God Save The Queen

There is no authorised version of the National Anthem as the words are a matter of tradition. Additional verses have been added down the years. The first concrete record of its actual use belongs to the stage and 1745, when it was sung at two concerts in London's Drury Lane and Covent Garden theaters. Scotland had risen in favor of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Marshal Wade was in the North to put down the rebellion. A special verse was added which goes:

Lord, grant that Marshal Wade
May by Thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush
And like a torrent rush
Rebellious Scots to crush!
God save the King.

More FACTS...

Glasgow has the highest youth homicide rate in the UK. A World Health Organisation assessment is that young men (between 10-29 years of age) in Scotland are seven times more likely to be the victim of homicide than their counterparts in France, and fives times more likely than their counterparts in England and Wales.

Scotland's Chief Statistician recently published Domestic Abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2007-08. REPORTED cases of domestic violence have increased in Scotland, with figures showing a rise of almost 14 per cent in four years. This year's figure is nearly 2 per cent higher than the 48,801 recorded in 2006-7, continuing a steady rise in incidents since 1999-2000, the first year for which data was available.

Cap'n. She cannie tek nay moor!

Scotland has the highest suicide rate in the UK, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. From 1991 to 2004 the suicide rate among men was 50% higher in Scotland than other UK countries, while the rate for women was double that of elsewhere. During 2002/04 the suicide rate among Scottish men was 30 per 100,000 compared with 22.4 in Wales, 18.3 in Northern Ireland and 16.7 in England. For Scots women the rate was 10 per 100,000 compared with 5.4 in England.

By Popular Demand

I have been asked about our guest Scottish Poet, so below, pasted verbatim, is how he describes his work:

I love rhyming poetry, for me reads more fluently and when the words are used in the correct context can convey the story that the poet is trying to put across. Although other styles of poetry are full of passion, i think that rhyming poetry can really give the reader that feel good factor that they may be looking for.

I can truly say that I can concur with the feel good factor he describes. Whenever I read his works, a large smile spreads across my face.

The Wee Bairns

Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has been urged by Barnardo's Scotland to prioritise children's services, after it produced a scathing report ranking the country second from bottom for children's well-being in a list of developed nations.

Barnardo's ranked Scotland joint 22nd out of 24, alongside Portugal, in a list of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in an index of well-being, which included levels of child poverty, education, teenage pregnancies and suicide.

The country did particularly poorly in child poverty, teenage pregnancy and economic participation among 15- to 19-year-olds, though it was ranked eighth for education.

The Scottish Poet

For anyone interested in poetry written by a modern day Scotsman, you'd like this site:

http://www.alifeofrhyme.blogspot.com/

It provides an insight into the country's literary depth and I urge you to let the author know just what you think.

The Taxpayer's Lot.

Elizabeth Malcolm, 43, has never had a job. She lives in a two-bedroom council flat in Glasgow with her three children, one grandchild, two cats and a hamster.
Neither of her two working-age children have a job.

For the full story see:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7746174.stm

A Few Facts And Figures About Scotland

Scotland has the second highest level of obesity in the developed world, official statistics show.

Only America has a higher percentage of overweight adults, according to a recent Scottish Executive report.

The report shows that approximately one boy in six and one girl in seven in Scotland is obese. Among adults that number rises to one man in four and one woman in five.

In Scotland, the alcohol-related death rates for males and females
were around double the rates for the UK as a whole in 2002-
2004, according to new analysis published by the Office for
National Statistics (Spring 2007).
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Glasgow City had the highest alcohol-related death rate among both men and women in 1998-2004. Fifteen of the 20 UK local areas with the highest male alcohol-related deathrates were in Scotland, with three in England and two in Northern Ireland.For women, 14 of the top 20 local areas were in Scotland, with four in England and two in Northern Ireland.

As in previous years, smoking prevalence in 2002 was significantly higher in Scotland, at 28%, than in the rest of Great Britain (National Statistics 2004. Living in Britain: Results from the 2002 General Household Survey.)

Scotland, as a whole, has higher mortality than other western European countries, with the exception of Portugal (The Medical Research Council 2007)

For every six Scottish residents of working age, official data suggests that there is one Scot of working age resident elsewhere in the UK. (The Times May 1 2007)

The income of the average Scottish resident is 4 per cent below the UK average. (Times 1 May 2007)

Although down by a sixth over the last decade, rates of premature death in Scotland remain around a third higher than in England and Wales. Premature death in West Central Scotland is almost twice as common as in England and Wales. (Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Scotland 2006 Joseph Rowntree Foundation)

In 2000 A "fat tsar" was appointed to wean Scotland's obese population off their fat-soaked, deep-fried, vegetable-shunning Caledonian cuisine. The job was created after a three-year study of the nation's serious health problems, said to be among the worst in Europe.

Due to the low pressure systems from the Atlantic Ocean and the hilly nature of the terrain, Scotland is generally cloudier than England.

The temperatures in Scotland are generally a few degrees cooler than in England because of the hilly terrace and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Scottish National Football team currently stand 33rd in the official FIFA rankings. The USA are 24th.