Return of the Scots Tory

Gerald Warner is finally back and in his native good form. Having been let go several months ago from The Scotsman for undisclosed reasons (no doubt too Tory, too traditionalist and too British for modern Scottish tastes and nationalist sensibilities), he is now blogging daily at The Telegraph , which means we will be treated to much more of the High Church Royalist than we were with his regular Sunday columns. Those were columns I looked forward to each and every week, ever since one of our Scottish correspondents (thanks, Dundonald!) made me aware of the great man back in 2005. For me, they were mandatory Saturday night bedtime reading, as I took full advantage of the time difference between Upper Canada and Upper Britain, happily digesting every witty word before the earliest risers in Scotland could get their morning Sunday coffee and paper.

For those who haven't had the good fortune to know of him, in the man's own words, he "is an author and broadcaster. He writes on culture, politics, religion and the madness of modern life. It would be an exaggeration to say that he regards the entire world as having gone to the dogs but he certainly thinks it is headed in that direction." He writes under the suitable header, "Is It Just Me?", understandably questioning whether one is a remnant from a bygone era for holding ultra traditionalist views.

It would be technically incorrect to call Mr. Warner a conservative, for how does one conserve all that which has been lost? No, it would make more sense to call the gentleman from north of the Tweed a radical Tory, a fellow counterrevolutionary, a restorative traditionalist with all the elan of a modern day Jacobite. Bring back the stiff upper lip! - Let's lay the keel for a new royal yacht! - Posh, an endangered species! - all radical stuff for this day and age, but it is the forthright funny way he exposes the madness of modernity, today's cheerful indignation being no exception. Remarking on the commercial allure of Che Guevara t-shirts, which are all the rage the world over, Warner intones: Himmler Lager, anyone? Pol Pot Aftershave?

I promise, every missive will bring a smile to your face, so do go and read the happy warrior - you will not be disappointed.