Out4Marriage Continues to Campaign

With the news yesterday that Scotland is ready for gay marriage, and David Cameron's speech at 10 Downing Street in which he said once again,

"It's something I feel passionately about and I think if it's good enough for straight people like me, it's good enough for everybody and that's why we should have gay marriage and we will legislate for it"

you'd think enough already with the campaigning. However, it's precisely because Out4Marriage and its partners continue to keep speaking up that more and more public figures are aligning themselves with those working for equality in marriage!

I do have a particular concern, and that is the small percentage of women involved in this project. I would love to see more of us making videos, and cannot figure out why we are not. The guys fuelling the project with their energy and determination would love our input, support and leadership. If there is something about Out4Marriage that is not welcoming, and we're not getting it; please somebody let us know so we may learn and improve. Thank you.

official jewish tartan

did you know that there is now an official jewish tartan? of course not - why would one? i happened to discover this vital piece of news yesterday when going through the post that came while i was away. in an edition of the hadassah magazine (i am a life member - it was a gift), there is an article about jewish scotland. meanwhile, good old google came up with a few words by tom hamilton in the daily record:

" A SCOTS rabbi has created the world's first official Jewish tartan. Mendel Jacobs, 32, consulted the Scottish Tartans Authority and religious scholars to come up with a design to reflect Scotland's Jewish history. He said: "As the only Scottish-born rabbi living in Scotland, I felt it was important to celebrate the rich tapestry of culture and history we share and it is particularly fitting for Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations. "The Jewish people have been an integral part of Scottish culture for more than 300 years, with the first Jew recorded in Edinburgh in 1691."

The colours, weave and number of threads in the new tartan have all been picked for their relevance to Judaism. Rabbi Mendel added: "The blue and white represent the colours of the Scottish and Israeli flags, with the central gold line representing the gold from the Biblical Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and the many ceremonial vessels. "The silver is from the decorations that adorn the Scroll of Law and the red represents the traditional red Kiddush wine. "The cloth is also 100 per cent kosher - being a non-wool linen mix."

Internationally renowned weavers Lochcarron of Scotland have vested an interest in manufacturing the tartan. There is expected to be a huge global demand for the design from the estimated 15million Jews worldwide. The biggest markets will be the US and Israel, each with about five-and-a-half million Jews. At the last census in 2001, there were 6400 Jews in Scotland.""

so there you have it. if you want to demonstrate your loyalty to clan mcmoish, you know what to do. ps what do you suppose jewish men wear under their kilts?