As always he gets away with no challenge to his lies about Scotland

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿the best performing staffed and paid NHS with no strikes

40% less crime & 25% more police than rUK

Most teachers, highest educational outcomes & free tuition

Lowest & reducing child poverty

Labour can 🤬 off #VoteSNP

Loch Thom by W. S. Graham 1 Just for the sake of recovering I walked backward from fifty-six Quick years of age wanting to see, And managed not to trip or stumble To find Loch Thom and turned round To see the stretch of my childhood Before me. Here is the loch. The same Long-beaked cry curls across The heather-edges of the water held Between the hills a boyhood’s walk Up from Greenock. It is the morning. And I am here with my mammy’s Bramble jam scones in my pocket. The Firth is miles and I have come Back to find Loch Thom maybe In this light does not recognise me. This is a lonely freshwater loch. No farms on the edge. Only Heath grouse-moor stretching Down to Greenock and One Hope Street or stretching away across Into the blue moors of Ayrshire. 2 And almost I am back again Wading in the heather down to the edge To sit. The minnows go by in shoals Like iron-filings in the shallows. My mother is dead. My father is dead And all the trout I used to know Leaping from their sad rings are dead. 3 I drop my crumbs into the shallow Weed for the minnows and pinheads. You see that I will have to rise And turn round and get back where My running age will slow for a moment To let me on. It is a colder Stretch of water than I remember. The curlew’s cry travelling still Kills me fairly. In front of me The grouse flurry and settle. GOBACK GOBACK GOBACK FAREWELL LOCH THOM.

Just for the sake of recovering
I walked backward from fifty-six
Quick years of age wanting to see,
And managed not to trip or stumble
To find Loch Thom and turned round
To see the stretch of my childhood
Before me…

—WS Graham, “Loch Thom”
from NEW COLLECTED POEMS (Faber, 2004)
#BookologyThursday

Never has it been clearer that Scotland might have all the energy - but also none of the power.

Fuel Finder has revealed that seven of the ten most expensive places to buy diesel in the UK are in Scotland, including the highest in the UK at £2.29 per litre in Thurso.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿|🇪🇺 𝘝𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘕𝘗 𝘰𝘯 𝟩 𝘔𝘢𝘺

Yes the last print delivery just arrived! My 4th new book of 2026 - think I need a rest now. This one’s for wire harpers wanting to play common trad session tunes. Available at the harp festival in Edinburgh then on my website - PDFs will be available then too

He did so much after that horrendous injury, but there's no doubt it had repercussions on his fitness for the rest of his career.

I always liked how he wanted to play the game, and boy did he give us some great moments.

Good luck!

A Cairn by Gael Turnbull As by barren trackway on a mountain crest with view of scree and corrie, ridge and col, a traveller might pause, take bearings, cast in tribute to record: “A man came here, went on, left common token, shared with those who went before and shall come after.”

As by barren trackway
on a mountain crest
with view of scree and corrie,
ridge and col,
a traveller might pause…

—“A cairn”, by Gael Turnbull (1928–2004) – born #OTD, 7 April
from WHILE BREATH PERSIST (The Porcupine’s Quill, 1992)
#poem #poetry
1/3
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/cairn/

As we near the Scottish election it is increasingly important that voters know that if the SNP does as well as predicted on constituency seats, their chance of list seats is very poor. Better to vote SGP2. Here's a mono version of my flyer about it for easy home printing and sharing.

Scotland is an energy-rich nation - yet families face sky-high energy and fuel bills.

While other European countries act, the UK government is sitting on its hands.

Scrap the fuel duty hike. Remove VAT on energy costs. Cut the cost of living now.

Vance accuses EU of ‘foreign interference’ in upcoming Hungarian election while endorsing Orbán – Europe live US vice-president claims ‘the bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary’

While in Hungary to interefere in the country's election and help the corrupt autocrat Orban, JD Vance accuses the EU of interfering in the Hungarian election.

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

These comments are a threat of genocide, plain and simple. The US President must not act in this way.

What the world needs is the courage of diplomacy and the wisdom of de-escalation. 

The UK Labour government must act now to ensure that de-escalation takes place.

Can Highland Scotland sustain trees? Absolutely. Proof is woodland planted in Arctic Glen Garry by Ron Greer & Derek Pretswell 50 years ago with sheep & deer fenced out. Incredible damage from overgrazing over centuries. Film plus Q&A Sunday Tayport. Tix lesleyriddoch.com

Other way around . . - Indy PosterBoy Imagine that the UK was governed from Edinburgh, and England sent all its tax revenue £billions to Holyrood.

Imagine that the UK was governed from Edinburgh, and England sent all its tax revenue £billions to Holyrood. Imagine that Holyrood then gave England half back, but spent the rest on ‘national infrastructure’ projects like upgrading the A9 to a 6-lane motorway . .
indyposterboy.scot/other-way-ar...

Using Spotify is just as bad as using X, in some aspects, even more consequential: Spotify is actively killing music, not just exploiting musicians. All other streaming platforms are better, and have as wide a choice. Migrating your playlists is dead easy. Please leave that evil platform - now.

I would love to hear that journey replicated that in the intro music for the Arsecast Extra. Slow slow slow then a bass drop… I’m sure you’ll come up with something excellent whatever you do. What a moment.

Labour’s dangerous plans for NHS Scotland The Holyrood elections are just eight weeks away. This will be a critical election for Scotland’s future and it is more important than ever that Scotland returns a pro-independence majority, …

Labour has dangerous plans for NHS Scotland & would introduce privatisation by the back door. Meanwhile Reform UK is hostile to the very concept of free universal healthcare. Only an SNP led Scottish Govt will protect NHS Scotland from the private sector.

weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/03/08/l...

We've saved Loch Lomond. Flamingo Land Rejected! Scottish Greens.

We've saved Loch Lomond!

For the last decade, we have fought to save Loch Lomond from Flamingo Land's destructive mega-resort plan. Today, their plans have been rejected!

#SaveLochLomond 🚫🦩

The Representation of the People Bill MUST scrap First Past the Post First Past the Post can no longer deliver real mandates - only chaos. 60% of Brits want it scrapped. Yet the new Representation of the People Bill won’t even touch our rotten voting system, which lea...

First Past the Post can no longer deliver real mandates - only chaos. 60% of Brits want it scrapped.

Yet the Representation of the People Bill won’t even touch our voting system, which leaves millions unrepresented.

Tell Keir Starmer to change this.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/th...

Labour sleaze and its dangerous association with Palantir To paraphrase Shakespeare, Oh what a revolting web we weave when we mire ourselves in sleaze. Labour’s self inflicted paedophile adjacent chaos continues. Starmer has now belatedly removed th…

Labour sleaze and its dangerous association with Palantir. Anas Sarwar's incessant attacks on NHS Scotland are an attempt to soften up the Scottish public for private company involvement in NHS Scotland. Only indy parties will protect NHS Scotland.

weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/02/11/l...

We're delighted to be hosting @lesleyriddoch.bsky.social on 19th Feb to show her new Finland film, plus a Q&A. Ravelston House Hotel, North High St,Musselburgh Doors open 6.30pm. Show starts 7pm Tickets £5 from Eventbrite. bit.ly/452NPdh Hope to see you there! 🇫🇮 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇫🇮

Some people still think it's the outfit public square that is a useful platform for speaking Directly To The Voters(tm)

Back in Stirling to get on with the fit-out of our new studio. It is costing a lot of money for materials and equipment and we really need your help to get closer to our £30k target. Please share this and please donate whatever you can afford.

www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/

Holyrood is being killed off by the Internal Market Act - my column in today's Sunday National.

BBC Two - Angelou on Burns Writer and poet Maya Angelou goes on a pilgrimage to Burns Country in Scotland.

“On the dirt roads of Arkansas I first met Robert Burns…”

Currently on the BBC iPlayer: writer, poet, & activist Dr Maya Angelou goes on a pilgrimage to the home of Robert Burns (originally broadcast in 1996 to mark the bicentenary of Burns’s death)
#BurnsNight #C18
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

A instagram post from Versus with a picture of footballer Borja Iglesias shown from behind doing the hand hearts symbol with an insert of a nail painted light blue with a panda on it. The caption on the post reads We Need to Salute Celta Vigo Players for Taking a Stand Against Homophobia

We need to talk about Celta Vigo taking a stand against homophobia. The club's striker Borja Iglesias has painted his fingernails on multiple occasions, as both a fashion choice and a means to highlight social issues. But during a recent match against Sevilla, Iglesias was subjected to homophobic abuse from some opposing fans who made derogatory references to his painted nails. In response, Celta Vigo supporter groups organised a campaign encouraging fans and club members to paint their nails for the following game against Rayo Vallecano - both in solidarity with their striker, but also as a powertul message to everyone that homophobia has no place in football. As a result, the Estadio de Balaidos was full of home tans adorning all sorts of brightly painted nails, as well as panda designs as a nod to Iglesias' nickname. Rainbow flags were also waved in the stands from the first minute to the last. After the game, Celta posted a picture of their players donning their nail art with the caption "Against Hate, Together." Football has long been associated with incredibly narrow ideas of masculinity, with anyone daring to step outside those confines, likely to receive a torrent of abuse - often homophobic in nature. Which is exactly why Celta and their fans deserve their flowers. Their campaigning not only reduces the stigma around men painting their nails, confronting archaic views of manhood in the process, it especially makes gay fans feel seen in a sport that has historically failed to represent them at the highest level. More power to Los Celestes and Iglesias for taking a hard stance against discrimination.

Oh man I love this 🫡🏳️‍🌈

Do have a scroll through the pics www.instagram.com/p/DT0FNxnjKQw/

Compare and contrast with English regional news output which is mostly positive about the areas. It’s surprisingly jarring to encounter it and it underlines your point. We are meant to feel bad about Scotland and to feel inadequate.

A poll graphic shows a Majority of Scotland wants to rejoin the EU, The pie chart displays 73% yes in Green, and 27% no in Orange. A European Union flag is displayed in the background. Poll conducted by Survation on the 8th to 12th January, Poll of 1003 adults, Don't Knows excluded

Now more than ever, it is important to stand with our European neighbours and friends. A new poll reveals that a vast majority of Scots would back rejoining the EU.

Every vote for the Scottish Greens is a vote for independence in the EU.🇪🇺

Word is it will burst, and possibly this year.

"Zack Polanski and Carole Cadwalladr break down the seriousness on data collection"

@carolekingofficial.bsky.social on @boldpolitics.bsky.social with @zackpolanski.bsky.social via @thecanaryuk.bsky.social

For clarity it is NHS data in England being given to Palantir

The SNP Scottish Government has not and will not sell our data to them