My Thoughts. Exactly.

Pretty much every conversation with someone new, and quite a few existing friends, in the last few weeks has involved, at some point, a single subject. As sure as night follows day, I have been asked a variation on the following question:

Do you think Scotland will become independent?

It is a subject which has taxed many a grey cell in my cranium for the last couple of years, whilst being alternatively relieved/pissed off that the powers that be have deemed the opinions of expats irrelevant to this momentous decision.

Throughout much of the campaign I have felt like King Agrippa, faced with the arguments of Saint Paul and responding:

Almost you persuade me to become a Christian, but not quite.

Neither the "Yes" nor the "Better Together" campaigns have presented a definitive argument as to why to agree with them.

The "Yes" campaign has far too many vague claims that everything will be fine, for my liking. They claim that an independent Scotland will keep the same head of state, and the same currency as the United Kingdom, which begs the question, why bother? They claim that the European Union will welcome an independent Scotland with open arms, which inherently means that EU law will trump Scots Law, and decisions made in Edinburgh can be overturned in Brussels or Strasbourg, which again begs the question, why bother?

On the other hand, "Better Together" seem to appeal to sepia tinged visions of the British Empire's faded glory, with yet more vague promises of greater powers for the existing Scottish Parliament.

I don't want to get into the failings of both campaigns, though many a "Yes" supporters' hard and loose approach to historical facts has pissed me off several times (I have seen several claims that the Union was a result of an English invasion...British history 101 was clearly failed), I want to clearly state how, and why, I would vote on Thursday, if I could.

I would vote 'yes'.

Not for any blinkered nationalistic reasons, not to give the Tories a kicking, not out of some anti-English bias (which would be ridiculous anyway as, in common with all my brothers, I am half English and half Scottish), and most certainly not because I believe Scotland to be some oppressed nation in need of liberation - a sentiment shared, interestingly enough by one Alex Salmond, when he wrote:

Scotland is not oppressed and we have no need to be liberated. Independence matters because we do not have the powers to reach our potential.

It is clear to me, admittedly from a distance given that I have lived outside the UK since 1999, that the Union, and the parties supporting it, as it currently stands is not fit for purpose. That, however, is not reason enough to throw the baby out with the bath water. In an ideal world I would want to see a fully devolved United Kingdom, with parliaments for all the nations that make up the Union - Scots, English, Welsh, Irish, and Cornish. Those parliaments would have the power to legislate fully within their nation, tax rates, spending plans, the works, with a pan-British senate to oversee matters of common concern, defense and foreign relations for example. A fully federal union would move decision making powers closer to the people that government is supposed to serve.

It is in the absence of this option, one which having spoken to many of my friends at home would likely win far greater support than the binary choice of independence vs status quo, that I would be casting a yes vote. Reluctantly, and with a heavy heart, but with the hope that the finest progressive achievements of the Union, the NHS for example, might continue, and be built upon to create a fairer society for all the people of Scotland.

Investing not Buying

Even though I don't currently live in Britain, I am very glad that by an accident of birth I was born British. I like being British, I like my British passport and have no ambition to ever give it up or take citizenship of another country. Eventually, I want to go home, once I am done with my wandering around the world and all that stuff. I am sure that sounds a little strange considering Mrs V and I have just bought a house but in my family buying a house is no barrier to picking up and moving on - my elder brother did so to move to Australia and my parents did it in order to move to France.

Before I wander too far though from the topic of this post, let me come back on theme, yes I am proud to be British, though not in some boorish sense that Britain is the best thing since sliced bread, but more an understated appreciation to have been born there. Two of the things that make most proud to have come from Britain are the National Health Service and the British Broadcasting Corporation. I am not really in a position to benefit from the awesomeness that is the NHS, but I listen to the BBC World Service practically every day, and yesterday they really pissed me off.

On my drive home from work I was listening to a show called "London Calling", which reviews the Olympics currently happening in London. What's that you say? You were on the Mars Rover and were not aware that the greatest sporting event in the world is taking place in London at the moment? Well, tsk, tsk is all I have to say about that. Anyway, on the show they were asking the question if Britain had "bought" all these gold medals because of all the money spent by the government on sporting facilities and training since the abject failure of the British team in Atlanta?

I found myself yelling at the radio, admit it, you do too! What kind of ridiculous notion is it that a country should invest over a 16 year period in sports facilities and training, and then when that investment bears fruit somehow the gold medals have been "bought"? I wish the British government would take a similar strategy of investment in things like the NHS, science education, inner city schools, the list goes on, but I digress.

These gold, silver and bronze medals are the culmination of years of investment, both financial and in terms of time, and to claim they have somehow been bought is disgraceful and does a great disservice to the Olympians who won them. After all, it is not as though an oil rich magnate from Russia or the Middle East has lavished riches on a mediocre athletics program, bought in the best athletes from around the world and had them don a Team GB shirt.

I for one think every medalist deserves immense praise for their achievement, and every time I see another Brit on the podium I smile broadly.

Move Along, Move Along

I am 35 years old. In those 35 years I have lived in 3 of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom as well as Germany, the Czech Republic, the United States and, briefly, Belarus. In my 10 years living in the Czech Republic, I lived in a small town called Mlada Boleslav as well as Prague, in total though I lived at 8 addresses in 10 years. I have spent my life moving around, and can happily say that I enjoy it. My little brother, only 1 year my junior, took a different path to adult life, settling down in the Highlands and pretty much staying put, though even he has moved house within the same town a few times.

I often think that Mrs Velkyal has had a calming influence on me, I can watch football without apoplexy these days for a start. In the 6 years we have been together I have only lived at 3 addresses, and 2 of those cover 5.5 years. Even so, I find it nearly impossible to not think about the other places in the world which pique my interest. Perhaps growing up in the British Army gives you a taste for going somewhere new, a taste for always being an expat. I get the sense at times that if we were to move to the UK, I would probably feel like an expat even there, after all I left just after I graduated and haven't spent an extended period of time in my own country since.

I keep a mental list of places that I would love to live in, just in case my numbers come up on the lottery and I am suddenly flush with cash. Near the top of that list would be a return to Germany, mainly to put my Germanophilia into full swing, I love the German language (no I don't think it is "too brutal for singing"), German efficiency, German food and German beer, I like Germans and find their sense of humour funny, yes they have one. If we were to move to Germany there are a couple of places I would most like to live in, Berlin and Celle.

Mrs V and I went to Berlin a couple of years back and absolutely loved it, had Obama failed to win the election in 2008 there was a very good chance that we would have moved there rather than here. Celle is a smallish town near Hannover, and the place we lived in as children, it is also etched in my memory as one of the most beautiful towns in Europe. My attraction there is simple, I would love to experience the town as an adult, it is also entirely possible from research my great uncle Bill did, that my father's family originally came from that neck of the woods.

One thing is for certain, I don't feel as though I am done with travelling and seeing places new and intriguing.

Recovered Memories

I enjoy taking photos, indeed at my parents' place in France there are boxes of photos I took in the dim and distant past before I got a digital camera. It is only in the last few months that I have been able to retrieve a lot of my photos because they were on the hard drive of my old laptop that died.

Normally this wouldn't have been a major issue, but the laptop in question had Windows XP in Czech rather than English. While my Czech is OK, dealing with technical language is a completely different ball game. So once I had my wireless router set up I set about re-installing Windows and getting all the files on to an external hard drive. With that process done, I have slowly been sorting and organising all the various bits and pieces that I managed to recover. So I thought I would post a few of my favourite pictures which have never before seen the light of this blog.

When we lived in Prague, I would walk home from work quite often and crossing the Nusle bridge was part of the walk. The bridge has high sided fences as it is a popular place to commit suicide. There is no river under the bridge, just a cobbled street and houses, I can't imagine how it must feel to live there and have people leaping to their deaths on the street outside.

Just round the corner from our flat was this tower and church, and we would walk by them several times a day.

I have always loved railway stations, the potential of all those places to visit. This one is the oldest railway station in Prague, Masarykovo nádraží and was literally opposite the building we lived in.

The other station we lived close to was Prague's main station, Hlavní Nádraží, from where we would get the train to České Budějovice and then on to our favourite getaway town for a weekend, Český Krumlov. This picture was taken from the window of the penzion we always stayed in.

In the final months we lived in Prague, Mrs Velkyal and I made a point of going to the various places in the city we had either loved or neglected to go to. One such place was the Estates Theatre, where Mozart received great acclaim for Don Giovanni, and I took this picture of the seats.

30 Day Song Challenge - Days 28, 29 and 30

Having skipped several days, I have decided to merge the last three themes into a single post and only have a single track for each theme.

Day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty

"Summertime" by Billie Holiday



I can honestly say that there is nothing that I feel guilty about, and certainly no song that makes me feel guilty for anything I have done. The track above though makes me feel guilty for liking it, because I can think of no good reason to like it beyond the fact that I just enjoy listening to it - pure hedonism.

Day 29 - a song from your childhood

"Shoplifters of the World Unite" by The Smiths



This song always reminds me of two people, my eldest brother, and my best friend from primary school, who I haven't see since I was about 13. The Smiths were one of the first bands I liked, and still like to this day.

Day 30 - you favourite song this time last year

"Sleepyhead" by Passion Pit



Something of an unusual choice for me I am sure, but this time last year, having had my driving license for but a few months, I would drive around town listening to this song and generally being happy with life.

So there we go. All done.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 27

Given that I can't play any musical instrument, today's theme of "a song you wish you could play" is pretty pointless. However, I wish I could play some form of bagpipe, so these tracks showcase a form of pipe.

Track 1 - "The Dreaming of the Bones" by Davy Spillane, featuring Sinead O'Connor



Davy Spillane is one of the world's leading uillean pipe players, a master of the ethereal wail which is so haunting.

Track 2 - "Gabriel's Oboe" performed by Carlos Nunez



Originally composed by Ennio Morricone for the film The Mission, this version is played on the gaita - a form of bagpipe from Galicia in Spain.

Track 3 - "The Three Pipers" by Carlos Nunez



Another Carlos Nunez track, in which he blends the sounds of the Breton pipes, Great Pipes from Scotland and the Uillean pipe.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 26

Sorry, sorry, I was working in a brewery yesterday and was wiped out before watching Doctor Who. Today's theme is exceedingly easy, "songs I can play on an instrument". The reason it is so easy for me is that I don't play any musical instrument, unless you include strumming mindless chords on a guitar.

So, I can't give you any songs for today's theme, so I'll just put three clips from an artist song I have been listening to a lot lately - Cecile Corbel

Track 1 - "La Fille Damnee"



Track 2 - "Je Vous Pleure



Track 3 - "Corpus Christi Carol"

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 25

Our theme for today is songs that make me laugh. Again I skipped a day, but as I was brewing with my favourite brewpub, I think I have a valid excuse.

Track 1 - "Nightboat to Cairo" by Madness



If you've been following this challenge, you'll know that I like Madness a lot, and most of their songs are kind of the funny. "Nightboat to Cairo" is very in the usual Madness vein, quirky lyrics, daft video and just fun to listen to.

Track 2 - "Lucille" by The Corries



A parody on country music by the legendary Corries which never fails to make me laugh, and I am sure many of us have told tales of broken hearts over pints in the pub.

Track 3 - "Rabbit" by Chas and Dave



Perhaps it is just me, but music these days seems so tiresomely earnest and meaningful. Thank god then for Chas and Dave.

I think Chas and Dave take the accolades today, fun music that brings back lots of memories of childhood.

Track 3 - "

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 24

Songs I want played at my funeral is the theme for today. I really don't go for the whole "celebrate my life" thing any more than I want people to wail and gnash their teeth. What is a funeral at the end of the day? Saying goodbye and going to the pub for a booze up? With that in mind, let's go.

Track 1 - "The Parting Glass" as performed by Sinead O'Connor



What better way to say goodbye than to recall the many fine people and great experiences I have had?

Track 2 - "Asleep" by The Smiths



There are times when I think this song is the apogee of the Morrissey and Marr partnership, and when I am gone, "don't feel bad for me".

Track 3 - "Sae Will We Yet" as performed by The Corries



If there is an afterlife, I hope it is like Valhalla from Norse mythology, laden with drinking and generally living it up.

All great tracks, so I'll have them all thanks.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 23

The theme for today's collection of ditties is "a song you want at your wedding". As I am already married to the immeasurably lovely Mrs Velkyal, I guess I should choose some of the musical highlights from our reception - which was held in the downstairs bar at our local pub in Prague. Mrs V and I have some disparate tastes in music, and so we just put all our favourite tracks onto my laptop and turned them into a playlist.

Track 1 - "El Palo Pinto" by Cahornega



This track was actually part of the pre-reception selection, while Mrs V and I were having our pictures taken by the insanely talented Mark Stewart of Black Gecko Photography. Cahornega are one of those bands that I found through Myspace.

Track 2 - "You Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer



What can I say beyond, it was Mrs V's fault! But I guess it was her wedding as well (and I am really rather fond of her!).

Track 3 - "Svítá" by Jaroslav Ježek



Taken from the soundtrack of one of my favourite Czech films, Tmavomodrý Svět (Dark Blue World for those unversed in Czech). This song was one of the few that Mrs V and I danced to during the reception - dancing not being something I enjoy, however both of us love this kind of big band and swing thing.

Taking the choice by a short nose is Svítá, so mellow and beautiful.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 22

Day 22, songs that I listen to when I am sad. I really don't like dwelling on sadness, so I listen to music that will either cheer me up or take my mind off things.

Track 1 - "Thunderchild" by Jeff Wayne



I love Jeff Wayne's musical version of War of the Worlds, and this is one of the most uplifting songs on the album.

Track 2 - "Here I Stand" by Iona



Usually sadness for me is when I feel homesick, which may be slightly nuts for a guy who hasn't lived within 200 miles of the place he calls home for more than 15 years. When I listen to this track, and the instrumental piece that immediately follows it on the album, I can close my eyes and am back in the Hebrides.

Track 3 - "Song for Whoever" by The Beautiful South



One of the best songs by one of my favourite bands, "Song for Whoever" - a sweetly melancholic song, just love it.

Of the three, it is Here I Stand that I listen to most when I am sad, mainly because sadness of longing for the islands on the edge of the world go hand in hand in my life.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 21

I took a day off yesterday, preferring to sit in the pub and drink several pints of a dark lager that I helped brew at my favourite brewpub. Suitably hungover, erm refreshed, let's kick on with today's theme - songs that you listen to when you are happy.

Track 1 - "Chinese" by Lily Allen



There is something about the every day in this song which is so charming and laden with whimsy.

Track 2 - "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday



Happiness for me is usually a very mellow state of being, and Billie Holiday as long been the soundtrack to mellowocity.

Track 3 - "Caravan of Love" by The Housemartins



More mellowocity, more happiness.

Of the three, I think my favourite is Lily Allen, love listening to that in the car.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 20

Theme de jour is songs you listen to when you are angry, this is quite easy really as I have a go to band when I need to let off a little steam - Rammstein.

Track 1 - "Ich Will"



Track 2 - "Amerika"



Track 3 - "Sonne"



Ah, I feel better already.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 19

A song from my favourite album is the theme for today, and I guess most people will be thinking that my favourite album is by my favourite band, but not so. Just a quick aside, in these days of iTunes and downloads not many artists make albums anymore. Sure they might put 10 or 22 songs together on a single disc, but few actually create a thematic or artistic whole. Any way, my favourite album is "Dog, Man, Star" by Suede, and here are my 3 favourite tracks, in order of third to first, with no commentary necessary.

Track 1 - "Still Life"



Track 2 - "The 2 of Us"



Track 3 - "The Asphalt World"

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 18

Part two the most difficult themes for this 30 Day Song Challenge, songs I wish I heard on the radio. Actually this isn't as difficult as yesterday's theme because when I do listen to the radio I often find myself muttering about the parochial nature of the music choices, or the obviousness of the music when there is a show that I listen to vaguely regularly. Our local NPR station, which I mentioned yesterday, has a weekly show called Thistle and Shamrock that I try to listen to most weeks, so here are some tunes I would like to hear on that particular show.

Track 1 - "Brave Foot Soldiers" by Wolfstone



A song about a march organised by the Scottish Trade Unions Congress in 1993 in support of that most "basic human right: the right to work".

Track 2 - "Black is the Colour" by Cara Dillon



I first heard Cara Dillon when I found her profile on Myspace, and just fell in love with her beautiful voice, and this song in particular was a favourite. It still sends tingles up my spine.

Track 3 - "Bean Pháidín" by Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola



Another case of hearing her stuff on Myspace, but in this case I went and bought her album into the bargain.

Of the three, the one that would most impress me being played on the radio is Bean Pháidín.

30 day Song Challenge - Day 17

I think today, and possibly tomorrow, poses the most difficult selection when it comes to this 30 Day Song Challenge malarky. The theme is a songs that "you hear on the radio often". Hmmm, I don't listen to the radio much, unless it is the BBC World Service, and when I lived in the UK over a decade ago, I was a convinced Radio 5 listener, with the occasional dash of Radio 4 thrown in for good measure. As you can imagine, I am very much out of touch with modern chart music.

Given that I listen to our local NPR station here in Virginia, WVTF, I do get to hear quite a bit of classical music, so here are some of the highlights of recent listening.

Track 1 - "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka by Dvořák, sung by Gabriela Beňačková



Not only does Beňačková have a beautiful voice, but this aria from Rusalka is simply haunting.

Track 2 - "Papageno" from The Magic Flute by Mozart



The Magic Flute is my favourite opera, and I have no qualms in admitting that I love to sit and listen to whole thing at work, and have been known to sing along to myself - where I know the words.

Track 3 - "Land of Hope and Glory" by Edward Elgar and A.C. Benson, from the 2009 Proms



A wonderfully stirring ditty and lyrics that make my want to sing loud and proud, in as thoroughly an unBritish manner as possible of course.

Oh what the heck, I have to choice the Elgar/Benson stuff, even listening to it now has me thinking about cricket on the village green, maiden aunts cycling to church, oh god, I think I'm going to puke.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 16

Day 16 sees the theme of songs I loved by now hate, so join me on this walk of shame...

Track 1 - "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer



I wish I could give you a reasonable excuse for my hating of this song, especially as for a few summers in the early Noughties I loved it! Perhaps it is a vomit inducing lyrics? The bubble gum sweet upbeatness? Whatever it is, this song just makes me want to puke.

Track 2 - "Lovefool" by The Cardigans



To think I went and bought an entire album on the basis of this song! What was I thinking - actually it was probably because the lead singer is hot. Still, that is no basis for a long time musical relationship, and I soon fell out of love with this tripe.

Track 3 - "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve



Ok the song a decent piece of music, but it went through a phase of being played and played until the lasers had worn a groove into the CD. If absence makes the heart grow fonder then this is definitely a case of familiarity breeding contempt.

The worst of the 3 there is Kiss Me, what dire, washed out crap that was.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 15

Here we are at the half way point, and today's theme is "songs that describe you". This should be weird, so let's dive on in....

Track 1 - "Driving In my Car" by Madness



I only got my driving license in 2009, mainly because Prague has an incredible public transport system and so having a car was completely pointless. However, moving to the States made it a priority to learn to drive, and so at the age of 33 I finally took the plunge and did so. The exam itself was a bit of a joke really, a ten minute spin round the block and hey presto! Admittedly I failed the written exam first time round, mainly due to getting confused between metres and feet - the sooner the world goes metric, the better.

Track 2 - "Fields of Anfield Road" by The Kop



I love the original song, The Fields of Athenry, but being a Liverpool fan, I prefer this version.

Track 3 - "Wild Rover" by The Corries



Since I left home at 19, I have lived in England, the Czech Republic, Belarus and the US. As a kid I lived in England, Scotland, Wales and Germany. Even now, I am sure there will be other places to live and experience before I finally find a place to stop and put down some roots.

Of the three, it is Wild Rover that I think best describes me and my life.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 14

I have fairly strong opinions about most things, well you need to be opinionated to write a blog, let alone three. Our theme today is songs that no-one would expect me to like. In the interests of objectivity (if it exists of course), I asked Mrs Velkyal for some songs that she never expected me to like.

Track 1 - "Young Hearts Run Free" by Kym Mazelle



I think Baz Luhrman's interpretation of Romeo and Juliet was excellent, and snooty pillocks who complain that "it just isn't Shakespeare" clearly have no idea about reader response theory. A curse on their houses!

Track 2 - "Holding out for a hero" by Bonny Tyler



Mrs V is sitting aghast as I play this track whilst writing the post. Honestly, you have never see such a look of incredulity.

Track 3 - "Deeper River" by Dusted



Again a track from one of my favourite movies, A Life Less Ordinary.

Well that was fun, unless you are Mrs Velkyal! If I were to choose just one, it would be Deeper River, especially this remix.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 13

Day 13 is a Friday! Is it unlucky? Is it bollocks! Anyway, the theme today is songs that are a guilty pleasure, which is a slightly weird concept because one thing you learn in permissive Prague is that not to feel guilt for your pleasures. To the songs though....

Track 1 - "Can't Get You Out of my Head" by Kylie Minogue



Always reminds me of the old joke "what is the difference between driving a Skoda and putting your hand in Kylie's top? You feel a bigger tit in a Skoda!". This song though is fantastic!

Track 2 - "The Final Countdown" by Europe



Hair band, 1980s, what's not to hate? The fact that Europe were playing when I first kissed my wife? I guess it helps to know what a Friday night in Lucerna means!!

Track 3 - "Oh Diane" by Fleetwood Mac



Stevie Nicks is apparently something of a distant cousin, but driving the country roads around Charlottesville listening to Fleetwood Mac at full volume is such a great way to feel happy, and this song just tops the drive off to a tee.

If I can only pick 1 of the three, the Europe have to take the biscuit. So much wrong with it, but I love that song.