When I was a boy at Balbardie Primary School in Bathgate in the mid-70s, football was banned in the playground. Of course we were all fitba-daft laddies, so we sought ways around the prohibition. Occasionally someone would bring in a tennis ball, but those were difficult to control in school shoes and also apt to fly over the wall of the outdoor toilet block if somebody caught one sweetly on the volley.
So most playtimes somebody would produce a tin of Pepsi or Irn-Bru or Cresta, chug the contents, stand the empty container on its end and stomp sharply on it, producing something more akin to an ice-hockey puck that would serve for our kickabout.
But even after being skelped and scudded around a concrete playground into stone walls for 20 minutes, that can was still in better shape at the end of our game than the one the SNP have been kicking down the road since 2016.
Just over a year ago, Shona Robison – then the Cabinet Secretary For Social Justice, now the Deputy First Minister – told the Scottish Parliament this:
There now follow some quotes from the media regarding the case of Andrew Miller, aka Amy George, who yesterday admitted the kidnap and repeated sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl at his home in Galashiels earlier this year.
Alert Wings readers will have noticed recent press coverage of events surrounding North Lanarkshire Council, centred around a scandal of sexual harassment by former council leader Jordan Linden.
Here we present the full story, directly from one of the SNP councillors involved.
Last week the property-porn TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp described severely disabled people requesting same-sex care as “demonising male nurses”, although the statistics suggest that they’ve demonised themselves.
Instead of trying to understand the position of disabled individuals and their families Kirstie has decided that it is best to ignore the evidence and call us man-haters.
Alert readers may recall our last foray into Freedom Of Information requests, when a couple of weeks ago we belatedly received a peculiarly evasive response from Police Scotland with regard to a meeting in February between the then-Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and the justice secretary Keith Brown.
We duly followed it up with an FOI to the Scottish Government for Keith Brown’s official diary on that day – just about the most mundane, run-of-the-mill request possible. We expected nothing remarkable, just a short list of meetings, fully corroborating what we were told by Police Scotland.
Confused on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “I could believe it : https://archive.ph/wip/as3Uc but let’s just have a bit of imperial propaganda to cheer us all up.…” Jun 14, 13:48
Andy Ellis on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “@Stuart 11.59am Well, I suppose you might argue that they weren’t solely responsible for the war. Of course this isn’t…” Jun 14, 12:39
Captain Caveman on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “*winning Heh. Freudian slip perchance ” Jun 14, 12:36
Captain Caveman on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Yes please. Will enhance Reform’s chances of sinning some seats. Good work!” Jun 14, 12:06
Stuart on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Aye Mr Ellis, nor did starting a civil war hold them back either…” Jun 14, 11:59
Andy Ellis on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “And your point is, caller….? Not having independence in their name – or indeed being Irish language – didn’t seem…” Jun 14, 11:11
Andy Wiltshire on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Another question asked from a position of ignorance – am I right in assuming that the only Scottish political party…” Jun 14, 10:58
Andy Ellis on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Who are “they” in this context? The SNP? The Scottish media? Scottish &/or British unionists? It all sounds a like…” Jun 14, 10:11
Doug on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Independence supporters should boycott next year’s Holyrood election.” Jun 14, 09:41
MaryB on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Andy Ellis @ 4.32 pm I think they’re desperate that the SALVO UN work is kept from popular consciousness. Scotlands…” Jun 14, 09:16
Lorn on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “As I recall, CC, Salmond and Sturgeon came as a package. He was going to team up with Ros Cunningham…” Jun 13, 23:42
100%Yes on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “I wouldn’t be surprised if the SNP party fiances isn’t being directly funded the British labour government, so in return…” Jun 13, 22:31
Breastplate on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Yes James, it’s notable that they recognised themselves.” Jun 13, 21:50
sarah on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Agreed. No-one in power in the SNP seems to have anything in common with the long-time members or voters who…” Jun 13, 21:40
McDuff on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “I know i have droned on about this before but i still can`t believe there has not been a rebellion…” Jun 13, 21:22
100%Yes on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “SNP Government rule out Scottish independence convention surprise surprise.” Jun 13, 21:20
sarah on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “@ agent x: Angus Robertson’s response to the ICCPR petition. No, I hadn’t read it before. Of course we didn’t…” Jun 13, 21:13
Confused on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Scotland in 2050 will be Willy McWonka’s Hielan Brigadoon Golf Resort Gated Community, and we, the Scots, if we are…” Jun 13, 20:50
Tommo on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “‘(If nothing else, we suppose that’s a strong show of optimism from Swinney, who’s already 61 and will be some…” Jun 13, 20:27
Bob on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “I love the 12 mugshots: but what would Jon Snow say? (or, for that matter, Humza Yousef?)” Jun 13, 20:11
agent x on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Sarah – have you read this response to the petition? https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/citizen-participation-and-public-petitions-committee/correspondence/2024/pe2135/pe2135_c.pdf PE2135/C: Implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political…” Jun 13, 20:03
agent x on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: ““On the 17th June, a conference at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh will ponder the challenges and issues that will…” Jun 13, 19:52
sarah on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: ““What can ordinary independentistas do?” Talk to friends and family about Liberate Scotland so their candidates will receive votes in…” Jun 13, 19:42
James on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Lol….good post, Breastplate. The yoons ate ramping it up on here, new ‘names’ by the day amongst the same old…” Jun 13, 19:23
