Women are now to the fore on the world stage
I HAVE to report that I have been hearing strange noises recently. I do not think that it was the sound of heads falling from a great height into waiting baskets as Theresa May reshaped the Cabinet. I rather think that it was the grinding of teeth being gnashed by John Knox, reflecting upon a subject once dear to his heart – the monstrous regiment of women. It was not possible to determine the particular location of the said gnashing and whether it had to be measured in terms of altitude or depth.
The position of women in the world is obviously going through major transformation. In the UK, we have Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister in Scotland, Arlene Foster in the same position in Northern Ireland, Leanne Wood as leader of Plaid Cymru, and now we have Theresa May accepting the monarch’s invitation to form a new UK government. Indeed, the Queen has been ruling over us so long that this is the 13th time she has extended such an invitation.
In Europe, we have Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, Beata Sydfo, Prime Minister of Poland, and in Latvia we have Dalice Grybauskaite as President. Looking to the United States, the next President could be Hillary Clinton.
Who knows where the mere male will be placed in another generation or so? It looks as if the days of the more gentle scanning of women, as recommended in The Address To The Unco Guid of Robert Burns, are on the way out. The ladies, gentlemen, are on a roll. Ian W Thomson, 38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.