For a reader in Scotland there are quite a few things missing in the above BBC Manchester report two days ago:
Wildfires across Greater Manchester are still burning a fortnight after they first started, the fire service has said. More than 100 firefighters and volunteers have been tackling the blaze on two fronts at Dove Stone, after the fire in Saddleworth merged with a fire at Tintwistle, and at Swineshaw.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said specialists from across the UK had been drafted in to control any remaining hotspots. The fires in Greater Manchester and Derbyshire have burned hundreds of hectares of moorland, equivalent to the size of 1,250 football pitches, the landowner has said.
The fire service said light rainfall and mist had dampened the moorlands, but the fires had not been extinguished. It said the fires were still being classed as a “major incident“. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8xn820d4n9o
After two weeks of burning in Scotland, the Cairngorms wildfire is described today in these terms:
‘Apocalyptic’ damage as Cairngorms wildfire burns for two weeks: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgd32v2y2lo
No such language appears in the BBC Manchester report.
In the Cairngorms, BBC Scotland report:
People living in the Cairngorms have criticised the handling of a wildfire that has been burning for 10 days but locals said the move came too late, and that the Scottish government had been slow in scaling up the response to the incident.: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdewlpgnlx6o
Here is one of the locals:
Here’s another
BBC Manchester seem to be relying on the judgement of trained professionals and not two self-selected locals. They make no comment on the performance of the UK Government nor of Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester Authority.
BBC Scotland reporting regularly points to the lack of firefighting helicopters and blames the Scottish Government for not buying them despite knowing that no fire service across the UK has them. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8enzjdz0qo
BBC Manchester makes no mention of them.
I know the Cairngorms wildfire is larger but equally it’s far further away from any large town or city.
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Talking-up Scotland 
Be fair Prof. It’s a change from ferries. This came as manna from heaven to the intellectually challenged reporters surely.
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I believe they got/leased helicopters last week and they also have thermal drones presumably to map hot spots. There are no suitable RAF helicopters in the UK because they are in Cyrus apparently.
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Update on Cairngorm fire from Scottish Fire Service on Sunday 26th July. Note it refers to them having 3 helicopters for water bombing
https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/news/significant-firefighting-operation-continues-as-cairngorms-wildfire-enters-twelfth-day/
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Burnham fails. Meet the new ‘boss’ same as the old ‘boss’.
Imbeciles.
Scotland pays £5Billion+ for the military. 180,000 military personnel. 10,000 based in Scotland. (8,000 short). An Independent Scotland could afford more than enough for fire prevention aircraft and ferries. Instead of obsolete Trident and redundant weaponry. Contract never delivered. Then more ordered and never delivered.
Obsolete before delivery. Sold on the black market. Gunrunners causing more trouble.
The fires are out.
The heather used to be burned off, for the grouse. Forming fire prevention barriers. Now the heather is much higher more timber to burn.
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Andy Burnham and the Manchester connection.
The BBC did an article on their website dated 24 June 2026 with a headline that stated :
“TV Festival to move from Edinburgh to Manchester”
“The TV Festival is relocating from Edinburgh to Manchester next year after half a century”
“Organisers said it was moving from the Scottish capital “amid increasing challenges around accessibility, affordability and sustainability” across the television industry”.
“The TV Foundation, which has run the event since 1976, praised Greater Manchester’s vision for the festival which “combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy”.
“It said it would be able to “radically reduce” costs for delegates by moving the festival to Manchester. Edinburgh will host the event for the last time on 25-28 August” (2026).
It seems to me that Manchester seems to now be the place , outside London within their (Labour) UK State.
So far we have:
The (fake) GB Energy’s Chairman being based at Manchester (as opposed to him being based at GB Energy’s supposed HQ in Aberdeen, Scotland).
The new PM has created a new ‘number 10’ in Manchester (as a supposed No 10 ‘North’ – that is the “North” of England).
Also now this part of the Edinburgh Festival, the TV Festival, is to relocate to Manchester as from 2027 (are we also supposed to believe that it will also now still be based in the ‘North’).
Interestingly one of the factors the organisers mentioned in their decision to relocate the ‘Edinburgh’ TV Festival to Manchester was “affordability” as in “costs for delegates” , which then tells you that the majority of those who participate in this ‘Edinburgh’ TV Festival come from England.
Now that makes sense (to them) as their so called ‘UK’ TV is dominated by England, as in that is where all of their ‘UK’ HQ’s TV stations are based.
‘UK’ TV also has a dominant English focused content and England is also where they source the majority of those employed by their ‘UK’ TV stations for their entertainment shows, Daytime (trash) TV programmes, TV dramas/Soaps and also for their supposed ‘UK’ TV News programmes ,supposed ‘UK’ Politics programmes and supposed ‘UK’ Sports news programmes.
BTW the TV Foundation is the charitable arm that runs the Edinburgh TV Festival and they state on their website that the ‘Edinburgh’ TV Festival’s HQ address is 117 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3BX .
They also state that their registered office is (currently) 9 Ainslie Place, Edinburgh EH3 6AT , but as from next year that “registered office” for the ‘Edinburgh’ TV Festival will have a new address around the St. John’s creative and cultural district in Manchester.
BTW the BBC did an article on their website dated the 17 July 2026 on the so called ‘King of the North’, Andy Burnham, with a headline:
“Burnham’s ‘Manchesterism’ got him to No 10 – but will it work for the UK”?
Included in that article Burnham was quoted as saying (to Faisal Islam who wrote the article):
“Burnham told me he wanted to appeal directly to Fifa to host the final of the women’s football World Cup in 2035 Manchester instead of Wembley. “Imagine how electrifying that is for any girl growing up in the north of England,” he said”.
“He said he was also joining forces with other mayors for a “Great Northern” Olympic bid across the north of England, and a plan was also afoot to host the Ryder Cup in Bolton. Sports bodies needed “re-educating” about the rest of the country, he said”
“Manchester has already poached the Brit Awards from London after half a century in the capital”
“Even before Burnham returned to parliament in June, there has been talk of Manchesterism as a political-economic philosophy that offers a programme for national transformation, rooted in a critique of a currently unresponsive, over-centralised British state”.
Well it seems to me that for Scotland it will now be Manchester, as well as it also still being London, that will rule jointly in their dominant English political system as part of their ongoing “over-centralised British state aka their English State ”.
The new UK PM, Andy Burnham, is just (yet) another English politician who refers to “the country” when meaning England , so perhaps he is (another) one who needs “re-educating” about the “rest of the country” , as in the (so called) “rest of the country” (if referring to Britain or the UK State) also includes Scotland, Wales & NI.
Manchester is apparently now the new “North” of Britain, so whatever happened to that area that was once referred to as “North Britain” (Scotland) ?
From the perspective of Scotland we see Manchester as being down South and not as being in “the North” (as in neither the new one’ nor the old one).
Liz S
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Will it still be called “The Edinburgh TV Festival”?
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I suspect it will be renamed as “The Great British TV Festival”, with new Union Flag based emblems and a Spitfire “fly past” as part of the opening ceremony.
Remind me to miss it..
Stephen McKenzie
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“I suspect it will be renamed as “The Great British TV Festival”
Could very well be Stephen, as apparently everything is to be regarded as British, that is until many of the establishment figures in politics start asking ‘Who speaks for England” , then the British part is conveniently subdued.
Why they bother I do not know , as they all speak and act in public in a way that clearly indicates that , for them , England is synonymous with Britain.
I suspect when they ask that Q on who speaks for England it’s to try and steal even more powers etc from the other Nations within the UK State , as well as them trying to create even more powers for their England.
A TV Festival to relocate to England after being a part of the Edinburgh Festival for 50 years .
It must be because John Logie Baird was English, Ha Ha.
😉
Liz S
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“Will it still be called “The Edinburgh TV Festival”?
I imagine they will try to erase all mention of Edinburgh , especially now that it’s been relocated to the UK’s new North .
I wonder if the King of the new North will officially open it next year in Manchester , now that it has relocated to the UK’s new North .
I imagine Andy Burnham will be ‘mad fer it’ (as they say up in the UK’s new North , as in Manchester)
Liz S
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