Back in 1854, in the Battle of Balaclava, aristocratic English cavalry showed us how to throw away victory after Scottish soldiers had shown how it might be won. As I watch Boris Johnson lead his own foolhardy charge to victory over covid-19 by opening up to it, I’m reminded of his use of the story in the context of Brexit, last June. The contrasting approaches to the virus, in England and Scotland, suggest to me the contrasting approaches of the English and Scottish regiments in that famous battle 166 years ago. Continue reading Into the valley of Death? Two different ways of dealing with covid to the right of you, covid to the left of you and covid in front of you?

Can you imagine what Reporting Scotland‘s Lisa Summers could do with this story if she lived in Cumbria? You have to read between a few lines and join up a few dots to find out what happened in the Dumfries & Galloway ‘cluster.’ In the TV briefing as the news broke, Prof Jason Leitch said: The initial first case that we were aware of is a health worker from the Carlisle hospital and that may be connected to an outbreak at that hospital, but we can’t be sure yet. From BBC Scotland yesterday: Prof Leitch said the most recent case … Continue reading Second coronavirus case crosses into Scotland from ‘troubled’, ‘inadequate’, ‘unsafe’ Carlisle hospital

As it becomes clear that failed infection control in a Carlisle hospital has forced the return to lock-down, of the area between Dumfries and the border, Scottish Tories remain firmly behind the PM and unconcerned about the safety of their own people. The lovely Andrew Bowie, above, was first to put the Union first on 29th June, after the FM had dared not to rule quarantine out for any group coming into Scotland, triggering his boss, the PM, to thunder and bluster about it, much to his obvious, though sickly, pleasure. Bowie said: We are one nation. Scottish, English, Welsh, … Continue reading Scottish Tories out of touch again as more than 70% of Scots in favour of closing the border to control coronavirus

Looking for other sources, I stumbled upon these two stories and was reminded that campaigning for Scottish independence may attract interest in probing for personal weaknesses that can be used at some convenient time but to challenge the right of Britain and her allies to project power globally and, by implication, to criticise the aims or competence of her security services, will not be forgotten and will be punished. Continue reading Remembering just why the UK establishment has long desired Alex Salmond’s downfall.

Spat? Latest spat? Bird? Is that because the FM is a woman? Is she not able to have a rational disagreement based on public health evidence, with the ‘man’ in Westminster? You’ll see below that Dalgety claims expertise in ‘women in politics.‘ Trivialising Sturgeon’s disagreement with the actions of a right-wing government in London, now responsible for an infection rate 5 times higher than ‘SNP politics’ has enabled here, as a ‘spat’, suggests Labour tribalism has trumped any affected sisterhood. This is beyond cynical or calculated to plain stupid. Here’s the stupid author in question: Dalgety is not ashamed of … Continue reading Former Jack McConnell adviser and Labour councillor allowed to hide as journo to insult First Minister and women in politics

According to the Herald today: The UK government is planning to introduce daily televised press briefings later this year. The new format is expected to be in place by October, and will follow a similar style which is currently used by the White House in the United States.   Presumably this will allow the PM to abuse members of the media and say whatever he likes without Keir Starmer making him look stupid. Unfortunately Johnson’s close ally in Scotland, Murdo ‘Second or third best‘ Fraser, has already made clear his opposition to such a format: Part of the problem for Fraser … Continue reading Will Murdo Fraser condemn Tory plans for 30 minute party political live every day with no opportunity for a response?

Our spoof above. The actual headline was: Coronavirus: Five-mile restriction kept around border cluster Way down the page in the BBC report yesterday: Scotland’s clinical director Prof Jason Leitch added: “The initial first case that we were aware of is a health worker from the Carlisle hospital and that may be connected to an outbreak at that hospital, but we can’t be sure yet. In the briefing yesterday, Leitch reflected on the probability that a failure to follow proper infection control procedures tended to be the explanation for small outbreaks like this one. Imagine that was a Glasgow hospital? STV … Continue reading Imagine the headlines if six English towns were put back into lock-down ‘after’ failed infection control in a Glasgow hospital?

Rebecca McQuillan, regular cosy-upper with Gordon Brewer, tries to fool readers into reading on after that apparently friendly headline. Hah! Quick as you like, she inserts this: I’d suggest that she gives us some evidence of that but then we’d have to read it. I feel sure she’d find endless articles where Carlaw, Fraser, Davidson, Bowie, Murray and, of course, the PM, are outraged or insulted or both. She must have seen Johnson, Bowie and Rees-Mogg affecting outrage at the FM’s response to Prof Sridhar yesterday. I feel sure everyone can see who was doing the inflating. I can’t be … Continue reading Don’t be deceived by the headline, McQuillan will be ‘stabbing’ the First Minister before you know it

Another classic headline from the Herald attempts to locate blame in Scotland when it belongs in a Westminster department: Network Rail is an arm’s length public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Rail Continue reading Herald writer is dunce! Network rail is not Scottish

In the Herald today from the always reliable Tom Gordon: A FORMER SNP cabinet minister has warned his party risks alienating its working class base by ignoring pleas for another independence referendum and prioritising gender politics. Kenny MacAskill, the former justice secretary and current MP for East Lothian, warned not to treat traditional supporters “with contempt” or look down on them as “the Great Unwoke”. I hesitate, but only for a minute or two, because I admire Kenny MacAskill. He’s a fine researcher and writer on Scottish working-class life and especially protest, but on this, he’s in a bubble, the Holyrood … Continue reading Gender politics is not alienating the SNP’s working class base