A new Battle of Bannockburn
Saturday last was the 698th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn and if it hadn’t been for my spotting of a piece of bureaucratic stupidity the day would have passed by completely unnoticed by this particular Sassenach.
For the last 80 years, nationalistic Scots have been commemorating the anniversary with various activities including a procession through the town to the site of the battlefield. Those taking part in the march are generally dressed in costume (either medieval or Jacobite) and carry a mixture of swords, axes, daggers and shields.
This year however Stirling council decreed that no weapons could be carried because of some apparent minor trouble last year:
However, following reports of an “incident” at last year’s march, where a car on the route was allegedly hit with a shield and a Union Flag was burned, Stirling Council ordered those taking part to lay down their arms, saying no weapons would be allowed to be carried during the march, even if they were safely sheathed in a scabbard.
A burnt flag and a damaged car? Obviously the sensible thing would have been to prosecute the individual(s) who participated in the property damage, ignore the flag burning and forget the whole business. However these are bureaucrats we’re talking about so sensible doesn’t come into it and instead they reached for rule one of the public sector law and order playbook: collective punishment.
Unsurprisingly this didn’t go down very well with those organising the march, especially as
Scots law allows Shetlanders to dress up as Vikings each year and march through the town armed with battleaxes during the Up Helly Aa festival, while Scots are allowed to carry the sgian dubh knife.
Ooops!
As expected the council tried to justify their decision with some weasel words:
A Stirling Council spokeswoman said: “Stirling Council respect the rights of organisations and individuals to celebrate their history and cultural traditions.
“But we also need to balance this with the rights of the general public to go about their daily lives safely and with minimal inconvenience.”
Oh look, some tripe about ‘respecting rights’ followed by a recourse to that old favourite: public safety. All copied and pasted right out of the government PR handbook for dealing with uppity members of the public.
The public however weren’t going to let this stand and some behind the scenes lobbying of both Stirling Council and the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) later a compromise was reached:
The National Trust for Scotland, who manage the battlefield, confirmed a compromise to allow weapons to be carried during the ceremony inside the heritage site – but not during the march.
An NTS spokeswoman said: “People bringing swords and other weapons will be allowed to keep them in their cars and take them out when they arrive at the battlefield.
“After the ceremony, they will have to put them away again if they want to go back into Stirling.”
In the end there were two marches:
for the purposes of clarity.. this year there will be TWO marches.
The first one.. which the SRSM [Scottish Republican Socialist Movement, Ed] have organised will be a NON weapons bearing event.. and will be assembling from the 1314 inn at 13:30 hrsThe second one, fopr those bearing weapons, sorted out by Garaidh Stiùbhart of the society of William Wallace will be assembling in the Bannockburn Heritage Centre carp park at 13:30 hrs.
Both marches will rendezvous at the rotunda for the commemoration!!!
I thing we can call that a partial win for the public but now that the council has tried this once, it is a fight which I expect will be repeated annually for a while yet.
XX An NTS spokeswoman said: “People bringing swords and other weapons will be allowed to keep them in their cars and take them out when they arrive at the battlefield. XX
Hmm. I do battle re-enactment here, in Europe. I travel by train. So now, if I want to travel to Britain, to partake, I must have a car, or “fuck you!” basically?
Much more common sense attitude here.
For the anniversary of the French occupation of Berlin in 1805, we held a parade.
Not only were we allowed to march through the “ban mile” (Where, in the “Government area, around the Reichstag, and Kanzleramt, etc), and through the Brandeburger Tor, but we were allowed to do it with FIXED BAYONETS. Since 1945, the ONLY ones allowed to do that were the Bundeswehr. But, we got permission.
Makes Britain look a shower of fools really.
Question, MG:
If there is a law that states:
“Scots law allows Shetlanders to dress up as Vikings each year and march through the town armed with battleaxes during the Up Helly Aa festival, while Scots are allowed to carry the sgian dubh knife.”
Since when did any Scottish local authority have the right to overturn or ignore any law?
You know as well as I David that politicians have never been people to let a pesky thing such as the law get in the way of oppressing the population.
Correct – neither North nor South of the border – (or East or West of it, for that matter). It really is time these buffoons were reminded** they are public SERVANTS, not public MASTERS, and that authority, like sovereignty is vested in the people.
**If necessary, reminded by things with a sharp pointy end…
Norse Udal law allows Shetlanders to dress up as Vikings. Scots law is an illegitimate imposition by the pawnbroker in Orkney and Shetland.
Fair comment MG but in response to which I would say that if people do not stand up for their rights which are enshrined in law then they deserve to be oppressed.
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Perhaps the council prodnoses are afraid the weapons will be used on them?
They’d better ban piano wire or hemp then. 🙂
Could you imagine the council trying to impose the same rules in the C14th?
There was no such thing* as a local council in the 14th C and the feudal lords in charge would have wanted fighting men, skilled or otherwise, for the skirmishes between themselves, their liege lords and monarchs so wouldn’t have objected to people carrying weapons.
In England it was the law of the land that all men of a certain age should practise with a bow and arrow once a week.
Controls on the population bearing arms are a (relatively) new phenomenon.
* No doubt some pedant will correct me if I’m wrong
MG,
You’re quite correct in thinking arms control is a comparatively new phenomenon.
The right to bear arms is enshrined in the US constitution to protect the freedom of the people.
I accept that the Dep’t of Homeland Security is eroding that freedom rather too much, but over-ambitious rulers are kept in check by the thought of an armed populace.
Why do you think our ruling elite here in the UK are so vehemently opposed to any kind of arming of the electorate?
Concern for our well-being? – If so, it would be the first time ever!
To save us from ourselves? – see comment above!
To ensure that armed bad guys can’t hurt us? – ask any cop involved in Trident how effective that is.
To prevent a serious rising by a pissed-off electorate? – getting warmer!
The old adage that a government should fear its people was never more true – but present-day governments (local AND national) seem hell-bent on making it the other way round.
I have learned a new word today: ‘Sassenach’. Unbelievably, the dictionary on my Macbook can define it!
Happy to have been of service.
When’s the Battle of Culloden commemoration, by the way?
Ah you mean when the scots army defeated the scots french english italian army? get your facts straight….flodden on the other hand..you can have that one.