On:
In: Maureen Forbes
With: 1 Comment

I often comment or complain about BBC Question Time and the concerning feeling that it arises in me where I feel as if I need to throw something at the TV. As we recently bought a new one, the temptation has lessened somewhat even though it cost 1/10 of the 12 year old “media system”that came with the house when we moved in. How on earth does that even work? Technology prices continue to fall whilst standards raise yet basic essential food and household requirements get ever more expensive but decrease in size. Definitely a conundrum for Lewis Carroll. It is rare that I watchRead More →

On:
In: Grant Thoms
With: 0 Comments

It’s not long ago that a Leader column in the Scots Independent talked about Theresa May as akin to Harry Houdini. No matter how much she got tied in knots and chains, she somehow wriggles out. The last few weeks are a case in point. Just as commentators and opponents (both within the Conservatives and outwith) were predicting she would be out the door of Number 10 by Christmas, so the departure point was postponed to the first vote on her Deal. Well that has come and gone. Despite the biggest Commons defeat on any topic by a post-War government, Mrs May has arisen toRead More →

On:
In: Guest Blogger

When I was 6 my wee brother was conveyed in a Cumfifolda pushchair with a big tray underneath it curiously of the most perfect shape to accommodate Scots Independent papers and SNP election leaflets. My mum, my brother and I pounded the streets whinging those missives through letterboxes of big posh houses and more modest council homes. We lived in Crieff, caravan dwellers, probably the sort of folk that others thought didn’t deserve a vote; likely we were regarded as illiterate leeches who made a living from stealing and selling scrap or telling fortunes in palms or tea leaves. I’ve explained before about the braveRead More →

On:
In: Film Review

Pauline Gibson (Siȃn Brooke) campaigned on a single issue – to keep her local hospital open against the meddling of politicians. On the back of this, she now finds herself not only walking the corridors of the House of Commons, but also as the bookies favourite to be the next leader of the Labour Party. David Hare’s script hits the mark early on, with many of Gibson’s quick quips capturing the sentiment of political discourse at the present time. Her voice of dissent resonates clearly with the audience, and offers an insight into her success at the ballot box.  Gibson’s story may be a farRead More →

On:
In: Guest Blogger

I don’t really know how it feels to be hungry – I’ve often been peckish, fancied some chocolate, a packet of crisps, a Bounty, cashew nuts. There’s been mental diets where I pretended to do without for hours on end and survived on 10 Benson & Hedges. I’ve even gone without drink, for a couple of days. There were hospital stays with operations requiring a slight degree of fasting, followed by vomiting and queasiness afterwards. Sometimes I was a lazy besom and couldn’t be arsed cooking so toast and cheese was fine for a day or two. But I cannot describe any of these experiencesRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton, Uncategorized

January is a dreary enough month without everyone commenting on the farce that is being played out in Westminster. Many enlightened people are aware that the UK Government are the laughing stock of the world at the moment. BBC happy to to keep reporting on it. Not giving a toss about the blatant lies they spin. So enough! Let’s look at the positive things happening in Scotland, being driven by that Scottish Government that they hate to report about because those nasty SNP non persons are running the show. So, positive story number one. More than 3,000 new homes are to be built in WestRead More →

On:
In: Jim Lynch

I am indebted to Jim McGugan of Letham, Angus for sending me cards of comparisons between Scotland and 5 different countries; Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Finland. He compares Area, Population, Density, Country GDP, GDP per head, Currency, Borders with, In EU?, or with other arrangements, and finally Nuclear bombs:  this last has Scotland the sole “beneficiary”. The cards are published by Bill Robertson, 1 Drimmie Place, Letham, Angus, DD8 2DW of the SNP in Letham, supporting Normal Nations everywhere, as a counter to the “Too wee, too poor and too stupid” and are being delivered by Letham Branch, one country at a time- waryRead More →

On:
In: Uncategorized

WHAT THE TORIES ARE REALLY DOING TO EU NATIONALS by petewishart Over Christmas, when very few people were paying attention, the Home Office put out a video and further information on its EU Settlement Scheme. Full of stock photos of smiling people, apparently having a whale of a time, the video provided a chilling and provocative reminder of the precarious situation EU nationals living within our community endure as we approach Brexit. In a rare moment of clarity the Home Office confirmed that EU nationals would have to ‘apply’ to remain in the UK under the Settlement Scheme and a new menacing tone was introduced. TheRead More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

It is often said that people get the leadership they deserve. If so, it’s hard to imagine just what the membership of the Labour Party have done to deserve this lot. For the last year or so Labour have sought to hide their differences over Brexit behind claims that what they want is a General Election. Yet now, when the Government are floundering hopelessly does he go for the jugular? No! Instead Craven Corbyn plays socialist debating society games. Instead of leading the charge to get rid of this shambolic Tory government, he and Labour’s Shadow Cabinet table a motion of No Confidence not inRead More →

On:
In: Maureen Forbes, Uncategorized

At the time of writing, the political instability of the country is astounding. After months upon months of wrangling and backtracking for a deal that even the leave voters have deserted, this afternoon, the Prime Minister revoked on the plan to hold a Commons vote on the decisions that had been reached on a Brexit withdrawal. Knowing that she would be heavily defeated by her own government as the proposals stood, she announced that the vote would be deferred until further tweaks had been sought from the EU. Our exit from the European Union bears no resemblance to what those who voted leave were promisedRead More →