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Close to the Border, happy to be Scots | Quote: | IN A town just 20-odd miles from the Border, where the January snow is melting into the River Nith and a cold winter sun peers out from behind the magnificent Midsteeple, a quiet revolution is taking place. Dumfries - "Queen of the South", home of the Doon-hamers and once home to Scotland's greatest poet, Robert Burns, is now home to a new type of Scot - one coming to terms with a country changing rapidly before their eyes.
We arrived just before noon on the first day of The Scotsman nationhood tour to ask the town's citizens one central question: "What does Scotland in 2007 mean to you?"
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Their responses and concerns reflected worries about Scotland's political future and its cultural past, its legacy and its history, as well as their views on the fiercely debated issue of whether, 300 years after the Act of Union was signed, it still has a place in our future. They also revealed a town at the crossroads, a complex melting-pot that provides us with an illuminating snapshot of southern Scotland.
June Ferguson, 79, was waiting for us inside the Loreburne Centre, where the bad weather had driven us from our spot outdoors. A native of Edinburgh who now lives in Galloway, she holds strong views on the future of the nation and was keen to make them known. "I voted Scottish Nationalist in the first election after the war," she says.
"I felt, and I still feel, that we had a genuine sense of grievance against the English. I felt we were dominated by them. I didn't even go to England until I was 20. Now I think all the best politicians in Westminster are Scottish. How come they can run Britain, but we can't run Scotland?"
For a town so close to England - many of the people we met regularly travel to Carlisle for work, shopping or to visit family - it is unsurprising that the English issue, and our relationship with our closest neighbour, is one that weighs heavily.
John Gair, 71, talks about his concerns over the resentment he believes many English now feel towards Scotland. "I think there is a rise of anti-Scots feeling in England," he says, "certainly when it comes to political resentment. They see us as being over-represented in Westminster and I certainly think there is a growing demand for an English parliament."
Yet there are many English living in Dumfries. The Border is fluid and many we met had family on both sides of it. Sue Twist, 40, a housewife in Dumfries, was born to an English father and a Scottish mother.
Despite stints living in both countries, she says she feels more Scots than English. "I always say I'm British, but I do feel more passionate about Scotland than England," she says. "I support Scotland in the rugby - and if I pop down to Carlisle, I like seeing the sign welcoming me back to Scotland."
But not all English citizens of Dumfries feel they have had such a positive experience. Heather Lloyd, 50, moved from Shropshire four years ago and has struggled to enter the housing market. She believes she has been the victim of anti-Englishness. She says: "Scots only want to sell to Scots. Everybody is very friendly to your face, but you get the feeling that behind your back it is a different story.
"I love Scotland and I am happy living here. I just wish the Scots would be more accepting of my husband and I."
Despite the relatively low level of support for the SNP - the party polled about 12 per cent of the vote in the last Holyrood and Westminster elections - you will struggle to find a town more aware of its Scottishness.
There are signs for Burns everywhere and locals are preparing their Burns suppers, although the poet only spent the last five years of his life here.
Dr David Hannay, 68, embodies the contradiction. A fiercely proud Scot, he plans on campaigning against independence this spring. He says: "My Scottish identity is a question of roots and family. It is integral to my sense of self.
"But there are huge problems with devolution and even more problems with independence. We have succeeded as Scots and we have succeeded as Brits."
But like almost everywhere in Scotland, what it means to be Scottish is changing. It's not just the English - Poles have streamed into Dumfries, taking low-paying jobs such as food-processing, while also filling professional gaps in fields such as dentistry and nursing. As to be expected, the transition has not been easy - and not everyone is happy.
Nicola Johnstone, 18, a student, is unhappy about the level of immigration, while Graham Harrower, 63, agrees: "The Poles are just coming over to sign on."
But Winnie Macpherson, 54, from Carrutherstown, believes the immigration influx has been a blessing: "At least the people are looking for work and work hard, unlike our lazy so-and-sos."
The youth of Dumfries are keen to talk to us too. A giggly group of 14-year-old girls sign our visitors' book, saying they are proud to be Scottish because of the "guid banter".
Jordan Grierson and Mark Pool, both 13 and on their school lunch break, are uncertain about Scotland's future. "I like Scotland, it's not too big," says Jordan. Mark says he'd like to see an independent Scotland. "I don't think we should be attached to England," he says. Both insist that they wouldn't like to be any other nationality than Scottish.
But the impulse towards independence seems to preclude any subservience to a European government as well. It seems unlikely that the euro will be changing hands in shops in Dumfries any time soon.
Alastair Barron, 55, a civil engineer, says: "Scotland is hidden from the rest of the world right now. Becoming part of Europe wouldn't change that."
Yet among the chattering diversity of opinions, there appears one unifying theme that all Dumfries residents can agree on: the beauty of the country in which they live. Jason Hunter, 28, who met us resplendent in a kilt, says: "It's such a beautiful place. I've been to the Highlands and it's amazing up there."
Richard Ireland, 28, a site supervisor, feels the same: "I'm very patriotic, and so are all my friends. Who wouldn't be? It's one of the most beautiful countries in the world."
It is certainly true that the people of this area have mixed views on the future of the nation, and their place in it. As John Gair, from Lockerbie, tells us, quoting Hugh MacDiarmid: "The white rose of Scotland is sharp and sweet. And breaks the heart."
WHAT DUMFRIES SAID
I always say I'm British, but I do feel more passionate about Scotland than England. I support Scotland in the rugby - and if I pop down to Carlisle, I like seeing the sign welcoming me back to Scotland.
Sue Twist, housewife
If Scotland was to go independent it would have to be "real" independence. That means being self-governed and out of the European Union. Independence within the EU would be phoney.
David Brown, Dalbeattie
I strongly believe in independence and will be campaigning for it. This area is a strange mix of Labour and Tory farmers. The SNP doesn't tend to do well here, but I think people are beginning to realise the cost of staying in the Union. The Iraq war changed a lot of minds here. We are not xenophobic. The Polish workers here have been a huge help and we welcome English who move here.
Alastair Barron, civil engineer, Dumfries
I am proud of being Scottish because I like the words 'aye' and 'ken'.
Sophie Thomson, 14, Dumfries
Scotland is such a beautiful place. I've been to the Highlands and it's amazing up there.
Jason Hunter, Dumfries
Britain has been a superb influence in world affairs and has defended freedom from fascism. Independence is for the non-thinkers.
Ian McLauchlan, Dumfries
We are against any nuclear weapons being held in Scotland and have always believed in home rule.
Crawford Shennan, Dalbeattie
I know I am Scottish because of a feeling in my heart. It's a sense of belonging. To the land, the people. I don't like England and I don't feel comfortable there. I'm not sure about independence. I think we get a lot from the Union.
Helen Leigh, retired, Annan
We Scots have to put up with insult after insult. And it's often our own government. The fisheries minister sold us down the river at the European Union. The BBC should be called the English Broadcasting Corporation. We don't live in a democracy. The whips have too much power. McConnell makes sure everyone votes with him, and he is controlled by Westminster. I'll be voting independent".
Graham Harrower, retired, Dumfries
I think there is a rise of anti-Scots feeling in England certainly when it comes to political resentment. They see us as being over-represented in Westminster and I certainly think there is a growing demand for an English parliament.
John Gair, retired, Dumfries |
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=96202007
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Some interesting replies from people here, The guy who left the first comment sums up Dumfries and the area pretty well with "isolated" and "small town mentality".
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