We had, we think it’s only fair to say, extremely low expectations of Nicola Sturgeon’s keynote speech this afternoon to the SNP’s soporific, strangled 2020 non-conference. It seems that members felt the same, because 15 seconds before the speech began only 1,166 of them were logged in to watch it.
The speech she just delivered, though, limboed under those expectations in platform shoes and a stovepipe hat without even grazing the underside of the bar.
In a post last month we referenced a ZX Spectrum computer game from 1984 called “Worse Things Happen At Sea”. Today as we watched the First Minister on the Andrew Marr Show, we were put in mind of another nautical-disaster-themed one from a great deal nearer to the end of the Speccy’s life.
When’s a Plan B not a Plan B? Well, when it’s something that could and should have been done already, and won’t be anywhere near adequate even if delivered.
Yet that seems to be what some colleagues are now arguing for. It’s welcome that their thoughts are at last turning to the possibility of the Tories saying No to the Scottish people’s democratic vote. But it’s happening dangerously slowly as the dismantling of devolution and reintegration into the UK gathers pace. Which’s why the Yes Movement needs to act now, not after a Holyrood election.
This week on Wings has been altogether more navel-gazey than we’re comfortable with, as various SNP MPs have mounted a series of all-out personal attacks on the site before the weekend’s crucial NEC elections.
So we’ll have a proper article for you a little later on today, but in the meantime it’d be remiss of us not to tidy up the last fragments of shrapnel, so we’ll direct you to the right of reply to Alyn Smith’s column that The National kindly gave us today:
(Sadly they chose to disable comments, we’d quite have enjoyed the reaction from the few remaining diehard leadership loyalists still posting there.)
We couldn’t help but chuckle yesterday when the £100K-a-year Westminster MP and obsessive Wings Over Scotland reader “Pension Pete” Wishart announced – in the space of six minutes – that this site was simultaneously an irrelevance that nobody listened to, but also somehow one of the greatest threats to independence.
Wings Over Scotland marked its ninth birthday earlier this month. To be honest, we totally forgot about it until someone reminded us. Normally we mark the anniversary with a small reflection and taking of stock over how things are going, but this year we couldn’t be bothered – we’d already mentioned readership stats in August.
But today in The National we found out that we were apparently dead.
But reports of our demise have been, as the saying goes, somewhat exaggerated.
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “HMcH @ 10.19 C’mon Hatey “old boy”, just between us- no one else would know. How much did your (ahem)…” May 6, 00:39
Geri on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Yes, that 90 billion is already earmarked to Zs inner friends & one who has a factory. €1 billions to…” May 6, 00:21
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Beggars Aye very good bumpkin.. An issue that grips you? Talking from experience Adolf? To hear a Unionist bleating about…” May 6, 00:18
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Fat Slag Wilma Flintstone @ 7.20 Whit? Are you for real? Honestly! Business not going so well so you’re now…” May 6, 00:14
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Binfire Of The Vanities: “The Italian political philosopher GIORGIO AGAMBEN (1942-) addresses the contentious issue of the State’s exercise of emergency powers, whether over…” May 6, 00:03
Mark Beggan on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I take when you come to visit people hide the spoons.” May 5, 23:54
Geri on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““he was a mossad stooge from way back, an agent of a foreign fucking power, which is I think, still…” May 5, 23:50
Jamie on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Hatey, I was trying to talk to you but I realise now you are either German or English, and I…” May 5, 22:50
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Here you go, James, have a fish. Three days since it was landed. Been in the sun quite a bit.…” May 5, 22:42
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I kind of skimmed your steaming piles, Confused, but glad I stuck it out to the end. Great news about…” May 5, 22:36
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “You talking to me? Jeezo, and you were the one complaining about “flat earth level of trolling pish”! But seeing…” May 5, 22:19
Bibo on Binfire Of The Vanities: “@ 100%Yes Ali won’t be back. You can tell he is totally indoctrinated and lacking in critical thinking if he…” May 5, 22:05
James on Binfire Of The Vanities: “The pair of them are sharing a caravan in Margate…. One bedroom.” May 5, 22:05
Confused on Binfire Of The Vanities: “it’s rude to mock someone for their looks, even if unfortunate https://archive.ph/eF9Eo sometimes you wish the sons of satan, enemies…” May 5, 22:02
Cynicus on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““Surely there must be one SNP politician who actually wants Scotland to regain its independence and is willing to put…” May 5, 22:01
Confused on Binfire Of The Vanities: “www.youtube.com/watch?v=W10xuGFYmM8 that is funny, but this next is hilarious, metal-guru polishes his brassneck and puts it on display https://archive.ph/HDj4H -…” May 5, 21:59
Mark Beggan on Binfire Of The Vanities: “They aint gettin off that easy. They still have to pay their share of the slave reparations and give back…” May 5, 21:58
Confused on Binfire Of The Vanities: “while its established TONY BLAIR is a cunt, a spawn of satan, who drove the nail into the coffin of…” May 5, 21:56
Confused on Binfire Of The Vanities: “the trouble with -cunts- being the devils own, is they never seem to go away; a bit of decent weather,…” May 5, 21:55
Mark Beggan on Binfire Of The Vanities: “So it’s the Beast cage for Linden. Only took ten years for justice to be served.” May 5, 21:49
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Binfire Of The Vanities: “RÓISÍN MURPHY: ‘FRIENDSHIPS COLLAPSED OVER PUBERTY BLOCKER CRITICISM’ (Republic of Ireland) Singer Róisín Murphy has spoken out for the first…” May 5, 21:47
Sven on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Mark Beggan @ 21.11. Well, definitely not with me, Mark (for which small grace I’m sure you are duly grateful).…” May 5, 21:31
Aidan on Binfire Of The Vanities: “No James – I have spent the last few days up in Svalbard. Nice to jump off my final plane…” May 5, 21:22
Doug on Binfire Of The Vanities: “James Connolly joined the British army. Michael Collins [and other republicans] worked for the GPO in London. Sir Roger Casement,…” May 5, 21:20
Mark Beggan on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Socrates said; To do is to be. Plato said; To be is to do and. Frank Sinatra said; Do Be…” May 5, 21:11
Doug on Binfire Of The Vanities: “As long as Swinney remains leader of the SNP there will be no progress on independence. Vote [or don’t vote]…” May 5, 21:07
agentx on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I predict that SNP and Reform UK Ltd will not perform as well as the polls predict.” May 5, 20:48
Jamie on Binfire Of The Vanities: “If you have so much pity for the people of the flag on my profile, why don’t you go and…” May 5, 20:33
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““each one is free and independent when he/she realises it” Let me start a wee list: 1) Destroy your UK…” May 5, 20:27
