In the Herald today, contributing to the BBC campaign to close Scotland’s schools and force Swinney’s resignation, we read of one parent planning to keep her autistic son home because he is so anxious. I’m sure we can all empathise. It must be a very difficult time for her. As someone who in my younger years might have been put on that spectrum, I know that crippling anxiety is one of the worst symptoms. Hopefully the school will be able to offer some blended learning to compensate for the time missed. Perhaps the Herald and BBC Scotland could consider doing … Continue reading SNP return to school strategy ‘in tatters’ as ONE in ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY pupils is kept home by understandably anxious parent

Former Tory SPAD, Andy Maciver headlining in the Herald today with the above, writes: THERE was a time when I wanted to be a Member of the Scottish Parliament. I wanted to do the job for the same reason that most MSPs want to do the job: I thought I could change public policy for the better, and help to create better lives for more people. I’d be lying if I told you all that I don’t still feel twinges from time to time, urging me to weigh in. However the notion now only invades my personal space after a … Continue reading Carlaw, Fraser, Davidson, Tomkins, Leonard, Kelly, Lennon, Baillie, Rennie? No? You want Swinney? You sure? Folk will laugh.

From Brenda Steele, Northern Correspondent: The latest offering from those Common Weal Types: https://sourcenews.scot/social-care-from-a-crisis-to-a-catastrophe/ The latest Common Weal paper by leading care expert Nick Kempe, ‘Lessons Learned?’, examines data from the Care Inspectorate, the body responsible for monitoring social care standards in Scotland, about the state of play in care homes five months after the pandemic crisis began. The sub-title is: Two thousand deaths later, has infection control in care homes improved? Let us look at the author. https://commonweal.scot/policy-library/predictable-crisis Author Nick Kempe was Head of Service for Older People in Glasgow and, when seconded to Scotland Excel, developed national commissioning … Continue reading Bean Counting & Baloney: Common Wealing again

Listening to Kirsty Wark’s cawing voice last night, watching her, raven-black dress, stalk the city under its high corby-staned gables and then reflecting on this attempt to peck at the reputation of an elder statesman she and the BBC despise, who, of my generation, was not reminded of that ancient Scottish ballad, The Twa Corbies? The casting of Alex Salmond as the ‘new slain knight‘ about to have his eyes pecked out by a crow may not be perfect but everything else about the broadcast was so evocative of that scene. Leading corvid in this time of covid, Kirsty Wark … Continue reading Waark! ‘Oer his white banes, when they we bare, The wind sall blaw for evermair.’

It was less bad than I feared. The whole premise, of course, was wrong, unethical. This was an attempt to retry an innocent man by a media elite clearly feeling let down by the verdict from a majority female jury. We heard the accusers’ stories again at length and their emotive expressions of disbelief at the verdict. We hear nothing at all of who they are, of any character flaws they may have, but the accused’s former colleagues are allowed to air repeatedly his many supposed flaws as a man. Wark meets and chats with her own wee one-sided jury … Continue reading Kirsty Wark gives the accusers the last word in an innocent man’s second trial by media

Just in, from following the wrong lorry of calves all the way to Spain, letting private care home owners blame the Scottish Government and investigating pan-drop shortages among the elderly, Disclosure Scotland reveals the not-latest on Covid-19 outbreaks. Inverclyde: One case in the last 24 hours, two in the last seven days. I know, why not disclose why Scotland has had no Covid-19 deaths for 31 days now yet England has had hundreds? Continue reading BBC Scotland’s Disclosure Team keeping you up-to-date with the bad old days when the story suited their agenda better

From Insider today: Prestiwick Airport bounced back to an operating profit of £3 million after losing £1 million the previous year. The Scottish Government-owned Ayrshire site said revenue increased by 46% year-on-year to £36 million, up from £24.6 million. https://www.insider.co.uk/company-results-forecasts/prestwick-airport-bounces-back-pre-22534746 BBC Scotland’s Business pages have, in the past, been more interested in Prestwick Airport: Continue reading BBC Scotland Business misses news of Prestwick Airport’s £3 million profit

Echoing a comment by Health Secretary Freeman in a briefing some months ago, the First Minister has laid down a marker for any forthcoming inquiry. Care home owners were clearly advised to isolate new arrivals and will not be allowed to wriggle out of their responsibilities to try to transfer guilt onto hospital staff or Scottish Government advisers. Responding, today, to opposition parties clamouring for an inquiry which they hope will criticise the hospital discharges, we heard: Like me, many readers have wondered why the isolation of new arrivals or of any residents showing symptoms seemed to be particularly challenging … Continue reading First Minister: Care homes were warned to isolate discharged patients

There are around 700 000 pupils in Scotland’s schools. At the time of writing, 7 or 1 in 100 000, have been diagnosed as having Covid-19. My understanding is that 2 of them have not attended the schools. All 7 are thought to have been infected in their communities and there is no evidence of any spread of the virus within the schools. Despite this, our MSM is awash with excited accounts, of no informative value, only the potential, for unjustified anxiety and, of course, to feed opposition parties with something they can use to cast doubt on the ‘SNP … Continue reading SHOCK as fewer than ONE in ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND pupils have Covid-19

It’s an image never far from the minds of Herald or BBC reporters, handy for any imagined crisis in NHS Scotland and particularly useful, they think, if babies or old folk have died. The Tusker’s followers south of the border tell us they are shocked to see this approach to reporting and that BBC England has been very effective in making sure that most of their neighbours have no idea who is responsible for anything down there. The Herald report is, of course, just the Sunday Post report, regurgitated, so the same evidence to rebut it will do. Apologies to … Continue reading Health Secretary demonised again to satisfy opposition parties’ bloodlust