Tag: europe

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A million more tourists in one year, outperforming the UK, as people head north away from the burning to make Scotland the new Monaco, but BBC Scotland miss this real trend too

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Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA From the Observer, yesterday: It may not offer a reliable tan, but Scotland has become the place to be this summer – midges and all. The most recent figures on Scottish tourism are from 2023, when almost 4 million international visitors set a new record. And Jill Walker, director of marketing and digital at VisitScotland, says early 2024 figures surpassed this by almost half a million, with anecdotal reports from this summer suggesting no slowdown. https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/manic-in-the-glen-why-the-world-has-gone-wild-for-scotland-this-year From Daily Business in October 2024: There were 1,975,000 … Continue reading A million more tourists in one year, outperforming the UK, as people head north away from the burning to make Scotland the new Monaco, but BBC Scotland miss this real trend too

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Water shortages – Scotland lazily added to the picture as England faces the ‘jaws of death’

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Professor John Robertson OBA Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Maybe I/we should just ignore this kind of thing as once more a nice, young, liberal, educated Guardian writer, yesterday, revealed the underlying Anglocentrism of their mindset. There’s not a mention of Scotland despite its inclusion as also dry and cracking in the illustration. Even I know that with only a word or two your AI illustrator could have made the map just England if you have no intention of mentioning the other three parts of the Union. Why might she have … Continue reading Water shortages – Scotland lazily added to the picture as England faces the ‘jaws of death’

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The slavering feeding frenzy on Scotland’s west coast ferry system is a ‘never-ending storm of deception’

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Professor John Robertson OBA The slavering feeding frenzy on Scotland’s west coast ferry system is a ‘never-ending storm of deception’ in places like the Herald and the Scotsman, today above: Passengers on one of CalMac ’s busiest routes are facing a “never-ending storm of disruption” by being forced to switch several times between ports 15 miles apart. They’re talking about the Arran ferry which thanks to a failure to maintain and improve Ardrossan harbour, owned by a millionaire Manchester billionaire, cannot take the new larger Glen Sannox ferry. The nature of the ‘disruption’ is not clear but elsewhere has been … Continue reading The slavering feeding frenzy on Scotland’s west coast ferry system is a ‘never-ending storm of deception’

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One Canadian city with 50% more GDP than the whole of Scotland gets round to planning to replace 90 year-old ferry, more than twice the age of CalMac’s oldest large ferry

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Professor John Robertson OBA From NSAUGA ONTARIO LOCAL NEWS, two days ago, The above image and: Anyone who regularly travels to the Toronto Islands to enjoy a day at Centreville, the beach or the adorable (and hidden-ish) Franklin the Turtle Children’s Garden knows that the ferry (even if delayed) is part of the fun. Now, the city is working to replace its aging ferry fleet with sleek, new electric vessels.  Recently, the City of Toronto announced that construction has started at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal in the city’s downtown core. While the construction and ferry upgrades won’t happen overnight, … Continue reading One Canadian city with 50% more GDP than the whole of Scotland gets round to planning to replace 90 year-old ferry, more than twice the age of CalMac’s oldest large ferry

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Isle of Wight ferry users have been paying far more than Scots for 75 years now!

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Professor John Robertson OBA, Honest Ferry Correspondent From Isle of Wight County Press, yesterday: 75 years ago, in May 1950: The cost of ferry fares were a source of grievance. Mr. H. Frohock, of St. Alban’s guest house, Shanklin, sent a letter to the County Press asking why it cost £3 to cross the Solent, when it only cost 5s (25p) to cross the Firth of Forth. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/island-ferries-a-source-of-grievance-50-years-ago/ar-AA1FRdHy?ocid=BingNewsVerp 12 times more expensive! Things have actually improved relatively for the folk travelling to the Isle of Wight. It’s only 4 times more expensive these days. See: ‘Ferry cost stopped us booking a holiday to … Continue reading Isle of Wight ferry users have been paying far more than Scots for 75 years now!

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Portuguese ferry company buys 10 electric ferries but only 1 battery, then the wrong batteries, then discovers the cannot cope with tides

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Professor John Robertson OBA, European Ferry Correspondent From Portugal Resident today: Agonising months of ups and downs with Lisbon’s electric ferry fleet have found a new explanation, if not any useful solution: they were not constructed for the work they are currently struggling to perform. “They should be sailing on lakes”, writes tabloid Correio da Manhã today. Tidal rivers like the Tejo are thus proving exceptionally challenging – as ferry passengers have found out to their intense frustration. Back in 2021, the €52.4 million purchase of 10 electric ferries quickly ran into trouble when it became clear that the state-owned Transtejo ferry … Continue reading Portuguese ferry company buys 10 electric ferries but only 1 battery, then the wrong batteries, then discovers the cannot cope with tides

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Scotland’s drinking water is the best in Europe and is ranked second in the world but not reported by ‘our’ media?

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By JB In February 2025 the Medical Travel Insurance specialists at AllClear released a report analyzing more than 2,000 Reddit comments identifying the most frequently mentioned destinations for the best-tasting tap water on Earth.  “After reviewing all the comments, the team found that Scotland was the most frequently mentioned destination in Europe and the second most mentioned location in the world. The report noted that travelers particularly praise the water from the Highlands and lochs, particularly Loch Katrine, for its “bottled-water taste.”  The Best Tap Water in the World, According to Reddit The best-tasting tap water in the world – AllClear Travel … Continue reading Scotland’s drinking water is the best in Europe and is ranked second in the world but not reported by ‘our’ media?

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On Malta, timetables are purely expressions of intent – ferries leave when they are ready and if the gangway has not fallen into the sea

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By JB Didn’t see this across ‘our’ media, after all The herald and STV, are shouting about “new direct flights from Glasgow to ‘fantastic’ holiday destination” Glasgow Airport sees new twice-weekly Malta flight launched | The Herald Ryanair announces new direct flights to Malta | STV News People stranded at Gozo fast ferry terminals after gangway falls in sea. No politician, no MP, no council, no councillor, no government or government official and no ferry operator blamed.  From The Times of Malta 2 March 2025. People stranded at Gozo fast ferry terminals after gangway falls in sea  Voyages were cancelled … Continue reading On Malta, timetables are purely expressions of intent – ferries leave when they are ready and if the gangway has not fallen into the sea

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It’s not a scare story, it’s fact – essential PPE supplies during Covid were prioritised by UK Government for England and denied to care homes in Scotland yet, later, we helped them out

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks once again to AR for alerting me to this. Ignored, of course, by BBC Scotland and somewhat downplayed by STV in ‘Scotland didn’t have a Covid PPE VIP lane and we didn’t need one’ at https://news.stv.tv/politics/scotland-didnt-have-a-covid-ppe-vip-lane-and-we-didnt-need-one, this is a shocking revelation of how, when the going got tough, Scotland did not benefit from the Union but, rather, was actively harmed by it. The above short video is a must watch and share for any who doubt the true nature of Scotland’s position in the UK. Nearly 5 years ago we knew this but the ‘Scottish’ … Continue reading It’s not a scare story, it’s fact – essential PPE supplies during Covid were prioritised by UK Government for England and denied to care homes in Scotland yet, later, we helped them out

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Increased demand but still NHS Scotland can do 97% of ops on time

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland, today: During December 2024, there were 22,073 operations planned to take place across NHS Scotland. This is 7.4% higher than the number planned a year previously in December 2023 (20,558) Of all planned operations … Continue reading Increased demand but still NHS Scotland can do 97% of ops on time