Tag: travel

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Farage divides the Scottish opposition vote to help the SNP win

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Professor John Robertson, Oliver Brown Award 2022, (Just after Sean Connery in 2012!) From my January 2025 column in Scots Independent, 99 years old this year (The paper not me!), non-party-aligned, on old-fashioned paper, to your door. The Story So Far November 1926 saw the launch, under the auspices of the Scots National League, of a new monthly Nationalist newspaper entitled The Scots Independent. Father and son, William and Ian Gillies, along with Tom H Gibson as Business Manager, set in motion what has proved to be, the longest surviving political newspaper in Scotland in the Twentieth Century — into … Continue reading Farage divides the Scottish opposition vote to help the SNP win

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NHS Scotland coping with THREE TIMES as many flu cases as Scotland shivers under Labour UK fuel allowance cuts and price increases

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From BBC Health, this morning: There is deep concern at a senior level in the NHS about rising rates of flu. The number of patients in hospital with flu continues to climb, according to latest NHS figures in England. Last week, the numbers averaged 5,407 a day – up from just under 4,500 the week before. As we mentioned a moment ago, the numbers in hospital have risen again over the past week, with nearly 5,000 beds occupied on average last week by patients struggling with the virus. NHS England’s emergency care director Prof Julian Redhead says there are no … Continue reading NHS Scotland coping with THREE TIMES as many flu cases as Scotland shivers under Labour UK fuel allowance cuts and price increases

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Sky News try to push the child grooming scandal north of the border with one Scot* out of thousands of victims

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Amazingly, Sky News and, I hear, Channel 4 News find a woman in Glasgow to talk about her experience of being groomed and raped. *That this took place in Glasgow, ten years ago or so, is not confirmed. It’s an amazing find. Until the recent (2002) abuse of 4 children of primary school age in Glasgow by 7 men, there is no report of anything like a ‘grooming’ gang with multiple victims in Scotland. Channel 4’s FACTCHECK in August 2014, makes no mention of Scotland or Glasgow, only: By date of conviction, we have evidence of such exploitation taking place … Continue reading Sky News try to push the child grooming scandal north of the border with one Scot* out of thousands of victims

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Major Canadian privatised ferry company persisting with far older fleet because it needs to pay bonuses and dividends, had to spend far more on maintenance than CalMac

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Thanks to JB for this link. From BC Ferries (Canada) January 31st 2024, the above aging fleet. CalMac has no large ferries over 50, only the about to be retired MV Isle of Arran at 41. All of the others are less than 40 and only five are over 25. There are six new larger ferries, built on the Clyde and in Turkey, due in service within the next year or so. BC Ferries will have none before 2030. BC Ferries has spent more than $130m on maintenance in the last 5 years, so perhaps $260m in the 10 years … Continue reading Major Canadian privatised ferry company persisting with far older fleet because it needs to pay bonuses and dividends, had to spend far more on maintenance than CalMac

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Ford Fiasco as Guardian reveals Scotland’s ferries cost ‘eye wateringly’ less to maintain than the average family car

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I know, I’ve done this already but seeing it in the Guardian, the newspaper of academics and professionals, is a further example of their jaundiced and/or ill-informed coverage when it comes to Scotland but, usefully, prompts me to check if that is actually a lot to spend on maintenance. So, here we go, more sums, stay with me, Primary 5-level sums. The average family car: The average large ferry: Thus, average family car annual maintenance, per passenger, per mile, costs 2p, 7.14 times that of the average large ferry, per passenger per mile. Continue reading Ford Fiasco as Guardian reveals Scotland’s ferries cost ‘eye wateringly’ less to maintain than the average family car

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CalMac ferries don’t cost ‘ferry much’ to keep in service!!!!

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Mr Robertson, Primary 7, Room 12 The Herald’s Craig Paton (14?) wrote the above. Nope, me neither. Other media are having a slavering, low-intellect, feast on that huge £100 million figure that he’s built up. The average 11 year-old would be shocked at the idiocy and mendacity. Note, it’s ‘repair’ not ‘maintenance?’ Drip, drip, drip…. Anyhow, class: If it costs £100 million to maintain 8 ferries for 10 years, how much did it cost to maintain 1 ferry, on average each year? Bobby – Easy! Easy! 2 minutes later, Bobby has it, £0.125 million or 125 000. Sounds a lot, … Continue reading CalMac ferries don’t cost ‘ferry much’ to keep in service!!!!

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Isle of Wight ferry firm Red Funnel does ‘one day diddle’ to conceal ‘everyone taking a large cut out of the dividend’

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From Isle of Wight County Press today: Questions continue to be asked about the finances of Red Funnel after the Isle of Wight ferry firm shortened its accounting reference period for 2022/2023, by one day. It is the third time in two years the company has filed for what is colloquially known as a ‘one day diddle’. It means the cross-Solent operator has yet to publish its financial results for the 2022/2023 financial year. Red Funnel failed to respond to the County Press’s questions, asking why it had shortened the date. https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/24833333.isle-wight-ferry-firm-red-funnel-questioned-accounting-change/ Why might they do that? The Press offers: According to data intelligence company Red Flag Alert, … Continue reading Isle of Wight ferry firm Red Funnel does ‘one day diddle’ to conceal ‘everyone taking a large cut out of the dividend’

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Canadian Government has to buy wee Norwegian ferry second-hand for private company operating only 3 and losing 2, at last minute, and sail it round the warmer, calmer edges of the Atlantic for a month and 10 000 miles

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From CBC, today: New ferry for beleaguered P.E.I.-N.S. service making its way across Atlantic Ocean – The much-anticipated ferry slated for service between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., is crossing the Atlantic Ocean on its way to the Maritimes, Transport Canada says. The ferry, which has been renamed MV Northumberland from MV Fanafjord, was acquired by Transport Canada on Dec. 12. It began its voyage from Norway to Canada on Dec. 23. The federal government paid about $40 million for the vessel. To avoid risks posed by winter conditions in the North Atlantic, the ferry moved south toward Cape Verde, off … Continue reading Canadian Government has to buy wee Norwegian ferry second-hand for private company operating only 3 and losing 2, at last minute, and sail it round the warmer, calmer edges of the Atlantic for a month and 10 000 miles

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Factcheck – 90% satisfied with SNP nationalised sleeper train service, complaints and cancellations plummet but media pochle the figures and turn the news on its head to keep you down

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Only after 13 paragraphs in the Telegraph report, headed Caledonian Sleeper receives nearly 1,000 complaints since SNP took over, and with 5 full paragraphs of a Scottish Conservatives tirade, the facts, missed by 90% of readers: But Transport Scotland, the SNP Government’s transport agency, said: “The latest ORR passenger satisfaction results show that almost 90 per cent of Caledonian Sleeper guests were satisfied with their overall experience, with complaints (934) representing just 0.2 per cent of the almost 400,000 journeys made since the Caledonian Sleeper came into public sector control. “Indeed, the latest ORR figures also show that complaints were … Continue reading Factcheck – 90% satisfied with SNP nationalised sleeper train service, complaints and cancellations plummet but media pochle the figures and turn the news on its head to keep you down

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The Herald asks ‘Was NHS Scotland right not to prioritise longest waiters?’ What, instead of those who are on the 18-week list because they might die? Is that a tough one?

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald’s Helen McCardle asks that first question above then proceeds to circle around it with a mass of information and comment, ending up by claiming: The above needs the addition – ‘but at what cost in lives?’ So, after the pandemic, NHS England’s two-year waiting list for those with life-diminishing but not life-threatening conditions, such as arthritis, was cleared but Scotland’s was not. How did they do that? The NHS has spent a record £12.3billion outsourcing patients to private hospitals to try to clear waiting lists, figures show. Official data reveals a 12 per cent increase over the past … Continue reading The Herald asks ‘Was NHS Scotland right not to prioritise longest waiters?’ What, instead of those who are on the 18-week list because they might die? Is that a tough one?