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!”
Young Lochinvar on The quality of mercy: “Yahweh help the Is Rye Ale Ees if the I rans find the downed US pilot first. It’s a Vietnam…” Apr 5, 03:53
James on The quality of mercy: “Well, that’s “Phil” shot down in flames….. But Adrian’s working through the holidays….” Apr 4, 23:57
Confused on The quality of mercy: “since we seem to be regressing to “ropey old shite, debunked n-teenth times … ” – let’s put an old…” Apr 4, 23:32
Confused on The quality of mercy: “quite right, my fellow Scot. if the scotch were left alone with excess revenue from copious oil, gas, wind and…” Apr 4, 23:29
Phil on The quality of mercy: “Time, no- long overdue, to face some facts. This site, brilliant as it is, suffers from some fundamental flaws: first,…” Apr 4, 23:01
robertkknight on The quality of mercy: “The SNP are about as interested in independence as a vegetarian is in a mouthful of steak tartare. Fuck ’em.…” Apr 4, 22:13
Lorncal on The quality of mercy: “‘Wokism’ and the hard left are the real problem and they will follow into an independent Scotland unless they are…” Apr 4, 21:06
factchecker on The quality of mercy: “Professor, you must try harder to throw off the colonial yoke. You of all people should show a good example.…” Apr 4, 19:30
Geri on The quality of mercy: “The Fascism is strong in you, Areswipe. You don’t get to choose anything. You don’t even have a vote here.…” Apr 4, 18:59
Geri on The quality of mercy: “Very true. Start with overhauling the school curriculum. That’s where the mindset starts along with dumbing down critical thinking. People…” Apr 4, 18:52
Aidan on The quality of mercy: “There’s no leave for us James, the British state has made countering a towering separatist intellect like yourself a number…” Apr 4, 18:50
Aidan on The quality of mercy: “That’s right Geri, next time the “march” will be a swim from Leith to Kirkcaldy.” Apr 4, 18:44
Young Lochinvar on The quality of mercy: “Beggars Keep your sexual proclivities tae yersel “old boy”..” Apr 4, 18:40
Young Lochinvar on The quality of mercy: “Beggars And why exactly would I be on benefits? A bit of “othering” mixed up with “projecting” from you there…” Apr 4, 18:36
James on The quality of mercy: “Aren’t you lot on leave this weekend, “old boy”?” Apr 4, 18:35
Geri on The quality of mercy: “Areswipe, Can you not comprehend plain English? They make the route as difficult & as annoying as possible in the…” Apr 4, 18:09
Mark Beggan on The quality of mercy: “Four legs good two legs bad.” Apr 4, 17:49
Aidan on The quality of mercy: “I’m surprised the colonial authorities let it take place at all Alf. They must have your number marked though!” Apr 4, 17:45
Alf Baird on The quality of mercy: ““Scotland’s ethnocultural footprint is still large compared to other peoples” Indeed and it may well be that oor Scottish ethnicity…” Apr 4, 17:16
TURABDIN on The quality of mercy: “It also needs the intellectual capacity to effect such change. And there is the nub of the matter. So many…” Apr 4, 17:07
Alf Baird on The quality of mercy: ““It was blustery and chilly as fuck in Scotland” In addition, the route of this march was 2-3 times longer…” Apr 4, 16:57
Cynicus on The quality of mercy: “I know. I was trying to add a little humorous value!” Apr 4, 16:53
Dan on The quality of mercy: ““Yet fewer than two out of every thousand of them could be arsed with getting a bus or train to…” Apr 4, 16:30
Alf Baird on The quality of mercy: ““Scotland needs regime change” Decolonisation means a lot more than just ‘regime change’; it demands the complete transformation of colonial…” Apr 4, 16:24
agentx on The quality of mercy: “The reason I posted the link was to show that the march actually was reported by the BBC.” Apr 4, 16:17
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The quality of mercy: “Apologies. Correct spelling of host’s surname: FINKIELKRAUT” Apr 4, 14:53
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The quality of mercy: “In relation to HANNAH ARENDT’s leaving of Germany for refuge in France in 1933, this radio podcast discusses questions of…” Apr 4, 14:39
