Ted Christopher and William Wallace

Ted Christopher, widely acknowledged as a well accomplished mistrel of the Scottish variety, has a few interesting things to say about William Wallace at the few events I've seen him speak at.

I've seen him at Elderslie, Stonehaven and, more recently, at the Independence First march and Rally in Edinburgh.

He has a bit, where he mentions, almost in passing that politicians are as scared of William Wallace as they were back in the day when they had him brutally executed.

Every time I've heard it (and it's not been for the first time at Embra) it has been met with a general - and usually loud - murmur of agreement. I think the most precient, however, was at yesterday's rally. Maybe it because the Rally just about matched expectations, or maybe it was because the matchstick vichy parly was the background to his songs and views.

For me, the William Wallace I have read about would be rabble-rounding inside the chamber, demanding something a bit more substantial than pointless epitaphs on sporting acheievements being given cursory mentions as "Motions" inside something built for Scots designed by someone with the artistic eye of a blind banana inspector.

This, as I growled from the crowd at Bill Speirs at the Elderslie Rally, was Revisionism, which I usually despise. In my belief system, I can't 'argue' what William Wallace may or may not have done but seek to do what I believe should or should not be done. Therefore instead of William slamming the desks of Parliament demanding something better, then would I be willing to do it myself?

But the general agreement that Ted's words got, was a point that I took away from all times I've seen him speak it. It wasn't because they just wanted to give William a simple "gaun yersel" but because they actually bought into it. It seems astonishing to exist as a threat, 701 years after your own death. Robert the Bruce never achieved that, and he was the superior military tactician as well as general.

I think you could even see the spirit of Wallace inside Neil Caple as he spoke between each "act" and was, at one point heckled by someone who didn't know and cared less about. Instead he wanted him to make his points to "his face" and in due course sent him homewards tae think again. I've got to say I especially liked that bit. For info, if you're intending to heckle someone with a microphone, it makes less sense if the crowd can't hear you, no matter how benign and 'high brow' your points might or might not be.

William Wallace was walking amongst us in the crowd yesterday. The police were around trying to find him. He's still a wanted man, 701 years later. The real big yin still scares unionists and despite what Bill Spiers thinks, he still gives a fuck about US; unlike the Trade Unions, unlike the Labour Party, and unlike all the plastic unionists too delusional to realise that the day is coming when we shall rise again.