the same people in the street and asked them what they would associate with Ireland, I'm sure they'd mention leprechauns and pots o'gold. You see, Americans are known to be world leaders in environmental protection. Just have a look around Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

If you feel I'm being a tad cynical here, you're not that perceptive. I'm being very cynical. This guy, with his used toupee salesman appearance, doesn't give a toss about Loch Ness or "all the great links courses". He is, however, somewhat peeved that the view from his sizeable slice of Aberdeenshire will be marred by offshore turbines.

To quote from 'Benvironment':

"Yep, according to this news story Donald Trump has expressed concerns that an offshore windfarm could spoil the view his guests will get from his new golf resort.

Awww.  Personally, I’m having trouble caring.  This, from an organisation that knowingly built on a protected area, erected dirt banks and trees around neighbours they didn’t like (and thus obscured their VIEWS)……and wanted to evict existing residents through compulsory purchase orders…..for personal profit."

Is it all starting to make sense now? I thought so. Mr Trump, who still believes Barack Obama was born in Kenya, and is still attempting to buy the US Presidency, must not be allowed to buy Scotland to add to his portfolio. He's a bully,and bullies generally end up with a bloody nose. Let's give him one.

Craig

A friend passed from our lives this week, a boy really, less than a year older than my own elder son. Some people enter your life fleetingly and leave a lasting impression. Craig Grumoli was one of those people. Craig played for Paisley Rugby Club for a relatively short space of time before moving to Ireland to start a new life. I didn’t really get to spend a lot of time with him, but the little time I did was highly enjoyable. When my wife Brenda was in Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, Craig took time from his own busy working life at the hospital to visit her and bring her some of his trademark cheer, just because that’s the kind of man he was. Such small kindnesses are long remembered.

If I have one lasting image of this young man, it was his almost constant smile. As a rugby player he was uncompromising and never took a backward step, but above all else his sheer joy in taking part in a game he loved stood out.  Of course, the social side of the game didn’t pass him by. He had a wild side to him which could be something to behold. Add to this a rapier wit (I can’t think of anyone better at the lightning reply), and you have a picture of a guy who was a lot of fun to be around.

Thanks Craig. Thanks for caring, thanks for the joy of watching you play and thanks for the fun and the kindness you spread around. Above all, thanks for being our friend. The boys at the club, Brenda and I will miss you terribly, but we’ll never forget you.