'Nae awa tae bide awa'

I have been away in England for a couple of days taking senior divisional directors of a large multi-national corporation through their paces in my old day job’s subject of negotiation. Without labelling it as such, I based much of what I was saying on Adam Smith’s original ascription of ‘truck, barter, and exchange’ to the conditional proposition of the ‘bargain’: ‘Give me that which I want and you shall have this which you want’ (Wealth of Nations, I.ii. p 26).

Since returning, I have had little time to examine correspondence or articles on Smith. The media here continues to trawl though comments and complaints on the news that Adam Smith is to feature on next year’s £20 note in place of Elgar, the composer.

As this is Britain, a ‘Re-instate Elgar Campaign’ on the £20 note has been formed already. It is to campaign to upset the decision to replace him with Smith and is now in hot pursuit of its goal. When metrication was mooted, way back in the 60s, there was a similar campaign ‘In defence of the inch’ – I kid you not.

Our eccentricity – or rather our English compatriots’ harmless weirdness – is probably good for the tourists and the curious, some of whom must wonder how Britain ever managed to rule a fair bit of the world from London, much like I always wonder: how did Greece ever get into the European Union? (just joking, of course).