GREWDOG

I’ve never liked the taste of any BREWDOG beers but the latest news from this company, confirms my distaste for the owner and his business culture. In the business news site, Insider, today: BrewDog has been criticised for sacking an Asian woman after she complained about members of the English Defence League (EDL) meeting in the London bar she worked at. Members of the far right group met unchallenged at the Scottish brewer’s flagship bar at Waterloo, ahead of a St George’s Day rally. https://www.insider.co.uk/news/brewdog-sacks-asian-worker-after-33125447 The EDL: Kind of puts the England beer cans into perspective but this tolerance of … Continue reading GREWDOG

Tentacles of English drug gangs using children to fuel Scotland’s drug deaths reaches into every corner, even wee towns like Tarves in Aberdeenshire

I know Tarves. A small, just over one thousand population town/village, only half an hour bus journey away from Aberdeen’s railway station. Why the railway station? County Lines drug, child abuse and people trafficking, gangs send their young dealers and armed enforcers into the heart of smaller ‘county’ towns, by rail. In these towns they ‘cuckoo’ vulnerable adults, moving into their homes to deal drugs at lower cost than local dealers can, backed up by threats and attacks at a level of violence previously unseen. Children as young as 11 have been known to be bullied into working as dealers. … Continue reading Tentacles of English drug gangs using children to fuel Scotland’s drug deaths reaches into every corner, even wee towns like Tarves in Aberdeenshire

The plague of English drug gangs terrorising Scotland that cannot be named strikes Falkirk

According to Police Scotland, two years ago, there were around 50 County Lines drugs, child sex and trafficking, gang groups, based in England, now operating in Scottish towns, from Fraserburgh to Dumfries. Only Auchinleck/Cumnock seems to have driven them out, when locals rioted against a Bradford-based group and burned their base, last November. See: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2023/11/29/locals-confirm-ayrshire-riots-were-against-british-drug-gangs-who-abused-under-age-girls/ While the local press and the tabloids will be explicit about this curse, BBC Scotland, STV, and the ‘serious’ press will not. The words ‘County Lines’ almost never make it to a headline and rarely appear in the text. That this is a flow exclusively … Continue reading The plague of English drug gangs terrorising Scotland that cannot be named strikes Falkirk

Drifts nearly onto the rocks, hits the harbour wall and now runs aground – New Zealand’s real ferry crisis

By our International Ferry Correspondent In January 2023: Stricken Cook Strait ferry the Kaitaki drifted more than a nautical mile towards the rugged Wellington south coast in winds gusting over 100kph, it’s been revealed. The harbour ships that raced to her aid also likely lacked the grunt to pull her and 800 passengers to safety. Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder on Sunday praised the professionalism of the crew and captain, who battled challenging conditions to drop two anchors and halt the powerless ship’s drift 0.9 nautical miles from shore and 0.6 nautical miles (1.1km) from hitting the sea floor. In November … Continue reading Drifts nearly onto the rocks, hits the harbour wall and now runs aground – New Zealand’s real ferry crisis

Police Scotland Alerts – Why is BBC Scotland not looking as Scotland’s drug deaths are fuelled by English gangs

By Professor John Robertson From Police Scotland yesterday: Three people have been arrested in connection with drug offences in Aberdeen. Following a County Lines intelligence led operation, officers executed warrants at addresses on Esslemont Avenue and Granton Place, Aberdeen on Wednesday, 19 June, 2024. Class A drugs with an estimated value of £35,000 and a four-figure sum of cash were recovered. A 23-year-woman and a two men, aged 30 and 31, all from the London area were arrested and charged in connection with the recovery.  They are due to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Thursday, 20 June, 2024.  A … Continue reading Police Scotland Alerts – Why is BBC Scotland not looking as Scotland’s drug deaths are fuelled by English gangs

A family from Greenock having a culture-break in Edinburgh is not on a ‘staycation’ at ‘home’

In the Herald today: A tourist tax is set to take tens of millions out of the pockets of the one in four Scots who decide to holiday at home, leading to calls for local authorities to boycott it. Analysis indicates that if set at 5%, the minister-approved visitor levy would raise £142m if brought in across the nation but there has been a warning that it also acts as what has been described as a “stealth tax” on Scots. If you can afford accommodation prices in Edinburgh or other Scottish hotspots, you can afford the wee bit extra tourism … Continue reading A family from Greenock having a culture-break in Edinburgh is not on a ‘staycation’ at ‘home’

Shocking 40% of Toronto Island ferries out of service on peak tourism weekend

From another Canadian CTV News Toronto, today: Those visiting the Toronto Islands this weekend could see longer wait times when returning to the city as two of the five ferry boats will be out of service. The city says the Thomas Rennie, which has a capacity of 915 passengers, and The Trillium, an 815-passenger heritage ferry that only operates in certain weather conditions, are undergoing repairs and aren’t anticipated to be back in service for a couple of weeks. In Scotland, sometimes 2 or 3 out of the 34 ferries can be out of service, less than 10%, but imagine … Continue reading Shocking 40% of Toronto Island ferries out of service on peak tourism weekend

Ferry cancellations led to massive delays in British Columbia

From CTV News, Vancouver, today: Ferry cancellations led to massive delays for people trying to return to the Lower Mainland from Salt Spring Island on Sunday night. Multiple BC Ferries sailings were cancelled, including the 7:30 p.m. departure from Long Harbour to Tsawwassen. Some travellers decided to try their luck at a second ferry terminal, Fulford Harbour. They were told by BC Ferries staff there would be no ferries available at that location either, due to staffing shortages and mechanical issues. For anyone hoping to catch a ferry, the only hope was making it onto an evening sailing from a … Continue reading Ferry cancellations led to massive delays in British Columbia

New research shows that building ferries overseas means getting ‘the more expensive version of that vessel’

The troubled BC Ferries, operating in the less windy and more affluent conditions of British Columbia has an appalling record of unreliability, high prices and elderly vessels, set against record dividends for shareholders. Scotland’s islanders really need to do a bit of reading on them. Late in the day, the owners have put out a global competitive call for builders of 7 new vessels. B.C. shipbuilding giant Seaspan along with unions and suppliers have launched a new campaign dubbed Build Ferries BC that aims to have those vessels built in Canada. Their call is backed up by new research. The findings are well worth considering in … Continue reading New research shows that building ferries overseas means getting ‘the more expensive version of that vessel’

‘Stranded and dying’: Canadian cancer patient’s family calls for improvements to ferry service

From CTV News, Vancouver, yesterday: Gracie MacDonald snapped a photo of her brother on a sailing boat a Good Samaritan was using to take them from Denman Island to the closest hospital on Vancouver Island never suspecting it would be the last image of his life. He died hours later at North Island Hospital Comox Valley. Andy MacDonald was terminally ill with cancer but hadn’t expected to succumb within months of his surprise diagnosis, and none of the family had anticipated it would be a scramble to get him to the hospital after the cable ferry broke down yet again … Continue reading ‘Stranded and dying’: Canadian cancer patient’s family calls for improvements to ferry service