No, Jade was spot on in context

As soon as Jade Richards referred to [wherever] as a "bit of a dive" it was obvious what the reaction would be.

Thus the Sun headlined that the X Factor contestant was in a "Scot of bother" over her comments during last weekend's edition of the show, but it's unfortunate the she's effectively apologised fully for her remarks, saying: "I didn't mean it the way it came out."

And of course those critical of her remarks - while at the same time for obvious not wanting to sound too condemnatory - have said that she's been quoted out of context and suchlike. But what precisely was the context, what did Jade say exactly and what was it about her remarks that made her say subsequently that she "didn't mean it the way it came out"?

Naturally, despite the hundreds of mentions of her comments readily found on the internet, it's not that easy to find exactly what Jade said, and indeed Google only throws up one example quoting her fully. Perhaps her precise words wouldn't make for such good headlines. However, after spending the best part of an hour trawling the internet*, your intrepid blogger can reveal that she actually said:

"It depends what part you’re in, but it’s a bit of a dive."

Which to my mind changes things substantially, because she wasn't merely referring to Fife or her home town of Buckhaven as a whole, but specifically to certain areas. And to that extent would anyone doubt that some parts of Fife or Buckhaven are, er, less salubrious than others or that indeed some parts could reasonably but pejoratively be described in the specified manner?

But as usual we had the likes of Fife councillor David Alexander wittering on about the "home of golf", that Wills and Kate met while studying at St Andrews University, "Scottish culture and heritage", "Scotland's jewel in the crown", "rugged cliffs", "sandy beaches" and "fantastic wildlife", blah, blah.

Indeed, he even managed to crack a bit of a joke on the back of Jade's remarks while doing quite a good job of trying to sell Fife's undoubted charms, saying: "Perhaps Jade was referring to the fact that you can go for a dive in one of Fife's six Blue Flag beaches."

Ho ho! Councillors cracking jokes - whatever next? And it's perhaps pertinent that from the various reports it's not wholly clear whether X Factor judge Tulisa asked Jade about Buckhaven per se or Fife in general. Which is important because in the latter context in particular it's clear - not least from talking to Buckhine (as they 'cry' it in that part of Fife) locals - that the town isn't really one of the jewels in the Kingdom's crown, at least taking the local area as a whole, and particularly in comparison to other parts of Fife.

And, for example, it's perhaps instructive to compare the periodic news articles about houses overlooking the Old Course in St Andrews selling for several million pounds with other recent reports that Buckhaven is Scotland's most "affordable" (euphemism alert!) seaside town as regards house prices. Of course, there are no doubt parts of Buckhaven that most of Scotland's population would love to live in, but like Dundee (say!) other parts will not be quite so desirable.

But all this is essentially part of the various identities that we adopt, which on a geographical basis encompasses entities like the state, the nation, the city or town, the housing scheme/estate, or even street, and which will be defended at all costs by those with a vested interest in such constructs.

Equally, since to a greater or lesser extent these identities are political/quasi-political rather than merely geographic then it's unsurprising that the politicians/quasi-politicians are among those most likely to take offence when such identities are questioned, and to which end the kneejerk spin and soundbite mode is adopted as a rebuttal.

Thus when SNP MSP George Adam commented, after campaigning in the Greenock and Inverclyde by-election earlier this year, that you need "jabs" as well as a passport to come out of the area, Labour MSP Duncan McNeil accused him of "talking the area down", while of course both parties are always unremittingly positive about all things Scottish, at least when it's politically expedient.

All of which has particular personal resonance, because around 15 years ago I recall being incensed when radio football pundits and wags (as opposed to WAGs!) Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove remarked that you need a tetanus injection after visiting Dundee, and indeed such was my incandescence that I can still vividly recall their throwaway remarks to this day (was never quite sure which of the twosome actually uttered this, but the other certainly didn't demur amidst the predictable bout of laughter after the comment).

But of course times change, and opinions also vary with the effluxion of time, and today my reaction to such a remark would be substantially different.

But without getting bogged down in the minutiae of that, suffice to say that there's no need for misinformation and gratuitous offence, but very often the politics of ID get in the way of indisputable fact and reasonable opinion.

*Including looking at three different versions of the STV News on the STV Player, until it became obvious that the relevant piece - which was where I first became aware of Jade Richards' precise comments - had been edited out, which can be detected right at the end because of the lack of continuity between Sean Batty's weather forecast and the three presenters' concluding remarks! All of which wasted well over 100MB of my precious monthly mobile broadband allowance, which would thus cost me at least a ludicrous £10 in penalty charges if I exceed the limit this month!!