Sunday Reflections

Sir William Wallace's commemorative plaque at the site of his torture and execution in Smithfield, London, 1305. The plaque is affixed to the wall of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, where approximately 700 years later Mad Dog was routinely tortured in meetings concerning the Research Assessment Exercise.

It occurred to me as I watched a re-run of Braveheart on television last night that Sir William Wallace must be chortling in his grave as yet another Scotsman takes up the mantle of leadership in the UK this week. Now I don't know what it is that troubles me about Gordon Brown as he's certainly been a very astute Chancellor for the past 10 years but somehow he seems to lack something –maybe it’s the chewed fingernails and that 1950’s “out of shape” look that puts me off. On the other hand, dear Tony, who was loaded with charisma and worked on by an army of image consultants, still managed to author the current foreign policy disaster. Oh well, history will be the ultimate judge…