I was going to write this article yesterday, but 2024’s miserable damp squib of a summer unexpectedly delivered a beautiful day – a perfect 20C of unbroken sunshine with a refreshing slight breeze – so I went for a nice walk instead.
Rather than my usual bird-feeding and bear-patrolling beat along the river and canal, I headed off on what used to be my standard summer stroll: up the long steep hill to Beckford’s Tower and its associated cemetery with stunning views over the city.
I’ll scatter a few pics from the walk throughout this feature, as otherwise I’m afraid it’s going to be a bit depressing and angering.
There are now just 10 days until the general election. Wings has never told its readers how to vote and we’re not going to start now. Which is lucky, because if we were, we wouldn’t have a clue how to.
Just, y’know, not for any of these wretched, worthless shiters.
When you’ve been watching Scotland playing football for 50 years of your life, you become accustomed to disappointment. You expect disappointment. Anything better than disappointment becomes a bonus.
Having solved cat hunger in Greece, the tireless Holiday Boy has now turned his hand to addressing Scotland’s crippling golfing shortage, so we’ve got a different sort of cartoon again for you this weekend.
The clip below is from a 1981 arcade videogame called Venture, by Exidy, in which you play a cheerful character called Winky on a mission to loot treasure from a series of monster-infested dungeons.
For the purposes of this article the treasure in the room above, which takes the form of a castle tower, represents Scottish politics. The room itself is the Union.
The SNP released their general election manifesto today. We’re not going to link you to it, because we don’t want to be responsible for wasting your time. This is everything it has to say on the party’s (cough) strategy for achieving independence.
It deserves much, much less respect than we’re giving it. Tomorrow, ice lolly reviews.
I’m a professional community organiser, and a tenant and housing activist for some 20 years. I saw the old Scottish Tenants Organisation get smashed by Jack McConnell’s government to make way for council housing privatisation, which in Glasgow created the Glasgow Housing Association.
I’ve long wanted to rebuild a national body to give housing schemes a political voice and to push to end the housing crisis. That’s why I got involved with Living Rent, organising my community to become their first branch. Little did I know that would lead to a brush with crazed gender ideology, and see Queer Theory used to try to destroy it.
We’re still trying not to pay attention to the election because it’s so tedious and awful and pointless, but this is worth putting on the record because it’s in The National and otherwise nobody’s going to read it.
Holiday Boy has of course chosen the general election campaign to spend the next three weeks feeding stray cats somewhere sunny, so here’s a cartoon by the brilliant webcomicname that summarises the Baillie Gifford story for anyone joining us late.
January 2018, with no general election due for four and a half years: “I very rarely talk about Scottish independence in the chamber, because I talk about things that matter”
June 2024, with an election in four weeks and a £91,346 salary, expenses and pension at stake: “ROBERT THE BRUCE! BANNOCKBURN! DECLARATION OF ARBROATH! FLOWER OF SCOTLAND! FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOMMMM!”
Aidan on The Broken Rainbow: ““ A study that involved two Universities, accepted by the electoral commission, Lord Ashcroft polling & the Scottish Referendum study…” May 15, 14:35
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “@ Northcode says: 15 May, 2026 at 11:36 am “I’m calling it, Geri” Crivens, Northy. I do hope that comma…” May 15, 14:27
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “Fine, Alf. I asked you to clarify a fairly straightforwards situation. You decided to evade the question, as per usual.…” May 15, 14:20
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “Here you go, Geri: “Instead of futilely repeating the pointless point scoring of the past 5 years, you really should…” May 15, 14:11
Geri on The Broken Rainbow: “Scots voted Yes in 2014, dip shit. A study that involved two Universities, accepted by the electoral commission, Lord Ashcroft…” May 15, 13:38
Young Lochinvar on The Broken Rainbow: “Andy Burnham; King orf ooop Norf, future former failed PM to give him his full title.” May 15, 12:35
Ross on The Broken Rainbow: “Link to the latest poll,campebll? The latest I see is from the Sunday Times and os a Yes majority?” May 15, 12:35
Mark Beggan on The Broken Rainbow: “Deja vu! It’s the 1970’s all over again. Dirty Filthy Labour meltdown and the Death Cult in the East cutting…” May 15, 12:34
Alf Baird on The Broken Rainbow: “Even Churchill warned that the west including imperial England would ultimately abandon the Z******s if they continued with their N*z*…” May 15, 12:25
Alf Baird on The Broken Rainbow: “Fowk canna ser twa maisters, like some o oor MSP’s mak-believe, Hatey. Fowk canna plicht lealtie tae twa soveranes. For…” May 15, 12:14
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: ““Public feeling was known to be overwhelmingly against the Union” Indeed. I guess that in 1707 Scottish public feeling was…” May 15, 11:41
Northcode on The Broken Rainbow: “I’m calling it, Geri. It’s not even noon and us liberty-seeking Scots in this place have already won the day…” May 15, 11:36
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “His online site hoaching BTL with antisemitism and “river and sea” jihadists may or may not assist with that aim,…” May 15, 11:27
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: ““Absolutely ANYTHING AT ALL that doesn’t involve the English” My, Northy, so there will be no English spoken. Shame you…” May 15, 11:16
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “Sure, Northy, and that’s why everybody on here is posting and responding in Scots.” May 15, 11:08
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “Nice use of apostrophes, Geri. Still not taking lessons from you, though. Not after your call for portable gas chambers…” May 15, 11:06
Alf Baird on The Broken Rainbow: “And unlike the moaners here and the ouf-tae-King Charlie English croun and English soveranety takkin pensioned-aff SNP, Ambassador Murray has…” May 15, 10:52
Jamie on The Broken Rainbow: “Considering how many kids go to school in nappies nowadays, and nappies for 8 year old are also more popular…” May 15, 10:37
Geri on The Broken Rainbow: “Shiteface is a Nazi. Just yesterday he was cheering on Germany nearly destroying Europe until those pesky ‘Orcs’ captured Berlin.…” May 15, 10:03
Geri on The Broken Rainbow: “It’s cause it’s an English administration & we should refer back to it as such. It’s not a Scottish parliament.…” May 15, 09:40
Northcode on The Broken Rainbow: ““…outmoded language spoken, written and understood by only a minority of Scots. 55% of all Scots living in Scotland, and…” May 15, 09:37
sam on The Broken Rainbow: “Mulk monitors, not milk. Mulk was here long before milk” May 15, 09:32
Northcode on The Broken Rainbow: “My, the anti-Scot Inglis is strong in this one… and they are a royalist, too, I suspect. I’ve said it…” May 15, 09:14
Xaracen on The Broken Rainbow: “I posted an earlier version of the below in response to a youtube commenter who boldly asserted that the Union…” May 15, 09:09
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: ““aren’t even delivered in the Scots leid” It’s beyond parody that in the course of calling for something updated and…” May 15, 09:02
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “If you want a republic, Northy, make your case for one. If you want an elected Head of State, Northy,…” May 15, 08:36
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “Leave Anne alone instead. She doesn’t stink of Jeyes fluid.” May 15, 08:17
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “@ Geri says: 14 May, 2026 at 11:59 pm “Then we grow up” Aw, Geri, just two more minutes and…” May 15, 07:44
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: ““ATLS got little to no MSM exposure” Jeezo, that one again. It’s the 21st century, even in the parochial, overlooked…” May 15, 07:37
Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since 2021, Fearghas. I used to be a fan too. His…” May 15, 07:27
