Pointless in Scotland

Those little coats for dogs; what the hell is the point?

If they came with pockets where dogs could keep their loose change, smoking implements and condoms then fine, but otherwise they are totally useless in the British climate - arguably in any climate. It may have escaped some dog owners, but most animals come with built-in coats.

Just because you're a bit chilly, it doesn't mean to say your pooch is. More than likely he will be highly embarrassed in front of his mates with one of these daft coats on.

The chap above's doggy kilt reminds me that Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has set out the question he intends to ask voters in a referendum on independence. While I firmly believe people should be democratically free to vote for whatever they desire, my own question would be: "Why?"

Reading this analysis of the benefits, it seems to me that the key benefit is 4,500 more jobs for politicians and the like - and I'd call that more a drain than a possible benefit.  This would be off-set by an additional 7,000 private sector jobs - and they'd need at least that many to fund the first 4,500. Like hosting the Olympics, independence is something that's driven more by bare emotion than logic - Salmond knows that and plays to it.

I could understand it if the drive for independence was driven by a memory of independence, but the last time the place was independent was 300 years ago, and the Scots are not exactly an oppressed minority. Silly, blatant jingoism.