By Professor John Robertson, Genuine Ferry Correspondent
The Herald has this today:
Fresh problems could sideline MV Caledonian Isles ’till March’. Fresh problems have been uncovered on one of CalMac’s largest ferries which could see it out of action for the rest of the winter. The ageing MV Caledonian Isles was due to return to service later in November after more than eight months on the sidelines.
and this rubbish:
The MV Caledonian Isles was taken off the Arran/Ayrshire (Ardrossan or Troon) service and replaced by the MV Alfred to partner the MV Isle of Arran.
There has been 1 cancellation, with these two vessels in the last 100 sailings – 99% reliable. https://www.calmac.co.uk/calmac-performance-data-browser?date=27%2F09%2F2024
The brand new MV Glen Sannox has already been able to berth in Brodick with a view to replacing the MV Arnold in December 2024.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
There is a Arran Ferry story that is currently the 6th story on the BBC Website on their main Scotland page and so it is above the seventh story on that same page which is a positive story as in “NHS consultants in Scotland accept 10.5% pay rise”.
BBC article on the Arran Ferry story is headlines as:
“Arran’s main ferry could be out of service until late March”
However the story , on the Arran’s main ferry, is also now the top story on their, the BBC’s , Scottish Politics page so it’s a political story then ?
Who knew ?
Well we did as everything is politicised in Scotland.
However the very much political decision to award and get an agreement for the “NHS consultants in Scotland accept 10.5% pay rise” is however not on the Scottish Politics page of the BBC website.
That’s probably because they, the BBC, needed room for the Alex Salmond story to still be on the Scottish Politics page, as in the same story that originally has been on their website from the 3 November (so it has gone from being the top story to now being the 6th story on that Scottish Politics page) as the BBC need it, as a story, to hang on in there as a #BAD story.
The Arran Ferry story is also the top story on their, BBC, Scottish Business page too.
Of course it is.
The Consultants story is currently the 2nd story on their Scottish Business page.
So that story , on the Consultants being awarded and accepting a pay deal is apparently, according to the BBC, not a political story.
(Had they ,the Consultants , not come to an agreement and so had not accepted the pay deal then I am 100% sure it , as a article, would have been on the Scottish Politics page (that is a Top story status ,as a story , on all of the pages on Scotland on their BBC website)
So what is the content of the “NHS consultants in Scotland accept 10.5% pay rise” article that prevents the BBC from putting it on their Scottish Politics page ?
Here is a wee snippet from the BBC article on the “NHS Consultant pay rise” story on their website:
“The £124.9m Scottish government deal “
Ah now it all makes sense why it is not on their , the BBC’s, Scottish Politics page of their website.
It’s because it’s a #SNPGOOD story.
Could they (the BBC) be more transparent ? (Rhetorical Q obviously).
BTW another wee snippet from the NHS Consultants pay deal on that BBC article on their website :
“The British Medical Association (BMA) said the deal would ensure that the country remains “an attractive place for consultants to work”.
Bookmark that quote from the BMA , as we all know a certain individual from the BMA who just loves to say the opposite , as in #SNPBAD on Scottish NHS, especially to the BBC in Scotland.
(“NHS consultants in Scotland accept 10.5% pay rise” is on the “latest updates” at the bottom of the Scottish Politics page but it is not a main article on that page , yet it, as a story, is only one day old, as in from the 5 November, so why is it not a main article on the Scottish Politics page- it seems to have been given the same treatment as a #SNPGOOD story that the Labour Councillor story got, as in a #LABOURBAD story, as in ‘Blink and you miss it”).
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OT I see Prof Mitchell is front and centre in the main article on front page of today’s Herald. Uni fees is the subject bring them back but means test his ‘solution’.
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Also O/T
You may be sad (or you may not) at Trump winning but not as sad as Tory Rory Stewart who completely misfired on his prediction on the American presidential election.
Ex Tory MP Rory Stewart, as in he who is seemingly considered to be a #GoodTory by certain liberal minded political commentators, who labelled him as a ‘traditional Conservative’ as if that was somehow a positive thing.
Yet with him, Tory Rory, formerly voting for Cameron and Osbourne’s Austerity policies when he was a Tory MP, well that , by them, as liberal minded political commentators is to be both forgotten and forgiven as a political wrong and so consigned to history (and not to be repeated by them as liberal minded political commentators as being a bad thing done by him).
Why ?
Because as a Tory he was against Brexit and most vocal upon that and so were they, as liberal minded political commentators, against Brexit too.
So then he was deemed by them to be defined as a #GoodTory and all previous cruel votes by him in WM for cruel Tory policies that hurt the poorest in society within the UK were then all to be cancelled out by the likes of them and also by Labour’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell , who is also against Brexit, and who now has a podcast with Tory Rory called “The Rest is Politics”.
Well this supposed #GoodTory as a political sage, as in Rory Stewart, tweeted this on 4 November:
“Kamala Harris will win comfortably, because: • Biden’s admin has been solid • Trump’s lost ground since 2016 • The young Black male votes which Trump needs didn’t turn out in 16, 18, 20, or 22 • Young women like Kamala + vote. Ignore polls—they’re herding, after past misses”
Now today on the 6th November with the result now known (to be the opposite of Rory’s prediction) he, Tory Rory, has now tweeted:
“For the record – I was completely wrong about Kamala Harris. It is heartbreaking that Trump is now the President”
Hey Rory don’t beat yourself up Laddie, because “For the Record” you were also “completely wrong” about Scotland in 2014 when you asked us in Scotland to vote NO to independence. Trust me for Scotland that was truly truly truly far more “heartbreaking”.
So it seems tome that Tory Rory should perhaps now finally ‘hang up his (political) hat’ as there seems to be a pattern with him always getting it wrong, well he is a Tory so I guess that explains his obvious bad judgement and also many of his wrong opinions. (and wrong predictions too).
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