There are now just 10 days until the general election. Wings has never told its readers how to vote and we’re not going to start now. Which is lucky, because if we were, we wouldn’t have a clue how to.
Just, y’know, not for any of these wretched, worthless shiters.
When you’ve been watching Scotland playing football for 50 years of your life, you become accustomed to disappointment. You expect disappointment. Anything better than disappointment becomes a bonus.
Having solved cat hunger in Greece, the tireless Holiday Boy has now turned his hand to addressing Scotland’s crippling golfing shortage, so we’ve got a different sort of cartoon again for you this weekend.
The clip below is from a 1981 arcade videogame called Venture, by Exidy, in which you play a cheerful character called Winky on a mission to loot treasure from a series of monster-infested dungeons.
For the purposes of this article the treasure in the room above, which takes the form of a castle tower, represents Scottish politics. The room itself is the Union.
The SNP released their general election manifesto today. We’re not going to link you to it, because we don’t want to be responsible for wasting your time. This is everything it has to say on the party’s (cough) strategy for achieving independence.
It deserves much, much less respect than we’re giving it. Tomorrow, ice lolly reviews.
I’m a professional community organiser, and a tenant and housing activist for some 20 years. I saw the old Scottish Tenants Organisation get smashed by Jack McConnell’s government to make way for council housing privatisation, which in Glasgow created the Glasgow Housing Association.
I’ve long wanted to rebuild a national body to give housing schemes a political voice and to push to end the housing crisis. That’s why I got involved with Living Rent, organising my community to become their first branch. Little did I know that would lead to a brush with crazed gender ideology, and see Queer Theory used to try to destroy it.
We’re still trying not to pay attention to the election because it’s so tedious and awful and pointless, but this is worth putting on the record because it’s in The National and otherwise nobody’s going to read it.
Holiday Boy has of course chosen the general election campaign to spend the next three weeks feeding stray cats somewhere sunny, so here’s a cartoon by the brilliant webcomicname that summarises the Baillie Gifford story for anyone joining us late.
January 2018, with no general election due for four and a half years: “I very rarely talk about Scottish independence in the chamber, because I talk about things that matter”
June 2024, with an election in four weeks and a £91,346 salary, expenses and pension at stake: “ROBERT THE BRUCE! BANNOCKBURN! DECLARATION OF ARBROATH! FLOWER OF SCOTLAND! FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOMMMM!”
DaveL on The Fear Of The Briar: “@ Alan Scott. You’re living in southern England so which set of muppets do you mean when you say ‘our…” Dec 31, 23:39
Alf Baird on The Fear Of The Briar: “There is no ‘United Kingdom’, its a myth. Scotland was annexed by England and the English crown rebranded as ‘UK’.” Dec 31, 23:37
Northcode on The Fear Of The Briar: “One last dig at the SNP before the bells ring in the new year. The desire of the Scots for…” Dec 31, 23:32
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: ““My husband is the only other person who talks of those wooden stairs to Bedfordshire!” Age-related I suspect, like Lobey…” Dec 31, 23:14
Alan Scott on The Fear Of The Briar: “Can you explain why leaving the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will improve the calibre of our…” Dec 31, 22:57
sarah on The Fear Of The Briar: “Hi, aLurker: the Inverness event on 7th February is a possibility for me. Though as you suspect, I’m no Spring…” Dec 31, 22:48
sarah on Off-topic: “My husband is the only other person who talks of those wooden stairs to Bedfordshire! We too will be wending…” Dec 31, 22:34
sarah on The Fear Of The Briar: “You’d put off restoring Scotland as a country just because of the current batch of MSPs? You’ll never get a…” Dec 31, 22:29
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Curious Fringes: “‘ST PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE’ (The prayer as recorded is dated on linguistic grounds to the early 8th century.) « Crist lim.…” Dec 31, 22:23
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “@Sarah: something else for your Hogmanay hootenanny and to prove Julie Fowlis is trilingual: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu_3-VDi7wY Going up wood hill to…” Dec 31, 22:15
sarah on Off-topic: “Hi everyone, sorry to arrive so late at the party. My excuse is that I am still writing my annual…” Dec 31, 22:05
alan scott on The Fear Of The Briar: “That National poll looks like a lot of nonsense to me. When the evil Toaries are in power some polls…” Dec 31, 22:03
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: “Thanks, Sam. A terrific description by Liz Niven on the power and range of the Scots leid. Of course I…” Dec 31, 21:48
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “My comment is now in moderation…..” Dec 31, 20:53
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “Yes, I will raise a glass for Alex as well, Marie. Haven’t opened my Christmas bottle of Aberlour yet but…” Dec 31, 20:52
Marie Clark on Off-topic: “Thanks for that Tinto. I just love Auld Lang Syne to its original tune and we don’t get to hear…” Dec 31, 20:32
Watching from afar on The Fear Of The Briar: “Does anyone have confidence in the calibre of Scottish politicians to run a menage let alone a nation in the…” Dec 31, 20:16
Northcode on The Fear Of The Briar: ““…I dread to think what would become of Scotland if we ever got independence under the incompetence of the SNP…”…” Dec 31, 20:15
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “For all old-timers and “Lurkers”, IMHO the best version of an old classic (forgive the SaTC references): www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZG74PSl2A May The…” Dec 31, 20:12
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “Dan said: “The site has been allowed to be overrun with trolls, constantly interrupting and goading folk, and it is…” Dec 31, 19:57
aLurker on Off-topic: “I only popped in to leave a New Years greeting and find myself surprised and pleased that there is still…” Dec 31, 19:33
Alf Baird on The Fear Of The Briar: “Scotland is to England and Farage what Alaska is to the USA and Trump. Similarly, both territories were ‘procured’ by…” Dec 31, 19:27
Alf Baird on The Curious Fringes: ““a solid 3.6% of Scots believe we will be Independent by 2031” More importantly, polls indicate at least 50%+ of…” Dec 31, 19:14
100%Yes on The Fear Of The Briar: “Yes Heather, there is a lot of people who claim to be Indy supporters promoting misinformation about the state of…” Dec 31, 19:05
aLurker on The Fear Of The Briar: “Hi Sarah Aye it would be great if ALL of the REAL independence politicos would get together and try and…” Dec 31, 18:33
ScottieDog on The Fear Of The Briar: “It’s not just the finery they’re preserving. When the edifice collapses, all the skeletons come out the cupboards. The British…” Dec 31, 18:27
Andy Ellis on The Fear Of The Briar: “I think you’re being a tad complacent: recent opinion polls seem to suggest that a sea change is coming. From…” Dec 31, 18:19
Ian Stewart on The Fear Of The Briar: “Well a pollster reported in The Times today seems to think Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish independence is a certainty…” Dec 31, 18:13
Marie Clark on Off-topic: “Hi Dan, Thanks for the news about BDTT it was kind of you to pass on our good wishes to…” Dec 31, 18:11
Scot Finlayson on The Fear Of The Briar: “Had a feeling since 2014 and after the Sturgeon`s Brexit capitulation,(i was outside Bute House expecting a call to war…” Dec 31, 18:09