The Kingdom Of Fife, Scotland

The Post War Period

The end of World War Two was a time when many social changes overtook the World. The class system of British society, already weakened by the effects of World War One, now fell apart and it was obvious things would never be the same again. Soldiers came home to a 'land fit for heros' and expected to resume their former careers in 'civvy street' but in many cases, all they got was a 'demob suit' and a few shillings of pay.

Many jobs had disappeared while employers had adapted to wartime circumstances with women entering the mainstream workforce of the nation for the first time. In the post war period, women weren't easily persauded to give up their jobs, independence and wage packets. Employers were happy to accept this situation since wages paid to women were less than formerly awarded to male workers. The march towards equality among women had taken a huge leap during the war years and the notion of domestic bliss based upon a subserviant and supportive wife had evaporated. In Sunderland, foreign workers had not only taken local jobs but married local women as well. The first race riots in Britain took place in Sunderland.

Britain emerged from the war in poor shape and owing huge levels of debt to the US, debt that would take more than fifty years to repay. Following two global wars with many participants from far off lands of the British Empire, Britain could not longer resist the cries for indepedence and this was actively supported by American foreign policy and who regarded the British Empire in opposition to their own goals of expansion.

India, the former 'Jewel of The Crown' was granted independence in 1947 but with provision allowing the states of East and West Pakistan to exist. Later, the eastern part ceded from Pakistan to become Bangladesh. Other countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand adopted a path permitting independence within a framework known as the Commonwealth.

With the Empire in tatters, the need for a powerful British 'Blue Water' Navy was deemed too expensive and drastic economies had to be made. The war effort had left the Royal Navy with a fleet of fifty-two aircraft carriers, the largest number ever owned by one nation. Most were converted merchantmen and several were refitted for civilian service while others were scrapped. This still left a sizeable core of 'proper carriers' and in an effort to raise desperately needed income and reduce expenditure, the British government felt compelled to put many of these vessels up for sale on the International market. Many became flagships in other navies and served in these navies for many years.

Spain called theirs 'Diablo', Brazil bought another and called it 'Buenos Gerais', India bought one and called it 'Vikrant', Canada's equivilant was 'Warrior' while 'Vengeance' became the capital ship of the Australian Navy. The Netherlands bought one, the former HMS Venerable, and renamed it 'Karel Doorman'. Another British carrier became the French flagship 'Arromanches'.

The decision by these nations to expand their naval capability had different reasons. France had colonies in the Pacific and elsewhere and good reason to secure these territories if possible. Similar could be said of the Netherlands. The Commonwealth connection inspired Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Running aircraft carriers however, is still a hugely expensive and long-term undertaking and most purchasers of these ships did not replace them when they reached the end of their useful lives. In some cases, there was no need, but for others, the emergence of a new post-war threat became the overiding factor determining the economic and political future of the planet in the latter half of the twentieth century.

The Cold War Begins

The rise of the Soviet Union had begun within days of surrender in Berlin. More than any other group, the Soviets had sacrificed more heroes during the 'Great Patriotic War' than almost all other nations combined and the establishment of the Berlin Wall represented rejection of democracy as advocated by the US. The World became polarised into opposing communist and democratic factions initially needing help from those caught in the centre.

Many wars fought in the latter part of the twentieth century carried elements of this divide to greater or lesser extent. The dividing line ran through Germany and Eastern Europe even though other countries of Arab roots also allied with Soviet expansion on account of the newly established nation of Israel in 1948. In the post-war period, America saw opportunities to expand and invested heavily in the defeated states of Japan and Germany. By comparison, Britain received little post war economic help from the US. America wanted Britain to fail and deliberately aided others in the break-up of the British Empire.

Despite this, there was a common bond necessary for both to survive possible expansion of communism and America desperately needed friends in Europe. The policy of 'forward defence' adopted by the United States took on greater urgency in the immediate aftermath of World War Two. American submarines and ships needed 'friendly bases' closer to the front line and Britain needed the support of communal defence. In the immediate period after World War Two, the United Nations had replaced the former ineffective 'League of Nations' and was supplemented by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949. Most of Europe and America were joined in a common defence policy against Soviet expansion.

During wartime, the British had shared many secrets with the Americans. Detailed information about the Spitfire led to the rapid development of the P.51 fighter and accelerated American aircraft design by several years. Secrets about radar, jet engine and computers became central to American technology. Scientists from Germany provided the core of the American Space Program (NASA) and missile technology and yet it was Russia who first launched a simple radio transmitter into space in 1957. The Soviets quickly followed this by launching a stray dog into orbit called Laika and who died a few hours afterwards. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a test pilot of the Soviet Union became the first human in space. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. All of these missions were directed by Sergey Korolyov and as his success mounted, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrusgchev wanted more to demonstrate the success of Russian technology. Russia had already exploded their first 'H' Bomb just one year after development in the West by Edmund Teller and there was a real fear that Russian missile technology could threaten the West.

American attempts to emulate such ventures met with highly publicised humiliation, expensive failures and ridicule with rockets tipping over and exploding on the launchpad. Journalists referred to these as 'Putnik' or worse. By contrast, the British 'Blue Streak' project, based at Woomera in Australia, was more successful yet closed on economic grounds and integrated within the American proposed a joint missile development projects of 1954.

The Decline Of British Industry

Aircraft development was an area in which in which a British nation, riddled by debt, lost out badly in favour of American interests. The TSR2 jet fighter aircraft with multi-role capability, built in Britain, and years ahead of its time. Major US companies were keenly aware of this and offered a deal the British government could not afford to ignore.

The Royal Air Force would never get a chance to fly TSR-2. The project was cancelled and Sir Sydney Camm, designer of the Hurricane fighter aircraft that had helped save Britain from Nazi invasion observed, "All modern aircraft have four dimensions: span, length, height and politics. TSR-2 simply got the first three right!" In the wake of this decision, the Royal Air Force would fly Phantoms and other aircraft designed and built in America. It would be decades before British Aviation produced a new and unique product worthy of international interest.

In the late 1950s, the 'holy grail of solid state' electronics began with the invention of the transistor at Bell Laboratories in the United States. The new Japanese electronic factories quickly adapted to this new form of technology and were soon exporting high-value low weight transistor radios to many destinations across the World. In Britain, familiar British brand names like Roberts, Hacker, Pye and Fidelity tried to emulate the Japanese products but somehow never made their goods as cheaply or as reliable. By 1970, Audio systems were replacing cumbersome radiograms and portable cassette tape recorders were integrated with radio receivers to provide a new generation of music products. Here too, Japanese factories adapted more quickly than British counterparts. Even traditional brands like ITT and Decca began to have such products made in Japan, Hong Kong or Singapore rather than in Britain. As products became more sophisticated, they began to employ increasingly complex circuits comprising many transistors in what came to be known as integrated circuits, ics or sometimes just called 'chips'. Using chips during electronics manufacture reduced the component count of many products and reduced the ease as which complicated products could be made.

In British television manufacture, the adoption of transistors and microchips was a gradual process lasting several years and the British desire for large displays played a part in this. During the sixties, there were limits to what transistors could acheive. In 1967, colour television arrived in the United Kingdom and many new technologies were introduced to make it possible. Early designs followed the hybrid approach using transistors in some parts with heavier work still carried out by thermionic valves. Typically, they broke down about five or six times a year.

In the early 1970s, the demand for colour televisions exceeded what British manufacturers could supply. To a large extent, this was due to a buoyant television rental industry supported by the manufacturers. Renting made sense while reliability was poor and many rental companies were compelled to introduce waiting lists while British factories struggled to meet demand. The first fully transistorised British colour television arrived in this period and were far more reliable than former hybrid designs. By modern standards, they were still prone to fail quite often and rental companies employed thousands of engineers to repair them. Sony introduced their first television to Britain around that time too. It was fully solid state with an 18" Trinitron tube whose red colours tended to be weak but it was soon apparent this product was far more reliable than British televisions. Many operated for more than five years before failing. They were more expensive than the local brands yet many felt justified spending the extra money in exchange for reliability and quality. At the time, many loyalists said that Trinitron tube technology was limited and could only be built up to a certain size - they certainly got that prediction wrong!

American and European manufacturers answered the challenge with the PIL tube developed by RCA in the US. In addition, new circuit systems like IPSALO and CYCLOPS developed in Europe combined many functions with fewer parts and with increased reliability. During the 1970s, the ultrasonic remote control gave way to more sophisticated variants using infra-red light. The first teletext capable televisions were made en masse during this decade a few were capable of using the Prestel network developed by British Telecom and where information could be obtained by usage of the telephone network. It's just one example of an emergent series of technologies that would ultimately lead to something far bigger. It's interesting to note that a 20" monochrome television consumed around between 150-200 watts of electricity in 1970 yet a 20" colour television could run on 105 watts one decade later! Not only that, the adoption of 'live chassis' meant mains power usage was more uniform with advantages from the power generation side. Increased reliability eventually saw the demise of the Television Rental industry. People sought to buy televisions and guarded their purchase by means of 'extended warranties'. Many bought into the notion of better reliability offered by foreign made goods. Many British brands disappeared quickly and even combined manufacturing groups were ultimately defeated in the marketplace. Alba, Ferguson, Ultra, HMV, DER, Baird, Bush, Murphy, Decca and other brands would no longer mean what they once did in the latter part of the twentieth century. British entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) complicated matters from the viewpoint of companies intent on selling products in Britain but this was circumvented by investing in local assembly plants within the UK. National (later renamed Panasonic) invested in an assembly plant in Wales. JVC invested in several Scottish factories. Tandberg, a brand in the same mould as Bang and Olufsen, were based at Haddington in East Lothian. Lesser known brands were also made in Scotland. The central belt of Scotland was compared to a much larger geographical location and called 'silicon glen'. It was a boom time for Scottish and British economy even though underlying trends suggested otherwise.

The Coming of the Computer

In 1972, British inventor and entrepreneur Sir Clive Sinclair invented the first pocket electronic calculator in the World. His company, Sinclair Radionics, had already produced the smallest radio receiver in the World and other products in association with other companies. In 1981, Sinclair released the first affordable home computer in the World. It was called ZX80 on account of the microchip used. In 1981, this model was discontinued in favour of the ZX81 and which carried more useable memory and a video mapping system. In later years, the Sinclair Spectrum became the first family computer ever assembled and was built by the Timex Company plant in Dundee. A variation, also built there, was shipped to the US and where many scholars of computer technology learned about BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) and the rudementrary elements of computer programming. The first American built computers imported into the UK also used BASIC as their primary language but competitors also existed. The 'Jupiter One' used FORTH as its definable language as did the 'Oric' but neither ever captured the market and popularity of the original. Sinclair's QL (Quantum Leap) was the last built by that company and carried many advanced features such as a high-speed microdrive using recording tape cartridges. Sadly, it never acheived anything like the Spectrum and Sir Clive turned his innovative interest towards other projects.

Competition in the computer market rose sharply during the 1970s. Amstrad, Atari, Commodore and the Tandy TRS-80 were market leaders for a short time. Amstrad's CPC464 comprised a monitor (green screen or colour) an which included the power supply for the computer keyboard console with a standard audio cassette deck mounted on one side for data storage. They followed this with the short-lived CPC664 which introduced a three inch disc drive for data storage. It was quickly superceded by the CPC6128 with twice the memory size - about 128Kbytes. Amstrad also introduced a series of dedicated word processors called the PCW256 and PCW512 but they were not entirely designed as flexible multi-role computers. Even the task of word processing was incredibly complicated using a series of different keystroke combinations to acheive text enhancements. The industry standard of the period was Wordstar and relied on a similar series of keyboard combinations and which were hard to learn. Of the list above, only Amstrad has continued in the computer market after acquiring the British Viglen company and who still assemble computers meeting compatible standards today. In the 1970s, differing computers used propriety standards and were highly imcompatible with each other. IBM had acheived enviable notoriety in the mainframe business and saw the opportunity to lead a similar revolution in small business desktop computers. To acheive this, they needed a common Disk Operating System (DOS) and initially turned to Gary Kildall, inventor of the CP/M and MP/M operating systems since popular programs like Wordstar were already running on many different computer systems.

According to popular legend, agents of IBM were seeking Gary Kildall, head of Digital Research Company, to undertake this development work when they visited Seattle. On arrival, they learned Kildall was away and playing golf and it was suggested that another local company called Microsoft, headed by William Gates, might be worthy of investigation. The subsequent signing of the deal instantly made Microsoft one of the most important computer companies the World. MS-DOS, as it was called was destined to drive the first generation of small business and home computers designed and built by IBM. Amazingly, the agreement allowed Microsoft to develop rival operating systems for competitors rather than exclusively for IBM. It was an error that IBM would rue while Microsoft rose into international stardom with wealth eclipsing that of its first major client. In subsequent years, MS-DOS was expanded and perfected but when a Swedish inventor created the first mouse using a Graphical User Interface (GUI), the future of computing changed. For a short time, a number of different GUI's appeared as series of add-ons to MS-DOS. GEM was one of the most popular and a desktop publisher called Timeworks threatened to undermine the preserve of the Mackintosh computer designed by Apple. In response, Microsoft created Windows, a GUI built on the back of its own DOS software. Versions 3.0 and 3.1 were superceded by Windows 97 and 98 and released in these years. The latter are important since they represent releases whereby software control overtook fixed design in the hardware. Plug'n'Play meant easier installation of new computer components without professional help. The home computer could be highly different between installations yet still conform to a standard. All kinds of new software were added including media players and a browser for the Internet. More than any other single company, Microsoft has been at the centre of computer development and remains so today. The XP software released by Microsoft is now the most common operating system used by computers worldwide. It remains to be seen of the latest variant, called Vista, will acheive similar aims. At this time of writing, there are good reasons why it may not.

In the 1980s, Scotland exported more computers than almost any other nation on the planet. The value of these sales easily outstripped leading exports like whisky. In Glenrothes, Fife, Burroughs Machines made mainframes while ACT manufactured the most advanced desktop computer in the World. One large order placed with the latter was to supply ACT machines for schools in Belgium. By comparison, British schools would receive BBC computers made by Acorn and supported by temporary televised media and journals. ACT machines were IBM compatible to a large degree while the BBC Master series were not and relied on a variant of the BASIC computer language. By then, desktop computers, while similar in terms of hardware, were capable of more flexible configuration and usage.

In 1989, a scientist working at the European CERNE project developed a system on communal information interchange using the international telephone network. Today, we call it the Internet and his name is Tim Berners-Lee, chairman of a non-profit organisation known as the World Wide Consortium or W3C for short. It is the W3C who oversee technology development of the Internet and whose members include companies with vested interests. From the beginning, the issue of common standards threatened to make the Internet an unworkable notion. In the late nineties, it was common to see web sites proclaiming usage of different browsers, most notably Netscape or Explorer. The Internet was in danger of fragmentation and the W3C helped introduce a common language called HTML 4.0. Even then, it was a temporary fix and the move towards pure XML driven design began in this current century. Better Broadband Technology has helped the web site designer introduce many more features than ever before. Major features of this website would have been impossible just five years ago! Within the current generation, computers, in conjunction with communication advances, have played a huge part in the way we now live with consequences both good and bad in modern times.

Video Killed The Radio Star!

Scottish engineer John Logie Baird is the man usually credited with the invention of television, radar and the video recorder. As regards television, it would be more accurate to say he was the first man to transmit visual information then recreate the image at another location. As regards his video recorder, some aspects of this technology was used in flight recorders for a long time. Practical and affordable methods of recording television broadcasts arrived with the Sony Betamax in 1968. This was a domesticated version of a studio recorder called Alphamax and both were made by the Japanese firm. Another company, the Japanese Victor Company or JVC for short developed a different video system called VHS.

In Europe, Philips responded with the N1500, N1502 and N1700, all of which were differing and progressive standards. Grundig's contribution was the SVR system. The problem was that none of these standards were compatible with each other. Competition for a definitive international system began in earnest and SVR and earlier Philips standards were abandoned in favour of a new V2000 system jointly developed by Philips and Grundig. In terms of picture quality and storage information density, the V2000 was argueably the best magnetic video tape standard ever created but it came too late. At best, several manufacturers were able to make about two million units a year and at a time when several Betamax manufacturers were making around double that amount. In Britain, the television rental companies played a crucial part in the final establishment of a winner. As in the case with television, British buyers were initially afraid of high repair charges and elected to rent video equipment in the early years and although some rental companies had initially used early Philips standards, sales had remained poor. The adoption of the VHS standard by most rental comanies in Britain thus constituted a ready market worth millions and influenced the eventual outcome of the video standards battle. Surprisingly, American companies took on a 'backwater' role in this and perhaps because of American investment in Japan. The RCA video disc player remains as a strange anachronism of this period. At its height, around sixteen million VHS video recorders were being made each year and prices for the tapes fell year on year as did the cost of buying the equipment.

Although the hardware remained essentially the same, variants of recorders were necessary in order to meet the needs of different nations. The 'Magnetoscope de Cassette Electronique' used in France had circuits designed for the SECAM television system of that country. American variants were designed to use the NTSC transmissions in use there. PAL-S and PAL-D variants were used in Europe. Improvements to the VHS systems included stereo sound using a technique called 'depth multiplex' with quality close to that of the emergent CD technology. Long Play was introduced albeit with lesser visual quality. Tilting video heads was a feature of a few recorders in the latter stages of development but by then, a new technology had taken hold in public imagination and marketplace.

The Compact Disc is largely a Sony innovation and was initially applied to music reproduction in place of gramophone records and the compact cassette tape system invented by Philips. Right from the start, there were pros and cons concerning this new system and puritans still rightly point out the limits while perhaps conveniently forgetting the flipside. This explains why many records continued to be produced long after the introduction of CDs. 'Old fashioned' gramophone records and players will always produce a greater range of dynamic sound than any tape or CD system and tend to be more faithful in terms of reproduction. One big difference is how background noise and THD (Third Harmonic Distortion) were compared. CDs offered many advantages and the public was willing to accept the hidden shortfalls. In a similar way to how Trinitron tubes and PIL tubes of the television industry, had offered lesser resolution and quality yet deemed acceptable by the public buyers in the marketplace. By contrast with former recording technology, Compact Discs were able to store huge volumes of music in a digital data format and which could be read by devices using laser light rather than magnetic field technology. As development progressed, a new variant of the CD emerged and were capable of playing back DVD feature films on home players. Later, they were also capable of recording material too and the age of the video tape recorder drew to close. Britain's largest electronics retailer ceased to retail video tape recorders in 2003. By then, there were a whole new range of products more worthy of shelf space!

Back in the 1960s, the practical application of radio broadcasting meant usage of a proven technique called Amplitude Modulation. By 1990, the application of Frequency Modulation (FM) had been successfully used by many broadcasters with far better sound quality. In 2005, many radio broadcasters switched towards Digital Audio Broadcasting or DAB. Today, the number of radio broadcasters has never been higher. Local broadcast networks have superceded the national giants like BBC Radio 1.The desire for local news and local radio stations have found new markets within an age of globalisation. Contrary to the popular song of the 1970s, and performed by the Buggles; video did NOT kill the radio star, and local radio stations have combined audiences greater than many national broadcasters.

British Motor Manufacturing Blues

In the post-war era, the manufacture of motor vehicles assumed a high priority with emphasis on export rather than the home market simply because the sale of one car abroad meant more income than many other exported goods put together. Initially, Britain had eager buyers mainly located in the old countries of the Empire and Commonwealth. In some cases, British designs were manufactured abroad under license. In their drive towards quantity, quality suffered badly and British cars quickly assumed notoriety as being unreliable and prone to rust. By contrast, cars made in Germany and Japan quickly gained acceptance among buyers in many nations including Britain. The Rootes Group comprising brand names like Hillman, Simca, Sunbeam and others quickly fell victim to falling sales. The Linwood car plant was closed in 1981 with the loss of an estimated 13,000 jobs. The closure ended mass manufacture of cars in Scotland. Despite such drastic rationalisation, the Rootes Group did not survive.

Britain's other main mass manufacturer of motor cars became variously known as BMC, British Leyland and Leyland while making cars using older brand names which still commanded a loyal following. Rover, Wollesley, Triumph and MG appealed to different buyers while Land Rover represented a different kind of vehicle altogether. The history of this group was a troubled one and it eventually ceased to be 'British' when bought over by foreign competitors. Even in Britain, inward investors like Ford, General Motors and Nissan began to claim a bigger share of the domestic market.

In one year, Japan exported 32,000 cars into Britain while British car exporters sold 597 cars to Japan! The ships used to carry these Japanese cars to Europe were Japanese owned and once offloaded in the UK, often took a small number of British made luxury cars to the USA where a small niche marketplace had been established for makers like Jaguar, Rolls Royce and Aston Martin; the latter receiving a massive publicity boost from James Bond movies yet even here, in the latter part of the century, Bond would be seen driving a German built BMW.

The history of European Car Manufacture in Europe began with the production of the first car built in Europe by a carriage and trailer maker based in the Czech Republic. The company had been founded in 1850 and that first car was completed in 1897. After the war, the company became known as Tatra and where Doctor Porche served his apprenticeship. Car production at Tatra ceased in 1999 although the company continues to make a range of specialised vehicles. Tatra remains the third oldest surviving vehicle builder in the World and was the root from which modern companies like Volkswagen, Renault, Porche and Skoda have links. In Russia, Lada turned to Porche to help with design on the Sumara but even this 'cheap car' failed to make a big impression on an increasingly global market.

Today, the process of 'banding together' continues among European car makers. Some 65% of component parts used in Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda are identical. Citroen and Peugeot typically offer similar cars and vans. Renault came close to merging with Volvo and some cars share identical parts. On a global scale, Volvo have built cars with many Mitsubishi parts and Mitsubishi designs have been employed in a number of cars including Suzuki and Proton. Toyota and Lexus comes from the same stable yet designed for different markets. Mazda of Japan and Ford of America have close ties with many Ford-branded American vehicles being designed by Mazda. The Mazda 121 was a unique product sold in Britain and was effectively a Ford Fiesta yet carried a three year warranty instead of the usual twelve months. Many features of this design were incorporated into current models of the Ford Ka and successive models. On the basis of cost, it is now virtually impossible for any car to be described as being made in a singular country.

Hyundai (a korean word for 'modernism') is a part of a much larger organisation covering diverse business sectors like construction and engineering. It began life as the Hyundai Kia Automotive Company in 1967. After agreement with Ford, the company released the 'Cortina' to Fast East markets and found success. In later years, the company decided to become more independant and began construction of a new factory near Seoul in South Korea. The marshland allocated for the factory tool eleven months to drain and on the early morning shift when it opened, the new factory endured temperatures of minus five degrees as heating had not been installed. Money had been invested in finding the best equipment including hand tools from Britain and metal presses from France. The new product was largely copied from the British Morris Marina with modifications by ItalDesign. Even as production began, it was realised how leg room was restricted and in an overnight meeting, modifications were made to the design and machine settings altered during the night. By 5am, the new improved Hyundai Ponys began to roll off the assembly line. A year later, exports began to Ecuador and to the Benelux countries one year later. Hyundai and Kia products have continued to sell well in both Europe and America ever since. During early years of production, Hyundai, like Proton and others before them, were reliant upon western technology to provide key components but by 1991, Hyundai had developed its own engines and gearboxes. These proved to be superior and this company and others on the same path were soon able to offer much longer term guarantees of reliability and performance. Given the typically lower purchase price of these cars and inclusive of this warranty; it's hardly surprising that most British people now drive foreign built cars. Even today, British and American manufactuers are reluctant to extend warranties and confidence in their products.

Current Times and Challenges

In the early seventies, a political rift emerged between Britain and several Arab countries. Regular oil supplies were cut off and there was a surge of development and research programs into alternative energy generation. One of the brilliant outcomes of this was 'Salter's Duck' yet it was never employed. Resumption of oil supplies following the establishment of OPEC killed any chance of any alternative technology being used and developed. For the first time in history, Britain experienced what life might be like without oil.

With the benefit of hindsight, there is no doubt that North Sea Oil has been the saviour of successive British governments in the latter part of the twentieth century. More than anything, income from this source has helped conceal the true declining state of the nation over many years. Highly expensive socialist projects of the post World War Two era, like the National Health Service, have expanded far beyond what was originally envisaged by the founders. Today, the NHS is one of the largest singular organsations in the World in terms of employment - beaten only by Indian Rail, the Chinese Army and Walmart. A total of around 1.2 million people representing 2% of the working population now work for the NHS and any attempt to revise operation of the NHS is feircely resisted on account of self interest. With the average age of the British population steadily rising, and with new treatments and technology now, the question becomes one of how future governments will be able to fund it. The NHS remains one of the largest government expenditures with significant impact upon the British budget.

The 1970s was also a period when political leaders in Britain finally recognised how the nation traded more with near neighbours than more distant countries of the Commonwealth and former Empire. The European Economic Community founded in 1957 had grown significantly and had matched and superceded that of the European Free Trade Association. Most EFTA countries would later join the EEC and British membership was a deeply controversial issue. Upon entry, the effects of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) meant placing many products into long term storage rather than retail in order to maintain prices. CAP meant 'butter mountains and wine lakes' and more efficient farming methods were handicapped in favour of part-time and less efficient small farms prevalent in countries like France, Germany and Italy. Joining the EEC also strained the 'special relationship' Britain had enjoyed with the United States and perhaps accelerated withdrawal of American companies from Britain during the 1980s.

The 1970s was a turning point in British history and from which daily life took a massive left turn. Decimal currency was introduced and proved far better than the traditional equations of pounds, shillings and pence! In fairness, who really wants to calculate pounds based on 240 pennies to the pound? The age of guineas, shillings, half-crowns, farthings and three-penny bits were finally consigned to history. Despite entry to the EC, (the word 'economic' was dropped following the Maastricht Treaty of 1992) Britain reserved the right of maintaining pound sterling rather than join usage of the Euro. Interestingly, OPEC countries switched from former payment for oil in dollars to that in Euros, a move perhaps indicative of future weakness and uncertainty about the former strength of the US dollar.

The 1970s saw commercial entry of the Concorde super-sonic jet passenger aircraft and a Russian buillt competitor but neither survived far beyond the millenium. It is doubtful whether super-sonic passenger aircraft will ever grace our skies again. Current emphasis is on larger, more economic aircraft, carrying more people and fewer of them.

The 1970s was a turning point where the limits of technology met walls of resistance from the financial commuity. Placing a satellite in space owed more to insurance than project costs! The prospect of potential failure became more measured and evaluated in terms of risk. Insurance took on a new meaning with an endless series of new new conditions and exclusions. These days, you have to be careful to examine what the insurance company is actually covering and it is increasingly little. In recent times, this author was offered home insurance that excluded any cover concerning roof damage or leakage from the roof!

In 1981, the car manufacturing plant at Linwood closed and ended mass manufacture of cars in Scotland. The closure cost an estimated 13,000 Scottish jobs. It was the start of a decade in which many foreign investors chose to move elsewhere leaving 'white elephants' in several parts of the nation.

The Falkland Isles Crisis

On 19th March 1982, Argentinian soldiers occupied the South Atlantic Isle of South Georgia and invaded the Falkland Isles a few days later. The Argentianian government wrongly presumed a British nation so far away would not respond to this blatant attack and were probably surprised by the response.

A Royal Navy Task Force was hastily assembled and sent south over the equator with the intent of relieving the islanders from capitulation. At the heart of this fleet was one of the new generation 'through deck cruisers' designed for escort duty rather than the aircraft carrier mission assigned to it. A similar vessel, HMS Hermes, had already been promised for sale to Australia and was assigned flagship on account of its better communications technology. Together, they could launch about two dozen Harrier VTOL aircraft and an equal number of helicopters. By contrast, the Argentinian air force could launch many aircraft from land bases and more from the aircraft carrier Veinticinco de Mayo (21st of May), the latter having been acquired from the Netherlands following a boiler room fire in 1960. Ironically, this aircraft carrier had originally been built for the Royal Navy during World War Two and sold to the Netherlands soon afterwards. At a crucial stage in the war, the ARA Veinticinco de Mayo sailed out to a point north of the Falklands while the ARA General Belgrano (former USS Pheonix) was ordered to a position in the south and where it was topredoed and sunk by HMS Conquerer using standard weapons rather than more sophisticated options available. Even today, this event remains controversial. More than fifty per cent of all Argentinian casualties occurred in this single action.

The Veinticinco de Mayo was hastily ordered back to the safety of port even while presenting a powerful risk to British forces. The issue was a technological one whereby the carrier would have needed a minimal four knot wind over her flight deck before the American A4 aircraft could be safely launched and recovered. In the event, launch and recovery would have been risky at best. Withdrawal after the sinking of Belgrano made sense. The Junta government of Argentina was already under great pressure even before the war began and news of Belgrano was fuelling public anger. Amazingly, in the years before the war, Argentina had bought naval ships from the UK and many military officials had received training in the UK. Argentine pilots flying aircraft fitted with Exocet missiles knew how to 'peck the lobes' of radar systems used on British ships and most casualties suffered by the Royal Navy were inflicted on account of this.

In subsequent weeks, troops were landed in San Carlos water between the islands and many lessons were learned on both sides. Argentine pilots flew in close over the ships and dropped bombs, some of which fell through the hulls of several ships without exploding. In this respect, the Royal Navy Task Force was extremely fortunate with losses far less than might have been the case if retarded bomb technology had been better understood by both fitters and pilots of the enemy air force. In simple terms, bombs dropped from aircraft are released in a state whereby they are safe and as they fall, a small propellor unscrews the safety release mechanism and arms the bomb. At San Carlos, bombs were dropped at low altitude and failed to arm before striking the target hence the high number of lucky escapes.

British technology triumphed during the Falklands War! Ground based Rapier Missile Systems proved to be an exceptional defender of troops on the ground while Harrier pilots discovered alternative usage of the VTOL capability to outperform fixed wing equivilents. They could turn tighter and even rotate from a static positions in the sky. Delta Wing Vulcan bombers sent from the UK and refuelled at Ascension Island dropped bombs on the Falkland Isles but without desired effect. Like HMS Hermes, the Vulcan bombers were performing the last duty of their career since they had already been determined as obsolete and scheduled for the scrap heap. In April 1982, enemy forces in Port Stanley surrendered and the war was over. In truth, it was a near-run thing because British forces were nearly out of ammunition and the shelling of Port Stanley might have ceased soon afterward. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was lucky and re-elected in 1983 with 42% of the vote. The reason for this lay in a split opposition whereby the breakaway Liberal-SDP Alliance took 25% of the vote and denied a Labour party victory. Later, the Liberal-SDP Alliance would feature less at this crucial level and pave the way forward for a landslide victory by the Labour Party.

The 'Iron Lady'

In her first term as Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher had tackled the issue of rampant inflation running at 18% and introduced value added taxation at 15% as a means to slow the economy and inflation did eventually fall to 8.6% by 1982 but at a heavy price on British industry. Her adminstration had inherited one million unemployed but this quickly doubled. By 1982, manufacturing output had fallen 30% since 1978. Victory over Argentina during the Falklands War couldn't have come at a better time for the 'Iron Lady' and her monertarist viewpoint quickly focused on the power of unions in the workplace as part of the British industrial problem. From an international viewpoint, Britain was sometimes regarded as the 'sick man of Europe' with workers having more days off, more holidays and strikes than in other nations. In this second term of office, Margaret Thatcher sought to limit the power of the unions and quickly encountered strong opposition in the shape of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) led by Arthur Scargill. The NUM ballot to strike in 1984 threatened supplies to power stations and peaceful picket lines soon turned violent. The use of police on the front line to resolve protests and riots is still open to debate in some circles. The strike lasted a full year before the NUM conceded yet having gained nothing. Almost every pit was closed soon after with a remaining fifteen being sold and privatised. British Gas, Electricity suppliers, British Rail and British Telecom were suddenly up for sale to whoever wanted shares and yet, it was obvious from the outset that most small investors would sell quickly and power would revert to major investors. Perhaps the greatest positive influence of the Thatcher era was the deal whereby people renting their homes could buy the properties at discount prices and become part of a home-owning democracy. The flip-side was community taxation, sometimes called the Poll Tax, introduced in Scotland in 1989 and year later in England. It was feircely resisted everywhere and many people in Scotland simply refused to pay it despite hefty legal consequences. In 1990, when it was intoduced in England and Wales, there were riots in the streets of several cities and most notably around Trafalger Square in London. In 1990, Margaret Thatcher supported the notion of an Iraqi invasion against Sadaam Hussein and British Troops were sent to support a coalition force charged with the relief of Kuwait in the wake of an Iraqi invasion. What followed was a triumph of modern technology and owed its success to events reaching back to the 1950s.

In 1957, the Russians successfully launched the first artificial satellite into orbit. They followed this stunt with another orbitter carrying a live dog called 'Laika' on a one-way mission. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin, became the first man in space. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. By contrast, early American attempts to emulate Russian successes resulted in embarrasing failures with some launchers failing to leave the launchpad and exploding. Some reporters referred to this as 'putnik' or worse. American military observors became worried by these events because it suggested the possibility of Russian technological supremacy and which might produce missiles with atomic warheads raining down on American cities in any future war. In reality, however, there were complex difficulties to overcome before this could become possible. Shooting a missile from Russia to America meant taking the shortest route and over the North Pole. Conventional guidance systems of the period could not deliver accuracy because of the magnetic effects existing at the North Pole. The only way to resolve it involved a series of geo-stationary satellites in high orbits and which transmitted their exact position every few seconds. The magic figure in this sphere of technology is 22,300 miles. If a satellite is placed at this distance from the earth then it will rotate around the Earth at a rate equating to 24 Hours. From an Earth perspective, it will seem to hover over a particular part of the planet and become what is known as geo-stationary. Using this data, it is possible to establish precise location anywhere on the Earth to within a metre using a GPS receiver.

In a similar way, many 'smart' weapons used by coalition forces during the relief of Kuwait relied on the data emitted from a series of satellites and allowed more than 400,000 American troops to move across dessert terrain at night during the early 1990s. By morning, occupation forces in Kuwait were trapped and cut off from their routes of supply and began to retreat. American A10-Thunderbolt aircraft equipped with the thirteen-foot long multiple barrel machine guns spewed discarding sabot shells into vehicles of the retreating army. At the heart of these shells was a substance whose sheer density could shatter tank armour and incinerate anyone inside. That substance was Uranium and explains high radioactivity levels recorded afterward and might explain some of the symtoms suffered by soldiers in this conflict. In the final stages of the war, Iraqi soldiers blew up oil wells and it was several weeks before Kuwait oil supplies were resumed. It is doubtful whether this 'quick victory' could have been acheived without the accuracy of GPS satellites. President George Bush (senior) decided the objective had been won and coalition forces withrew from the area in 1991. Before then, Margaret Thatcher had been replaced as Prime Minister by John Major.

In 1989, the Cold War between East and West ended when parts of the Berlin Wall were torn down and sudddenly there was an influx of cheap labour from the East and opportunities for some companies to move eastward in order to reduce costs. European politics in the wake of this development would never be the same. The end of the 'Cold War' also reduced America's need for offshore bases and many were closed soon afterward. American companies with investment in Britain also saw opportunities for growth in cheaper labour markets and began to withdraw investment in Britain. During Major's tenure, Britain was forced to withdraw from the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) following disasterous stock market performance on 16th September 1992; a day that came to be known as 'Black Wednesday'. In 1997, the Conservative Party suffered one of the worst electoral defeats in British political history. The triumphant Labour Party under the Leadership of Tony Blair was the first to assume government since 1979.

The Blair Administration

For many, there were concerns about Labour Party intentions on account of the Callaghan government that had fallen after a motion of 'no confidence' and after the 'Winter of Discontent' but the Labour Party had changed by 1997 and the rebranded 'New Labour' dominated the centre of the political spectrum.

In terms of domestic policy, the Blair administration set about increasing expenditure on healthcare and on education yet remained determined to maintain similar taxation levels promised by the Conservatives. In truth though, a number of subtle taxes were introduced and became known as 'stealth taxation'. Tony Blair's personal involvement with the difficult issues concerning Northern Ireland helped acheive positive results beginning with the 'Good Friday' agreement although international attempts to acheive peace in the Middle East were sadly less successful.

The Blair administration recognised how sources of cheap labour were being exploited by some companies in Britain and introduced the National Minimum Wage and a set of Family Income Supplements. Tuition fees for higher education were less happily accepted and became a political bone of contention following constitutional reforms that led to devolution and the formation of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. In Scotland, tutorial fees for further education were scrapped for students resident in Scotland.

On 11th September 2001, the terrorist organisation Al Qaeda carried out their boldest venture on American soil and with international repercussions ongoing to this day. In previous years, this organisation had been blamed for events in Yemen, Ethiopia and the first attack on the World Trade Centre in 1993. In hindsight, it is known the organisation considered nuclear power stations as targets at one stage but rejected the proposition on the basis 'that reprisals might be extreme and severe'. On 11th September, 2001, terrorists hijacked three passenger liners with a view to flying two of them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre and the other into the Pentagon Building. The latter plane failed to reach its destination and it is widely assumed heroic passengers fought with the hijackers but sadly at the expense of their own lives. The former hijackings were successful however with both flights slamming into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and causing massive loss of life. Depending upon your circumstances and beliefs, Osama Bin Laden, was either a hero or a mass murderer! Irrespective of this, the World would change dramatically once again and the American response hitherto muted in many cases, now found unified voice against the progress of terrorism. Countries and regimes sponsoring terrorism were identified. US President George Bush (junior) declared a 'War On Terrorism' and it began with the military invasion of Afghanistan where training bases for terrorists were alleged to exist. The seven year old Taliban government was seen as the source of many ills even though they had successfully reduced opium production to minimal levels by 2001 and with social benefits to the whole World. On a domestic front though, women were forbidden to have jobs and human rights were often overlooked. Even today, Afghanistan is a collection of tribal regions which effectively beat the British back from their empirical expansion and defeated the Russian Army invasion as recently as 1989. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan had been a part of the Cold War and Afghan forces had received considerable levels of support from the United States in terms of weapons and tactical advice to expel them. Now, in the wake of the Twin Towers, American forces were there in force and seeking Osama Bin Laden.

Sadly, this remains an ongoing conflict albeit with many duties now turned over to British soldiers fighting a war involving more about hearts and minds than any desire for conflict. At the time of writing, in late 2007, there have been several battles in the country and a new desire to confer and speak with moderate members of the Taliban. One can only hope that peace will return to this tortured country in the near future.

In 2001, the country of Iraq, led by Sadam Hussien, was also regarded as a supporter of terrorism against western nations despite the major support during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88 and where a desperate Iranian nation was compelled to train and send 12 year old children into the front line. The Iraqi response involved usage of chemical weapons in which thousands perished. There was also alleged usage of such weapons against Kurdish communities within Iraqi territory afterwards. In 2001, it was known to many western intelligence agencies that SCUD (the name is a descriptive term used by NATO) missiles had been exported to several countries from a manufacturing plant in Russia. Iraq had allegedly purchased several of these missiles and there was speculation about Iraq launching warheads of mass destruction against Israel or even towards extreme targets like Cyprus. Western exports to Iraq suggested the possibility of a 'rail gun' being developed to fire on targets to the West. Former attempts by Iraq to acquire nuclear technology had been halted by a raid by Israel but there was now a feeling that Iraq was hiding something major and the response of the official government seemed to suggest there was a measure of truth in this. Weapons Inspectors, permitted to examine the situaton after the Kuwait Invasion, were allowed to examine local circumstances yet failed to find any trace of the alleged weapons of mass destructrion. Despite this, an with French opposition at World political level, a multi-national coalition force invaded Iraq in March 2003. Once again, GPS from orbitting satellites proved crucial to the 'shock and awe' demonstration of how high technology weapons could be delivered against an enemy anywhere in the World and with great precision and yet failed to provide resolution. Like the previous World War and the London Blitz, the aerial attacks on Iraq simply hardened opposition. At the current time of writing, resistance to this invasion remains high and a new government committed to democracy in the future has been established. A new oil pipeline is nearing completion and funded by a consortium led by British Petroleum. The new pipeline will carry Iraqi oil through politically unstable area like Chechnia and to ports on the Black Sea. Tankers of limited size will travel through the Bosphorus Straight, a series of narrow canals linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Sea of Marmara. Future oil supplies to Britain and America will thus carry significant costs and risk when compared with overseas competitors. Iranian politicians haven't been slow to recognise this weakness and have signed a deal with China to supply oil for next decade despite its own lack of refinery technology and at a time when car usage in Iran is expanding at a phenominal rate. Having said that, petrol is sold at a rate equating to about 54p per litre in Iran and may represent the lowest price in the World. The Iranian government is currently reveiwing the situation but the last time anyone in Iran tried to raise the price of petrol, the Shah was deposed and replaced by the despotic regime of the Ayatullah Khomeini. The link with China provides Iran with a degree of immunity and allows Iranian politicians to make grand speeches and permits open accusation against western countries. To date, other countries with similar alliances with China are equally fortunate since any western intervention might be seen to threaten Chinese interests and at a time when China has emerged as the newest economic superpower on the planet.

In 1997, the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong was handed back to the Chinese as per former agreement and at a time when the Chinese commercial economy was expanding at a consistant rate of 13% per annum or better. By contrast, many western companies deemed manufacture in western countries as too expensive. Even Japanese companies, like Hitachi, assumed new headquarters in Manila and the brand name was later acquired by the Dixons retail chain. Toshiba was acquired by Thomson who chose Singapore as a premier site of its manufacturing activities, not just for building finished goods but to make the component parts too. Epson printers are now mostly made in China rather than Japan. British brand names have also been acquired by foreign investors - even Rolls Royce and Jaguar cars. We're getting used to seeing labels proclaiming manufacture in the PRC - PRC meaning People's Repubic of China! By contrast, the 'silicon glen' of Central Scotland has vanished into the ether! Where once, we made computers, televisions, video recorders and much more, our manufacturing capacity has diminished by huge degrees and whatever work and employment remains is typically lesser paid or specialist.

It may shock readers to know that shellfish caught off the shores of Western Scotland are now shipped to China for for processing and package work before being shipped back to European supermarket shelves and sold as Scottish seafood. Apparently, it's cheaper to do that than carry out the process work locally in Scotland! It also serves to illustrate the scale of difference facing European companies today.

Even large companies like British Steel found themselves in difficulty and Ravenscraig Steel works was closed down to leave the largest vacant lot in Europe. In 1999, British Steel merged with Koninklijke-Hoogovens to form Corus, one of the World's largest steel producers. The scale of the problem was vast. China could produce an entire bicycle for the same price as Europeans were paying for the raw steel needed to make the same product! A huge range of products made in Europe simply could not compete in the international marketplace. Even products made in lower wage economies like Thailand were sometimes deemed too expensive compared with manufacture in India and China. In April, 2007, Corus was acquired by Tata Steel of India.

In the summer of 2007, Tony Blair voluntarily resigned as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour, with Gordon Brown, a 'local lad' from Fife assuming both positions.

During the nineties and early years of this century, there were great hopes of semiconductor plants coming to Tyneside and Fife. The large custom-built factory near Dunfermline costs millions to build and will cost more tear down in the near future as the land it occupies is considered for housing. It never made a single chip and never will. The Canon factory in Glenrothes was one allegedly set to become the European HQ of the company and the special demands regarding road communication were largely accomplished but even in the best years, the factory became a repair centre and employed far fewer and at lesser wages than was originally envisaged. It too closed without manufacturing anything. Nearby stands the ADC building ordered by ADC of Ohio yet here too, is another 'white elephant' and whose use thus far has served a temporary Christmas distribution centre for Amazon and little else.

In Fife, one doesn't need to travel far to see the knock-on effects of decline with the unfinished Bankhead Roundabout in Southern Glenrothes being a prime example. Since the millenium, the history of Fife has largely been one of cutbacks and economies. Former industrial estates have been transformed into 'trading estates' employing far fewer people and producing far less economic wealth than before. Factories have been and are being torn down in favour of housing development. Leisure facilities have been threatened with closure for similar reasons with a fiercely resisted proposal that one leisure complex based in Kirkcaldy should serve the needs of both Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy and with a joint population of nearly eighty thousand. Further education colleges have merged in recent years and in response to distance-learning companies and colleges. It will be interesting to see whether similar attempts to concentrate resources of this kind takes place in the future.

Similar concentration has been going on in the retail sector of business for decades. The High Streets of old are now typically littered with 'To Let' or 'For Sale' signs and no longer represent the trading centres they once did. Increasingly, vacant spaces in these areas have become havens for 'charity shops' and where rate income is subsidised. It's a far cry from the times when most sizeable communities might have had a tailor or cobbler and where both could produce clothes and shoes of a perfect fit and made to last. More than anything, it was the rise in ownership of motor cars that heralded change in the retail sector and pushed the High Street into its current state. Shopping centres represented the first challenge and many were built as parts of the High Street but the out-of-town supermarket adopted by Wallmart in the US and emulated by many more drew in the crowds by offering a huge variety of goods at bulk-purchased prices and offered free parking facilties for the growing fleet of privately owned cars. In the eighties and nineties, the trading share of the High Street retailers fell dramatically. Wherever a new generation supermarket opened, local trade tended to suffer as a consequence.

It wasn't plain sailing for the supermarket operators though because, in their desperate rush for growth, they quickly realised how people could only eat so much food or drink so much beer. To maintain growth, they were compelled to diversify into other market areas hitherto unassociated with grocery. Marks and Spencer was one of the first to enter the financial markets area with store cards and others quickly followed. Today, it is now possible to visit a supermarket and purchase banking services including car and home insurance. It didn't stop there. Clothing by George was introduced in Asda stores and again many other companies followed this lead. Problem was, and still is, that Asda clothing is aimed at average sized people and fails to cater for those who fail to conform to their 'ideal model' of the human shape. In current times, the 'niche' market for such clothing has eluded the supermarkets.

Expansion into 'Brown' and 'White' goods such as televisions, video recorders and refrigerators followed. It is now possible to buy a 20" screen colour television for about £70 from a supermarket. It might have a strange brand name but given the changes outlined above, who cares? If one were to call on the services of a repairman, then we might incur fees exceeding that of purchase and without a guarantee. Hardly surprising then that rational thinking people would elect to scrap the failed item and replace it with something new and assured they would receive at least a minimum of twelve months service from the product. Expanded warranties of the type offered by Domestic and General Insurance and others in recent years become questionable in such circumstances. With falling retail prices, in real terms, the same investment could be banked to provide funds for a replacement and yet, many people still fear the risk of product failure and collectively invest millions of pounds into 'extended warranties' of lesser value than ever before. The really BIG question about this social shift whereby goods are replaced rather than repaired is what happens to the discarded item? For years, the answer has been landfill but there are limits as regards tipping rubbish into a hole. Large tracts of land can become unusable in such circumstances.

Truth is, we don't repair or recycle much these days. We're happy to buy products with limited life and with packaging often larger in size than the product itself. Mobile phones represent a great example whereby the latest fad produces great sales and almost an even number of models being consigned to the waste bin. In this century, mankind has become the most wasteful of all generations and species and it's beginning to affect this World in ways formerly discounted or denied. It's time to wake up and see what this global phenomena will mean for people in Fife and elsewhere. FifeServe is a part of this process.

The Future Years

In 2007, the Chinese government demonstrated their ability to destroy a satellite in orbit. Although this has not been widely reported, this event may yet overshadow events in the future. We may yet fight a war devoid of high technology weapons in the future,