Black Monday was a dark day for shopping

Our TV screens were awash with images and video footage, of shoppers pushing, shoving and behaving badly all in pursuit of a bargain at various supermarkets.

We witnessed at first hand the unpalatable face of human nature.

We all love a bargain, particularly us Scots. However, is what is on offer from the large supermarkets on days such as these actually a bargain?

Black Friday, is of course, a peak shopping day which occurs after Thanksgiving day. In America, it is the last payday before Christmas Day, and the day when most people's bank accounts go from being in the red, to being in the black.

It therefore represents one of the busiest, pre-Christmas shopping days of the year, in America.

Personally, I don't recall the last time I celebrated Thanksgiving.

So why is this American tradition being imported to Scotland?

Hype and money. It's import is a cynical attempt by certain supermarkets to drum up business. It is designed to encourage long queues and promote rivalry for the best offers. Its intent is to build up hysteria and target greed.

So let's hear it for the adoption of such a well considered strategy from certain supermarkets, which goes as follows.

Firstly, import an American phenomenon, then create a lot of hype and advertising around a whole range of questionable, discount goods.

Then, get people excited, set a deadline and promote queueing.

Finally, distress your staff with the volume of customers and stand back and observe the mayhem.

Once all of this is complete, sell lots of stuff and apportion the blame for the public disorder on the public.

I trust Police Scotland will be having a word in several people's ears, to ensure that this nonsense isn't repeated. Meantime, we all know who is to blame and it's not the public.

I SEE that new First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced plans to pass a Land Reform Bill.

The Bill plans to limit the ownership of land to companies registered within the European Union.

It will also seek to take action against landlords who are seen to be blocking sustainable development.

The Land Reform Bill will also attempt to scrap tax breaks for shooting and deerstalking estates.

Although it is being proposed by the SNP, it is supported by the Labour Party.

The Bill will be opposed by the Conservative party, which points to the extensive revenue that such activities bring to the country.

Land ownership in Scotland has been in somewhat of a mess since the Reformation.

This event spawned centuries of aristocratic dominance on land that often represented little more than stolen goods.

I was amazed to learn that more than 50% of Scotland is owned by fewer than 500 people.

Many communities across Scotland find it difficult to even trace the identity of local landowners.

On this issue, I say well done to the SNP.

The vast expanse of Scotland's land should be used for the benefit of the majority, not a privileged minority.

The people of Scotland should have unfettered access to their own land and it should be available to all.

Signs being posted on remote moorland, saying "Mountain Closed", should be a thing of the past.

Hunting, fishing, shooting and deerstalking should all be permitted to continue generating revenue for our rural communities.

These pastimes however, are so often the preserve of the rich and the grouse season is relatively short.

Given the fact that the majority of the participants in these activities are merchant bankers and hedge fund managers perhaps they may, in future, create a suitable, target-rich environment, for those occasions when the grouse are no longer available.

THE recent passing of Arthur Montford, will be mourned by so many.

Arthur was a talented sports commentator, presenting more than 2000 editions of football's Scotsport in a broadcasting career that spanned 32 years.

As a boy I remember watching Arthur on a Sunday afternoon, replete in his famous sports jackets, which had a mesmerising effect on the behaviour of our television.

His passionate, enthusiastic and unbiased commentary, was matched only by the flowery language and descriptions. When I hear the word "stramash", I think only of him.

Arthur Montford was a true, Scottish broadcasting legend and I trust that he may rest in peace.

Or, to use the words of this great man, it really is "a disaster for Scotland".