Off-topic
Posted on
January 02, 1968 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
For off-topic chat. Duh.
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Wings Over ScotlandA tall tale
Wee Books
Video
Probably a robbery
Transphobia
Apparently the coo vid is on the north side of Kingshouse at Covis.
Whilst on the south side of Kingshouse is the James Bond Skyfall Road.
As Dan says, it’s the wee road behind the Kingshouse hotel, near the Glen Etive turn off. Look out for the bridge with the curved superstructure.
Looks like a fine day for the bike: safe journey.
Frost clearing, sun’s oot and big blue skies for the cruise. 🙂
Pre-ride checks complete…
Public Service Broadcast – Go!
link to youtube.com
Motorcycle – As The Rush Comes
link to youtube.com
Steppen Wolf – Born To Be Wild
link to youtube.com
Bet Da Rev likes “As The Rush Comes” too, mad raver that he is.
And if you’re stepping on the wolf, surely this would also be appropriate: link to youtube.com
But never ride pillion with a biker who likes this one:
link to youtube.com
Apologies @ Dan: for some reason I thought it was BDTT going on the road this morning hence my “As Dan says…” remark.
Great success! Jist home after hunners o’ miles in the saddle.
Dan’s pic from the video location, earlier today.
Dan’s pal’s pic from the video location, different angle.
Cheers for posting pics Brian.
Chillin’ oot noo and enjoying the natural high that comes with a glass or twa of grape derived vino rouge, and to keep me hydrated some complimentary water I collected from the the river Etive at the end of the Jimmy Bond Skyfall road. The H2O tastes michty braw. Just hope none of the kayakers running the waterfall upstream were coked / doped / shroomed up and pissing in the water… 🙂
@BDTT 7.47:braw, Crèise and BEM in the one shot via Dan Da Man.
@Dan : meant to warn you re kayakers and their camper vans on the road to Loch Etive. Even I got pissed off with them in my evil Passat diesel last October. At least you got home safe.
Yi know how most campervans/motorhomes are van-based?
I saw one today that had a lorry front end. First I’ve ever seen. Onnyhoo, gonna be spending my April holiday attaching the stuff that I have in storage, to my wee Berlingo Romahome.
Like the reversing sensors, reverse camera/mirror, two-tone horn, extra leisure battery, 240v inverter (to power a microwave), solar panels and so on.
I wonder how many of these jobs will be completed?
link to youtube.com
When I was, successfully, being educated towards my English Higher, our teacher, Mr Kippen, had a number of language philosophies.
The one that has remained with me is that you should rarely have to use get/got or any of its derivatives in a sentence. He opined that the use of get/got was (I paraphrase) ‘clunky’, ie, inelegant and superfluous.
You can say, ‘I got soaked’ or ‘I was soaked’.
‘Let’s see what we have got’. ‘Let’s see what we have’.
I would love for Alexander Armstrong to proceed through an episode of ‘Pointless’ without using get/got or any of its derivatives. He is SO guilty!
“He is SO guilty!”
Indeed, of offences against singing. Yon Posh Boy can get stuffed 😉 .
A few Christmasses ago I was in the queue at the supermarket and the woman in front of me with a full trolley had problems paying with her card. Eventually the payment went through but she then saw a pile of AA’s Christmas Album beside the till, so we had to endure another few minutes of payment delay, while she footered about.
As she toddled off and I took her place the till-lady said, “All that fuss over a crap CD!”
I rest my case.
Typing about ‘singers’…
This guy is one of my favourites. In the early 80s, whilst at a job in North Shields, on the way back home, I took a detour to visit Whitley Bay – couldn’t find the social club though…
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
Whilst watching the videos linked to above, this one was a follow-on.
Kinda appropriate for the royal shenanigans on 6th May. I’ll miss them – joining the march to Glasgow Green at George Square, then the rest of the afternoon at Glasgow Green. Then Wingers congregating at The Clutha.
link to youtube.com
Good chish and fips (and crazy golf) in Whitley Bay IIRC.
Been musing deeply about putting our faith in supposedly charismatic politicians to lead us to the promised land and have ended up sympathising with these naughty boys:
link to youtube.com
RE: The Stranglers.
This cover always reminds me of the long version on ‘Light My Fire’ by The Doors. I think it’s the keyboard work and the way the whole thing is put together.
link to youtube.com
The Doors…
link to youtube.com
long version OF ‘Light My Fire’!
Although I don’t think Dionne Warwick has aged particularly well in that vid, Dave Greenfield was always a mean keyboard player and I hear what you mean about similarities between the two tracks.
Always loved the the wonderfully souped-up Bach twiddly bit (technical term) at the start and end of The Doors’ track.
Twiddlybits à gogo here in this amazing piece by Rameau:
link to youtube.com
Wonderful technique from JT, a young man who actually seems to enjoy playing music.
Aye, he can play!
Hi TC.
I’ve replied to you at
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Fanks, Brian, for taking the trouble to find the English bit. I’d given my comment up as I thought it was probably at the string’s dead end.
Bonus track: Burns’ last poem, sung bravely a cappella by Mr Paterson.
link to youtube.com
Inspired by one of the questions on Pointless a couple of days ago, a little heard (now) Bee Gees single from 1967.
Fine use of mellotron in this. Piano and mellotron work so well together.
link to youtube.com
Just popping in to say hello. ?
You’ve been keeping a low profile!
I’ve been watching this over the past few days –
link to player.stv.tv
Rather enjoyed it. The primary plot is looking at a cold case missing person case.
There is a secondary plot, involving the investigator’s daughter, who is also missing. Then another (high profile) girl goes missing from a private school.
However the trailer mention that got me watching it involves allegations of infiltration of the SNP by MI5.
It is set mainly in Glasgow and Galloway, with a wee detour to London. And James Cosmo plays a central character in it.
4 episodes, each around 46 minutes. Recommended.
Some of the house scenes from Six Four were shot not far from me. The external scenes for the execrable Two Doors Down are also shot in the area.
Walked up and down waiting to be discovered but zilch.
“Ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille!”
So, you could have been famous in your own lunchtime?
Shoulda woulda coulda: link to youtube.com
My claim to fame is that, once upon a time, I regularly occupied Julie Andrews’ bed.
Stop teasing and start telling.
Hi TC.
Up until I was 8 years old, my family lived in a 2 bedroom flat (with only a toilet and kitchen) on the second floor of a tenement in Nethergate. My maternal granny had a large front corner flat on the top floor in the same closie.
The building was around 250 yards from The Palace Theatre. My Granny was what was known as a ‘theatrical landlady’, as she had many lodgers among the ‘turns’ who were on at The Palace.
Julie Andrews’ parents had a music hall act and appeared now and again at The Palace. They had a young Julie with them. This would have been late 40s/early to mid 50s.
Julie slept in a solid (iron?) bedstead.
When my family moved to a 3 bedroom house in St Marys, Granny donated some furniture to furnish the extra bedroom, including the iron bedstead, which my brother and I shared for years, until we got bunk beds.
So there!
Och, Brian, I confess I’m a bit disappointed. I’d visualised some steamy convergence of the twain after one of your Broughty Ferry gigs.
I always knew dear Julie was too good for this world 😉 .
This quirky wee song was hidden away as the last track on side 2 of the LP.
link to youtube.com
Sounds like Chas and Dave on absinthe.
Oh, BDTT, where did it all go wrong?
I’ve known of PP Arnold for dunkies, but had never seen a pic or video of her.
Came across this video a few days ago. Thing is, I remember seeing the band doing this with Madeleine Bell on TOTP. This one was new to me.
link to youtube.com
And, to remind yooz of her own better known offerings…
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
The past few minutes, I’ve been reflecting on my ‘social interaction’.
I reckon that around 80% of it is online, with a 70/30 split WOS/Facebook.
Of the other 20%, I reckon around 18% is at work and the other 2% is face to face, away from work, like speaking to peeps on the bus or whatever.
Don’t know what it means, or if it is typical of modern society.
So here’s a UK Eurovision entry from back in the day, that I remember from the time.
link to youtube.com
And while I’m on a nostalgia kick, back in the late 50s/early 60s, we regularly visited my Mum’s cousin in Glasgow. She lived in Riddrie.
My treat was when she took us to a wee cafe on Alexandra Parade for ice cream, and let me choose something from the jukebox. This was my choice.
link to youtube.com
PPA had a great voice. I’ve seen that vid of her singing with The Small Faces before and she was pretty good, although it’s not really her style. Smallaxe had a lot of time for Steve M.
Cripes! The Allisons! Playing live must have been nerve-racking for them.
My brother had lots of Buddy Holly and Little Richard and I used to listen to his record collection when he was out: a strange mixture of stuff at times, like King Oliver and Lu Watters’ Yerba Buena Jazz Band (Tiger Rag, etc). My most memorable discovery was “I Feel Free” by Cream: it sounded like nothing else at the time. The B-Side was NSU. I remember thinking, “Why are they singing about a German motor car?” Ah, the innocence of youth……
Meanwhile, in other news, was told at the game on Saturday that the ospreys have arrived on the Clyde in Lanarkshire.
Yahaaaaay!
The offending track: link to youtube.com
I find it difficult to post more than one link at a time here.
I always liked this one from another of their LPs.
link to youtube.com
BTW: Ive found that there is a limit of 4 links in a comment.
My goodness Brian, that’s a fair walk down memory lane you’ve been giving us these past couple of nights. Ah, the Allison’s. I remember it well, I must have been about 13 at the time. Wonder where all the years went.
Hi Tinto, what a shame we never got to see your acting debut, Mr De Mille has a lot to answer for.
Hope that you and yours are all well guys.
Och, Marie, sumbdee’s gotta keep ‘off topic’ active. Tinto and I seem to be bearing the weight.
So, I will offer this to all Wingers,
link to youtube.com
Wiz that no the white heather club song that opened the show. Good grief I’m giein ma age awa noo, but I never claimed to be a young one.
Hi, Marie. I coulda been a contender……
‘Twas not to be, unfortunately, so I had to fall back on my dancing (literally 🙂 ).
Yes, it’s pretty much only BDTT and I on here. We should really just cut out the middle-man and exchange e-mail addresses. Most O/T stuff ends up on the M/T anyway.
AOK here so hope the same with you and the fambly. Might be Indy marching season again soo.
Here’s another couple that you don’t hear so often on the radio these days…
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
Och one more, one of my favourites from my teenage years, which I have linked to before, because Greg Lake was involved…
link to youtube.com
The last one was very WSoP-y. Bet Shy Limbs would feature in one of those Rock Family Tree diagrams they used to do on the telly.
Don’t remember any of those tracks.
Gets worse every day 🙂
OK, songs I remember from when I was pre-8 years old.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
What is “WSoP-y”?
BTH: made an @rse of my comment at 11.06.
Repetition of links unintended.
Try this as the third…
link to youtube.com
Whiter Shade of Pale.
What a big softy you are, BDTT. They certainly come from a more innocent time.
Presumably we’ll still be able to listen to them when we’re locked up in our 15 Minute Cities to save the planet.
Singles I saw, back in the day, that had me going “YES!”.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
No.1: Why? Why? Why?
Aaaaaaargh!
The others?
Carry on!
Hi TC.
No 1…
I was only 8. I find it rather twee and dire now that I am no longer 8.
Try these…
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
Here’s a question for you – which two names connect these three bands?
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
Haud oan a meenit Brian, what on earth are you trying to do ta an auld wumman.
It’s All Over Now I remember buying it, 6/8d it cost me. AC DC yass, had me up bopping aboot, which is no guid for me as I had just finished eating my tea, I’ll need to sit down now.
A memory lane is a great place. I’m with Tinto, Brian Johnstone, really! It’s that auld it’s got whiskers on it.
Good man yourself Brian, feel free to keep us going, and thank you, fair brightened up my day.
Hi Marie.
Singles seemed to stay at 6/8d for years! I remember buying a Simon & Garfunkel EP (Mrs Robinson +3 tracks) around 1968/9 in Montrose and it was 12 Bob or thereaboots.
Did you work out the two names connection to the three bands?
BTW: these were also in the UK charts in 1960. Not quite Bryan Johnson, iye?
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
Hi Marie.
July 1964. “House of the Rising Sun” was at number 1, when I left Dundee for a week at BB camp, near Aberfeldy.
Returned to Dundee a week later to find HOTRS at #2 and “It’s All Over Now” at #1.
Your 11.48s: all acceptable.
Not a clue about your quiz but the AC/DC vid was much better quality than others I have seen of the Melbourne gig.
I see you have just posted another one. I will muse thereon……
Marie: hope you have recovered from your impromptu bop. God knows what BDTT has planned for us tomorrow.
The Archies?
Sorry Brian, I never had a go at answering your question, I got sidetracked by his Bonness and AC/DC. I think it might be George Young and Stevie Young. George older brother of Malcolm and Angus. Stevie young nephew. Was George no Stevie’s da?
Ah Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, saw them many a long year ago in Paisley toon hall. I think the Hollies were on the bill that night as well. In case you wonder what I was doing in Paisley, I was born and brought up there. Only moved to Dumfries and Galloway when I married a farmer. Used to skate to Apache at the ice rink, Running Bear was always it’s own source of rude amusement among the boys.
Man I’m really beginning to feel auld noo looking back. Ah happy days.
@Marie: yes, Running Bear/Bare did offer some amusement amongst the boys, like “I used to kiss her on the lips but it’s all over now.” 🙂
My brother had this played at his funeral: link to youtube.com
@Marie:”Ye dancin’?”
Somewhat infectious, what?
Are ye askin Tinto? Aye am dancin’ The local group used to play that on a Thursday and Sunday night at the youth club, used to be great fun jivin tae it.
I really need to remember am no a young yin ony mair, but I just love to dance, as you well know.
Cheers.
Hi TC.
An individual choice. Funnily enough, I was typing about funeral music with my god-daughter on Facebook Messenger during the week.
For my funeral, the entry and exit music will be,
link to youtube.com.
In the middle, will be,
link to youtube.com
and, if there’s time,
link to youtube.com
coz my Mum sang that to me regularly when I was a bairn – and took me to the Palace Theatre to see Robert Wilson on many occasions.
I’ll post about the two names in a wee whiley.
I’m pure asking but I think I put my back out reaching for my laptop.
Ooh, missus!
The two names are Harry Vanda and George Young. (A fair bit of copy/paste here.)
George Redburn Young (6 November 1946 – 22 October 2017) was an Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands the Easybeats and Flash and the Pan, and was one-half of the songwriting and production duo Vanda & Young with his long-time musical collaborator Harry Vanda.
Born in Scotland, Young moved to Australia with his family as a teenager, and became a naturalised citizen.[when?] He was a member of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easybeats, and co-wrote with bandmate Harry Vanda the international hits “Friday on My Mind” and “Love Is in the Air”, the latter recorded by John Paul Young (who is unrelated). Vanda and Young were also the producers of early work by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, formed by his younger brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Vanda & Young were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Easybeats were inducted in 2005.
and
The ‘big freeze’ of 1962–63 was the worst winter on record in Scotland, with snow eight feet deep.[3] A TV advertisement at the same time offered assisted travel for families for a different life in Australia.[3] Fifteen members of the Young family left Scotland by aeroplane in late June 1963,[3] including William’s fifth son, George, and younger sons Malcolm (6 January 1953 – 18 November 2017) and Angus (born 31 March 1955).[2][3] Also aboard were George’s eldest brother Stephen (24 June 1933 – 1989) and his wife and two sons, one of whom was Stevie Young, who later joined AC/DC to replace his uncle, Malcolm Young), his only sister, Mrs Margaret Horsburgh (2 May 1935 – 2019) and her husband and son, and brother, William Jr (born 15 December 1940) and his wife.[4]:?6–7? Another elder brother, Alex (28 December 1938 – 4 August 1997), stayed in the UK, and was later a member of London-based group Grapefruit.[5]:?6–7? A final brother, John Young (born 17 May 1937), had migrated to Australia separately.
and
Initially staying at Villawood Migrant Hostel (a site later developed as Villawood Immigration Detention Centre) in Nissen huts, George Young met and became friends with another migrant, Harry Vanda.
The quotes above are from,
link to en.wikipedia.org
Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easybeats who with fellow member George Young formed the 1970s and 1980s songwriting and record production duo Vanda & Young.
Early life
Vanda’s family migrated to Australia from the Netherlands in 1963,[1] and settled in Sydney. In the same year he met rhythm guitarist George Young at the Villawood migrant hostel. In 2007, Australian Musician magazine selected this meeting as the most significant event in Australian pop and rock music history.[2] Vanda, who had been a guitarist with the Hague-based band the Starfighters,[3] came to fame in 1964–65 as the lead guitarist of the Easybeats.
and
“AC/DC included George Young’s brothers, guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young. Vanda & Young produced landmark albums such as Let There Be Rock, Powerage, If You Want Blood You’ve Got It, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, High Voltage/TNT, amongst others.
Vanda and Young also had major international success with their own studio-only project Flash and the Pan, achieving many hits round the world over a 15-year period, particularly in Europe where they had many chart topping records. Grace Jones had a hit with a cover of the Flash and the Pan song “Walking in the Rain”.
These quotes from,
link to en.wikipedia.org
This song, by Vanda & Young, has been adopted as a kinda anthem by Dundee United supporters.
link to youtube.com
So, the quotes above led me to Grapefruit, a band I’ve always liked.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
When Pete the Camera and I set up our mobile disco at the end of 1975, we chose the title of this song as the name, because I was able to make a jingle out of the chorus.
link to youtube.com
Dear God, BDTT, you’re surely not thinking of checking out any time soon?
I pure kennt you’d choose the Bruce March onnyhoo, ya big softy.
In any case, you’ve interrupted Marie and me putting our hips out to Chuck.
Re:AC/DC, I knew the fierce winter of 62/63 convinced their parents to emigrate to Australia. Being an EK boy, where we could snowball the Orange Walk in July, it seemed only slightly worse than the other winters of the time (I wasn’t around for the 1948 version).
Hi TC.
I believe I still have petrol in the tank but the carburettor sometimes clogs up. Have you seen the video of “aunties” going mad at the Bay City Rollers? It’s been retweeted to buggery this past week.
link to youtube.com
During the 2020 lockdown, being furloughed from work, I had loadsa time on my hands.
One thing I did, that was fascinating, was to go back to the original front page in ‘off-topic’, then work my way forward till I was up to date.
If anyone else wants to delve…
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Check out the usernames who have disappeared.
I find myself in a nostalgic mood tonight.
This song rings many bells. In my case, the canvas was the beach at East Haven, just north-east of Carnoustie.
link to youtube.com
And this dates in memory, from the same relationship.
link to youtube.com
And from a ‘friendship’ in the 80s, whereby a female of the opposite gender referred to me by this name,
link to youtube.com
And to finish off, I’ve always found this version of the same song to have a certain charm.
link to youtube.com
Hi All,
Just realised I can get in here without a big palaver – must be this new laptop.
Just wanted to repeat a heads-up I’ve posted on the MT re this ’emergency test’ the UK Govt has organised for tomorrow, 3pm.
All mobile phones will be activated with an ’emergency alert’. Ostensibly it’s to make us aware that we may be contacted in the case of some major crisis.
Plenty of vids on Twitter etc about how to disable the alarms. It turns out they’re already on our phones.
Did you know? I didn’t.
If you have an i-phone, go to Settings, then Notifications, scroll to the very bottom and you’ll see two buttons which are already ‘ON’.
Switch them both off and get your family/friends to do likewise.
Hoots!
😉
Mark Stewart, Pop Group frontman and revered countercultural musician, dies aged 62 link to archive.is
Welcome, Brother Brotherhood: take a seat around the campfire.
@BDTT: you’re certainly in a nostalgic mood tonight, ya Big Softy.
Try this for size: link to youtube.com
Off up Wood Hill to Bedfordshire, mes braves.
Hi TC.
The melody was fine but the lyrics escaped me.
link to google.com
Gosh, that’s a big one!
You can capture the English lyrics by using translate option
Hi TC.
Thanks for that.
If anyone wants to explore the music of St Andrew & The Woollen Mill, here’s a link…
link to musical1.com
Exclusive advance warning of the 3 p.m. Alert:
link to web.cs.dal.ca
My eyes are deceiving me. Aberdeen are 2 nil up against the Rangers. What a tonic for Scottish Fitba.
Aye, good result all round.
In other news…
I didn’t realise there was a tune to this wee childhood rhyme.
link to musical1.com
Sheer filth, that, Brian 🙂 .
I shall attempt to elevate the tone by announcing that a black-crowned night heron has been spotted on the Clyde near Motherwell. This is very unusual, since even sightings in England are not at all common.
Saw it myself yestreen.
That is all.
I’ve always liked this. It just sprung into my mind for some reason.
The lyrics are all French words or phrases that are commonly used in the English language.
link to youtube.com
Always worth hearing again. It has a certain je ne sais quoi 🙂 .
Kenneth was gifted but troubled, innit? Always good in Round The Horne, too.
Talking of which, my favourite RTH line of all was after a take-off of Brief Encounter with the clueless middle-class couple Charles and Fiona (Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden).
Kenneth Horne’s next line was, “Ah, they knew how to make films in those days, they just didn’t bother.”
Marty Feldman was a very funny script-writer.
I suppose some moderator or other might see this. I’m not posting it on the main page as O/T or on Craig’s page. I don’t want to be shot as the messenger of awkward news.
There’s a guy on Craig Murray’s website, AC Bruce, who’s pointed out, unfortunately, that it looks like Craig cannot take his case to the Human Rights Committee because the UK has not ratified the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR. The FOP allows individuals to take their own complaints to the Committee but if a country has not ratified it, it simply cannot be done.
This test of ‘admissibility’ is so basic that I thought this guy cannot be right. In going over the details, I thought surely I must have made the same mistake but I checked numerous times and it seems to be the case. In Craig’s article he even gets some of the legal jargon wrong. The Protocol didn’t establish the Committee, the Covenant did.
I am not attacking Craig or his team. Honest to God I’m not but I fear he’s made a pretty big error and he might need to think about closing his fundraising effort as soon as possible.
I sincerely hope this guy AC Bruce is wrong but I think Craig might have to make a climbdown very quickly.
Hi PhilM.
‘off-topic’ tends to be light-hearted.
“quarantine” is maybe where this should have been posted.
Jiss sayin’ like…
Onnyhoo…
TC, you mentioned Marty Feldman.
For those who haven’t seen it, the link takes you to the original “4 Yorkshiremen” sketch from the 60s.
link to youtube.com
Think I saw that the first time on TV. Funny but I suspect a lot of Yorkshire folk were tearing their hair out at the attempts at their accent by the Southrons.
More nonsense: link to youtube.com
Onnyhoo again…
I tend to download ‘Pointless” so, tonight, I was watching an episode from a couple of days ago, which featured a contestant, originally from Orkney but now in Lancashire, called “Senga”.
An interesting name.
A “Senga” was one of our wee social group in the Palais in Dundee in the early 70s. Somebody told me that the name was invented by someone in Glasgow called “Agnes”, who thought that it sounded elderly so reversed it to make Senga, which sounded more exotic.
Then, while typing this, I remembered that, a few weeks ago, I bought some paperbacks (4 for a pound) from a charity shop just up from my closie. Two were crime fiction (MY genre) and, to make up the numbers, a copy of “1984” (which I have never read) and a “Dictionary of First Names”.
So I consulted the latter tome.
It says,
“Scottish first name that probably evolved from the Gaelic ‘seang’ (slender). Another theory links the name with AGNES, which it spells when read backwards.”
So, I guess you choose which derivation suits your psyche – Gaelic or Glasgow reverse snobbery.
And to follow on,
link to youtube.com
Hmmmmmmm……….
*Consults Big Boys’ Book of Mediaeval Gaelic*
Think I would go with the playful reversal. Lots of wee, bought council houses with the wrought-iron name Nia Roo beside the front door Where I Am.
I rest my case.
Supplementary: my paternal grandmother’s first name was Agnes. When upbraiding my uncle (who was still living at home at the time) for his questionable behaviour involving booze and women, she followed him into his bedroom to carry on her tirade.
My uncle’s quick-thinking response to put an end to this tiresome moralising was to undo his trouser belt and reply, “I’ll drap them, Senga!”
Problem solved.
He was quite a card was Uncle Jim (a jack, obviously).
John Fred & his Playboy Band released an album in 1967 called “Agnes English”.
Here are two tracks from it.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
In the early 70s, after I had left school, I had a get-together with a pal from school on Tuesday evenings, to play chess and listen to vinyl. His Mum made us rather fine toast and bacon and coffee for supper.
He introduced me to this band’s first album so I immediately went out and bought the single. I don’t think it made the charts but it was a decent precursor of what was to come. The interesting thing about it is that the lead vocals have been done in at least two takes, because he comes in over himself. And Brian May built his guitar, with help from his Dad.
So, that single, and another three tracks that defined the band.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
You can probably tell that I lost interest after “Sheer Heart Attack”, although I did like some subsequent singles.
“You can probably tell that I lost interest after “Sheer Heart Attack”, although I did like some subsequent singles.”
How so, pilgrim?
SSoR was a teaker, soaanitwas.
Hi TC.
Maybe it was because they had become ‘not so niche’ as they had been previously.
I don’t know; they just didn’t interest me as much as they had done. Still a fine band though.
I suppose most bands become less edgy and innovative as they develop. Art School and weird Roxy Music eventually became a smoothed out Byron Ferrari tribute band, innit?
This is probably in my top 3 favourite Roxy Music tracks. I didn’t even know of its existence until a punter asked for it at my Bowlin’ Alley residence, around 1977.
I was able to get it as a 12″ single.
link to youtube.com
Couldn’t get on to Wings in the last 24 hours and then my post here disappeared.
Mebbe see you at GG on Saturday if you’re coming down.
Hi TC.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Not sure if my lovely carer and I will walk all the way. Will probs hing aboot The Green for a couple of hours but I have a vital cultural event in Motherwell to attend later at 1500hrs which I can’t pure ding-y.
Moanly going to wave the saltire (Scottish maritime flag, actually) to annoy unionists/NuSNP and to hear what AS has to say.
Hopefully, AS will be on stage early.
I’ll probably hang around an Alba or Now Scotland or Yes Rutherglen stall.
Hi guys, sorry I can’t be with you on the march tomorrow, but I’ll be with you in spirit. Good luck, I hope that there is a great turn out.
@MC: wanted a dance with you on The Green, Miss Rogers, but I suppose BDTT (or even Breeks) will have to do (oh, my bunion!).
All the best to you and yours.
A bra’ day oot!
See my comments on the main page from after 9pm.
Saw them, BDTT. Seems we were standing close to you to the right of stage. Met no-one I knew from the Olden Days but was pleasantly surprised by the numbers.
One bum note for me was the average age of the crowds. Seems the Young ‘Uns ain’t too keen on marching, which probs ain’t cool.
Hi guys, glad you had a good day out. From the Photos it looks like a good number of people on the march which is quite heartwarming.
Unhappily Brian, I can’t read your comment on the main page because for some reason I am unable to connect with it. I can read twitter but not the main blog. I was beginning to wonder if it was another DOS but it sounds as if it’s just me. Sigh, I fair miss getting my daily fix just now.
Hi Marie Clark.
Try this link.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Hi Brian, thanks for the link, it worked a treat. Let me catch up with the MP as well.
That was a great turn out, about 22,000 they reckon, YES seems to be ready to stand up and fight again. About time too.
I see from the MP that I’m not the only ne having problems accessing the wings site, wonder what’s going on?
Onywho Brian thanks again for the link. Sorry that you all got drookit. that’s Scottish weather for you. I was surprised when folk started saying how wet it was, we had a lovely sunny afternoon her in D&G. Hopefully will be able to make some of the other marches.
I have Channel 5’s “Britain’s Favourite Party Songs” on as my aural wallpaper at the moment and it reminded me of the song linked to below.
When I started playing this at the Bowlin’ Alley, the punters very soon created a dance where they formed up in lines across the dancefloor and sorta ‘skipped’ back and forward in time to the music.
So, there could be 10+ lines, one behind the other, all moving back and forward in unison.
I haven’t come across any reference to this phenomenon online.
link to youtube.com
Mebbe try that at the next march?
Found a couple of examples…
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
It’s a 3d animation…
link to untoldstudios.tv
Even I am impressed with it!
Hi Matt Quinn.
See this link and what follows. You’ll have to click on “Newer Comments” on that page to follow the conversation.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
@MQ: so that’s how they did it! Great stuff.
This is an interesting story.
Surprising Brain Activity Moments Before Death
The link below is to page 1 of 2.
link to medscape.com
A very good friend of mine had an NDE, a classic one with most of the commonly experienced features. I’ve seen a study of these NDEs which discovered that low oxygen in the brain was not a factor in creating the peoples’ “memories”.
The friend’s strongest emotion was anger at having to get back in the body and returning to the physical plane.
“The people’s memories” I meant.
And now for something completely different: link to youtube.com
It should be Muir of Huntershill, of course.
Hiya pals,
Just popped in to say hello.
That is all.
🙂
Where’s you bin?
I posted this comment this afternoon on the, now, third oldest page. It was inspired by Mia and Ruby discussing (not only gender) self-ID.
I’ve added one word to it.
” Brian Doonthetoon says:
19 May, 2023 at 2:44 pm
Hi Mia and Ruby.
The blonde singer with Pickettywitch, Polly Brown, “browned up” as half of the duo Sweet Dreams in 1974.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
“
Like many a Tory politician, I do like a good thrash:
link to youtube.com
Well, that was a decent tune but any comment on the ‘self-ID’?
@Tinto –
‘Where’s you bin?’
Is that from the un-PC joke about the Chinese rubbish collector, the punchline being ‘Okay, where’s your wheelie-bin?’
@BDTT: my expensive lawyer has advised me to refrain from commenting on that topic (although I may self-ID as George Clooney to get a good restaurant table, etc).
@Ian B: I can do worse than that.
How to become an actress: stand in front of the fire until you’re Googie Withers.
Eh thank yow….
I mistakenly posted this on another thread when I meant to post this here. ( I shouldn’t post when I’m busy doing other things. Women are good at multi-tasking? That’s another myth busted.)
Does anyone remember the title of the Wings article that listed the MSPs who voted for the GRR legislation? I want to check if it highlighted particularly those (not just SNP) who voted down the amendment that would have prevented sex offenders being able to change their identity.) I’m hoping that Dan or that other supreme archivist of Wings, BDTT, will have that information.
I aim to email all the South of Scotland MSPs who did so and ask if they stand by that choice in the light of the Andrew Miller case.
Hi JGedd.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Thanks, BDTT. Got your link over on the other thread where I mistakenly posted. I’ve been all over the place today – sometimes literally. Knew I could rely on you!
Hi JGedd.
In case you’re interested, I went to
link to google.com
In the “site or domain:” box, I pasted
https://wingsoverscotland.com
In the “all these words” box, I typed
MSP vote amendment GRRB
then hit enter/return.
The page you wanted was at the top of the hits.
Similarly, to find comments on WOS by, eg, “Smitty” or “Brian Doonthetoon” or whoever…
Go to,
link to google.com
Paste or type the username into the “this exact word or phrase:” box.
In the “site or domain:” box, paste
https://wingsoverscotland.com
then hit enter/return.
You’ll get a list of hits. Click on each to open in a new tab and go to that tab.
Press CONTROL and F (Windows) or COMMAND and F (MAC) and a bar will open at the foot of the tab.
Type or paste the username into the text box there, then use the up/down arrows to find the pertinent comments.
I’ve been following this Ruskian band for a couple of years. Bought a couple of their CDs for my son, who is into ‘symphonic rock’.
When Ruskia invaded UK-rain, due to their anti-war stance, they moved to Turkey.
They are now in the UK, having played Glasgow on 24th January.
Here’s a quote from the news update email of 7th February.
We have been endorsed by Arts Council England as Exceptional Talents for the Global Talent Visa UK!!
This is a special immigration avenue reserved for internationally acclaimed scientists, athletes and artists willing to live and work in the UK.
To move permanently we need to pay the NHS health surcharge 3 years in advance + other expenses.
Staying in Turkey is no longer possible.
We ask for your help to relocate ourselves and the cat to the UK for good, and to become a British band.
We have set up a new Crowdfunding Page, where we offer tons of new Rewards including a backer-only concert (and there is of course the option to pledge without a reward if you wish so).
Moving to the UK is a dream come true for us – it is a place where we can once again build on solid rock, and not on sand.
We can re-create what we did before, but on a different scale, in a better environment and on a different level of quality.
Help us move now: https://relocate.imperial-age.com
We would have never made it this far without your support!!
This is the tune wot they have wrote and have pushed it, referencing the UK-rain bourach. The lyrics are below the video.
link to youtube.com
A second offering – from the online concert they performed December 2021 (It was rather good). All the info below the video.
link to youtube.com
To finish off this comment, I am reminded of this band, who had a fine sound…
link to youtube.com
Strange…
This video was amongst those on the right of the last video’s page.
link to youtube.com
BTW: they’ve changed their name to “The Stone Preachers”.
There’s an interesting comparison between two songs.
Graham Brown wrote the first one, a number of years before the second link appeared on the scene.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
Just popping in again.
@BDTT – Do you remember a band called ‘Graham Central Station’?
Just wondering, cause you clearly know your music from that period.
I won their album at the fair, in the old Transport Museum, Glasgow, must’ve been 1981 or thereabouts. My cousin had an airgun and we used it for target practise. I hadn’t even given it a spin.
In recent years I discovered that the man was a well-respected soul musician, had worked with James Brown, did some great turns on ‘Soul Train’.
Have you ever heard of him?
Hi Ian B.
I remember the name ‘Graham Central Station’ but, as it wasn’t within my sphere of interest at the time, that’s all I know.
You’ll be asking me about ‘Black Lace’ Next…
link to youtube.com
Guess what? This one I uploaded came up as next to the previous video!
link to youtube.com
And now for something completely different. Heard this on Radio 3 a few days ago and it caught my attention:
link to youtube.com
As someone said btl, it’s like listening to an intergalactic colliery band.
Hi TC.
yi dinnae half come up wie some strange stuff!
Hannah Peel – Sunrise Through The Dusty Nebula
Onnyhoo, watching TOTP on BBC4 tonight, this appeared.
link to youtube.com
Now, the interesting thing is that this music was released at least a year before as “Jet Boy Jet Girl” by Elton Motello.
link to youtube.com
What makes it more interesting is that I had an apprentice DJ at the time and we were in Chalmers & Joy listening to stuff and a different version of “Jet Boy Jet Girl” was one of the singles we were listening to.
Different style of vocal but still the same backing track, which was the backing track used for “Ca Plane Par Moi”.
“jet Boy Jet Girl” was on “Lightning Records” Plastic Bertrand wasn’t. I’m sure the PB single had on the label, “Produced by 4 Belgian businessmen”.
It’s like they had produced this instrumental track but hadn’t quite worked out its market with vocals.
“Yi dinnae half come up wie some strange stuff!”
But none as strange as Elton Motello, surely, me old haricot?
Rather an unpleasant little man, imo.
Let’s have a soothing antidote to That Kind Of Thing:
link to youtube.com
Test post to check archive links submit okay.
link to archive.is
Has anyone else seen that advert on TV, for a finance company (can’t remember the name) who are offering online loans at an interest rate of 99.9%???
Aye Brian, we were at a friends house when the advert came on. All you could hear was the sound of jaws hitting the table. Oh aye, and my beloved remarking, who the f*** is that stupid.
He’s right enough in what he says, it’s just, eh, he’ll never make the diplomatic corp just calls it as he sees it bless him.
I’m finding myself pronouncing ‘duration’ as “dooration’ rather than ‘dyooration’.
Is this a sign of something?
@BDTT: link to youtube.com may be of interest.
I remember Smallaxe found a WWI German archive of recordings of Scottish, Irish, Welsh and English POWs which its linguists undertook over a hundred years ago using Biblical texts as their standardisation measure.
He posted an example of a Hamilton man who sounded very like the folk I hear around me even today, despite the supposedly insidious effect of Da Meeja on our accents.
IMO three great reservoirs of authentic Scots pronunciation, expression and idiom are the farming community, the workplace and football crowds.
I’m presuming the few remaining Gaelic dialects will show similar persistence. Lenny Hartley reported recently on the Wings M/T that a very old Gaelic-speaking lady on Arran had died as recently as The Noughties, although most “experts” had stated the last Gael there had died in the 1930s.
It’s a funny old game, Saint.
Fun’ it!
link to hiddenhistorieswwi.ac.uk
Interesting stuff TC.
Onnyhoo…
My aural wallpaper at the moment is Elton John at Glastonbury.
TBH – I can’t understand the attraction of travelling hundreds of miles to stand half a mile from the stage, watching the performer on the big screens. Might as well stay at home, watch the same as the big screens on TV and hae a few swallies.
Onnyhoo 2. Turns out Elton John played piano on “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” for The Hollies. I may have posted this info before but more interesting is that Rick Wakeman played Stylophone on this hit.
link to youtube.com
You’ll hear it coming in now and again right through the song.
BTW: saw one or two saltires in the audience.
BTW2: Graham Brown Band are now “The Stone Preachers”. They’ve got 16 tracks to download at the link below.
Good stuff! Makes a decent ‘chill-out’ playlist on your favourite music app.
link to stonepreachers.com
BTW: The downloads are FREE!
link to stonepreachers.com
The Irish nightingale sings one of Mr Joyce’s favourites:
link to youtube.com
This song has many versions, depending on who’s singing it.
Did a wee bit more digging on the EveryDoctor revelations (revelations to me at least. Apologies if you lot already know all this, I’ve been out of the game for a while).
The biggest contributor to prominent Labour MPs by a donor with a strong interest in Private Health is a guy called Peter Hearn. He is described as a ‘recruitment mogul’ and a large part of his interests is in recruitment for private health sectors.
Through a staffless registered company called MPM Connect he has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to certain Labour MPs, mainly Yvette Cooper, Dan Jarvis and West Streeting (yes shadow health sec.)
You have to wonder if he has a sense of humour and MPM stands for Memberof Parliament Money.
Those three have also had smaller donations from other companies which operate in private health, tech, care etc.
Starmer has not had any money from Hearn but he has had more than 150,000 donations from various US private health care companies who are trying to ‘break in’ to the UK market.
The NHS is fucked folks.
Brian
It’s a Highland (and Lowland) Coup we need.
Everybody knows that William Tell (and his son) were pretty proficient with the crossbow.
However, it is not widely known that William and his son were pretty good bowlers.
Unfortunately, the records of the Swiss Bowling League were lost in a disastrous fire.
So, nobody knows for whom the Tells bowled.
link to youtube.com
“So nobody knows for whom the Tells bowled.”
Oh, BDTT, what have you done? Quite shameless.
Thought you might have chosen this well-known hit from the same band: link to youtube.com
Hi TC.
This was the one I ditched in favour of Mr Dupree.
link to youtube.com
Hi TC.
Have you heard this version? It was actually pre-Associates and was released under the name “39 Lyon Street”, the address of the flat where he lived at the time.
link to youtube.com
I’ve always loved Metallica’s subtlety 🙂 .
This is a lot of bells too: link to youtube.com
I rather like that other Kites version. Hearing Party Fears 2 recently made me feel very nostalgic. The world may have been crapola then too but somehow things didn’t seem so bad.
Fitba’ starts again today: more to worry about.
Hi TC.
An earlier one featuring the same vocalist.
link to youtube.com
That single was on the Regal Zonophone label. I still have it.
I actually think Brian’s voice got weaker with age and he wasn’t a patch on Bon Scott, Kirriemuir’s finest, but I notice some folk btl disagree.
The sight of that Newcastle strip reminds me of this whimsical wee song from when i was pure leaving skool 🙂 :
link to youtube.com
Hi TC.
Fine song. I think these two are my favourites from them.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
Hi TC.
Fine song. I think these two are my favourites from them.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
I’m having Orkney Cheddar on Lidl’s Cream Crackers tonight for supper. Why are they called “Cream Crackers”?
I checked the list of ingredients and no cream is abused in their manufacture.
Hi TC.
Kr@p! Didn’t realise I’d submitted before I submitted with the biscuit info.
@BDTT, sometimes Wiki can be your friend: “The name “cream crackers” refers to the method in which the mixture is creamed during manufacture”.
Don’t think I’d ever heard Scotch Mist before but LE and FOTT were classics.
Quiet here at the end of the internet, innit?
Oh, look! A comet…
Hi TC.
link to discogs.com
Onnyhoo, here’s a bunch of comets…
link to youtube.com
I don’t think I’ve ever been a teenage girl but I can’t imagine what one would see in a man old enough to be her father with a kiss-curl like an overgrown baby.
Hi TC.
YOU may find this of interest…
link to archive.org
I’ve just downloaded “Cathy Come Home (BBC 1966)” from:-
link to ia802205.us.archive.org
Thanks for the archive. I usually confine myself to lazily picking the free old films on YT. Call Northside 777 is an excellent Jimmy Stewart “movie” set in Chicago which I remember from my nipperhood. The relevatory scene in the darkroom at the end made a big impression on me.
I remember CCH the first time around: truly shocking, especially the scene where the “social workers” take away the chillun. Don’t think I could watch it again, it was so powerful and distressing.
I see those magnificent organs, the BBC and Sky News, gave the wrong score and details in their reporting of the QOS v Motherwell match on Tuesday. They had The Doonhamers as 5-4 victors in a penalty shoot-out after a 3-3 draw because presumably the reporter at the game couldn’t count up to five or tell which team was which (blue and claret and amber are easily confused, I suppose).
As Macart used to say, “Who knew?”
Hi TC.
You’ve put me off watching CCH! I watch for entertainment. Of late it has been Outlander, Succession and a whole pile of crime shows, like Grantchester, Foyle’s War, Karen Pirie, DCI Banks, Grace and so on.
Six-Four is worth watching.
link to player.stv.tv
Yes, quite enjoyed Six-Four. Unfortunately they shot both it and the execrable Two Doors Down just down the road from Tinto Towers, much to the inconvenience of the lieges. In fact, they’re shooting a new series of TDD at the mo.
I occasionally watch Foyle’s War for the hats. Hoping, like Frasier, that the Homburg one day makes a comeback 🙂 .
Don’t let me put you off: CCH was a great piece of film-making but I couldn’t watch Threads again (a scenario becoming sadly all too possible these days).
Hi TC.
Homburg.
link to youtube.com
Remember that one: liked the lyrics.
Here’s a whole lot of Hats from possibly Glasgow’s greatest synth band. I am reliably informed you can still see PB kicking around the West End.
Weather looks good Where I Am. Off to hug a tree.
After much reflection, I have decided it might have been better for me to have appended the link to the Hats comment:
link to youtube.com
The whole album is really two-in-the-morning mood music.
You have been warned………
Hi TC.
Blue Nile link…
Yes, rather ‘laid back’.
Here’s a conjecture…
What if there was a law brought in, that if all four of your grandparents were Scottish, you had to name your children after Scottish place names?
Glasgow McGurk, Maree McRobb, Ayr Anderson, and so on?
Obviously you would have to go fpr Ecclefechan, Freuchie, Achiltibuie and Gartocharn, epecially if they were girls. They knock Tracy and Amy into a cocked hat.
Airdrie and Yoker not so much…
Thrums, anyone?
‘Off-topic’ is becoming an oxbow lake. iye?
I still have 4 of TC’s videos in tabs to continue watching.
Just found out tonight that Sinead O’Connor sang the latest version of The Outlander song in Series 7.
link to movgotv.net
Just close any pop-up windows that appear.
Oxbow lake? More like a slightly damp patch on a carpet.
Time to roll everything up, I think.
Any views on Katherine Stock saying
The push back is going to come from men because men are able to say ‘this is bollocks’
Do you think she is suggesting women are not able to say ‘this is bollocks’
Is there a different set of standards for women with regards to swearing?
I’m posting this here as there might be a chance of someone reading it.
Hi Ruby.
Have you met Alison Balharry? She could be captain of the Scottish Ladies’ Swearing Team.
link to scottishdailyexpress.co.uk
I was gonna post this question:
Does anyone know when and why a bunch of Spanish Dragoons were marching through Fyvie? Can’t be @r$€d Googling.
Isn’t it Irish dragoons in the song?
Hi TC.
Maybe you’re right. I’ll check.
Irish, right enough.
link to youtube.com
Well, I’ve listened (again) to the lyrics of
link to youtube.com
but I’m no further forward as to when and why Irish Dragoons were marching through Fyvie-o. Surely Peggy’s infamy had not stretched as far as Ireland?
I think the original song was set during the turmoil of 17th century Scotland and The War of The Three Kingdoms which the English persist in calling The English Civil War. Irish troops were sometimes used by Montrose, I think.
I’m sure as a Dundonian you will know what that psycopath Cromwell did to the people and city of Dundee (and Drogheda).
Psychopath, obvs!
I’m watching Celebrity Gogglebox at the moment.
It got me wondering…
What are the opposites of “full frontal nudity”?
“What are the opposites of “full frontal nudity”?”
Fully-clothed form? Just a wild guess.
They don’t make ’em like this any more:
link to youtube.com
Tomorrow is International Apostrophe Day, ya bass!
https://www.apostrophe.org.uk
That is all…..
Hi TC.
Just watched and enjoyed that wee fullum, while recuperating from successful tumour removal in AIR (Aberdeen), ward 216.
I’m on the mend but it will be next week till I’m back in
Dundee.
I have a pile of similar mp4s on my iMac 27″, which I used at work but haven’t fired up since I brought it home last year, after work station relocation.
I’ll try to get them sorted out while I’m recuperating at home, in the next 2 or 3 months, then seek your interests, or provide a list. I have a Dropbox account.
Onnyhoo, here’s a video featuring “quirky”.
link to youtube.com
Sorry to hear you’ve not been well, Brian, but glad you are recovering now. Don’t know if any of our mutual friends were aware either (or is it “friends in common” 🙂 ? I know you love a bit of pedantry.
Loved the original wee Morris van myself but the lecky one doesn’t have the same appeal. I suspect Wee Greta will approve but she seems unconcerned about the kids in The Congo mining rare metals in appalling conditions to provide the batteries.
Sorry to hear that you have not been very well Brian, hope you get better soon. Must show this wee film to my other half he will really enjoy it.
Hi Tinto, how are you and yours, hope everyone is well. It’s my birthday today ( aye anither yin) they seem to come around faster every year. I think that must mean I’m getting auld. Mind you some days with all this trans nonsense, I feel like I’m a hundred, it disnae half weary a buddy. The bit that annoys me is being taken for an eejit, that I’ll just accept that a man can become a woman or a woman can become a man. Whit planet dae they think we aw inhabit? Madness complete and utter madness.
I think this is why a lot of folk don’t contribute to some of the blogs these days. Between a’ this crap from wee weirdy Patrick’s greens, to the corruption of Sturgeon and her minions you just have to switch off at times to maintain your sanity.
Onywho guys, keep well and don’t let the buggers get too you, as someone once said.
@Marie: AOK @ Tinto Towers at the moment but you may find your forties to be more challenging. A regime of Pilates, spring water and bending exercises may be the way forward 🙂
Yes, I’m afraid most of our independista bullshit filters are pretty clogged. We all need a focus, either a specific issue or individual to get behind but almost all of the political class are self-serving barstewards with little intelligence and fewer principles.
It’s a sair fecht, as granny used to say before dragging on her pipe and spitting into the range…..
Well this recent Peter Gabriel release fair shocked this monkey.
Imagery reeks of someone munching an exotic mushroom omelette!
link to youtube.com
@Dan: thanks for that brilliant vid.
Sadly, it suggests our dystopian future once the Globalists exert complete control over us via digital banking and ID, 15-minute cities, 20-minute neighbourhoods, (U)LEZs, renewed vaccine mandates and spurious WHO Pandemic Declarations.
And don’t think you’ll be driving very far in your battery-powered car either, peons, since there is no UK-wide infrastructure to cope with a massive transition to electric. Feudal-times ten mile travelling limit? You’re welcome!
And that’s if we avoid Biden’s Neo-Cons causing a final nuclear holocaust.
On the bright side, I saw kingfishers on The Clyde last week……
That’s me back home to recuperate. Signed off work until 6th November. Was in ARI for 3 weeks, due to post-op complications. Op itself went ok but I had an air leak from my chest drain and surgical emphysema.
Taking things easy and getting a wee bit of exercise daily.
Hi Brian
I was thinking about you earlier today and wondering how you were getting on.
Glad to hear you are on the mend.
‘Taking things easy and getting a wee bit of exercise daily.’
Sounds good! I’ll support you by doing likewise. 🙂
Brian , glad your home ,there is no better place to recuperate than your own bed and home.
Sorry to hear that you’ve had such a rotten time of things Brian. I’m glad that you’re home now, as Dorothy said there’s no better place to recuperate.
Take care.
BDTT, hope your hospital ward wasn’t like this one:
link to youtube.com
Get perfect soon.
Hi TC et al.
Thanks for your good wishes.
Ward 216 at ARI was fine. 4 of us in a room around 20′ by 25′, with its own toilet and shower and nurses available by the call of a buzzer.
Food was fine, except for the vegetarian haggis, the only thing I rejected, taste-wise. The soups were all excellent. The ice cream was from a Cheshire company and reminded me of the taste of ice cream from the 60s. Bra’ stuff!
I would recommend a stay in ward 216 if you get the offer.
Music…
There was a discussion on one of the main pages a few days ago about Sweet singles. I’ll repeat what I posted here.
RE: Sweet singles.
John Peel reckoned that this was the best rock single (track) of 1974.
link to youtube.com
It was the B side of this, which was, unfortunately, released at the time of a BBC technicians’ strike, which meant that Top of the Pops was off-air for 6 weeks, otherwise, I’ve no doubt it would have been a #1.
link to youtube.com
Guid tae see ye back Brian.
You’ll ken whit this funny wee buldin’ geid birth tae but a wunner if Stuart diz. He shid.
link to google.com!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smyQRn3cXqCD7SXfEk4OqQQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
Hi Chic.
Your Google link appears to show the car park of Caledonian House in Greenmarket.
This pic has been all over Facebook over the past few days.
Here’s a pic of the same building, showing the original “Deep Sea Restaurant” on the ground floor.
If you go to this next link and scroll down, you will find,
Dave had taken up the task of sorting a workspace out for the team. His father in law owned a chip shop, called the Deep Sea with an accompanying office space across the road. This quickly became the base for DMA Design which the members began the routine of commuting to on regular basis.
There’s also another pic, adjacent to that text. This pic was taken after the Deep Sea had moved directly across the road. It is now the “Tailend” restaurant.
link to nostalgianerd.com
@ Tinto
That Peter Gabriel vid has so much going on with every part of the frame constantly evolving and morphing into something else. Modern tech obviously playing a huge part in generating the content of that vid possible.
And talking of things evolving… in case folk missed it, here is the link Mac posted earlier on the MT which got clipped off.
link to swinehoodsremedy.substack.com
@Brian: yes, it’s brilliantly done and as deeply disturbing as that article you linked to.
If it’s true, combining the “Follow the Money” mantra with Occam’s razor suggests to me that it will all be used to induce people to take more jags against “new variants” and make Big Pharma even more obscene amounts of money.
And if the WHO manages to get the power to declare a pandemic and force national governments to have lockdowns, vaccine-and-mask mandates (coming round the bend next year if they can get way with it) then Gabriel’s vision will be well on its way to taking shape.
Lovely weather we’ve been having lately…..
Hi TC.
You’ve conflated Dan and me.
I see the notifications of comments and new pages have been restored in the past few days.
I wonder how long for the text preview box?
Sorry, @ Dan. How could I forget those lovable Rainbow scamps in your avatar?
Re the vid: I did wonder if, ironically, AI might have played a part in its bewildering complexity?
BDTT
Aye, I saw it on FB but thought I’d cut’npaste a Google street view.
Obviously didnae work right.
Good additional info. ta.
@BDTT: yes, I think it’s because it’s usually just me and thee on here havering at the end of the internet.
Hi TC.
link to web.archive.org
Ha! Ha!
I clicked (but I did not inhale) 🙂 .
I was introduced to this single around ¡977 by a pal at the Bowlin’ Alley, who was heavily into the film “American Graffiti”, which featured the band. (Some big names involved in the direction, production and acting in that film.)
An excellent slice of 70s rock/pop, which wasn’t a hit in the UK.
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com
Just dropped in to say hoots BDTT, you sound in fine fettle.
😉
Tired, mentally and physically Ian.
But ca’in’ awa’, one day at a time.
Here’s a wee number to cheer abody up.
link to youtube.com
Going to try something as a test to see how Google crawls web.
Please ignore folks.
a bit late but ‘test’ coming up after this post
favourable in-month movement of £0.119m as legal fees relating to 2 cases have now been recharged to litigation provision following receipt of quarter 3 Central Legal Office report
@Dan The Man: stop clanging aboot in yer wee workshop and listen tae this…..
link to youtube.com
I’ve been watching this tonight –
Through a Scottish Prism – Year End Report
link to youtube.com
Denise Findlay said a lot about canvassing and the like and it got me thinking.
Back in 2014, I know RIC did a power of work in the Dundee schemes, to get people registered to vote. I guess they were just as active in Glasgow’s schemes.
What I find strange is that Dundee and Glasgow both voted YES – but with a turnout substantially below average.
What was going on there?
Onnyhoo, will watch this tomorrow.
Through a Scottish Prism – Year End Report Part 2
link to youtube.com
@BDTT: voting manipulation? You may find this real expert interesting, if you can thole Gorgeous George as the host: link to youtube.com
I think the missing votes from Dundee and Glasgow in 2014 probably just disappeared mysteriously out the back of the vans which took them off for “central counting”.
Hi TC.
The count was evacuated in Dundee when the fire alarm sounded. Anything similar at the Glasgow count?
SL count was in East Kilbride. No fire alarms as far as I know (just minor pochling of sneaking a yes vote amongst nine no votes to make ten according to a friend) but moving ballots to a central counting point is potentially insecure/ open to abuse.
@BrianDoonthetoon, I don’t think there were any alarms in Glasgow but I remember being very suspicious of the reported turnout as I know how much had been done to encourage voting. I’m quite sure there must have been some skulduggery there and have heard plenty accounts from people I trust about dodgy things going on in other places, e.g. non-standard voting boxes, and personnel turning up at polling stations who didn’t seem to have any reason for being there.
Unfortunately, as soon as you say these things you sound like a conspiracy theorist as, I’m sure, was the intention!
Tester:
<blockquote
Between Campbell-Sturgess’ contempt for voters (he hasn’t yet been selected for the seat, but any SNP candidate chosen will have the same stance or worse), the vast unpopularity of the SNP’s gender policies, the likelihood of Unionist tactical voting and other factors, it’s probable that despite their own unpopularity the Tories will take the seat for the first time since 1983, another brick in Humza Yousaf’s embarrassing “most seats” strategy will crumble to dust, and independence will disappear a little bit further over the horizon.
Do hope this works…..
Nah.
Ya hay!
Still haven’t watched Part 2 of The Prism.
Onnyhoo, I see you mentioned the werewolves again on the main page.
Have I posted this before?
link to youtube.com
@BDTT: no, I don’t think so.
*Strokes chin and muses* Think you could be on to something there.
A distinction without a difference, as the lawyers say.
Watching Serpico, which I think is fantastic stuff.
Unsung hero of the movie is the guy below. His obituary from the NYT follows (if anyone reads this…think of the current state of Police Scotland…):
David Durk, Serpico’s Ally Against Graft, Dies at 77
David Durk, a New York police detective who with Officer Frank Serpico shattered the infamous blue wall of silence to expose widespread corruption in the city’s Police Department in the 1960s and ’70s, died on Tuesday at his home in Putnam County, N.Y. He was 77.
The cause was cardiac arrest, his wife, Arlene, said. He had been treated for mesothelioma for the past two years, she said.
An Amherst College graduate who studied law at Columbia University, Mr. Durk joined the Police Department in 1963. He imagined a life of public service, as he put it rosily years later, to help “an old lady walk the streets safely” and “a storekeeper make a living without keeping a shotgun under his cash register.”
But what he found was a culture of corruption: of officers and superiors taking payoffs from gamblers, drug dealers, merchants and mobsters for protection and information, like the names of informers they wanted to kill; of officers stealing and dealing drugs, riding shotgun for pushers and intimidating witnesses.
In precinct after precinct, Mr. Durk found cash “pads” — lists of payoffs from gamblers — with shares for officers, sergeants and higher-ups. And behind the corruption, he discovered, was a litany of unwritten rules amounting to a pervasive acceptance of the wrongdoing, even among those not on the take — a code of silence, called the blue wall, which was corroding morale.
Mr. Durk refused to join in, and became a pariah. While he made many arrests and was promoted to detective sergeant, he was shuttled among assignments, often just to get rid of him.
In 1966, while attending classes for new plainclothes investigators, he met Officer Serpico. He too had refused to take payoffs, and had been shunned — and threatened — by fellow officers.
Beyond hating graft, they had little in common. Mr. Durk was a clean-cut collegian with friends in government and the news media, wore conservative suits and lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife and two daughters. Officer Serpico was a shaggy, bearded loner who grew up in Brooklyn, served in the Korean War, joined the police in 1959 and lived in Greenwich Village, a serape-clad bohemian called Paco.
But in 1967 they became allies, and over the next few years they complained to high-ranking police and City Hall officials, including Jay Kriegel, Mayor John V. Lindsay’s police liaison, and Arnold G. Fraiman, the commissioner of investigation.
They provided names, dates, places and other information, but were told that nothing could be done. Mr. Fraiman later said the information was not specific enough. Mr. Kriegel said City Hall was worried about alienating the police in a period of civil disturbances.
As Mr. Durk recalled, “The fact is that almost wherever we turned in the Police Department, wherever we turned in the city administration, and almost wherever we went in the rest of the city, we were met not with cooperation, not with appreciation, not with an eagerness to seek out the truth, but with suspicion and hostility and laziness and inattention, and with our fear that at any moment our efforts might be betrayed.”
Frustrated, they went to The New York Times. In a series of articles based on a six-month inquiry, David Burnham reported in 1970 that drug dealers, gamblers and merchants were making “illicit payments of millions of dollars a year to the policemen of New York.”
Mayor Lindsay created a commission, with the lawyer Whitman Knapp as chairman, to investigate. After testimony in 1971 from Detective Durk, Officer Serpico and others, the commission found corruption was endemic. It said the mayor and the former police commissioner Howard R. Leary had failed to act.
But the fallout was minimal. Dozens of officers were prosecuted, but no senior police or city officials were charged. Politically, however, the hearings virtually ended Mayor Lindsay’s presidential aspirations. Officer Serpico, promoted to detective, was shot in the face in a drug raid in 1971, and retired in 1972. But Detective Durk, promoted to lieutenant, remained in the department for more than a decade, at times in elite investigative units but often in lesser posts.
The 1973 Sidney Lumet film “Serpico,” based on the Peter Maas book “Serpico: The Cop Who Defied the System,” minimized Mr. Durk’s role in the exposés. The film lionized Mr. Serpico, played by Al Pacino, but gave Mr. Durk short shrift. (A minor character based on Mr. Durk was given a fictional name.)
In a book review for The Times, Mary Perot Nichols, who headed radio and television stations operated by New York City, called Mr. Serpico “honest and brave,” but said it was Mr. Durk who had sustained their campaign with his persistence and contacts. “It would be fair to say that without Durk, there would have been no police corruption exposé in The New York Times, no Knapp Commission investigations into the matter,” she wrote.
A 1996 biography by James Lardner, “Crusader: The Hell-Raising Police Career of Detective David Durk,” offered a sympathetic treatment of its subject, who received a share of the book’s earnings.
Books and films aside, Mr. Durk had been his own most eloquent spokesman.
“Corruption is not about money at all,” he told the Knapp Commission, “because there is no amount of money that you can pay a cop to risk his life 365 days a year. Being a cop is a vocation or it is nothing at all, and that’s what I saw destroyed by the corruption of the New York City Police Department, destroyed for me and for thousands of others like me.”
David Burton Durk was born in Manhattan on June 10, 1935, one of two sons of a Manhattan doctor. He attended Stuyvesant High School and graduated from Amherst with a degree in political science in 1958.
He married Arlene Lepow in 1959. In addition to her, he is survived by their two daughters, Joan and Julie Durk.
After a year at Columbia, Mr. Durk sold East African carvings for a time, then joined the Police Department. He patrolled in Harlem and Midtown Manhattan for several years, arresting muggers and pickpockets.
College-educated officers were rare, and he moved up to jobs in the Chief of Detectives office, the city’s Department of Investigation and the Internal Affairs Division. In 1969, on a federal grant, he spent a year recruiting officers on college campuses.
After the Knapp hearings, he continued pressing corruption reforms, but he found himself largely persona non grata in the department, in other agencies he worked for and even among some reporters, who regarded him as obsessively overzealous.
In 1973 and 1974 he worked with a federal investigation of underworld influence in the garment center, but it was called off after 18 months. He was banished to a small police office in Queens, then took a year’s leave at the United Nations to study crime issues. He and his wife and Ira J. Silverman, an NBC producer, wrote a book on heroin traffic, “The Pleasant Avenue Connection.”
In 1979, he took another leave to work on enforcement in the city’s Finance Department. He pounced on tobacco companies that failed to pay taxes on cigarettes given away in promotional campaigns. In 1985, he retired on a police pension of $17,000 a year, and in later years was a professed whistle-blowers’ consultant.
End.
@PhilM: very interesting. I remember the film.
Wish he’s opened a wee office in Holyrood and started work there…..
@Tinto Chiel
You caught my drift exactly my friend…
@PhilM: 🙂 .
These things seem only to happen in fillums these days, sadly.
“Stands Scotland where it did?” etc.
Meet the new Professor of Modern History at Glasgow Uni:
link to facebook.com
I blame it all on “Friends” masel…..
link to youtube.com
In Scottish folklore, seals were often regarded as “people under spells” who could sometimes shed their seal skins and reveal their true selves.
If they could avoid getting shot or clubbed, of course.
This is a surviving fragment of an old Uist song about a noblewoman in seal form hoping to avoid such a fate, sung by the true Queen of Scots, Julie Fowlis. In this seal’s-eye video, a mournful fog horn and some oystergatchers have been added for extra atmosphere.
Beautiful frosty morning Where I Am, and Venus very bright.
Hi Tinto, that song from Julie Fowlis is really quite haunting, absolutely beautiful.
I always look in on off topic, but not too much happening these days. I still keep a watching brief on most of the indy sights, a wearisome task at times. Totally scunnered wi a the trans nonsense.
I see you commented on Wings the other day about Harvey giving you a wee bit of advice. Does that mean it didn’t work out with the lady that he left you for, or does he just appear now and again to check on things.
How is BDTT doing, he doesn’t seem to have posted too much recently. I hope that you’re doing well Brian, and maybe just feeling as fed up as the rest of us.
I see the Rev seems to be to excited about the indy ref vote tomorrow, as promised by thon wee evil besom. These carrots are gie foosty noo.
Keep well all of the folks who do still post here. Hope Dan’s no up on the roof now as this new storm might just blaw him awa.
Take care folks.
Hi, Marie: yes that song is a real ear worm and JF’s singing is pretty perfect. The Gaelic lyrics are a bit strange but then it’s an old song and and not much has survived.
Sadly, Harvey is long gone. He went off with a bunny temptress after blowing all his moola on a 24 carrot ring :).
And yet some folk still believe “thon wee wevil besom”. The other day I bumped into an an old acquaintance and fellow canvasser from when there was still an independence party who asked me how the SNP could have lost in Rutherglen and Hamilton West?
As Mr Zappa use to say, “Weasels rip my flesh!”.
Some folk just don’t see the bleedin’ obvious, innit?
All the best!
Shoulda been 🙂 .
Hi Marie.
I’ve just put this together to send to my boss tomorrow.
———————————
I am to have a course of ‘adjuvant chemotherapy’ starting with a pre-assessment on 2nd November. Intravenous shot on 10th November, then a tablet on 17th November. Three week break then treatment is repeated another three times.
This chemotherapy is usually given when a tumour is bigger than 5cm. Mine was around 7cm. The upper right lobe and a wee bit off the middle lobe of the right lung were removed at Aberdeen. Mr Khalil, surgeon at ARI, believed he had removed all the cancer cells but is satisfied with the planned preventative chemotherapy.
This chemo has to happen within a three month window of surgery, and is to ensure non-recurrence – to mop up any possible cancer cells remaining.
There are pages of possible side effects of the chemo, including breathlessness (which I have at the moment) and lowered immune system.
It’s reckoned that I’ll have to be off work until at least the end of February but my sick line review is on 30th October at Lochee HC so I’ll know more then.
I’m getting a phone call from Urology on 3rd November regarding my prostate cancer but that’s on the back burner for the moment as it is slow-growing, non-aggressive and the lung takes priority.
So, that’s the news at 22.50.
@BDTT: Sorry to hear about all your troubles. Take a good rest and come back the stronger.
For those wanting to SingalongaJulie:
Hò i hó i hì o hó i
Hò i hò i hì o hì
Hò i hó i hí o hó i,
I wasn’t alone last night.
And woe in this land, and woe in the land,
eating people in the form of food.
Do you not see the leader of the people,
boil on a hard round fire.
I am the daughter of Aoi, son of Eoaghin,
that knew about the reefs.
Woe would my beating,
I am a noble woman from another land.
Comes the thrush, comes the starling,
each bird comes to a nest.
The salmon comes across the ocean,
until Monday I will not be moved’.
Hò i hò i hì o hò i
Hò i hò i hì o hì
Hò i hò i hì o hò i,
cha robh mi m’ aonar a-raoir.
’S mairg san tìr seo, ’s mairg san tìr,
’g ithe dhaoine ’n riochd a bhìdh.
Nach fhaic sibh ceannard an t-sluaigh,
goil air teine gu cruaidh cruinn.
’S mise nighean Aoidh mhic Eòghainn,
gum b’ eòlach mi mu na sgeirean.
Gur mairg a dhèanadh mo bhualadh,
bean uasal mi o thìr eile.
Thig an smeòrach, thig an druid,
thig gach eun a dh’ionnsaigh nid.
Thig am bradan thar a’ chuain,
gu Latha Luain cha ghluaisear mis’.
Hi Brian, I’m sorry to hear that you have been so seriously unwell, and like my own husband, not out of the woods yet. It’s very understandable that we haven’t heard much from you.
Please take care and rest as much as you can, come back and join us when you feel ready and able.
All the best to you.
Been thinking, what with time on my hands an’ thah’.
Any parliament of an iScotland, or before, should comprise “Peoples’ Representatives” (PRs) elected locally by STV and paid whatever the average manual wage is at the time of election. Kill the gravy train.
A capped allowance for expenses (local enquiry offices, research assistants, and so on) should be in place, so that one PR can’t do any more than another PR with the same allowance. EG, a PR can’t pay more to her/his researchers than another PR pays theirs.
Just thoughts, for further study…
Dan’s got some good ideas about “local representation”…
If only: link to youtube.com
The genocide has to stop. our politicians are completely out of step with the people they represent.
“Our.”
Bugger! Seemed ok at the time.
Pinched this from FB yesterday.
Look at the pic (of Liverpool’s Lime Street Station), then slowly squeeze your eye shut.
Just imagine!
And talking of spooky, I’ve always found this tradition to be of the charmingly spooky kind. The site isn’t so far from the ancient yew at Fortingall, one of the oldest living things in the northern hemisphere.
link to celticcountries.com
A couple of links yooz may find of interest.
link to tinyurl.com
link to change.org
That Loch Tay development in particular is a shocker. Nothing betrays our pretty powerless situation in Scotland (and a compliant Scottish Government) than these rich man’s playground developments.
I think the Glen Lyon “stone family” was under threat from a proposed hydro scheme but I’m not sure if that is still the case.
A new wildcat update. The fact that this behaviour is previously undocumented needs to be known widely.
link to tinyurl.com
For some reason, whilst playing Mr Do! and watching tonight’s Pointless just now, this memory raise its head, from Andi mentioning going to the shop with your pocket money and getting your hands on a 7″ single.
The day I bought this single, I took it home, stuck it on the Dansette, with the arm up, lay on my bed and heard it repeated around a dozen times.
I’d first heard it on Alan Freeman’s ‘Pick of the Pops’.
A rather interesting medley…
link to youtube.com
Well today was interesting. 1300 hrs to be very precise.
I mean Wow, just Wow.
Scotland has become for me a very sinister place.
I love our people, our land, our humour, our history but the leadership of our public bodies is toxic, skull and crossbones toxic…are we the baddies?
Yes, you are. All of you. For shame…
I think this was played as the first piece of music each morning on the new Radio One for a time:
link to youtube.com
Looks pretty cold.
Hi TC.
That track was 1977 or thereaboots. Radio 1 was “new” in 1967.
Thanks, BDTT, I think I was thinking of the original: link to youtube.com
Another Copeland cover from ELP –
link to youtube.com
I first saw this next video around 20 years ago but it was not in a downloadable format. Fortunately, somebody eventually uploaded it to YouTube. “Viking Kittens” –
link to youtube.com
Ha! Ha! Hoedown: very fast.
Viking Kittens: hilarious but informative in a Vikingy way.
Eh, it is educamational, once you see the lyrics as sub-titles.
I’ve not watched this yet but have downloaded it for later viewing. I recorded his band back in the mid-90s, for a couple of guys serving in Bosnia, who used to be regulars at Jack Daniels on a Sunday night, where they had the residency.
BTW: “The Mystery Men” were regulars at the “Saturday Morning Club” at The Gaumont in the early 60s. I saw them often – never knew who they were.
link to youtube.com
If you’re looking for a film made in Scotland to watch…
Has Brian Cox, Robert Duvall, Michael Keaton and Ally McCoist.
link to youtube.com
Further info here:-
link to en.wikipedia.org
Another full film for yooz.
Around halfway through, Roy Castle plays trumpet with the Tubby Hayes band. The guy to his right (to the left onscreen) is legendary Dundee trumpet player Jimmy Deuchar.
link to en.wikipedia.org
Jimmy Deuchar is playing a mellophonium at that point in the film.
link to youtube.com
I’ve just finished watching “A Shot At Glory” (over 3 nights). Rather enjoyable. Ally McCoist’s acting was eyebrow-raisingly ‘no bad’.
Recommended 8/10.
Test post to see if this submits, as there is clearly an issue with posting on this site now.
If you hover over the line of information below each posts that actually shows, you can see the numbers rise way out of sync with the number of posts that actually submit properly.
There’s basically more posts been submitted (but not showing) btl on the new article than there are showing.
Hi everyone,
Just popped in to wish you all a merry Christmas.
BDTT I hope that your health is on the improving side, that would be good news indeed. Tinto, Mrs TC and all at Tinto Towers hope all is well with you and you have a lovely time with family. Wee weans make Christmas, grandchildren and great grandchildren are giving us all something to look forward too this coming year.
Mr C is doing well at the moment, fingers crossed that it stays that way. The sad bit us I lost my wee sister to cancer at the end of August, you fair miss folk at this time of year don’t you.
Had a very busy day getting everything prepped for tomorrows dinner. Mr C is cooking the tea, and I plan to put my feet up with a wee dram and just relax later.
So all the best to all the wingers on OT, not many these days I know. Sad innit. See some saddo has suggested the SNP take seats in the house of Lords. WHIT! Keep the gravy train going after you get turfed out on your ear, grifters. I never thought I would see the day.
@Marie Clark: a Merry Christmas to you and the family. Delighted by Mr C’s good news.
The wee ones are keeping us going and give us some hope in this dark world. A “Happy New Year” sounds so false when we witness the mass murders in Gaza and our mostly spineless politicians.
I am still in touch from time to time with Mrs Smallaxe and Nana and Norman. Sadly, Tobias Ellwood’s little elves seem to have the run of the main thread at the moment, and to its detriment.
If the SNP take seats in the Lords surely even the most blindly faithful SNP loyalists will realise the game’s up?
All the best to you and the family, Marie.
Hi Marie.
Still ca’in’ awa’. Still tired all the time and a loss of appetite over the past few days.
Nothing exciting to report, I’m afraid.
Onnybuddy else wondered this?
A comedy TV series, US or UK. Canned laughter seems to be prevalent. However, comedy full-length film – no canned laughter required.
Why the difference?
A Hogmanay choon fur yiz.
link to youtube.com
Thanks for the Choon Brian. Quiet aboot here these days innit.
Happy New Year folks, let’s hope it might be a better yin than the last.
Happy New Year, what’s left of us on O/T.
The ultimate slippery beat: link to youtube.com
Hard for the drummer.
When you see the evil lunacy detailed in the last three M/T threads and the genocide in Gaza, this 80s song seems impossibly gentle, beautiful and unattainable:
link to youtube.com
On the same wavelength, really: they were unique, like so many others 🙂 .
link to youtube.com
And similarly, following your Black comment and following link,
link to youtube.com
Yep, that’s where we are.
I was that banana.
Hi TC.
Dan took some pics of beaver damage yesterday and asked me to make them available to you.
The first shows Birnam Hill on the left horizon, and Caputh Hill on the right. Just above the bridge on the right side is where the biggest UK salmon ever caught at 64lb by Miss GW Ballantyne was landed.
Hi TC.
Dan took some pics of beaver damage yesterday and asked me to make them available to you.
The first shows Birnam Hill on the left horizon, and Caputh Hill on the right. Just above the bridge on the right side is where the biggest UK salmon ever caught at 64lb by Miss GW Ballantyne was landed.
And another 3 next.
More…
Thanks, BDTT.
Taken near Dunkeld then? That tree does look badly damaged right enough but I simply don’t believe a beaver can ride a bike.
BTW, this guy can actually persuade you that you can understand particle physics:
link to youtube.com
I’d prefer to be walking through the woods by the Tay, though.
Spotted moschatel or wee toun nock for the first time in years in woods beside the Tweed last spring: it’s a sign, ah tell ye.
Very cold, with a dusting of snow Where I Am.
Hope you are feeling better. The lack of light at this time of year doesn’t help.
Cheers for hosting the pics BDtt. Though seems to be duplication in pic links.
@ Tinto
It’s actually all six of those mature trees on the right riverbank that have been ringed by a beaver.
I sent those pics to a tree surgeon pal and he said it is unlikely they will survive in good health or even at all after sustaining such damage.
@Dan: yes, once the bark is stripped all the way around, the trees will be vulnerable to all manner of disease.
Never mind, some rich landowner somewhere will have received more greewashing subsidy for hosting the furry ones, I suppose, and that’s all that matters, innit?
Today, February the first, St Bridget’s or Bride’s Day, is the first day of spring in the Celtic calendar, when preparatory work in the fields was begun.
That is all.
link to youtube.com
Oh no, it’s not!
link to youtube.com
Finally, something to energise the hypothetical workers in the fields:
link to youtube.com
Special mention to drummer Bev Bevan.
@ Tinto
I started work in the fields for this year’s crops last year by spreading a nutrient rich mulch on the veg beds then covering them in large cardboard pieces recycled from bicycle delivery boxes.
This covering stops the winter precipitation washing all the goodness through the soil and the cardboard also stops the worst of the frosts so all the wee beasties and worms can do their thang without getting frozen.
Planted a few dozen garlic cloves on the winter solstice too. Wanted to plant more but need to keep some for munching.
Pumpkin soup is braw at this time of year. Roast some homegrown onions, garlic, and pumpkin chunks with some finely chopped chili. Then lob that mix into a blender with enough added water to help it mix properly and pour back into a saucepan. Then give it a wee simmer and stir in some coconut milk before serving. I’d have garnished with a bit of coriander but the minus 10 temps took out the coriander plants… 🙁
Did you see the pic of yon monkey running away from the police up Glencoe. It’s a cracker and almost better than the heeland coo on the motorbike at the top of this comment page.
Hi, Dan.
I didn’t see the monkey coverage myself but Mrs Tinto has been mentioning it as a prime MSM distraction from all the other horrors of the world at the moment. I’m afraid the political class have finally outed themselves as having nothing in common with their constituents, who are too human to go along with them in their incesssant warmongering.
I have long admired your tenacity on the M/T re matters “False Green” and all its attendant crapola as well as your indefatigable stuff re energy theft and that of Scottish resources generally. Sadly we lack a political class willing to exploit the obvious Show Us The Money.
I will shortly have to consider getting rid of my 2.0 diesel VW engine, not because of any inherent problems but thinking ahead to further bannings by the Green puretariate. Supermarket diesel? Not for me. My local mechanic tells me my car could do twice my current 78,000 mileage if I am allowed by The Powers That Be.
I found an old and very perceptive acount by the local minister (one David Ure) of the difficulties of trying to grow things in East Kilbride, a very high and frosty parish in Lanarkshire in 1793, where I lived from 1954-1982:
“Insurmountable obstacles, both from the soil and climate, will always obstruct agricultural improvements in this parish. Nearly three-fourths of the arable land is composed of a stiff clayey soil, generally incumbent on till, a substance greatly unfavourable for vegetation: it is likewise, in most places, very much exposed to under-water, and is commonly known by the terms cold and sour. Many things highly unfavourable to the progress of agriculture naturally arise from such a soil. The season is far advanced before the ground is sufficiently dry to admit the plough: the seed, after being sown, sometimes rots before it has time to vegetate; and not infrequently the surface of the ground, after seed-time, cakes to such a degree of hardness, especially in a great drought after heavy rain, that the tender blade cannot get through……
“The unfavourable state of the soil is, in some measure, owing to the climate, which, in the exposed situation of Kilbride, is cold and wet. The frost sets in very early in Autumn, and continues late in Spring.”
One answer at the time was to burn lime, quite plentiful generally, in killogies or kilns to produce quicklime which could be slaked to reduce soil acidity and therefore boost fertility. Another was to plant hawthorn hedgerows (to produce shelter) in pits with oats to warm up the hedge-growing process via oat germination.
It’s no surprise then, that, a long time ago, Bride/Bridget was invoked in an attempt to improve the fertility of such soil. IIRC, there are about 28 places in Scotland called Kilbride, most of them in Highland areas.
Like your recipes too. Your diet will probably see you through to your 90s at least, if Our Rulers don’t get to us all first via nuclear oblivion.
Lang mair yer lum reek, etc.
I apologise in advance for my seriosity: here’s me (with the pipe) on the bike.
link to youtube.com
Let’s all be happy.
Och, sod it, let’s just Love Shack it (ya bass!):
link to youtube.com
The monkey meme pics must be the only decent thing ever printed in the Daily Record…
Getting chased by rozzers is my favourite. Has a bit of a Restless Native vibe going on. Although technically it may a Restless NuScot if it’s an imported primate.
link to archive.is
Did you catch my lpg/autogas in France post? Incredible divergence between the UK phasing autogas out and France keeping it going.
So disheartening watching this shite playing out and really getting to the point I question the worth of staying in Scotland and not just decamping to a land that more aligns with my outlook. Everything here is just so fucked up and compromised.
Whilst out on bike earlier I had another decent chat with an older English man that has lived in my locale for well over a decade. He was a Tory and pro-EU but has now had it with Party politics due to the political class being so corrupted.
He was aware of my proposal to facilitate the people regaining some political control by standing decent local non-party affiliated candidates to properly represent the wards and constituencies, and he asked why I hadn’t stood myself as he would vote for that.
I explained the timing just isn’t right for me now as the past few years have been difficult with caring for and ultimately losing my mum to cancer (late diagnosis because covid…), then got a tick bit and lyme disease a month after she passed which has left me a bit stretched and fatigued and playing catch up.
And even if I felt up for it the complete disjointedness of the current Indy movement is ridiculous. Bloggers still writing and posting endless reams of blogs daily on the internet, but I don’t see anything from these prominent supposedly politically savvy individuals actually doing anything on the ground in their own respective areas that would make actually make a difference.
Proper planning would have had potential candidates identified years back and the necessary groundwork put in place to develop their profiles, skills, and campaign team network, whilst also planting the seeds in amongst the electorate in the area they plan to represent.
But no, none of that has happened so piss poor planning will result in piss poor performance. And that is why I don’t have any faith in things improving any time soon.
The final nail in the coffin for me standing was the recent local ward and constituency boundary changes which could not have been worse for myself as I’m now right on a new boundary and have therefore lost half of the area I have lots of history in and local connections too.
So fuck it.
Basically, Dan, we all lack a political focus at the moment: the SNP has ben killed by infiltration, Salmond has been smeared, probably irrevocably, and the rest of us can’t produce the Big Push as so many individuals.
In normal times the good guys in Scotland would eventually regroup and pull through via conventional party politics but the world is facing war on at least two huge fronts, possibly more, with lashings of nuclear oblivion options on top, so our problems seem relatively trivial at the moment.
Add psychopathic, authoritarian globalism and all its works (including digital ID, CBDC and lunatic Green Net Zero) and it all adds up to a clusterGove of epic proportions when our politicians have been bought and sold by hugely powerful lobby groups like Big Pharma, the military industrial complex, Big Agriculture, Zionism and The Green Dream.
I’ll be entering my eighth decade in a few days so just about all I can do is try to think of my grandchildren and perhaps keep drag queens out of their primary school.
The future’s looking dim to me at the moment, I have to say. We’ve been stitched up good and proper by Sturgeon and her handlers, the consequence of believing the political class shared our love for our country. May they rot in hell.
It’s a sair fecht, as granny used to say before drawing on her cuttie pipe and spitting into the range……
Apparently, St Bride’s (Bridget’s) day is an Irish thing.
She was revered in Scotland too, Brian, which is why so many settlements in marginal agricultural lands here were dedicated to her because she was associated with fertilty, flocks, etc.
In Scottish Gaelic, the oystercatcher is called “Bridie’s bird” and its two-tone call is supposed to represent the words Bi Glic, “be wise”.
Hope you are gradually getting better and stronger.
The chemo side effects really kicked in 3-4 weeks ago. becoming breathless too easy, tired all the time, taking medication to suppress nausea.
Chemo finished this week and no appointments in February so far, except CT scan on 28th.
Hope you gradually pull away now the chemo is over. The days are getting a little longer and some of the birds are practising their songs for the Big Event, i.e. spring.
Hi everyone. I noticed some off topic activity and having a little more time than last year thought I’d pop in. My sister was struck by pancreatic cancer last year so I was spending a lot of time with her down in Kent – and no wifi in her flat so well out of touch.
Brian, my cousin had his prostate cancer treated at Ninewells and is, touch wood, clear. He was very happy with Ninewells. As for the lung, well you will know all about how one can manage without sections of lung. I know chemo is grim but a first cousin of mine had breast cancer last year, mastectomy followed by 6 chemo sessions – it was tough but she is OK now [touch wood again]. So I am hoping that you will soon start feeling better now that the treatment is over and Spring is starting.
Hoping too that things will improve on the independence front but have my doubts. ISP and Salvo/Liberation are the only groups that seem honest and focused on the only thing that will help improve things for Scotland.
@Sarah: springtime greetings to you and I wish you better health for your family too.
Was watching an old episode of Endeavour recently and heard this old rock classic. Doubt Endeavour would approve: link to youtube.com
May The Force be with Us All.
Greetings, Tinto, and thanks for the good wishes. First sign of Spring here today – I heard a bird talking. It’s only when you hear the first one that you realise how quiet it has been for so long. Mind you it strikes panic into me as I also realise how much I need to do in the veg beds – so far I have pruned a blackcurrant bush and that’s it! Don’t tell Dan…
Yes, heard my first blackbird singing at dusk yesterday.
It’s started…..
Since the mis/disinformation and outright lies on the BBC are unbearable, I find my radio listening is mainly confined to Radio 3, which has only about four two-minute “news” summaries per day.
A German pianist was playing her favourites on one R3 programme last week and this old song turned up: quite remarkable harmonies and listen to the bass!
link to youtube.com
link to mamalisa.com
Meanwhile, in other news, saw a treecreeper on my birch tree the other day.
That is all…
This trail-blazing band could really play but forget the first 1.50 mins while they faff about:
link to youtube.com
Gotta play this tonight – and it’s a live version of the long album original, with the ‘classical’ middle bit.
link to youtube.com
Yes I saw the sad news that he’d just died.
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.”
Good to see you both finding something other than our dreadful politics to think about. Mind you, Independents for Independence gave a spark – at least they are prepared to fight.
Lucky you to see a treecreeper, TC – haven’t seen one for a long time and it is always a thrill.
Yes, Sarah, it’s a cute thing, with its decurved bill and wee white front. They climb up trees and nuthatches down. I’m near a large stretch of woodland so get some interesting birds at times.
I see my German song got blootered by the YT algorithm so I’ll try another version, from the first take: link to youtube.com
I hear the SNP are voting for the downgrading of a local neo-natal unit in this area, no doubt much to the delight of the Tories and Labour.
Are they committing political suicide deliberately?
I’ve decided the whole political class are beyond saving and it seems pretty much the same throughout Europe and the USA. They don’t listen to their constituents but merely obey powerful lobby groups who either bribe or blackmail them into doing their bidding.
Off to hug a tree and commune with The Great Spirit (I don’t mean malt whisky).
Cheers!
We have just listened to Brian’s Eric Carmen piece, then wandered off via Fanny to Marvin Gaye, and ended up with The Harmonists. This is what we should spend our time on, not bashing our heads against the brick wall of the SNP.
My brick wall bashing this week has been to try to get Councillors and MSP to attend a Salvo Freeports public meeting on 23rd March in Inverness. One councillor, a decent [I think] retired doctor and ex-Labour now SNP rep, has replied to say he had already agree to go. Will he have any influence over Kate Forbes when he tells her the truth of the horrendous Freeport? Not holding my breath.
Yes, Sarah, “music therapy” can help in these dark times.
Gaye’s original song is beautifully (sung as usual) and his lyrics are pretty sharp and almost poetic but Fanny’s completely different treatment feels equally convincing to me. The band was so “together” it’s a pity it didn’t last, as each member could sing as well as play and June’s voice and slide playing on that track were particularly good. They could out-rock most of the male bands at the time and seem completely at home in that style.
As for the abomination which is the Freeport idea, it looks like Forbes’ supposed links with the American State Department may well be true. Despite taking her Holyrood oath in Gaelic (which is nice), it all looks like tartan window-dressing to hide another neo-liberal Globalist whose priorities aren’t us or Scotland.
To cheer myself up, I’m going to listen again to this old Spanish song which was “repurposed” for propaganda purposes in the Spanish Civil War. I always find the “rambla la rambla la ra” bit amazingly catchy and almost too jolly for the warlike content:
link to youtube.com
No Pasarán!
(Except they did, unfortunately).
“Rumba la rumba” I meant!
And I forgot to mention the master:
link to youtube.com
Another from the Spanish Civil War…
link to youtube.com
Marvin Gaye has put a smile on my face! Takes me back to my teens straight away – and that’s over 50 years ago, gulp. As for the Spanish Civil War song you linked to – it was so calm and gentle sounding that I couldn’t connect it to what happened.
Your link, BDTT, also very very interesting. If only Britain had done the right thing against Franco it might have prevented the 2nd World War through making Hitler “think again”.
@sarah, BDTT: strange how oldies like us still refer to the SCW. I suppose it was a time of idealism in Scotland, with many working class people feeling Fascism had to be fought in Spain lest it arrive in Scotland. Never mind, we have a SG to do that for us now, with their Hate Act.
How the flying Freuchie did we get to this state?
I think this song suddenly appeared in my YT ganderbag because I was researching Malaga etc for our wee Easter holiday:
link to youtube.com
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
“Was it for this the clay grew tall?”
Paint me thick but I can’t fathom the meaning of that question.
The wonders of Google told me that it is a Wilfred Owen poem and means life is futile. The earth forms us and we end up dead.
Cheery soul, wasn’t he? But given where he found himself, it’s not surprising.
I thought there was a typo somewhere.
In case Wings doesn’t return, just a line to wish you all the best and don’t give up!
Cheerybyethenoo to you too, and all the O/Ters of yore, some of whom are no longer with us and never got to that big party in Freedom Square. Och, well…..
link to youtube.com
Wise words, I fink.
Hopefully it won’t be the end of the site forever and it will be just a temporary break, but will wish all the best to genuine Wingers anyway. 🙂
The top of this OT page with a motorbike adventure was a year ago. Have just put my bike back on the road again after a winter break so may be up for a road trip or two.
@ Sarah. Due to circumstances I didn’t manage to get away on the bike much over last couple of years, but if you still need those veg bed protection posts dug in and engines looked at then I could drop by if in your neck of the woods.
Thanks for the introduction to Peggy Lee, Tinto – I’d never heard her before. I’m afraid that this song does rather sum up where we’re at after 10 years of treacherous letdowns. Given how many noble, spirited people were, and still are, in the grassroots Yes movement, it is surprising that virtually every elected SNP person completely lacks the necessary drive, passion and principles. However I still have some hope that Independents for Independence will have some impact.
Dan, I wanted to congratulate you on all the many voluntary jobs you do for your community and friends – the latest one about the sewage into the backwater was excellent. I know they took 3 weeks to act but if you hadn’t reported it and pressed the matter it would have taken much longer. As for our deer fencing, my husband managed to do it despite his polymyalgia – and it has kept the deer out, so far! If you are in the area we would love to see you – it’s not quite as unspoilt as it was because we thought we should make our house accessible by normal cars for when we need help/carers so had a horrible huge track dug last year. I still haven’t driven on it myself – the longer I leave it the more nervous I get, of course.
I get comfort knowing there’s people like proper Wingers still battling away. Many thanks to you all.
Hi folks, third time trying to post, other two lost in the ether.
Sarah I agree with your first paragraph, how the hell we got here I’m not too sure. Don’t recognize my country anymore.
Hopefully we’ll all come through and see each other on the other side. Tinto haven’t heard that Peggy Lee song in a long time, it’s a fair question though intit. Dan keep doing what you always do, talented man. BDTT hope you’re making progress, look after yourself.
Hope the Rev is not away too long. Ta ta for now.
Got good news on Friday. Latest CT Scan shows no evidence of cancer in my lung. Still suffering from chemo side effects – tiredness and breathlessness being the worst, along with loss of appetite and distorted sense of taste.
Treatment for prostate is observational at the moment, until chemo side effects are gone.
I usually post this link on Hogmanay but it’s appropriate for today. Best wishes to all off-topickers and lurkers.
link to youtube.com
And a “Haste Ye Back” to Rev Stu!
@Marie: yes, I first heard it when I was in my twenties and it made an impression on me then. JGedd (much missed) played it on here the last time The Rev closed down and I remembered it.
All we can do is look after our families until the whole rotten edifice comes crashing down, as it inevitably will. I think there will be much turbulence and strife, however.
One thing I am sure of is that most juries would not convict in prosecutions under this act because they have too much common sense, which is probably why the SG is so keen on bench (i.e. judge-only) trials.
To think that in 2014 many of us thought independence was only a matter of time…..
That is so good to hear BDTT
Some good news.
Scotland is a bleak, scary place now. I hope we can all stay safe.
Thanks to the OT contributors, it was appreciated!
Excellent news, BDTT. Judging by my cousin the chemo effects should clear by 3 or 4 months.
Will we all be joining in the “anonymous HCA reporting on behalf of a 3rd party” as explained by the Rev today? I do hope there is a deluge. My husband plans to print off the form so we can post a bundle periodically to the police rather than email them. Well, we need a hobby!
Other than that I will be supporting all the grassroots efforts – Indy1st, Independence forum, Salvo and Liberation, Independents for Independence, ISP, Barrhead Boy, Yours for Scotland etc etc – there’s loads of good people out there and a chance of getting somewhere at last when the SNP monoploy is broken.
Best wishes to you all.
BDTT great news Brian I’m delighted for you.
Monopoly not monoploy – though the latter does describe SNP S30 ploy nicely!
Oh, well, in that case…
“Carry on, sergeant major!”
“Very good, sir!”
Jeezo Brian – haven’t been in here for a long time.
Good to see that you’re not showing any signs of anything sinister.
I’d no idea that you were “under the doc”.
We’ll have to see if we can get a group hug arranged for the summer and catch up with the gang.
Hi Jim.
I’ve been inspected, examined and treated since Christmas 2022, when I woke up one morning with a pain in my side, which felt like a kick in the ribs.
Had a large tumour successfully removed from right lung at Aberdeen RI in August. Chemo followed.
Prostate cancer is non-aggressive and is being observed.
Say hello to Betty Boop!
Ach well. I’ll just drop this in here seeing as my post was held in moderation and then apparently deleted from appearing btl on this article. One can only presume Gareth has standards that must be met, and disnae like interaction with common neds such as masel. 🙂
link to grousebeater.wordpress.com
“Grim stuff, but when reading articles of this type it is a good reminder of the importance of the “think global, act local” message.
Pretty much all the accrued waste in the planet’s oceans originates from human activity on land. Our supposedly freshwater rivers are merely conveyor belt tributaries transporting much of this waste into our oceans.
As someone that has spent and continues to spend a great deal of time over the years cleaning up many tonnes of litter waste from along our roadsides, river banks, and beaches, it is incredibly sad to see just how much garbage doesn’t find its way in to proper waste management systems. This situation is perpetuated by an all too common human mindset that just doesn’t care, and laws and polices that continue to allow quite so much packaging and the inclusion of plastics in so many products that are sold here.
Waste you can see is one thing, but all the nasty chemicals in detergents like washing powder, bleaches, shampoos, bubble baths, oven and toilet cleaners all too often end up flowing into our freshwater watercourses due to lack of developed infrastructure to properly deal with and process much of the waste we humans produce. “Treated” sewerage often just means a sieve like grate holds the jobbies and wipes in a “heavies” tank to settle and be collected occasionally, whilst all the “lights” get pumped direct into our rivers. So there is no process in place to catch or neutralise nasty chemicals. I’m currently dealing with a broken sewer pollution incident and can see first hand the results of pumping 2500 gallons of “treated” effluent a day for a few months into a stillwater watercourse. It has basically wrecked what should be a thriving ecosystem with fish spawning beds, and turned it into a dead zone. Goodness knows how long it will take to recover as it will now sit and stew all summer in an algae blooming soup till next winter’s floods flow through and begin to purge out the toxic mess that has been dumped into it.
I understand the village of Grandtully in Perthshire has no sewer treatment plant at all and it all just dumps into the Tay as is. Fortunately for the canoeist and kayakers on the famous slalom course, the village sewer pipe discharges in the pool downstream from the end of the course and bridge. But probably still wise to drink a can of coke after being in the water to kill off nasty bacteria and organisms as you’ll still get the effluent from Killin, Kenmore, and ‘Feldy. Other villages along the Tay which has the largest flow of any river in Great Britain pump the “lights” fluid in. Is it any wonder there is a reduction in Salmon numbers in our rivers these days…
#NotSoBonnieScotland “
It is incredibly sad and so stupid, Dan. I’ve been thinking to myself that a responsible government should require all products to be subject to licensing, as medicines are [supposedly]. If the product cannot be disposed of safely then it must not be made. End of.
After all, public health is a thing – my solution is only a more distant version of food safety. If we ruin the planet then our health is endangered.
Aye Sarah, one would have thought with the supposedly Scottish “Greens” in “government”, they would have actually focused on and pushed for more environmentally sustainable legislation to be put in place to kerb the production, selling, and use of products across our society that are clearly detrimental to our ecosystems. Or asking for our infrastructure to be upgraded to better manage the waste we produce.
But no, a myopic like infatuation with pish like Genderwoowoo and associated Hate Crime is what they spend most of their efforts on. The Deposit Return Scheme farce was a not a sensible path for them to go down, as we already have reasonable recycling facilities in place, and a national program to educate folk and get them motivated to use the existing facilities properly would have been the way forward rather than try to create DRS which ultimately failed to be implemented, and cost the taxpayer many millions in the process.
Some good news is that I have finally managed after weeks of trying to speak with the engineering contractor that is managing the broken sewer issue. A lad called me last night and we had a good chat about technical stuff, and he took onboard my suggestion that there is a need to review and update what is currently in place now that we are 6 weeks in from the initial reporting of the fault, and 3 weeks in since putting the tanker on site.
He is going to organise another site visit with engineers which I will attend and be able to add local insight and suggestions so that we can move forward with the most viable and robust solution to fix the problem.
He stated the company he works for have a duty to make sure taxpayers’ money is being spent in the most efficient way when dealing with these sort of issues, and as he was technically savvy he understood my suggestions that we could be doing more for less. There is actually a specialist team within his company that could be mobilised to implement the temporary repair I suggested 6 weeks ago, and this would save thousands a day on the tanker. Without me continuing to push so hard to get in touch with them none of this would have been instigated or other options considered.
Oh dear, so I try to post another comment on a different site and it to is held in moderation (first time poster so fair enough) but my comment also now appears to have been deleted…
Thanks again Wings for providing a platform for comment seeing as other sites won’t accept certain types of input.
link to commonweal.scot
“Craig, I really don’t think it is helpful perpetuating the idea that using solar PV in compromised locations such as fence panels or facing the wrong way is the right thing to do. Have you actually looked at the real world generation figures for compromised solar PV array system installations?
I have firsthand real world experience because half a dozen neighbouring properties have recently had compromised PV systems installed through taxpayer funded subsidies, and the generation figures are absolutely atrocious with numbers as low as just 200kWh being generated in 6 months. Generation in properly installed 4kW systems should be about 10 times those amounts.
Those low outputs are made all the worse because the 4kW residential PV systems produce virtually no power during the short daylight hours and cold winter months, so they are zero help in assisting the residents heat or even power other electrical items in their homes.
An old smallish property with single glazing and poor insulation with the resultant low thermal efficiency figure that yields would require to consume about 4kW every hour (day and night) to keep it close to warm in winter.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that 200kWh generated over 6 months is only a baw hair over 1Kwh produced during the daylight hours of one day, so it is nowhere near being of any help in providing the level of electrical energy required to heat a home.
And I’ll tack on that some of the above PV systems were installed along with Air Sourced Heatpumps under permitted development planning rules. This means the installations lacked any scrutiny by Local Authority Building Control to check if the systems were appropriate and met the various compliance standards with regard to performance and noise levels.
So now what was once a lovely quiet rural village sounds like an industrial zone with multiple ASHPs humming and resonating away at all hours day and night.
I’ve checked the noise outputs of my neighbours’ ASHPs with a calibrated decibel meter and none meet the 42db noise limit, with some being 50db which is almost 10 times the legal limit, and one that even puts out 59db which is almost 100 times the legal limit.
And for reference my old diesel car puts out 62db when ticking over.”
@Dan, you are making a genuine difference which I am sure is very much appreciated by those around you.
Where I live it is flytip galore and about a quarter mile from my house on my evening walk I have passed the same dog turd on the pavement for about three months now.
Thanks Anton, though it really is and continues to be a struggle to get anything accomplished properly.
The saga continues…
I just went out for a walk and had a chat with the lad on shift at the sewerage collection tanker.
Due to him and others being incorrectly briefed, the tanker crew for the past couple of days have apparently not been lifting the effluent as the pumps are working fine…
FFS, the pumps are NOT the problem, the problem is the broken sewer pipe a mile away!
So this means they have allowed another 7500 gallons of effluent to be pumped into the wrong watercourse.
He showed me their work order paperwork which didn’t make it clear what their job entailed and why they were there. I then explained what they were actually meant to be doing for the thousands of pounds a day the company is getting paid for, which is to ensure they collect the effluent from the tank so the level doesn’t rise to the point the float switch turns on and pumps the effluent into the wrong watercourse.
@Dan, death by bureaucracy. A relative has recently left an infrastructure company due to the conditions being intolerable with the turds rising to the top.
It must be really annoying seeing such expensive breakdowns in communication and the damage which is being done. A minor bright point though is that you are pointing this out and hopefully things will start to move.
At 2.18am, 112 years ago, Titanic slid under the waves.
link to youtube.com
That was originally released as “And The Band Played On” but on re-promotion a year or so later, the title was changed to “Down Among The Dead Men”.
For the Glasgow/Kirriemuir connection, see,
link to en.wikipedia.org
Anton Decadent says:
“…death by bureaucracy…”
Aye, you’re not wrong. Now 8 and half weeks into this clusterfuck of utter bureaucratic incompetence and dereliction of duty regarding broken village sewer pipe and still having sewerage pumped into the wrong watercourse.
The contracted Tanker has been on site 24/7 for over 5 weeks now on emergency call out rates (which I understand could to date have cost not far off 1/4 million quid), and my pleas for a review of the procedures initially put place fall on deaf ears.
Scottish Water, Clancy Docwara, SEPA, all unresponsive.
Even contacted the SPSO Scottish Public Services Ombudsman earlier to enquire what could be done about this ridiculous situation, but they won’t do anything until a complaint has been raised and dealt with by each individual organisation involved…
Why would I waste my time raising a complaint with Scottish Water when they have proven they are incompetent and required to be reported to SEPA to finally act; Why would I waste my time raising a complaint with SEPA when they have proven themselves to be incompetent in overseeing what Scottish Water were doing to manage and rectify the fault, and thus allowing continued pollution and further environmental damage to occur due to flawed procedure.
It’s an absolute fucking joke that it is down to my unpaid self to continue to chase these useless fuckers to actually do something.
All calls, texta, emails, pics and vids are logged, and I haven’t deleted the whatsapp messages…
I was going to post a certain something off-topic but then had second thoughts when I read the last few posts on here. Engaging with Scottish bureaucracy truly is like swimming in a sea of…
Anyway, commiserations Dan. Hopefully, things ‘will start to move’ as well.
On further consideration and mulling over the meaningful phrase of things ‘starting to move’, I decided to bring to the attention of the good people of Scotland a short song. A tune too thoughtful and of too universal application for the good people of Scotland not to be made aware of its existence. Why oh why YouTube suggested this to me, history may one day uncover.
Listen and weep…
link to m.youtube.com
Wish I’d known of the existence of that track 50-odd years ago. Would have fitted into my average set-list as a “novelty record” just fine.
Not usually a fan of power ballads but I think Ian B played this a long while ago and it dropped into my YT ganderbag a couple of nights ago and caught my attention once again:
link to youtube.com
The words seem even more relevant today given the corruption of our political class, the threat of senseless wars on several fronts and the need to fight creeping authoritarianism.
And it’s got bagpipes…….
Hi TC.
A fine performance!
link to youtube.com
So good we played it twice….. 🙂 .
Evening troops.
Lively power ballads you say….
I’ll drop these in again.
Monster Truck – For The People
“For the people, by the people
For the people, tell everyone
We will rise up to fight your evil
We the people, we’ll overcome”
link to youtube.com
The Interrupters – Take Back The Power
“What’s your plan, for tomorrow
Are you a leader, or will you follow
Are you a fighter, or will you cower
It’s our time to take back the power”
link to youtube.com
Ach weel, another few decades (or maybe jist weeks if the relevant census info is finally released as Viv o Bliv hinted) of btl discourse and reckon “franchise discussion” will at least be a mute point because there will be no Scots left and most of our resources and assets will have been sold off to outside interests.
I recall the late and missed LizG stating we would need our brightest and best primed and ready for the negotiations that would occur as Scotland untangled itself from the Union.
Hmm, whit a thought as I am really not seeing Freeport Forbes & Shona Robison displaying anywhere near the necessary credentials for such a task…
Particularly liked The Interrupters, Dan. The political class are finished so somehow the people will have to do the heavy lifting. It’s how to co-ordinate principled, independent individuals into a powerful unit without being corrupted by lobbyists and freaky interest groups (looking at you, “Greens”) which is the problem.
Just back from a few days in Skye to a place I have known since 1974. Will spare you the grisly details but I think I know the delayed census results in advance. My depression was topped off by the sight of a Cockney “Pub Landlord” type in one of the island’s oldest hotel restaurants serving re-heats at high prices to bemused/pissed-off tourists, with catering standards back to pre-EU 1970s levels.
The profusion of Air B&Bs and hobbit houses/pods is making it even more difficult for local families #autochthonous population to find any decent accommodation. Meanwhile the big increase in tourist numbers in reaction to lockdown and social media postings extolling the island’s beauties are steadily destroying the very environment which they are supposedly coming to experience.
Barry McGuire’s “On The Eve of Destruction”, anyone?
A decade more of this will make us Scots strangers in our own land.
Hi TC.
The answer to ‘Eve Of Destruction’…
link to youtube.com
Where did it all go wrong?
Ha! Ha! God loves an optimist 🙂 .
A few minutes ago, I went through to the kitchen to pour myself a whisky and (Lidl) Iron Brew and while I was pouring, the names Hengist and Horsa popped into my head.
When I got back to the lynge, I had to Google. Turns out they were at the forefront of the invasion of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons.
That was a memory from history lessons at primary or secondary school. Are kids still taught this?
@ BDtt
You mentioned the Titanic a few posts back…
I happened to watch The Triangle of Sadness the other night. It’s a bit meh at the start with all the tedious superficial vanity stuff, but improves in the middle section of the film in on the cruise ship with Woody Harrelson. I had tears in my eyes with laughter as it played out.
And just for posterity. The broken sewer “repair” is completed…
We may return to this subject… LOLZ.
I don’t know if anyone else has done it but, 2 or 3 years ago, I went right back to the start of ‘off-topic’ in March 2014, and started reading (over numerous instalments over several days kept in a tab) until I was back up to date.
It was entertaining – like a social history in the background of WOS. If you’re looking for something to read and are bored with the main pages, I would suggest that as a panacea.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
The quality of comments on off topic and the main thread was impressive. The difference on main thread is striking – and rather depressing.
Mind you there is a gloom in our house about this election. Unless we had enough MPs who would simply stay in Scotland and sit in a Convention to leave the Union, there is no point in taking part – nothing that Scotland needs will be provided by Westminster.
I would normally be out helping leafletting etc but this time I don’t know whether to spoil my ballot with #EndtheUnion, vote Alba, or vote for the SNP candidate because I know her a bit and I know she is very intelligent and very energetic and does many good things e.g. organic farming, supports local voluntary groups etc – and she has never been in actual politics before. But the SNP is so thoroughly corrupt and incompetent that she alone wouldn’t be able to change them.
As for Hengist and Horsa, I wasn’t taught about them despite going to school all over England, starting with Kent, then Lancashire, Derbyshire and Hertfordshire. My husband was reared in Sussex and he says he wasn’t taught about them but the Newhaven ferries were named after them!
Brian, hope you’re doing OK these days, not been very active on here over that past couple of years but I think you know the reason for that – effing SNP – we’ve both lost sharp interest (me more than Betty who keeps her finger on the pulse).
Sarah, yup, no idea what to do at the election. No way do SNP get the vote. Bunch of science deniers by order of the chief – and we know the candidate from our time in the branch but she kept blocking any attempt to discuss any wokey topics. I got fed up being shut out, never got far enough to get shut down, at branch meetings. Subsequently left. Chances are we’ll suppress the boak and vote tory (I know) who at least voice their support for women and girls safe spaces along with sex base rather than “gender” based services. Alternative is to spoil the ballot and write something pithy.
The only Hengist I remember is Hengist Pod and his wife Senna LOL
Anyhows, you folks take care and be good(ish)
Brian, Dawn of correction? Lol Thank you for that.
I was into protest.I never heard of them .. your DJ skills..
Hope everything is going well with you.
Hi Jim.
I prefer Amanda Barry’s Cleopatra to Liz Taylor’s.
link to youtube.com
AB had a very quirky and almost natural way of portraying that version of “history”. Caught a glimpse of her in the role recently in a scene with Syd James. Still produced a grin.
I watched “Big Bang Theory” from the start, years ago, and am now watching regular repeats on E4.
The thing is; it’s obvious that Sheldon Cooper is somewhere on the Autistic Spectrum, probably Aspberger’s Syndrome, but no mention of this has ever happened in the series. There is mention that his mother refers to him as “one of God’s special little people” but that’s it.
If a viewer has no experience of Aspberger’s Syndrome, Sheldon’s behaviour is probably viewed as “quirky” but it’s obvious if a viewer has experienced it in the family.
I watched an episode of “Big Bang Theory” earlier tonight which featured Leonard’s mother.
She is like a female Sheldon. Probably why they admire each other.
I was hearing that the Taymouth Castle developers in Kenmore have been pushing the “good faith” of previously made historic agreements made long before they came on the scene.
It seems there are some historic fishing rights to access the Tay in the area, but the developers legals have managed to create an interpretation of that agreement which whilst on paper still looks like access is possible, but with the various restrictions they have imposed it means that to all intents and purposes fishing is now next to impossible.
Surely lawyers wouldn’t be so cynical, Dan? 🙂
Talking of the Taymouth area, ever driven or biked the wee road to Amulree via Glen Quoich? It’s ok in the summer but I made the mistake of trying it in late spring when there was snow on it: a hair-raising experience in places.
Things are so bad at the moment I thought I would enliven your day with this sexist filth performed by three unwashed degenerates:
link to youtube.com
Enjoy!
BTW, why has “Svelte And Morons” suddenly appeared as a forward link at the bottom of the page?
WOT IS GOING ON?
Hi TC.
Fratellis – fine tune!
“Svelte And Morons” – Rev Stu being all mysterious. Possibly time will reveal the reason…
@BDTT: well, they do say Truth is the daughter of Time, innit?
Simply bizarre, me dears!
Onnybuddy here remember a band from Alloa called “The Oryx”,around 1967-1970, or a band from Glasgow called “The Downtown Flyers”, around 1970-72?
The only flyers I remember are youtu.be/6Zf1loc6S7U
Don’t remember either Scottish band.
Clever lyrics in that track TC, much like this tune about writing a song, which features the rare use of the word “bereft”in a pop ditty.
link to youtube.com
A bit of good news at last – a Herald “exclusive” Alex’s case has been approved by a law lord for hearing. Only pity is that it is paused whilst other pllice investigations are ongoing.
@BDTT: and “suffice” of course.
@Sarah: more of “the law’s delay, the insolence of office”, I suspect.
More unwashed degenerates: link to youtube.com
Youths like that need a good hair cut and a spell in the army.
I think Stumer Starmer is about to oblige…
@BDTT: this got randomly-generated into my YT gander-bag today and I thought you might enjoy it under the Dundonian “When fitba’ was fitba'” heading.
Enjoyed seeing some of the players who played at various times for my diddy team also: Ferguson, Thomson, Coyne and Rafferty: link to youtube.com
Hi TC.
I don’t normally watch footie videos but that was QI. Some of the dribbling was exquisite.
If Scotland had played like either of these teams during the Euros, football would have come home!
“If Scotland had played like either of these teams during the Euros, football would have come home!”
That would have required them to attack with spirit and conviction, which is most unlikely to occur under Clarke.
Something happened after we beat now EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS Spain 2-0 at Hampden. Our form dropped off a cliff.
It’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma kinda hing.
Unmute (at top of page) before watching. The videos loop so don’t worry about missing the start. You can watch the complete clip second time round.
A Scottish wildlife documentary.
link to facebook.com
And the Glesga Alexa…
link to facebook.com
@BDTT: I doubt that is genuine footage since that animal lacks the asymmtrical leg-length associated with its strange habit of circular movement around Scottish hills.
Yeah, I was looking for that as well.
Test post
@ Tinto
Test post whilst sitting on the stone at the top of the Glen Quaich road between Amulree and Aberfeldy.
It’s a braw day for a hurl on the motorbike. Got up the hill nae bother, didn’t even need to put a foot down off the pegs on the tight hairpins!
Hi, Dan. Seems to have been quite a delay in your comment, hence probs why you tried it on the M/T.
Forgot to ask, did you see any signs of that very dodgy development near Kenmore?
File under Clearance and Colonialism, innit?
A song for our troubled times On The Brink: link to youtube.com
Don’t have nightmares.
The polar opposite: link to youtube.com
Hello, sailor!
@ Tinto
Just catching up with OT now.
Hmm, weird that the comment is now appearing and showing the mid-afternoon time I was there. As it wasn’t showing when I got home I posted the bones of it over on the MT with artistic license, coz I wasn’t actually sitting on the stone at that point, I was at home tucking into a fish supper and cider!
Aye, the motorbike allows me to stand up on the pegs and see over the wall to view what is going on in the Taymouth Castle development.
Just as you leave Kenmore after the left turn up the hill to Feldy, there has been a new wall and entrance built. To be fair that wall is a reasonably nice stone build but a little too neat and not as rustic as an auld dry stane dyke. But all along that road you can see over the old wall and view the extent of the groundworks which has basically bulldozed away everything including trees and ground undulations levelling huge areas which are presumably the plots for the “muckle hooses”.
Nobody can tell me there weren’t bats and owls living in that area that had their habitats destroyed. But hey ho, big bucks win the day…
Guess there’s jist nae land spare for wee hooses for oor own bairns getting built though. The more I think about that huge expanse of land visible from the top of Glen Quaich, the more you realise just how fucked up everything is. There is actually a massive amount of land, thousands and thousands of acres for as far as the eye can see, but a totty wee plot is near a hundred grand. It’s utterly farcical. It’s all just a ruse for the banks to make money. And those extortionate housing costs are what are ultimately putting such a strain on services because by playing the extortionate housing price game, it just means public sector wages keep on increasing in an attempt to keep workers in the game, leaving less to go around for more workers to do what needs to be done.
Seriously, why does anyone actually need to own thousands of acres of land that they are completely unable to do anything with. I’ve got a fair skelp of a garden and it takes me a great deal of time and effort to try to keep on top of managing it.
Working on car for MOT test next week today, then this evening was spent picking one of the 6 blackcurrant bushes and got nearly 2 kilos of fruit from one bush which is probably the best yield I’ve had. Not long finished jarring that haul up in a quick boil syrup as can’t be arsed making jam. The berries in syrup are great as a spoon or two can be added to muesli, yoghurt, or ice cream.
Yep, land prices are a bankers’ racket (like most of the world’s Great Scams). Nice to know the Duke of Buccleuch’s boy Benny Higgins is an adviser to the SG, though. That should stop anything too progressive or egalitarian. Graeme McCormick got short shrift from The Sturge with his annual ground rent idea, you will notice.
When Iceland (the state, not the shop) jailed its bankers after the 2008 crash the Ghoul From The Crypt aka Gordon Brown actually wanted it declared a terrorist state instead of going after the likes of Fred The Shred here. Gordo had other great ideas like PFI and selling our gold reserves when prices were extremely low: wotta guy! Wotta brane!
Bats and owls? Collateral damage for the developers, barely given any consideration. I spotted a pipistrelle last night but something seems very wrong this year in the insect world.
Watch your compôte intake or the fructose police will be after you 🙂 .
A couple of bits of history on Taymouth Castle, Kenmore. Plenty more shows up with a “Taymouth Castle military” search.
link to swoopingeagle.com
link to canmore.org.uk
@Dan: a previous comment has gone MIA and I can’t be Goved doing it all again but Lanarkshire has a few Polish memorials too, as this one in Douglas, beside the Cameronian monument following their utter betrayal by the UK goivernment in 1968,
link to canmore.org.uk
A Polish guy who did quite a lot of plastering at Tinto Towers before 2016 blamed David Cameron for a lot of anti-Polish ill-feeling in the UK. He and his family disappeared after Brexit but I strongly suspect he voted no because he wanted to remain in the EU.
It just shows the utter folly of having an open franchise in an independence referendum. The coloniser and other non-nationals should have no place in the process at all.
Warm, fuzzy civic nationalism feelings are entirely self-defeating and would be regarded as quite irrelevant in a UN de-colonisation vote.
Unfortunately it seems we have no politicians willing to pursue this line of resistance or the Salvo attack on the ToU.
It’s a funny old game, Saint.
Things seem to have come to their natural end here.
Goodbye, all and thanks for all the fish!
link to youtube.com
Tinto things do seem to have come to a natura end here. How sad, when I think of all the fun we used to have.
We’ve lost a few good folk along the way, never to see independence. The latest one being Iain Lawson. I always liked Iain’s blog and it was great to comment because there was no nastiness at all. We could disagree but never in a rude fashion. RIP to Iain a real fighter for Scotland.
I hope BDTT is doing ok. We had good news just a couple of weeks ago, my beloved’s bone scan was clear, thank goodness.
Among all the madness of men being women etc you could always get a laugh or a wee tune here. I see now the Olympic sport of beating up a woman has won a man a gold medal, sigh.
Well if this really is it, bye bye. Hope all is well a Tinto towers and you and yours are doing well.
As someone once said, thanks for the memories.
@Marie: in case you’re worrying it’s AOK here at Tinto Towers and I’m delighted that Mr. Fred Astaire 🙂 is clear now because I was wondering how things were going.
Like Dan and many before me I’ve decided we need new tactics and new thinking but I have to admit Sturgeon has done a fantastic job for her handlers.
I was saying to an old friend and Winger today that I’d rather watch dogs copulating in a corner than the Olympics now that they have beytrayed women completely (I was never keen on them anyway because of the union flag overload).
Look after your wee ones in this increasingly sick world and I hope to see you on the other side, when the larks will sing in blue, cloudless skies.
Over and out to all the old O/T crowd (all four of us 🙂 ).
Aye Tinto, sturgeon did a number on us right enough, we do indeed need a change of tactics and soon.Just like this.
Anyway jist fur auld times sake.
link to youtube.com
In case Tinto, BDTT, Marie or Dan look in again – I am sorry that so many of the best Wingers are retiring from the public stage. I wish you all the best and hope that there will be an event that will bring you all back into public view.
The news about Iain Lawson is very sad indeed – what a marvellous and doughty fighter he was. Imagine walking from Ravenscraig to London in aid of Scotland’s steel industry! Then his analysis and publication of the SNP’s destruction of the most democratic party organisation ever, the old NEC. There is a long list of his achievements. If only he had been at the head of the SNP we would be out of the Union years ago.
O/t seems the appropriate place to post, is anyone else still waiting for their Hate Monster badges? I have a creative postperson who sometimes posts my stuff to a different street with the same close number and flat number, different postcode though. My credit has been frozen twice because of this including when I was completely housebound due to illness and when I complained to the Post Office head office I was told that I should be more sympathetic to my postperson as they may have literacy problems.
Anton D, I have seen btl on the main thread that some people only received their badges quite recently. No-one Off topic has mentioned the badges so far as I know so you’d be better asking on the main thread.
I sympathise with your postie issues. We had a hydraulic jack supposedly delivered by Royal Mail to a street in our nearest village 10 miles away. God knows why. We never found it.
sarah, thank you for your reply, appreciated.
Re Royal Mail, add that to the NHS and home Carers for industries being deliberately ran into the ground, imo.
Anton, you are completely right about them deliberately running down all the public services. It is an outrage in itself and even more so when our politicians don’t lift a finger to prevent it. Hence my urging the Rev to get together with all the best of the activist groups in order to get some progress made. I can’t think that such a gathering would come away without having made progress.
I had a chat with Brian DTT yesterday and he asked me to say “Hi” to all from him and also let folks know why he has been absent on here lately.
Folk will already know that he has been recovering from illness and some fairly heavy treatment which has taken a lot out of him in physical and energy terms.
A few weeks back he felt well enough to attend a social event, but after sitting for a good while, unfortunately when he got up a bit too quickly he then took a tumble, and as he went down he hit his head, the impact broke his glasses which caused a fairly serious injury to one eye.
Treatment is ongoing but for the moment his sight is so impaired that he can’t really read small print or type properly.
Sending best wishes to BDTT.
Dan, please pass on to Brian our good wishes from self and my husband, Peter. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.
Thanks folks, I’ve passed your best and good wishes on to Brian.