Reflective

My favourite puddle looking good as I made my way back along the Prom. L came out a bit later and we walked a little further along the Prom than yesterday as her progress continues to go well. Shortly I'll be watching the football - will England's men finally win a major tournament? Lots of chat from English people claiming to not understand Scots wanting Spain to win because they'd support Scotland if the situation was reversed. Aside from the vanishingly small chance of that ever being tested it's a failure to recognise the nature of the relationship between the two countries. Such is England's domination of the UK the relationship is much more akin to a colonial one than a partnership of equals. If it wasn't, our national bank would be the Bank of the UK, there would be an English Parliament that got money from the UK government to run devolved matters in England and England wouldn't be the default across so much of cultural life. English people are therefore much more likely to view Scotland as part of the same country while for those of us who believe in Scottish independence why would we support the nation that blocks our aspirations? Such is the constitutional settlement that football remains one of the international arenas that recognises Scottish independence. Why would we give that up to all be part of the UK? Some supposedly bemused England fans seem to recognise that politics can affect sporting allegiances. I saw one person saying that although they spent a lot of time in France they wouldn't be supporting them against Spain because of the swing to the far right in French politics and then at the same time wondering why Scots wouldn't be supporting England.