Tag: writing

4 Comments

Play this to those hesitating to vote. Let them see the words too

johnrobertson834

Lyrics: We’ll be singing, we’ll be singing If we get out and vote for our own We’ll be singing, we’ll be singing When we remember all we’ve sown Pulling thousands out of poverty Sending the same to learn for free Offering a hand to the weak and the sick We begin the path to the Scotland we want We’ll be singing, we’ll be singing If we get out and vote for our own We’ll be singing, we’ll be singing When we remember all we’ve sown To each according to their need From each according to our abilities Paying that wee … Continue reading Play this to those hesitating to vote. Let them see the words too

5 Comments

A Song for Holyrood 26 – please share

johnrobertson834

Lyrics: We’ll be singing, we’ll be singing If we get out and vote for our own We’ll be singing, we’ll be singing When we remember all we’ve sown Pulling thousands out of poverty Sending the same to learn for free Offering a hand to the weak and the sick We begin the path to the Scotland we want We’ll be singing, we’ll be singing If we get out and vote for our own We’ll be singing, we’ll be singing When we remember all we’ve sown To each according to their need From each according to our abilities Paying that wee … Continue reading A Song for Holyrood 26 – please share

3 Comments

‘My partner was well looked after’ in a Scottish hospital A&E department

johnrobertson834

Our Reporting Scotland Up team’s Lisa Brightside was in Glasgow’s super hospital interviewing patients as they left. We met Joe Murray and his partner and they told us about their experience. BBC Scotland’s Reporting Scotland Down team and Lisa Summers were there too but had ignored Joe because he was smiling and had gone off to find someone who had been infected by the pigeon poo they had spotted outside. Here’s what Joe told us: Four weeks ago I had to rush my partner to A&E in the Southern General Hospital in Govan.I had no time to phone 111 so … Continue reading ‘My partner was well looked after’ in a Scottish hospital A&E department

1 Comment

Herald writer’s suggestion of a ‘risk to life in 10 buildings as ScotGov post-Grenfell repairs stall’ is frankly stupid, dishonest and irresponsible tabloid scare mongering as…

johnrobertson834

In the Herald today, Martin Williams has: 10 buildings in Scotland have had emergency safety measures put in place after being judged an “immediate risk to human life” — yet not a single block has been declared fully repaired under the national cladding programme, nearly nine years after the Grenfell Tower Fire. The intervention means some residents are relying on temporary protections such as additional fire safety systems, on-site monitoring and changes to evacuation plans while ‘dangerous’ cladding remains on their homes. What official, responsible, qualified body has ‘judged’ these 10 buildings to be ‘an immediate risk to human life?’ … Continue reading Herald writer’s suggestion of a ‘risk to life in 10 buildings as ScotGov post-Grenfell repairs stall’ is frankly stupid, dishonest and irresponsible tabloid scare mongering as…

1 Comment

Cornwall ferry users ‘losing their minds cut off from civilisation’

johnrobertson834

The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 1791 and chain ferry operations were introduced by James Meadows Rendel in 1832. The route is currently served by three ferries, built by Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd at Port Glasgow and named after three rivers in the area: Tamar II, Lynher II and Plym II. Each ferry carries 73 cars and operates using its own set of slipways and parallel chains, with a vehicle weight limit of 18 tonnes (20 tons). The ferries, along with the nearby Tamar Bridge, are operated by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee, … Continue reading Cornwall ferry users ‘losing their minds cut off from civilisation’

4 Comments

New research report – The Politicisation of BBC Reporting in the 100 days before the Scottish Election 2026 – Comparing BBC Wales and BBC Scotland

johnrobertson834

On Friday 17th April 2026, only three weeks before the Scottish Parliament election on May 7th, 2026, a research team at Talking-up Scotland completed a 100-day survey of the BBC Wales and BBC Scotland’s inserts in BBC Breakfast, Monday to Friday 6 to 9am. Despite both operating within a dramatic political context with pro-independence parties, Plaid Cymru (PC) and SNP, for the first time likely to win in both countries, the coverage differed markedly in terms of the politicisation of reports and in the overall level of negativity know to influence voter behaviour. A 2023 study published by Talking-up Scotland, … Continue reading New research report – The Politicisation of BBC Reporting in the 100 days before the Scottish Election 2026 – Comparing BBC Wales and BBC Scotland

4 Comments

Washington State Ferries – ancient vessels, antiquated booking system crashes yet is not replaced and a scramble for tickets

johnrobertson834

Washington State Ferries operate out of the affluent city of Seattle in the USA and serve 20 ports with 21 vessels. 9 of these large ferries, above, aged between 45 and 59 years are older than the just retired CalMac boat, MV Isle of Arran, aged 42. WSF have a long history of poor service beyond that which CalMac users can imagine, of unreliability, soaring prices, violence on the ramps and flooding car decks and some of the oldest vessels in the developed world, above. More recently, last summer, from Fox 13 Seattle: Summer ferry reservations are highly sought after, … Continue reading Washington State Ferries – ancient vessels, antiquated booking system crashes yet is not replaced and a scramble for tickets

Leave a comment

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…..?

johnrobertson834

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…..?

Leave a comment

Always choosing the darkness for you – BBC Scotland give you one rape and hide both that it’s TWICE as common in the rest of the UK and that resident doctors are NOT on strike here

johnrobertson834

Above BBC Scotland, below BBC UK: In more than 1 000 words, BBC Scotland’s report on a rape case, above, offers no context of the kind student journalists must have or they fail, eg, ‘Is this offence more common in Scotland than elsewhere as drug deaths apparently are?‘ Would a bit of context have been useful for readers? This kind of thing? On 25 June 2025, I wrote: The media in Scotland are headlining the increase in recorded cases of rape and attempted rape in Scotland. Though the increase may in part be a consequence of a greater confidence by victims … Continue reading Always choosing the darkness for you – BBC Scotland give you one rape and hide both that it’s TWICE as common in the rest of the UK and that resident doctors are NOT on strike here

8 Comments

BBC Scotland still acting as if it is an opposition party to the SNP in Scotland

johnrobertson834

By Liz S BBC Scotland website yesterday : Headline – “Labour drops election candidate after fraud charge” At 14.57pm that article , which was only added yesterday onto their site, was the 4th article on the Scotland main page, by 4pm above, gone and the 2nd article on the Scottish politics page. The top article yesterday on both the Scotland main page and politics page was this: “SNP candidate ditched over handling of Linden complaints” (Note that according to the BBC website headlines, the Labour candidate was “dropped” but the SNP candidate was “Ditched”). This morning it is still the top article on the Scottish politics page and now the 7th article … Continue reading BBC Scotland still acting as if it is an opposition party to the SNP in Scotland