JACK and Victor’s final stroll over the hill in Still Game was a subtle, touching and in many ways perfect ending to their
16-year love story. And it is, without question, a love story. The immortal genius of Bob Dylan tugged firmly on the heartstrings of thousands of Scots as we bid fare thee well to characters we have grown to adore and genuinely consider as friends.
It is fitting that the audience was to play perhaps the main role in the final scene of this tale. With an aged Boaby the barman greeting us as an old friend, I was warmly content with Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill’s decision to tip their hat to an audience who have stood unflinchingly behind this gang of pensioners from beginning to end. Or so I thought. Was Boaby greeting an old friend hello, or welcoming the inevitable ending that all of us will one day embrace?
The lack of of a post-credits scene which has featured in every prior episode of Still Game may suggest the latter. A definitive end with no final gag to soften the blow. But that’s OK. The old cliche that all good things must come to an end rings true, and this is understood by Greg and Ford better than anyone.
Muhammad Ali fought for the last time in 1981, in a defeat to Trevor Berbick. Millions watched “The Greatest”, a shadow of his former self, labour on with no prospect of victory. Jack and Victor will not suffer the same fate. They have retired at the top where they belong, as heavyweight champions of comedy.
Standing abreast the bonnie banks, Victor asks whether the others will know where they went, to which Jack replies, definitively: “They’ll know”. Whether this legendary double act disappear over the hill to that next place or whether their adventure continues unseen, it doesn’t really matter. Our heroes amble up the trodden path and vanish into the upper echelons of Scottish and indeed comedic history. Each main character takes their turn to fade to black. A Craiglang Sopranos ending without the uncertainty. There is only one thing certain for these old-timers and that is that time’s up. Their race has been run and they’ve won by a furlong. To quote Isa, stuck in the Osprey Heights lift on New Year’s Eve of 2006: “Thanks for the memories, boys”.
Jack Macpherson
St Andrews
I HOPE the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conference in Edinburgh this week will continue to emphasise the need to change our economic system if we are to have any chance of avoiding increased global warming, and that these warnings will be fully reported.
A lot of commendable work has been done in making us aware of the problems we face and in persuading people to volunteer to change our ways and to help clear up our environment. However, the fundamental problem we must address is to change the pernicious neoliberal economics which has controlled our lives since the Reagan-Thatcher days.
READ MORE: Tackling climate change is 'key' to Scotland's economy, new SCDI CEO says
The arch guru of neoliberalism, Milton Friedman, told us back in 1970 that the only social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Business leaders have but one duty and it is to their shareholders. Pay no heed to people who talk about paying our full share of taxes, paying employees fairly, setting safety standards higher than the minimum. These ideas are “collectivist” and “fundamentally subversive”.
READ MORE: Stop Climate Chaos Scotland survey shows climate concerns are rising
No wonder therefore that the biggest climate-change deniers are billionaires connected to the fossil fuel industry like the Koch brothers, who have ploughed big money into free-market think tanks, into helping friendly politicians with their election expenses, into funding “scientists” who will challenge the evidence of the overwhelming number of their fellows who have shown man-made climate change is happening.
These people are not only helping to destroy our planet but also civilised society. We are constantly being told we must consume more and it is almost a civic duty to spend, spend, spend even if it means going ever further into debt. There are sensible, sustainable alternatives, as Kate Raworth has described in her inspiring book, Doughnut Economics. It should be compulsory reading for all would-be politicians and all of us who want to stop the rot before it is too late.
Andrew M Fraser
Inverness
FOR once, thank you BBC for accurate reporting. Mr Paul O’Grady, in his broadcast on March 31, provided the statistics that in 1971, 22.5 million of the then population tuned in to the sitcom Are You Being Served?
Fast forward to 17.5 million of our present population pulling us out of the European Union. Are we being served?
Neil Grant
Paisley
GREAT admiration to Martin Hannan on his piece about football (Football isn’t life and death – ‘fans’ need to get a grip, March 29). Brave, honest and straight to the point.
Annie Keith
Lothians
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