Tag: art

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BC Ferries in Canada – ancient vessels, mass cancellations, rocketing prices, near misses on rocks and a repair that only lasts 40 minutes

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BC Ferries, operating out of affluent Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada with a fleet of 41 vessels serving 47 ports is still running the above five large vessels aged 45 to 50 years. CalMac’s oldest large ferry, the MV Isle of Arran, aged 42, is currently being retired. Over the Easter weekend, there were ‘mass cancellations’ after two large vessels broke down1 and the Queen of Surrey (above) remains out of service2 after her first repair only lasted 40 minutes before she broke down again.3 Days later, we hear: BC Ferries is now recovering from its Easter long weekend issues, … Continue reading BC Ferries in Canada – ancient vessels, mass cancellations, rocketing prices, near misses on rocks and a repair that only lasts 40 minutes

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Water company customers in England to pay another £40m on top of already the highest prices and the worst quality in the UK but in Scotland…..?

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: From the Financial Times today: Five of Britain’s water companies spent £32.4mn on an appeal to the competition regulator that resulted in the utilities being able to raise customer bills even higher. Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, South East Water, Southern Water and Wessex Water argued that regulator Ofwat’s decision to allow them to increase consumer bills by an average of 24 per cent before inflation by 2030 was insufficient to cover their costs and attract investors to the industry. The appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority cost Anglian Water £9mn; South East Water £9mn; … Continue reading Water company customers in England to pay another £40m on top of already the highest prices and the worst quality in the UK but in Scotland…..?

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NHS Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many nurses, per capita, as NHS England every year yet the Royal College of Nursing is only campaigning against the SNP in Scotland in an election run-up

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The Herald and other press operating in Scotland today have this story from the Royal College of Nursing: Scotland is currently missing the equivalent of an entire year’s cohort of nursing students, with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warning that rapid action is necessary to address the declining number of people applying to study nursing. The RCN has stated that more than 3,500 fewer students have started nursing degrees over the last four years than the Scottish Government said were needed, leaving a gap that equals an entire annual intake. This “missing cohort” will impact hospitals, community services, and care settings for years to come. The RCN has urged politicians to take decisive action to promote nursing careers and support individuals who choose to study nursing, including providing clear pathways for career progression and stronger financial support for students. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26009297.nurses-stark-warning-parties-entire-years-cohort-missing/ It’s not on the BBC Scotland News website but I’m guessing that Reporting Scotland Down and Good Mourning Scotland broadcasts will be all over it. The RCN has nothing about nurse recruitment in England and yet: The Scotsman in February 2025 was front-paging Alarm over fresh drop in applicants for nurses course based on a 2% reduction in applications, from 4 650 to 4 560, six months before ‘clearing’ processes in the week and months before courses start, can fill the missing places. The ‘alarm’ was from a … Continue reading NHS Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many nurses, per capita, as NHS England every year yet the Royal College of Nursing is only campaigning against the SNP in Scotland in an election run-up

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A resident of Islay is frustrated despite services running normally because…they gave Barra a loan of his new boat!

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it’s redeploying the island’s new ferry to a different route, amid widespread disruption across the West coast network. The MV Isle of Islay only started serving the island’s route last week, but today it will be redeployed to Barra to restore a normal service there. The ferry operator says the MV Alfred will move to cover Islay as a second vessel alongside the MV Finlaggan from tomorrow afternoon. The above is in Reporting Scotland’s wee half-hourly inserts in BBC Breakfast (6-9am) this morning but not, so far, in full on their website, so I cannot see who all these ‘resident’s … Continue reading A resident of Islay is frustrated despite services running normally because…they gave Barra a loan of his new boat!

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How Scotland’s schools have played the major role in keeping thousands of pupils safe and making sure County Lines gangs membership is an England-only phenomenon

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In the Sunday Times today, the above video, and: The UK’s county lines networks have evolved into a sophisticated business model that thrives on the exploitation of the young. David Collins, Northern Editor of The Sunday Times, and David Woode, Crime Editor of The Times, go inside a police disruption unit in North Yorkshire to witness high-stakes raids targeting the “line holders” who pull the strings from a single mobile phone. Beyond the arrests, they uncover a disturbing tactical shift where gangs use the Modern Slavery Act as a legal shield for their recruits. It is a portrait of a … Continue reading How Scotland’s schools have played the major role in keeping thousands of pupils safe and making sure County Lines gangs membership is an England-only phenomenon

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As the International Council of Nurses calls for investment how Labour Government slashed nurse training in England while ‘resilient’ NHS Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the Guardian yesterday: Howard Catton of the International Council of Nurses calls for a co-investment mechanism in global nursing education. Your report on the 93% fall in overseas nurses (Drop in overseas workers is ‘car crash’ for UK hospitals and care homes, say experts, 26 February) lays bare how dependent the UK has become on international recruitment. When visa policy shifts can trigger warnings of an “impending car crash”, it shows a workforce model built on fragility, not resilience. Is … Continue reading As the International Council of Nurses calls for investment how Labour Government slashed nurse training in England while ‘resilient’ NHS Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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Bitter thegither? Another plague courtesy of brutal gangs from England into small-town Scotland

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC Tayside and Central today, the above and: Police Scotland has targeted a number of suspected brothels across Stirling and Falkirk as part of a national strategy to address prostitution and sexual exploitation. The BBC was given exclusive access to a raid and witnessed officers simultaneously entering a business and a flat where they carried out searches and seized items. Officers have also undertaken welfare visits to speak to people they believe are involved in prostitution, and … Continue reading Bitter thegither? Another plague courtesy of brutal gangs from England into small-town Scotland

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Only 20 years after ‘Scotland was one of the most unsafe countries to live in’, polls reveal Scots worry less about crime than in any other part of Europe

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Today, pollster Ipsos are reporting that across Europe, people worry more about crime and violence than anything else, climbing above other concerns from early 2025. Here’s the trend. It may be that for some of the above 30 countries crime and violence is not the number one concern but I can see no data to explore, for that. In Ipsos Scotland‘s most recent poll, December 2025, Crime and anti-social behaviour/law and order was eighth, at 20% and had … Continue reading Only 20 years after ‘Scotland was one of the most unsafe countries to live in’, polls reveal Scots worry less about crime than in any other part of Europe

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These Tory ministers sold profitable harbours like Ardrossan to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain them, Labour then did nothing and now the SNP Government is blamed for not buying it back and repairing it quick enough?

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON For more than two years now Scotland’s media have been blaming the Scottish Government for problems at Ardrossan harbour and it’s Arran ferry service. Little media coverage has targeted the owners, a Manchester billionaire. How did we get here? I asked AI, carefully. Today, known as Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind and The Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market, these men above, were successively secretaries of State for Scotland, at the time, driven by PM John Major’s ongoing Thatcherite sell-offs, who managed the … Continue reading These Tory ministers sold profitable harbours like Ardrossan to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain them, Labour then did nothing and now the SNP Government is blamed for not buying it back and repairing it quick enough?

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Dog attacks on farm animals in Scotland plummet 28% to only half, per head, of those increasing across ‘UK’ but NFU Mutual misreads simple sums to say they’re ‘alarming’ here

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in dog attacks last year. NFU Mutual is urging dog owners to be responsible ahead of lambing season. The rural insurer says attacks are down 28% compared to 2024, but farmers are asking owners to stop their dogs chasing pregnant ewes and new born lambs. Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. BBC Scotland above open with that puzzling sequence, putting a wee survey ahead of statistics. Then Hannah Binns of the insurer ignores the reduction to tell us about her survey, which found that one in ten owners said their dog had no recall, but 57% are letting … Continue reading Dog attacks on farm animals in Scotland plummet 28% to only half, per head, of those increasing across ‘UK’ but NFU Mutual misreads simple sums to say they’re ‘alarming’ here