Danners9
24 Dec 2004, 04:42 PM
I know it's all water under the bridge and all that, but as his contract is up for renewal at the Woolwich this season we remember what he did to us.
So in light of this i would like to give a brief history lesson. Sit back, gather round and grab a wee dram of whiskey. If ya like.
I am sure most people have seen Braveheart with Mel Gibbon in the leading role, the film portrays how the brutal English over the poor, feuding Scots and dispite a few little victories the English could always bring up more soldiers and make life a lot worse for the Scots. All that is true, of course. But people forget that there were just as many Scots fighting for the English as there were against them. Gibson's team had the Irish on their side to make up the numbers.
Anyway, the main two 'feuders' were the MacDonalds (of which i am one, on my Mothers side) and the Campbells - under the leadership of Captain Robert Campbell.
The Macs and the Cams had fought for ages, the Cams were prosperous and ambitious but the Macs were resilient and very good at making something from nothing. A few little fights took place, few people captured, killed and whatever else...
Robert Campbell went to the chief of the MacDonalds and tried to broker a deal where they would stand down against the English in exchange for land and titles for their people.. sounds a good deal i suppose.
However, the Campbells never intended the deal to be accepted as they had already made up their mind. They decided it would be better for themselves to fight with the English against the country they came from and who made them rich.
The MacDonalds were betrayed, the Campbells fought with the English and got their prizes in Scotland and became successful. For a bit anyway.
Boring and irrelevant perhaps, but.. A team with the Irish on their side (Keane, Carr, Doherty, Kelly), a Campbell who leaves the country who made them for the country on the up, makes a deal with no intention of going through with it, leaving everyone believing it's all ok and then stabbing them in the back and siding with the enemy.
It's not his fault, 300 years or so of treachery is bound to find it's way down the line somehow. However, the clan system was then wiped out and the Campbell's success was short lived...
... when a Russian billionaire oil baron moved over and started buying up all the good soldiers from across europe who were willing to desert for a huge ransom.
;)
So in light of this i would like to give a brief history lesson. Sit back, gather round and grab a wee dram of whiskey. If ya like.
I am sure most people have seen Braveheart with Mel Gibbon in the leading role, the film portrays how the brutal English over the poor, feuding Scots and dispite a few little victories the English could always bring up more soldiers and make life a lot worse for the Scots. All that is true, of course. But people forget that there were just as many Scots fighting for the English as there were against them. Gibson's team had the Irish on their side to make up the numbers.
Anyway, the main two 'feuders' were the MacDonalds (of which i am one, on my Mothers side) and the Campbells - under the leadership of Captain Robert Campbell.
The Macs and the Cams had fought for ages, the Cams were prosperous and ambitious but the Macs were resilient and very good at making something from nothing. A few little fights took place, few people captured, killed and whatever else...
Robert Campbell went to the chief of the MacDonalds and tried to broker a deal where they would stand down against the English in exchange for land and titles for their people.. sounds a good deal i suppose.
However, the Campbells never intended the deal to be accepted as they had already made up their mind. They decided it would be better for themselves to fight with the English against the country they came from and who made them rich.
The MacDonalds were betrayed, the Campbells fought with the English and got their prizes in Scotland and became successful. For a bit anyway.
Boring and irrelevant perhaps, but.. A team with the Irish on their side (Keane, Carr, Doherty, Kelly), a Campbell who leaves the country who made them for the country on the up, makes a deal with no intention of going through with it, leaving everyone believing it's all ok and then stabbing them in the back and siding with the enemy.
It's not his fault, 300 years or so of treachery is bound to find it's way down the line somehow. However, the clan system was then wiped out and the Campbell's success was short lived...
... when a Russian billionaire oil baron moved over and started buying up all the good soldiers from across europe who were willing to desert for a huge ransom.
;)