BBC Scotland and the Herald, predictably, leaped gleefully on the apparent rebuttal of the story that UK PPE suppliers were refusing to deliver to Scottish care homes because English ones had the greater need, but before they could sit down, everything changed again. In the morning Jason Leitch had provided them with the headline they so wanted but by midday his boss, the FM, was saying something quite different. She said they would be investigating the claims and, ominously: ‘Any situation where supplies were being diverted from one part of the UK to the other without consultation or any sense … Continue reading Update: FIVE REASONS why the ‘PPE discrimination against Scotland’ reports are NOT rubbish!

I just knew it. That former nurse Jeane Freeman’s lack of experience in bean-counting means she has gone too far in trying to save lives. She means well. Anyhow, here’s a sneak preview of tonight’s BBC Scotland Disclosure: ‘Does Scotland need a bit of English Cavalier Spirit to survive in the modern world?’ Jackson Carlaw: ‘Would you buy a car from that wee lassie in chage of the budget now?’ George Foulkes: ‘The SNP are saving lives and they’re doing it on purpose!’ Willie Rennie: ‘I know at least two old folk whose lives were not saved. What about them … Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: On BBC Scotland tonight! Jackson Carlaw accuses SNP of massive waste of public money! George Foulkes repeats himself

On a day when the number of coronavirus deaths fell, for the fourth day consecutively and when cases also fell dramatically, Reporting Scotland went for a genre you might label ‘Gothic’ or ‘Scottish Miserabilism.’ They also, heroically, managed not to mention Dr MacAskill of Care Scotland who had announced than UK suppliers of PPE were ‘prioritising’ English care homes over Scottish ones as ‘their need was greater!’ This was despite Radio Scotland, Radio 4 News and BBC 1 News reporting it. They certainly didn’t consider the possibility strongly suggested by the Radio 4 report that Dominic Raab was responsible for … Continue reading ‘Amid the light there is darkness’ and its name is David Henderson, the Grim Reporter

We heard the story from Dr Macaskill CE of Care Scotland, in Radio Scotland’s Kaye Adams show at 09:40am and on Radio 4 News at 6pm. We’d all love to have seen Kay’s face when he ‘fed the Nats’ on one of Her Majesty’s shows. Her hypocritically, pro-Indy logic was a shock when she asked him snippily, to paraphrase for comedic effect here: ‘Have you no got yer ain suppliers here in Scotland?’ Then we hear it again on the UK News at 10pm, but ‘Flagship’ TV News Reporting Scotland won’t touch this. Once more their bias by omission was … Continue reading BBC 1 tells us PPE makers are prioritising orders from England leaving stocks in Scotland low but Reporting Scotland miss the story again!

From Brian McGowan: We are continually tempted to compare Scotland’s management of the Corona Virus outbreak with England’s. People are dying daily, and it may seem like an attempt to score points, but comparisons are often valuable in deciding how to make your own personal judgements. The recruitment drive for additional health staff in both countries creates a contrasting picture. For example, Scotland‘s biggest Health Board – Greater Glasgow & Clyde – has recently recruited a further 2545 staff to support its efforts to combat the effects of the virus. This from Ann McPherson, HR Director for NHSGGC: The 2,545 … Continue reading Coronavirus: NHS Scotland recruits new staff and NHS England uses UK taxpayers’ money to hire sometimes reliable private contractors

Thanks again to Clydebuilt for this feed’ On BBC Radio 4 at 6:10 PM: ‘Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the daily press conference that 16 millions items of PPE had been delivered over the Bank Holiday weekend and said there was a specific focus on getting equipment to care homes in England [emphasis]….While in Scotland, concerns have been raised about the ability of care-workers to get protective equipment after four of the largest manufacturers of equipment for PPE in the UK said that they’re prioritising deliveries to England where the need is greatest.’ It doesn’t take much to join up … Continue reading ANOTHER SHOCK: Did Dominic Raab tell UK suppliers of PPE ‘The need is greatest’ in English not Scottish care homes as a tsunami of death looms?

Number 1 in Reddit Scotland, for the first time ever. A pwoud pwoud moment as Sir Alex might say. There are many comments below the link including one from Dr Macaskill but no sign of the company names. Some comments are blunt. Continue reading Number 1, above the Euromillions advert and the shortbread recipe!

I don’t often see the advertising which you all do but sometimes if I look in from another device, I do. As traffic on this site surges, it occurs to me that not all of the advertising revenue should be hoovered up by WordPress. I don’t get a penny, just the free use of the software. I hope nobody thought I did. With 10 000 views per day, these days, maybe it’s worth enough to consider trying to get a share of it and pass it on to some other pro-Indy project or charity. As far as I can see … Continue reading Advertising Revenue

From April 9th when there were a shocking 81 new deaths, the number of fatalities has fallen to 48, then 47, then 24 yesterday and now 9 today. As for new cases, the last 24 hours saw one of the lowest numbers for some time with only 155, down from 322 on the previous day and at roughly that level for the previous two, and reinforcing the idea that we have moved just beyond the peak. The 211 in intensive care is also down by 10 and is day 10 in a flat sequence around that level. This is an … Continue reading Coronavirus cases and deaths fall again

From stewartb: Sometimes little things may reveal ingrained attitudes. Over the weekend the Moderator of the Church of Scotland responded to a letter to the Kirk by William, the prince AKA Earl of Strathearn. We learn from BBC News: ‘His Royal Highness was due to be Lord High Commissioner at this year’s General Assembly, before it had to be cancelled because of Covid-19.’ This is from the Moderator’s response: “The Church of Scotland is sorry not to be able to welcome him back to Scotland, where he went to university, but we appreciate him taking time to write to us … Continue reading Not strictly speaking the ‘Scottish Cringe’ but still a bit cringey?