in truth its more the repeated claims of total blamelessness of Ireland for its many problems that piss me off.

its so bleeding obvious that it kept worrying at religious differences that the rest of the UK was getting secular and sensible about. not only that - they export this trauma. my own mother was threatened by Irish priests as a child with hellfire and damnation, because for some reason she wasn't brought up like the other kids in the family as a Catholic.

I think she spent the rest of her life trying to compensate for that - trying to be as holy as her sister, albeit as a Quaker. guilt merchants!

on your other point. To state the bleeding obvious once again. THe UK can't have whatever border it likes. It has to reach agreement with people on the other side of the border. Which leads me to think - we should up sticks and leave them to it. They want to be part of the EU - great! Let 'em go for it!

whatever happens, they're going to blame us. being blamelees must be marvellous. i suppose its the burden of all that original sin - its got to be shared out somehow.

Steve has every right to be proud of his academic achievement. i wish i had a few more. i suppose the heather is a bit like the hydrangea and the coypu rat. welcome immigrants. if only we could get the hairy mammoth back on the same basis!