By Golfnut, Ferry Correspondent I’m not sure what fond memories Neil Arthur [in the Herald letters page yesterday] has of the ‘ service ‘ in bygone days, but I can assure you they’ve never had it so good. They’ve lost the service to the Isle of Man and Ireland but they were provided by different companies and presumably we’re discontinued in the modern era as financially unviable. The current 2 ship service dates back to 2004 and that service provision would have quickly disappeared had the Scottish government not introduced subsidies which 1, kept the service provision viable and 2, … Continue reading Exclusive Ferry Factcheck – Arran islanders ‘have never had it so good!’

By Professor John Robertson From BBC Scotland, in what must be an unauthorised ‘Scotland is the best‘ report by a junior reporter not yet ‘inducted‘: Police Scotland is considering a request to send 120 officers to Northern Ireland following several nights of anti-immigration riots in Belfast and other parts of the UK. Jon Boutcher, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), said his officers were exhausted and could not “stand alone to deal with disorder like this any more”. Mr Boutcher said the PSNI needed support as it had been allowed to “decay” in recent years. The … Continue reading BBC Scotland leak reveals only Scotland has the lower crime levels, the complete absence of riots and the police staffing levels to be able to help other countries…..after 17 years of the SNP in charge

In the Herald today, regular contributor, Neil Arthur (78), well-known Arran Ferry Committee member and strangely blind to the far better service than the one he seems to remember as a boy, is allowed to suggest: It’s clear that Scotland’s ferries system is broken beyond repair I’ll say it again, CalMac is running the world’s best ferry service for cost, reliability and safety. Proof – read these: For the fully-sourced facts, see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=CalMac For the fully-sourced facts, see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=CalMac For the fully-sourced facts, see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=CalMac Arran specifically? In August 2023, CalMac has typically made between 14 and 16 crossings per day between Ardrossan … Continue reading Why the people of Arran should be delighted with the best ferry service in the world

From New Zealand Radio today: Troubled Interislander ferry Aratere was damaged berthing into Wellington Harbour about 3.30pm on Thursday, Wellington’s harbourmaster confirmed to RNZ. There is a hole in the hull but it is high on the ship, and no injuries are reported. KiwiRail said in a statement that while docking in strong winds, the ferry made contact with the link span, the dock ramp which allowed vehicles to access the vessel. Docking in high winds? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1kY_COMeXc Only one month ago, the same ferry ran aground: From 1News 10th July 2024: Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground after a button was “inadvertently pressed”, sending … Continue reading Same New Zealand ferry runs aground and then only weeks later hits a harbour wall due to ‘strong winds’ – cue CalMac Ardrossan video?

By Professor John Robertson Slightly? Only if you understand percentages of large populations about as well as 11 year-olds before you teach them and, remarkably, if you have not read your own results below. From, I have to say, properly done research by the General Medical Council today, evidence of significantly better conditions for doctors in Scotland. That 25% gap between the satisfied and dissatisfied in Scotland is massive because it’s 25% of more than 20 000 doctors (see below from the BMA) or around 5 000 doctors: As of December 2023, there were 16,733 doctors working in secondary care in … Continue reading General Medical Council confirms Scottish doctors doing not slightly but significantly better

In the Daily Record yesterday with no image of the members: Violent riots across UK could be seen in Scotland as group announces planned protest. The Scottish Defence Group has also organised similar events in Aberdeen, East Kilbride, Glasgow and Greenock for this weekend. When you search for the Scottish Defence Group, Google has a Monty Python moment and gives up quickly on them before suggesting the Scottish Defence League (above in Glasgow in 2009) and the Scottish Defence Force. There’s no People’s Defence League of Scotland or……. Are they different or are they just changing their name after every … Continue reading Scottish Defence League…naw, Group….naw Force sounds better!

The Herald and others are covering this Police Scotland report today. I appreciate that it’s too early for us to hear where the two arrested are from but you can be sure they’re not from Lockerbie or Giffnock. There’s a positive here, perhaps. Is Police Scotland using its cars to set up a pre-independence, hardish border, stopping suspect cars on the main routes into Scotland? County lines gangs from English cities used child-couriers on the railways to carry drugs as far north as Wick. Are the British Transport Police doing something similar? Well, now that you ask: Wouldn’t that be … Continue reading £1.1 million drugs seized from a car travelling north at J17 Lockerbie – I wonder where they were coming from to feed Scotland’s drug death problem?

BBC Scotland haven’t noticed this yet but they will. Maybe they’re waiting for the Herald to write up a quick piece first as they did last year to misleadingly suggest a crisis here.. Look at that map! Scotland looks like the seventh most anti-semitic part of the UK but I know you know what’s misleading about it. Scotland’s unified police force means all the cases are added up when, back in the day, there might have been 22 in Glasgow, 12 in Edinburgh, 3 in Dundee and Aberdeen and zero across the rest of the map of Scotland. Here are … Continue reading When will BBC Scotland’s under-educated reporters delight in this map suggesting Scotland is one of the most antisemitic areas in UK?

By Leah Gunn Barrett You’ve got to hand it to the MOD. It has a knack for coming up with alliterative ‘killer’ names for its rust-bucket class of nuclear subs that have been stuck in port, mostly in Scotland, for over a year, polluting our waters.  The Royal Navy’s newest class of ‘hunter-killer’ subs, codenamed ‘Astute’, are anything but. HMS ‘Ambush’ hasn’t sailed for 2 years. HMS ‘Audacious’ is grounded in Devonport. HMS ‘Artful’ has been stranded at His Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde for 14 months along with HMS ‘Astute’. A crane to lift the subs from the water at Faslane … Continue reading Nuclear subs that have been stuck in port, mostly in Scotland, for over a year, polluting our waters

With a little research anyone can establish the tiny or non-existent Scottish membership of the right-wing groups organising the riots in England. You’ll find the figures here: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2021/07/05/neil-troubles-mackays-big-nightmare-the-inside-story-of-scotlands-teeny-far-right/ They don’t have the critical mass to organise a tutorial. What do the experts say, BBC Scotland? Police Scotland wishes to reassure communities that there is no intelligence indicating similar incidents are likely in Scotland. We continue to liaise with a range of partners to maintain this level of reassurance. Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton, Policing Together said: “We understand that these recent events may cause concern, that is why we have … Continue reading BBC Scotland twice failing – warning when there is no risk (riots) and not warning when there is a very real one (drug gang violence)