What Scotland's Saying

What Scotland's Saying

The morning's dominant feeling is anticipation cut through with frustration. Reports of Scottish supporters being refused entry or denied visas ahead of the United States World Cup have generated genuine anger — not the performative kind, but the quieter, more lasting sort that comes from feeling singled out. The sense that Scotland is being made to earn something it has already earned runs close to the surface.

There is parallel irritation at commentary from south of the border that questions whether Scotland's proposed World Cup holiday is proportionate. The qualification ended a twenty-six-year absence from the tournament. People here know that. They do not need it explained back to them, incorrectly.

The Tartan Army's early arrivals in New York have been noted with something close to relief — colour and goodwill on foreign streets, no incidents, the flag behaving well abroad. Meanwhile in Edinburgh, schoolchildren have recorded a World Cup song, which is either the most earnest thing happening in Scotland this week or the most significant, depending on your disposition.

The royal bank holiday announcement is being read by a portion of the public as calculation rather than generosity. The Scottish Parliament's decision to pursue a wider party finance inquiry, rather than a narrower inquiry focused on Peter Murrell, has drawn scrutiny without yet drawing conclusions.

Most gravely: racist attacks in Glasgow following violence in Belfast have left people unsettled in a way that the football cannot entirely absorb.

The national mood, this morning, is hopeful and watchful in almost equal measure.