f4f3 | Five Questions Meme

Questions from

pashazade: ask in comments if you'd like some of your own.

1) What is your greatest regret in life?

I don't think I have one. Yes, there are lots of things I wish had turned out differently, or that I had or had not done, but overwhelmingly things have turned out well for me, even when there have been sad times. I tend to take the Pratchett view of what ifs: we always imagine that things would have gone fine if only we'd done "x", but we never think of the cart that would have run us down the very next day.

2) Do you think that the cause of Scottish independence is rooted in romantic nationalism?

Not sure how to answer this. I'm not a fan of nationalism at all, of any type. I'm much more of an Orwellian patriot than a nationalist. In terms of roots, there's a strong tradition of Scottish internationalism, which was evidenced in the 20th Century by Glasgow having a delegate to the Soviet Government in 1918, by the amount of Scots who fought in the Spanish civil war, by the Scottish Government's policy of encouraging immigration. So if by romantic nationalism, you mean kilts and heather and coming through the rye, and wha's like us... Well no. I think it's a quite simple question of self-determination, thrown into sharp relief by the nature of policies enacted by the Scottish parliament, and the ones the UK parliament is enacting on the NHS, Univesities, care of the elderly etc.

3) Should people who put ice in single malts be jailed or merely whipped through the street? What about people who mix them with coke?

There's a lovely line in one of Lawrence Block's "Matt Scudder" books. Scudder is a recovering alcoholic, and his friend asks, "Would it bother you if I had a drink?". Scudder's reply is "Hell no - it would bother me if I had a drink, but you do what you like." So once you've paid for your malt, it's your malt. Put ice in it, mix it with coke, pour it over haggis or ice cream (I've done three of the four). I won't drink malt with coke, unless there's no bourbon available, but I've drunk Indian whisky with orange juice. Complaining about how anyone enjoys their malt is perverse...

4) Do you read poetry? If so, whose poetry do you really love? Why?

I like to read some poetry every day - if you write at all, it's like yoga for the writing muscles.

Who do I really love? After my condemnation of tartan nationalism, it's a bit embarrassing to admit that my favourite poet is Burns. And why? Andrew O'Hagan wrote a splendid appreciation of Burns, which ends with the words: "His greatest poem is not a farewell to the lasses, the drinks, the immortals or the politics, but a rousing welcome to what is best in each of us, for a' that, as we live and breathe. When we make our way home, when the morning is clear and this sky is busy with birds and their songs, we will know our place in the world by the size of our faith in fellowship. It is this conviction that makes Burns the world's greatest and most loveable poet." Couldn't have said it better...

5) Is the death penalty ever justifiable?

No, because of the damage it does to the society which authorises it, and the people who make up that society. Does anyone ever deserve the death penalty? Of course - "if each of us where judged according to our merit, who would escape a whipping?" But it should never be used.