Just couldn't resist this post on Blether with Brian. My thanks to forfar-loon.
The Picture of Dour Iain Gray: a Wilde tale
Once upon a time there lived a fine young man by the name of Iain Gray. A keen student in his day, and blessed with a social conscience, he decided to impart some of his learnings to the younger generation, even travelling to far off lands to educate the poor children there.
Then one day Iain fell in with the wrong crowd and heard of an exciting new idea: the only thing worth pursuing in life was duty. Now, young Iain was a most dutiful young man, and he set to work, dourly focussing all his efforts on doing his particular duty, namely to obey all diktats from his Labour overlords without question. Other considerations, such as 'Is this good for Scotland as opposed to Labour?', soon disappeared from his mind altogether.
Dour Iain Gray blundered on, his meek obeisance earning him favour among his masters. With each errand run Dour Iain became ever more intoxicated with his own duty.
In contradistinction (just for you Brian!), the picture the electorate had of him grew ever more hideous. Nakedly self-serving, spiteful, bilious, intellectually anorexic - these were some of the more printable opinions that were forming.
And there dear reader, we must leave Dour Iain. Blind to the damage his dutiful nature causes him, he is to be pitied rather than disliked.
Eventually Dour Iain will be confronted by the grim picture he has painted of himself, and we can only hope that he retains conscience enough to regret his foolish actions.
Once upon a time there lived a fine young man by the name of Iain Gray. A keen student in his day, and blessed with a social conscience, he decided to impart some of his learnings to the younger generation, even travelling to far off lands to educate the poor children there.
Then one day Iain fell in with the wrong crowd and heard of an exciting new idea: the only thing worth pursuing in life was duty. Now, young Iain was a most dutiful young man, and he set to work, dourly focussing all his efforts on doing his particular duty, namely to obey all diktats from his Labour overlords without question. Other considerations, such as 'Is this good for Scotland as opposed to Labour?', soon disappeared from his mind altogether.
Dour Iain Gray blundered on, his meek obeisance earning him favour among his masters. With each errand run Dour Iain became ever more intoxicated with his own duty.
In contradistinction (just for you Brian!), the picture the electorate had of him grew ever more hideous. Nakedly self-serving, spiteful, bilious, intellectually anorexic - these were some of the more printable opinions that were forming.
And there dear reader, we must leave Dour Iain. Blind to the damage his dutiful nature causes him, he is to be pitied rather than disliked.
Eventually Dour Iain will be confronted by the grim picture he has painted of himself, and we can only hope that he retains conscience enough to regret his foolish actions.
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