Tag: travel

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Scotland subsidises its ferries far more than any other country, subsidises island life far more than any other part and the Mull service is 98% reliable for half empty vehicle decks!

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Depopulation is one of the biggest population that the Hebrides faces (sic) and not having a functioning ferry service only exacerbates that. You know, To try and live your life where you cannot come and go when you need to, that is why many people now decide they cannot live out their lives in the Hebrides. Joe Reade, from Somerset, Taster-in-Chief at the Island Bakery on Mull may be the man who first launched my research to find out how other countries did it after wondering himself if CalMac might be the ‘worst in the world.‘ I feel sure it … Continue reading Scotland subsidises its ferries far more than any other country, subsidises island life far more than any other part and the Mull service is 98% reliable for half empty vehicle decks!

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Citizens Theatre revamp only made possible by SNP Government’s £17.5 million and SNP Council’s £2 million

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BBC Scotland this morning reporting the Citizens Theatre revamp funds being made available last minute but with no time, it seems, to tell you who from. The Herald, also, making you work to find out, with: If YOU have the time, you can find, in the Herald report: The Scottish Government has signed off another multi-million pound bail-out for Glasgow’s 148-year-old Citizens Theatre to help meet the final costs of its long-delayed revamp. Ministers have approved another £3.5 million for the refurbishment, which reopened to the public last August after a seven-year closure, despite the project receiving an additional £8m from the government and … Continue reading Citizens Theatre revamp only made possible by SNP Government’s £17.5 million and SNP Council’s £2 million

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Affluent Washington State refuses to fund even starting the replacement of 50 year-old plus ferries and considers return of one at nearly 70!

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From the Washington State Standard: Budget writers in the Washington Legislature on Monday declared their intent to eventually buy more hybrid electric ferries to modernize the state ferry fleet.  But newly unveiled House and Senate transportation spending proposals left at the dock a $1 billion borrowing request from the governor to pay the tab, raising doubts about when and how a new shipyard order might happen. The budget plans would also further pause the conversion of existing diesel ferries to electric power. Washington State Ferries urgently needs more vessels — and more reliable vessels. The average age of the fleet is 35 … Continue reading Affluent Washington State refuses to fund even starting the replacement of 50 year-old plus ferries and considers return of one at nearly 70!

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‘Almost a decade after Grenfell’ and six Scottish tower block fires contained on one floor, every flat is safe here

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BBC Scotland, today, repeating the same misunderstanding. Impressively titled but otherwise not so much, Angus Cochrane ‘Senior political journalist, BBC Scotland‘, has not thought to look a the history of tower block fires in Scotland, building and inspection standards, before and after Grenfell, to see if, in the very country in which he lives, that might be informative. His report is a passive acceptance of the views of one unqualified person. Here it is the actual evidence again. First, for the time-pressed a short video: Second, the full story with sources: Scotland’s SIXTH tower block fire contained on one-floor further … Continue reading ‘Almost a decade after Grenfell’ and six Scottish tower block fires contained on one floor, every flat is safe here

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One third of English patients using private dentists because they have only half the level of access to NHS dentists in 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 In the Guardian today: Almost a third of people in England now use private dentistry, with a sharp rise in the number of poorer households forced to pay for fillings and extractions. The scarcity of NHS care means the proportion of people turning to private dental services jumped from 22% in 2023 to 32% late last year, the health service’s patient watchdog found. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/09/nhs-dental-crisis-private-dentist-patient-incease-england We’re hearing nothing even vaguely similar from the media in Scotland and you can be sure … Continue reading One third of English patients using private dentists because they have only half the level of access to NHS dentists in Scotland

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Golf-based therapy for veterans is latest addition to Scotland’s greater care for them through directness and universal benefits

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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 Help for veterans and families published yesterday: A scheme to help wounded or sick veterans recover their confidence through golf is among 30 projects to receive backing from the Scottish Veterans Fund. Veterans Minister Graeme Dey announced successful applicants to the £600,000 Scottish Veterans Fund on a visit to the On Course Foundation at Drumoig Golf Hotel in Fife. The fund, which the Scottish Government had committed to maintaining for the rest of the parliament was in … Continue reading Golf-based therapy for veterans is latest addition to Scotland’s greater care for them through directness and universal benefits

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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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As the deal is done to buy Ardrossan harbour, how these Tory ministers sold it to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain it, how 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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From STV in February 2026: Negotiations to bring Ardrossan Harbour into public ownership have been completed, the Transport Secretary has said.The facility is currently owned by Peel Ports, but has been sought by the Scottish Government’s ferry procurement arm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) since it became clear two new ferries serving the route between the mainland and the Isle of Arran would not be able to dock there. The Glen Sannox entered service last year with its sister ship, the Glen Rosa, due to be handed over at the end of 2026. As a result with the issues at … Continue reading As the deal is done to buy Ardrossan harbour, how these Tory ministers sold it to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain it, how 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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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?

johnrobertson834

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?