T plus one
Right, back to normal service after this. But it’d be remiss of us not to carry an update on the astonishing progress of our second annual fundraiser in its first 24 hours. Launched at 10am yesterday with an ambitious goal of £53,000 in 34 days, the Indiegogo appeal sits, as we write these words, at £70,493 after just one.
That’s not even the whole story. People who can’t or don’t want to use Indiegogo have also donated a further £14,349.50 – £10,000 of that coming in one donation from a single inconceivably generous reader – making the current running total £84,842.50.
In one day.
Where do we even start with that?
Words, plainly, just aren’t going to cut it. We’re sure we don’t need to spell out how absolutely staggered, humble and grateful we are. So over the next seven months we’ll just try to demonstrate it with actions.
The fundraiser will run until March 31 as planned – Indiegogo don’t actually allow you to close them early. We hope people will continue to send money and we’ll continue to promote it, because we have no shortage of additional plans if the resources are there, but with our own target smashed we’ll also be nudging people towards a couple of other worthwhile pro-independence projects in the coming days.
We already tried to move to new servers last night to cope better with our traffic, but they were simply overwhelmed within minutes and our hosts had to roll back to the old ones. They’re beavering away behind the scenes, and our hosting costs are probably going to double again (having already increased by 600%), but luckily you’ve given us plenty of extra cash to cope with that.
The reaction to the first day’s events has been incredible, in both senses. Lots and lots of No activists responded in much the way you’d expect:
And more depressingly – but no less predictably – several on the Yes side devoted much of their day to smearing and spreading completely absurd and untrue “rumours”:
Only one of the countless slurs spread across social media yesterday, there, extraordinary only in that it came from someone supposedly on the same side as us. But hey ho. That’s already more thought than any of those individuals deserve.
What happened yesterday was, if we might quote Johann Lamont for a moment, astonishing. In the very wildest of the fantasies we occasionally permitted ourselves prior to launching the campaign, we still didn’t reach the entire target on day one, never mind obliterating it by over £30,000.
Your trust in us is overwhelming, lump-in-the-throat-creating, and only slightly unnerving. We’ll reflect on it from Rio de Janeiro in everything we do for the next year.
Right, let’s get back to business.
Bring a tear to a glass-eye so it wid!!!
Well done All
You expect it from the likes of Hothersall, but it is particularly sad when people on the same side yelp out this nonsense. Oh well, never mind.
Onwards and upwards.
I hear Copacabana beach is nice, this time of year…
Rev at work and not able to check my home e-mail.
Just wondered if you had time to check through (what I’d imagine would be)the many thousands of e-mails.
Brilliant day YESterday Stu – thoroughly enjoyable and so glad you have exceeded your expectations and then some.
No apologies for going O/T straight away though 🙂
re:ronnie’s SAVIOUR wings badge.
Got 19.5 takers so far (including me) we need 25
X_Sticks
halftracknat
Calgacus MacAndrews
call me dave
Morag
jingly jangly
Boorach
SquareHaggis
Robert Kerr
Ronnie
Quinie frae Angus
Mary Bruce
chicmac
Midgehunter (you still in?)
clochoderic
Dick Gaughan
sionnach
Steven Duncan
Thepnr
cearc for the half
Hope I haven’t missed anyone.
Anyone who hasn’t seen what this is about look here:
http://wingsoverscotland.com/eight-hours-24-minutes/#comment-822051
We’re now going for the Saviour badge so need another 6 volunteers!
To all – this is a little demonstration of the Common Weal we’re all her working for. And what’s more we’re doing it deliberately
I am so proud to be part of this magnificent effort.
Like Alex Salmond says “Follow the money”.
You are well worth the money Stuart. Besides your shrewd commentary, you have given the Scottish independence supporters an ideal forum in which to exchange views and feel part of this worthwhile campaign. Forward to a YES vote.
Brilliant news, so chuffed for you.
Of course this success story will get mentioned in the press & on TV somewhere; wont it ?
Ah, James. The reason I stopped reading Better Nation, and deleted the link; just in case I was ever tempted. Got to watch the blood pressure.
James is intolerant of anyone not espousing the EXACT views of James.
I don’t get the ‘bigot’ and ‘homophobe’ stuff, I’ve been reading here for a long time and seen nothing to justify it, so on my own terms he’s talking his usual pish.
Maybe the relative obscurity of Better Nation and the outstanding success of Wings is getting to his inflated sense of self.
I saw a handful of very sad individuals making equally sad comments on Twitter last night and today. They really don’t get it at all. The reason this fundraiser was so successful is simply because this site offers what no MSM printed press or broadcaster provides: balance.
Even if you were an honest to god No voter that truly ‘believed’ in the union, why wouldn’t you want a counter to all the doom laden mainstream press? Surely we’re all agreed that in a representative democracy, a free press is vitally important?
I really really don’t get the bitterness of the Nos, let alone that of the Yes-cringers. They have wall-to-wall media support but they’re greetin’ about a crowd-funded website?
It’s been quite a ride so far and fully expect more ups and downs to come.
Some of the so-called yes folk got me raging initially, then I just thought “f**k them” they don’t represent all those striving for a positive this autumn!
Stu. how you handle all the bile never ceases to amaze me.
X sticks, would love to help but I have doled out so much of my meagre purse holdings to so many including Wings that there is zero left!
The haters are easily ignored – let them Stu in their own juices.
X Sticks – see my post on the previous subject re Ronnie’s badge – I’m down for the other 0.5 and it’s been sent to the Rev via paypal (with a note)
I’ve also added an Harrumph on the post for good measure!
How odd! you’re a bigot (about what we do not know–do tell) and apparently (rumoured) the company Indiegogo, are fabricating the figures. For what reason we are not told, given that they are a commercial company and have a reputation to protect.
Mind you, there are people who believe in aliens, that the world is flat, was only created 6,000 years ago and that the BBC don’t tell lies. I’m sure some of them will vote.
X_Sticks
Am I covered with the 20 last night? Not sure. If another 20 is needed I’ll check the biscuit tin.
BTW I note Labour For Independence ka-ching-ed over a grand in the last 24 hours as well 🙂
Remember to keep some money left for after the referendum, for a mass schadenfreude campaign. I was just going to send gloating emails to various Labour MPs and MSPs, but it might be more fun to park an advertising van outside John Smith house or something.
Or outside Westminster, how good would that be? Something like:
“In the unlikely event that Scotland votes Yes… said every unionist MP ever – LOLZ”
@X_sticks Great idea for Ronnie’s badge. Count me in.
O/T Forgot to say this before – apologies
‘Standard Life’ threatened to leave Scotland if we voted for devolution. We voted ‘Yes’ and they didn’t (nice version)
Disgusting scare tactics by Management. Would you seriously want to do business with or work for this lot of Mercenaries?
Hothersall’s is an interesting perspective, if only because I have also heard it from undecideds. They think Wings is the pro-independence mirror of the Daily Mail and therefore anything published here is tarnished by bigotry. Which I find a strongly-held opinion for people who have only just started out on the quest for more information and I wondered what has triggered it.
Fortunately for delicate or soft-unionist souls there is a range of other outlets catering for different starting points. I have recommended Newsnetscotland, Bella Caledonia, Common Weal and Scottish Review to different people as their start point as well as Wings. Might also have a look at Business for Scotland and Wealthy Nation and see if they can sway a few conservatives of my ken.
And well done on the fundraiser! I will raise my dram on Friday – Talisker 🙂
I wonder how many like me are waiting till they get paid tomorrow?
It is mind boggling, congratulations.
Standard Life ,Edinburgh CEO wanted to move HQ to London,well before devolution
All the headlines quotes are MOVING TO ENGLAND
We need to get a few facts out
Standard Life hav a credibility problem if they don’t invest in independent countries
well done again Stuart
On other fundraisers.
Maybe Wings could have tab for fundraisers, so that they could list all indy projects.
YES should really have something like it but then Wings probably has a larger readership.
M
Fantastic news and well deserved. Now to work!
Wings would have to lurch some truly enormous distance to the right, possibly with the aid of a Star Trek-esque warp drive, to reach the bigotry standards of the Daily Mail. I do not understand where people get that ridiculous idea from but considering the attacks FROM the Daily Mail you’d think you’d get the impression that you aren’t the independence version of them. They like kindred spirits; in their grubby little history they were all for supporting Hitler. I would be on any side rather than theirs.
If that sad knacker Hothershall wants to think we’re all simpletons let him. Don’t argue with him, just let him keep right on underestimating who he’s up against. The Yes campaign, and the wider independence movement, is chock full of everyone from the unemployed right the way up through to the CEO’s of large companies. We are far from the eejits he would paint us all as. Although, as per your second twitter screenshot… clearly some of us fit the description perfectly.
I was listening to Moby – God moving over the face of the waters while I read this post, and when I read that one person had donated £10,000, I swear my eyes welled up.
“On other fundraisers.
Maybe Wings could have tab for fundraisers, so that they could list all indy projects.”
A reasonable suggestion, but lets wait till we get to £100 K first (shouldn’t be long).
Also, perhaps only those with a definite specific plan which can feasibly help the cause.
The sums yesterday, as a metric or proxy for grass roots support, made me think it would be interesting to see an updated version of last April’s pie charts, showing the proportion of support for both Yes and BT that were from inside or outside of Scotland. It would be interesting, with some of the recent corporate donors to BT, to see how those charts might have changed, no? Any mileage in it, Stu?
O/T – The new server arrangements seem better – this is the first day that I haven’t needed to launch the e-mail notification in order to see a new post. (The refresh just was not showing new posts for over an hour after they had first been posted by Stu.)
I seriously doubt that ‘James MacKenzie’ is a nationalist and a Yes supporter. I also doubt that he actually exists as a person. The No campaign is chock-full of this sort of disinformation.
X_ stick re ronnie’ s badge.
Count me in how much? What do I do?
X_Sticks
If you are still needing more donations for Ronnies badge put me down for a Tenner but I can’t donate until I get home from work tonight .
I was saving it for L.F.I but Ronnie deserves it and I can always donate to L.F.I next week .
Well done Rev. £100,000 very close now.
Great days! Be interesting to see what the BT crowd would get if they put something like this on Indigogo.
It’s got to be norsewarrior!
Put me down for £10 for Ronnie. I can’t afford £20 right now, but would love to see him get his much deserved badge xx
I never read the twisted and bitter comments on eg newspaper sites. What makes this site, and other Indyref sites, so outstanding is the quality of the articles and the comments – informative and sprinkled with good humour. The response to your fundraising says it all.
One thing you could consider is security against DDOS and other attacks. Your site crashed for a short time yesterday, probably due to the numbers logging in. It would be very frustrating if it went down for any length of time, epecially as R-day approaches.
@X_Sticks: put me on the list for Ronnie’s badge, I’ll go over and add the donation now.
chicmac,
Stuart, on twitter, seems to be looking at ones to promote at the moment.
It just struck me that a permanent page on which projects could ask Stu to list them would be a useful resource for everyone.
Yes in the Glen looks like a great idea but how many people had heard of it?
Promoting ideas from a small local base isn’t easy but Wings has the readership to make a big difference.
Have donated, couldn’t leave a message, but I’m sure the Rev will know what it’s for. 🙂
@Rev.
I hope you have dropped the rediculous notion of paying yourself £7 odd an hour now. Your on salary now, a minimum of £30,000 grand will do it. Oh, and have a holiday man, the H&S people will be on our backs as we are your employers 😉
“X_Sticks, that’s done, with a comment “For Ronnie”
@x_Sticks.
Count me in.
What do I do?
Re. James Mackenzie comment, if he is referring to the monies raised yesterday how can he come to believe and actually state that the numbers are absolute b……s when the numbers are collated and advised by an independent 3rd party organisation i.e. Indiegogo or am I missing something. Some people are just naturally twisted and don’t appear to see good in anything, sad, sad sado…………….
Damn, bring back the edit option.
Someone I don’t even know can call me a ‘simpleton’ if he likes; but, all things considered and in spite of what he says, there really isn’t much hatred in evidence here.
There are, however, plenty faces contorted with hatred on the No side. This is odd, considering how a huge section of the media is trying to tell us Better Together is cruising to victory. Surely they ought to be pretty relaxed, but they’re not.
Hothsall played to his strengths, I mean incompetences, weaknesses and ignorances yesterday, as we all knew he would so I guess no one was surprised at the result.
I’ve never heard of this James Mackenzie before, and after reading the garbage above I don’t think I particularly want to again. He sounds like a bitter and jealous individual. He obviously has no concept of the idea that the figures Stu posted here http://wingsoverscotland.com/our-end-of-the-bargain/ are not generated by him, and more to the point these figures can NOT be manipulated in any way. I may be wrong but I believe these figures were generated by someone like Google observing the various actions taken on the site by thousands of individuals. Now if only Mr Mackenzie had his own web site then he too could get a report similar to the one put up by Stu. Unfortunately for him his figures would, no doubt, be nothing like these figures!
Thankfully, there are more intelligent people in the world than those above and this was proven yesterday, and continues to be proven today. Congratulations Stu, yesterday was a wonderful result, I don’t think anyone could believe the result when you achieved the asking figure of £53,000 on indiegogo in LESS than 10 hours. I’;m sure I was not the only one who thought they were dreaming when the saw that result. 🙂
I also hope that everyone who donated straight to this site yesterday rather than via indiegogo realise their efforts do not go unnoticed, our appreciation of their more than generous donations should also be noted. 😉
How much would it cost to load usb flash drives with the contents of the wings book with links and infographs? It would also let people search for subjects that interest them.
What are the odds of making the paper version a freebie in a national newspaper 😛
X-Sticks/Rev that’s my £20 for Ronnie’s Badge added.
Rev, Don’t bother with Rio, been there several times on business. Nice to look at but very very dodgy. Stay at the hotel at the airport and jump on a plane to Bolivia, Santa Cruz will do nicely, fantastic nightlife, and a dried up river in our winter winds its way through the town and has bars/clubs on its banks that party 24 hours a day.
Good internet connections , guaranteed sunshine, good food although the Guinea Pigs look a bit gruesome when deep fried. Its all the rage to relocate these days, your in a foreign country to us anyway we wont mind…
Hi X-Sticks
Just donated the amount I promised for Ronnie’s badge.
I’ll stick my own contribution in later on this week.
@Edward
Thanks for posting the SL information. Very helpful.
It’s a staggering figure Rev, well done everyone.
I read some ‘Indy’ people moaning about the amount this fundraiser was receiving, and some calls for the Rev to ‘spread the wealth’ etc.
Bollocks to that I say !
I only gave a £10, but I gave it to the Rev, not another Indy campaign. I like what he does and if having more money allows him to pay himself more then I’m all for it. I have faith in the articles produced and I think they are the most effective way of dealing with the constant media garbage we are being fed.
I did not donate my money to go towards a rally in Dunfermline, women for indy or any other campaign (good causes though they are). If I wanted to, I would have donated to them directly. Don’t you dare give away a single penny Rev, it’s yours – donated by us. Thats our contract, we donate – you investigate.
So my proposal, Rev – take a pay rise. Also try and organise some time off for yourself. You simply cannot do this every day of the week, especially as we get to the crunch and things start getting nastier.
You have to have a break, otherwise you’ll be wiped out. I’d rather have you at 100% for 5 days a week than 65% for 7 days of the week.
@X_Sticks
I’ll chip in a tenner for Ronnie’s badge too.
cyberniall,
You know the idea of USB thumb drives loaded with the ‘book’ is actually very good. There are many promo companies who will happily do such things. It in one second connects with the digital users of Scotland. It is also a useful thumb drive (with maybe 10 gigs of ‘free’ memory), say with a nice saltire on it for people to keep and use daily (rather than bin).
The printed book is also good, as it connects with the non digital voter (of which there are many) – although a BLUE coloured book, might not go down so well with some people.
Who was the scotsman guy on the EBC news channel this morning trying to sell the Standard life
Consideration as a FACT that they are off in the event of a yes vote. Hope he is ok because he really sounded at the end of the road, unlike the news presenter who was ecstatic, strange old world. Never mind upwards and onwards. Well done all wingers and big thanks to Stu. YES!
Can we afford a few billboards with dumb quotes from the likes of Michael Kelly, Johann Lamont & Co?
@ X STICKS
£23 donated few moments ago marked – For RONNIE
I’ve had dealings with one of the pro-Yes Nay-Sayers who was active last night – the less said the better…
We are a broad grassroots campaign – there are going to be Numpties who cannot see the ‘wood for the trees’ or beyond their own egos.
We move on positively and upwards 🙂
@Peter Macbeastie
I don’t think Hotherstall underestimates us at all – if he did then he would just ignore us. It’s because he recognises the strength of Wings that he reacts the way he does.
He knows the No camp don’t have a corresponding site like this so his only option is to belittle us, hence the Rev is a bigot, we are all simpletons, etc.
We’re the ones who should be ignoring him!
Great that so many people parted with their hard earned cash and I have to say that Wings deserves every penny received!
This year we will need to make sacrifices whether it is pledging time, money or whatever else to secure a better future for this country.
We have a fight on our hands, i`m not even sure calling it a debate is appropriate because one side clearly doesn`t want to debate. They want to hide behind their media attack dogs and a heap of lies and accusations that never come under proper scrutiny.
Post a NO vote they will rub our faces in it and the work will begin immediately to make sure we never dare threaten to leave again. Not many Scots I think will be proud to call themselves so post NO and the unionists will try to make damn sure from then on that we start to think British like they do.
At some point the Scottish parliament and Scottish democracy itself will be seen as a threat to one nation Britain and it will be turned into a conference centre with all the powers moved direct to councils.
Nightmare scenario!
I’ve just had a wee keek at the iniegogo site and, well let’s just say wee Johann Lamont’s claim the other night that we are not genetically engineered to make political decisions in Scotland is, as of 12:00, over £85,000 wide of the mark. 😉 Looking at that figure I’d say she has got her ideas kinda skewed! 🙂
Moving back to the abuse Stu received yesterday regarding this fund raiser he was not alone in being at the receiving end of abuse from NO campaigners yesterday. Pete Wishart in Westminster was at the receiving end of a verbal tirade from none other than Jim Murphy yesterday, not once but twice. So I guess all I can say Stu is rest assured you are currently running with some good company in the receiving of abuse stakes. 😉
How about crowd funding some one to dress up as a big YELLOW chicken carrying a big picture of wee eck saying come ahead dave? that would be good lol.
Everbody stand by tae welcome mair visitors,Jolo the car crash
dummy on the test run again LOL.
Rev Stu
While James Mac Kenzie is not a Nat, he is a member of the greens, and he is a Yes voter, we should remember that we need all the votes we can get come the big day.
I do not know what his beef with this site is but please people do not insult him. Yes is bigger than all of us and we need to work together.
P.S. Rev how about sending a bung from your new found wealth to Labour for Indy, which I would rate as almost as important to Yes as you are.
FMQs Jola and her muppets really are nasty self serving slugs. Beneath contempt and totally divorced from the truth and reality. They are delusional completely off the wall!
LOL
Duncan clearly thinks there are a lot of simpletons in Scotland. So kind that he, the intellectual giant that he is, should come and grace us with his lordly favours. 😉
Well Duncan, Wings is going to be in this fight for the duration, well provisioned and with a rather large number of activists. You would only miss us if we had left the battle anyway.
Yesterday was “a cracking day out” to quote Ed Milliband
I passed a billboard yesterday with a giant YES on it. It was for Lucozade…
Committed £20 for Saviour badge for Ronnie on previous thread.
The reaction from some folk has been dispiriting. You expect it from the Labour unionist types, and the predictability just makes it all the more funny; but it’s sad that people who are ostensibly on the same side of the debate as this website can’t see past their own personal hatred of Stu.
People are funding this website because they think it is making a difference in the campaign. There’s clearly a feeling amongst some folk that Stu has no right to keep accepting donations after hitting his target while there are other campaigns trying to raise funds. It doesn’t work like that, though. It’s not enough simply to be pro-independence and then expect people to donate money. I put more in the WOS fundraiser than I would ever consider giving to any other campaign, for one very simple reason: I feel I’m getting my money’s worth and I’m satisfied it will be put to good use. If I didn’t feel my donation last year had been put to good use, I wouldn’t have donated this year. But it was, so I donated again.
The £80,000 or whatever that Stu’s raised is not necessarily money that would have gone to other campaigns. You’re not telling me that the person who donated £10,000 in a oner was sitting there thinking “which campaign will I donate this giant wad of cash to?” There have been a few campaigns that I’ve not donated to, because I didn’t think what they wanted to do would be worth funding.
This website is about more than one man, it’s become a little community now. Disagreeing with things Stu has said in other capacities is not a good enough reason to make active attempts to smear the website – and in turn our wee community – by association. The idea that undecided voters are being turned off by WOS is ridiculous; if WOS contained loads of inflammatory articles then that would be one thing, but the “evidence” of Stu’s supposed hatred always comes from outside the site.
People come here seeking information about independence. As long as that information is correct and backed up by facts (and it always is), then that’s all they care about. They’re not interested in the little personal arguments between people away from this website, and particularly not in screenshots of things being taken out of context from years ago. So who is actually turning voters off: the website that provides good information; or the people who perpetuate personal feuds?
P.S. Rev how about sending a bung from your new found wealth to Labour for Indy, which I would rate as almost as important to Yes as you are.
I’d echo that, as I would like to see other Indi campaigns get help also, but I’d like to know what it would get used for first.
Posted this on the previous thread – don’t know if you saw it
X_Sticks
Sorry, just trying to catch up on the comments as I’ve been I’ve been out flat with a virus for a few days.
Yes (I’ve heard that word somewhere before 😉 ) I’m still in with 10 quid.
Should I Indiegogo it “For Ronnie” or what’s the cunning plan?
Dubbieside:
Who says those who donated to WOS want their donation to be siphoned off to another organisation, though?
Sorry for going O/T but my partner told me about this last night.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=220321951490749&set=gm.658616667517701&type=1&theater
Check out his place of birth folks… HENDON, North London. He is NOT Scottish despite his claims to the contrary. 😉
I confess I didn’t understand the James Mackenzie tweet. Was he talking about the donation numbers? They are on Indiego not Wings and you don’t appear on the list until you have done the PayPal thing. Or was he talking about other numbers?
Arbroath 1320
He was born there but his family are Scottish and he grew up here and lives here. I would count him as Scottish and in fairness to him he has said that he will stay here if it is a Yes vote unlike some on that side of the fence.
@chicmac Says
“Also, perhaps only those with a definite specific plan which can feasibly help the cause.”
May i put forward our own crowdfunder for that one ?
http://igg.me/at/Yesedinburghtrailer/x/2793704 – it’s all about making yes much more visible in our Capital City
“I confess I didn’t understand the James Mackenzie tweet. Was he talking about the donation numbers? They are on Indiego not Wings and you don’t appear on the list until you have done the PayPal thing. Or was he talking about other numbers?”
He was suggesting that we were fiddling the Indiegogo figures.
How about a list of other Yes groups/organisations who are seeking funding at the present moment.
@Rev. Stu
it’s nigh on impossible to fiddle the indiegogo figures.
Doug Daniel
Hear Hear. I have managed to persuade a few undecided voters to visit this site. They have told me they found information that they would not have read anywhere else.
X_Sticks
Count me in for Ronnie badge. Indigogo task completed.
C’mon Ronnie.
doug,
Absolutely, donations to Wings are for Wings, otherwise they would have been made elsewhere.
Other fund raisers have and are benefitting greatly from exposure to the large readership of Wings, so should pleased that further funding has been secured.
Stuart took a huge risk last year offering to go full time for Wings. ‘Dissappearing’ for a year can cause big problems for a freelance writer. There was certainly no expectation (with just 30,000 viewers) that it would create the profile that he now has.
I agree with Doug Daniel. I sent my money to WoS, not to any other organisation no matter how deserving. When I can afford it I also send donations the SNP and to the YES campaign. If any individual wants to send monies to LfI or any other group be my guest but please do not think for me as to where I may wish my donations to go.
Sorry for being thick but who is Ronnie?
Quite a movement for 24 hours or so. I repeat an earlier post of mine. The money matters but so does the number of contributors, 1294 at the moment.
Further it is incredible that the word got out so quickly and so many acted as soon as they could.
Really the world has changed. We now have the internet. Our counter to the MSM/BBC.
WoS has evolved into a community. I was too late to get my badge at the Albanach but I met the Rev that day and was impressed.
I have a photograph of me holding the WoS flag. Standard bearer for a fleeting moment.
We shall triumph.
Can’t help but think all the folk saying spread the cash around to other groups aren’t really understanding crowdfunding. The only way to make it work and retain credibility is by saying “give us money and we will do this” not “give us money and we will do this, but also loads of other things you haven’t donated for”. Which doesn’t mean stuff can’t be changed during the process (ie if the Rev says from now on additional money will also be going to other projects he believes in that’s fine) but it does mean that people aren’t ending up funding something entirely different than what they were donating to.
Hearty congratulations by the way. It’s a phenomenal display of trust in the work you’re doing which is entirely earned.
“People are funding this website because they think it is making a difference in the campaign.”
Exactly that.
However, I trust Rev Stu to make best use of the funds. Whatever his decision.
@ Harry am the ronnie in question
@ Harry if you git up early in the morning, you,ll see me here
ah hing aboot like a bad smell.
What’s the badge thing about, read the other thread but couldn’t see it explained.
I chipped in willingly yesterday, as this is probably the best site in the entire debate.
There are one or two things Stu has written elsewhere that I don’t agree with. I look forward to discussing them with him over a friendly drink (or several) in an independent Scotland.
But for now we have votes to win.
Well written and argued posts by the rev are the reason I visit here every day. Nothing hate filled about them at all and if there was I would stop reading pretty quickly. Fantastic comments by committed and articulate posters below the line are the icing on the cake and again nothing hate filled. Self righteous anger yes, but no bile, again if there was I would be off.
Thats why I’ve donated to this site and would like to see the money raised stay here.
By the way Who the hell is Duncan Hothersal?
O/T If Standard Life won’t operate without a central bank of last resort, that would imply that they think they might one day need it. That says a lot about their modus operandi. There are lots of other companies to choose from.
I struggle to understand the attacks from the YES supporters or the doubt about the funding support.
The site articles are factual analysis and balance BT spin.
The company collecting the funds is not going to allow any manipulation impacting on their reputation.
Is James McKenzie a BT troll ?
cearc,
“chicmac,
Stuart, on twitter, seems to be looking at ones to promote at the moment.
It just struck me that a permanent page on which projects could ask Stu to list them would be a useful resource for everyone.”
I know there is a lot of stuff going on in twitter that an illtwitterate like me doesn’t see.
Pretty sure he is putting a lot of effort in there though, that many of us don’t see.
Would it be possible to have a twitter window on Wings so we could at least see the Rev’s efforts there go by? Maybe with a scroll function for catchups would be ideal.
Don’t know if it is possible/easy/legal/desireable thing to do on Word Press.
Thoughts?
ronnie,
looks like your gold badge heirloom is about done.
Could never have got one for myself and so am delighted to help get one for you.
keep folding!
“Votadini Jeannie says:
27 February, 2014 at 12:05 pm@Peter Macbeastie
I don’t think Hotherstall underestimates us at all – if he did then he would just ignore us. It’s because he recognises the strength of Wings that he reacts the way he does.”
Fair point; I also agree that we should be ignoring him, and indeed with everything else you said. Apart from anything else, while it is indeed funny to laugh at the guy, it’s giving him publicity oxygen… and wee things like that shrivel up and disappear without it.
Stu – take you and yours to Rio for a fortnight and chill. You must need a break by now and you will need all your strength in the coming months.
chicmac,
I don’t use twitter either but just look at the WoS page sometimes, where you see incoherent bits of conversations (I think that is what twitter is actually).
https://twitter.com/WingsScotland
Harry says:
“Sorry for being thick but who is Ronnie?”
Ronnie is a very creative person.
Should for example the facade of Buckingham Palace require a new look or colour scheme then Ronnie could provide the advice required.
He has quite recently renovated, to great acclaim, a building very close to where he lives. A daring and imaginative approach with an emotive colour rendering guaranteed to stir the heart.
I’m quite sure he could supply a photographic reference to it from his portfolio.
Oh, and one thing I forgot to say earlier… I wonder how the people who think this site is indy-Daily Mail or right wing in general get round the fact that it routinely attacks bigots of all variants, and I somehow can’t quite see Eric ‘Slugger’ Joyce MP writing articles for a site like that.
I was quite surprised to see him pop up anyway, but not for that reason.
midgehunter,
love it!
Ah don’t want a badge, (aye ah dae), but I’ll settle fir a T shirt wie the Hamish fund raising logo on it (withoot the READERS bit on it). Can anybody make me wan?
I’m not going to waste any more energy on commenting on others on our side who seem to have a private beef with the Rev, or are seemingly envious of the success of the fundraiser – I daresay during WW2 there were people like them who didn’t like Churchill because he was a rude pompous Tory. Lacking the bigger picture somewhat.
If they had any sense they would be trying to plug into the vibrant community here to summon help for their projects, but realise that the DAILY task of combatting the MSM bullshit sits higher in the firmament of necessity than a one-off event, rally or play in winning this referendum.
I would hope everyone else ignores such petty whining, supports their projects and makes them successful. If they do fail, it’s not the fault of Wings.
However, the more we can upset the unionists the better
“By the way Who the hell is Duncan Hothersal?”
Thinking the surname might not exist, i.e. maybe an anagram of something, a pseudonym, I typed ‘Hothersall’ into the surname mapper. It does exist but seems to be virtually absent in the UK except for a concentration in Shetland. The Hebrides and the Liverpool area, so I presume he is of Norse descendency. No slur intended on anyone of Norse descendency.
http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/
@ Rev Stu
Rev, I know you’ll have been watching this. The following have pledged/donated the following amounts to get Mr Ronnie Anderson a Savior Wings badge. I hope you’ll accept our dribs’n’drabs as a Savoiur donation. Can you tell ronnie how to provide his address. Ta much.
X_Sticks 20
halftracknat 20
Calgacus MacAndrews 20
call me dave 20
cearc for 10
Morag 20
jingly jangly 20
Dramfineday for 10
Boorach 20
SquareHaggis 20
Robert Kerr 20
Ronnie 20
Quinie frae Angus 20
Mary Bruce 20
chicmac 20
Midgehunter 10
clochoderic 20
Dick Gaughan 20
sionnach 20
Steven Duncan 20
Thepnr 20
Silverytay for 10
Gin 20
Stuart Black 20
gerry parker 20
Murray McCallum 20
Wilma 10
Cindie for 10
nelliejean 10
To everyone else who gave to the fund but didn’t get a badge – I’m sure ronnie will wear his with pride for all of you 🙂 Just put your donation into the indiegogo appeal.
Big thanks to all who chipped in 😀 makes me all the more determined to get our country back from the thieves that currently control it. It will be different!
PS I hope I didn’t miss anyone – it’s hell trying to catch up here at work on my lunch break – needing to work hard today as didn’t get much done yesterday 😉
@Midgehunter,@ Harry, Visit Ronald Anderson on YES Scotland Facebook page MA WEE SHED.Its olso on SMNT site.
@Midgehunter
Lol – well put!
x sticks,
well done.
@ Midgehunter
Ronnie could actually come up with a best selling book if he and 49 of his pals all painted their sheds grey and wrote about the venture.
I will be absolutely incandescent if Stu passes any of the money over to other Yes groups, now I have actually thought about this. Beyond what might be seen as a reasonable donation from him personally of course. We gave this money so Wings could take off. We can all see the other fundraisers, and anyone who had been thinking of bunging a bit more towards Wings might well now decide to put it somewhere else instead. But it needs to be a personal choice.
A list of other fundraisers, with links, is an excellent idea. I might well give what I would otherwise have considered giving should Wings have been struggling to meet the target, to another group. But I want it to be my choice. Mainly, I want Wings to have the money because the bang-for-buck ratio we got last year was absolutely #astonishing.
I think Stu needs a secretary, even someone part-time, who can deal with a lot of the routine emails and things like that. A gopher. I’d rather fund that and get better Wings productivity, than someone I don’t know who had an idea about an ad-trailer or something.
@ Grahame
I do like your trailer idea but It strikes me that you are going down the expensive route in going for tailor-made solutions.
Have you considered salvaging old trailer/caravan chassis and building your own. I imagine that costs then would be minimal with the superstructure consisting of a couple of sheets of 8′ x 6′ 3/4 ply plus enough ply for the base and ends.
3 sheets of 3/4 ply, some paint and a salvaged chassis whats not to like?
As I said I do like the idea and will be looking to copy it (hope you don’t mind) but I will definitely be going for the cheaper option!
Ah canny read the bliddy posts the tears ur blinin me,thanks tae one and all,I will except the WINGS BADGE and I will wear it
with Pride.I am most humbled.
@x_Sticks.
That’s my 20 quid in for Ronnie Anderson’s badge.
Transaction ID: 1VR16865VH179461N
Invoice ID: 5712912
X_Sticks
I have just contributed the £10 that I promised towards Ronnies badge .
Rev , That last £10 that I contributed is towards Ronnies badge .
Cheers Mike McCabe
Ronnie, ye can come down to Coatbridge sometime and gie me some advice on ma leaking’ shed.
🙂
X_Sticks
It took half a dozen tries again, but anyway as promised, Ronnies donation is there.
“Der Goldjunge” as they say here.
The good reverend said:
“Your trust in us is overwhelming, lump-in-the-throat-creating, and only slightly unnerving. We’ll reflect on it (from Rio de Janeiro) in everything we do for the next year.”
I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say, you’re welcome and I for one would not begrudge you a fortnight in Rio, just as long as there was someone holding the fort.
The absurd reaction from the No side simply shows you’re doing a good job and the sniping on our side probably is jealousy. Sad but such is life.
Buggerit. In China and off-net I’ve not had the chance. If it’s not closed when I get back, in.
@ boorach
steal away –
plans are fluid, so we will consider all options.
Re the RevStu “fiddling the figures” allegations – I can quite believe it – when I tugged on the thread I had attached to my donation in order to retrieve it, I discovered the sneaky sod had cut it! 😉
Re the MacKenzie poster, with friends like him, who needs Hothersall, McColm, etc.?
X_Sticks – I too just donated to Ronnie’s badge fund.
Ronnie – your Saviour Wings badge will, a long way down the years I hope, become a treasured heirloom for wee Carly. 🙂
X_Sticks – Just donated £20 for Ronnie’s badge (might be under name: mike.euse)
I wasn’t on your list but did commit myself on earlier threads.
Many thanks to you and Stu from Oslo,Norge
X-Sticks
Thanks for organising the badge – great idea.
Ronnie, wear it with pride for all of us 🙂
Proud to be a wings supporter.
The Indiegogo link needs to be front & centre on the website.
If you can’t work out what to do with the cash then billboards of the scare-stories/morons on the BT side. If people go past enough “we’re not genetically programmed” billboards in the next 6 months then they’ll either be SLAB members (and agree) or be fed up to the back teeth of it and won’t listen to SLAB again in the campaign.
Put them in the Labour “heartlands” and emphasise that “your MP thinks you are inferior”. See how that goes 😀
Is it worth checking with Indiegogo to see if we broke any records achieving the initial ask in 8hr 24mins
Never felt so passionate about anything in my life. The chance to make a better place for all those who choose to live and work in this fine country. Keep up the good work and hold a bit of cash back for the party in September
Whoever the person was who gave 10 grand – would like to add my thanks to Stuart’s – that was incredibly generous and so kind
Stuart – looks like your skills and wit have earned you quite a following
will be adding my bit
Donation winging its way to a brighter horizon- awe, shucks. Too saccharine.
I presume Ronnie’s gold badge is now fully funded? Crowdfunding within a crowdfunder. Cool!
Morag
Possibly not the only one. LFI have crossed the 4k mark of their 5k target. They were on about 2.3 when they started to be mentioned on Wings yesterday.
Good things breed.
Morag says:
“I presume Ronnie’s gold badge is now fully funded?”
I can only presume so Morag – the Rev hasn’t yet given us the nod 🙁
I still have to put my £20 in for Ronnie’s badge but have left my bank card at home and am away with work so will need to do this at the weekend!
Will let you know when it’s done.
Re James Mackenzie et al questioning Stu’s figures, I can only surmise that this all boils down to that most human of emotions: jealousy.
Way back when the pro-indy online phenomenon first really started growing, around about 2009/2010, Better Nation was up there and regarded as a fairly well respected blog, with some intelligent contributions. James Mackenzie, if I recall, was a something of a “star” of the site…..well, not a star, exactly, but certainly a “contributor of note”, if you like. Although I was a Green-minded person I never quite took to his slightly combatative, arrogant and occasionally hostile tone to anyone who took a different view from him.
Anyway, I soon fell away from Better Nation and grew more addicted to Newsnet and Wings. James Mackenzie and his writings fell way off my radar and I frankly forgot all about him, as I became now utterly absorbed by the forensic, investigative, thoroughly-researched and well-sourced analysis and entertaining satire provided by our own Stuart Campbell. His searing exposure of the media bulls*** we are fed daily and nightly by a corrupt establishment is VITAL to our cause, and indeed to a “new slate” post-September.
I also grew to love the wonderful cameraderie and shared understanding we Wingers have as a community. A true grassroots bunch of all sorts of people who just “get it”.
Anyway, wind forward three or four years and we have what just happened yesterday – a truly astonishing and record-breaking collective event that blew all of our minds. (I can only imagine how this must have affected actual No campaigners!!) We all know what this means, this crowd-funding phenomenon of committed, like-minded and passionate people. The deafening silence from the media on what happened yesterday – an indyref story if ever there was one – just proves that what we are doing is right, and true, and incredibly powerful!
And then, lo and behold, out of the woodwork pops James Mackenzie – who claims to be a Yes supporter, so should know far better if he has any real intelligence at all – with his nasty and untrue comments about Stuart. I can only presume that Mr Mackenzie has had a fit of the jealous vapours and is so bitter with envy and shadenfreude at Stuart’s soaring away in the blogger ratings thing, that he is throwing his toys out of the pram. He is not providing any genuine arguments as to why Stuart’s site and/or fundraiser are a bad thing – he’s just tossing out these silly and erroneous accusations that Stuart is some sort of bigot, and fiddling the Indiego-go figures. Surely he must realise that even if he has a personal beef with Stuart, for whatever reason, the fact that hundreds of people yesterday gave whatever wee bit they could spare, to something – and someone – that they truly believe in and trust, must mean something pretty huge, and worth acknowledging with a bit of good grace?
It’s sad, really, and makes him come across as something of an immature boy. But as my Mum always said “There will always be jealous people in this world. You just have to ignore them and carry on enjoying and appreciating what you have”.
A final tuppence-worth: I couldn’t give a monkey’s about whether Stuart has ever said any “controversial” or “offensive” thing on Twitter, or anywhere else for that matter. (Although I have to say I have no truck at all with all that smearing “trans-phobe” obsession that some of these po-faced Twitterers have adopted. Stuart is no more a “trans-phobe” than I am……and I have two very good friends who are trans-gender and have been through a hell of a lot to get there, so I understand a fair bit about this subject!) But honestly, this is all a complete storm in a tea-cup deliberately created by those who are either jealous of Stuart’s success, or the kind of people who enjoy taking professional offence at the slightest thing to get themselves noticed, etc etc. They have been sitting waiting, like coiled springs, waiting for Stuart to emit some small thing – anything – that they could pounce on. And like bulldogs chewing proverbial wasps, they’ve kept on and on and on and on about it – apparently ignoring the HUGE body of sterling work that he has produced: the elephant in the room that they are deliberately pretending they cannot see. He is the best investigative journalist on Indy matters in Scotland by far, and if his tone can be slightly acerbic at times for some people’s tastes, so flippin’ what? The bigger and far more important picture is the fact that he is turning the lies, the bias and the duplicity of the Establishment parties and their compliant media co-horts upside down. And they don’t like it up ’em!!
And by the same token, even though I myself have admittedly winced on the odd occasion at a particularly jaggy remark of Stu’s here or there, it doesn’t bother me in the great scheme of things, at all. He is as entitled to his own personal views as any of us are. He is his own man – and I for one love what he is, and what he does. And for the record, as a feisty feminist myself, I have never read or seen anything that Stuart has ever written that strikes me as remotely misogynist, so we can put that outrageous smear to bed as well. I think I read some silly woman on Twitter accusing him of being “too macho” last night, and Stuart’s reply was something along the lines of “Those who actually know me would laugh like drains at the inference that I am macho”. This reply in turn just made me laugh – it’s hilarious, some of his stuff. He is a clever satirist and I for one find him hugely entertaining. And again, as a feminist, I find myself as offended by some women’s puerile and over-sensitive drama queenery, as they claim they are offended by a man, whose sole raison d’etre at the moment seems to be to work his socks off night and day to ensure that we bounce ourselves free in September of the dark forces of corruption, cynical manipulation and brazen thievery of the Westminster/Whitehall/Millbank/City cabal.
As far as I am concerned, there is important business to be done here. Stuart is doing it – and how! This silly Twittery nonsense perpetrated by fools must be ignored and pooh-poohed with the contempt and pity it deserves.
We are going to win this thing – and Rev Stuart Campbell has already earned his place in history.
End of. Apologies for the long post but I really had to get this off my chest.
I wouldn’t worry. I’m sure Stu is a bit overwhelmed right now in more ways than one, and picking through a bunch of £10 and £20 donations to see if they add up to a gold badge is probably not how he wanted to spend Thursday evening. (Having a pointless Twitter spat is so much more fun….)
I’d assume it’s a done deal unless he comes out and says it isn’t. And I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen.
@Morag
Not worrying Morag, like you say I think Stu is kinda busy and I don’t forsee any problem once he gets around to it 🙂
@Quinie
And boy did you ever get it off your chest! (I mean that in the most respectful way, of course)
Can’t but agree with all you say though. I’m sure there’s a few jealous glances from some of the other indy sites and personalities, but Stu is the one who has given the indy community what they want and they love him for it.
Any of the others could have become Wings (if you see what I mean) but they haven’t. While there is a lot of clever, thoughtful analysis out there Stuart’s forensic skills are exemplary. That, and the platform he allows the community, is what makes Wings something special.
Quinie frae Angus, seconded with enthusiasm. It’s understandable that our opponents will trawl through Stu’s past to find something they can misrepresent, but for supposed allies either to be doing the same, or to be taking these misrepresentations at face value and running with them is truly shameful.
You don’t have to read too much of Stu’s writing on Wings to get a reasonable feel of what sort of a person he is, and the net result is pretty congenial. He’s extremely bright, writes beautifully, and has a biting wit. He’s also the most passionately committed person to the cause of independence that I have ever come across, and in that I don’t necessarily except the SNP top brass.
Everything they throw at him comes from old tweets or blog posts that have nothing to do with Wings. And almost all of them are deliberate hyperbole said for comic effect. I mean come on, that comment about the easy level of the video game being for “girls and homosexuals”, that’s your evidence that Stu is a misogynist, a homophobe and a bigot? Really?
I certainly disagree with his take on what happened at Hillsborough, but I saw others making exactly my points in the comments to the blog article and Stu had rejected them, so what’s the point in arguing? Gosh, I disagree with him. What precisely does that have to do with anything? I don’t think there’s a single person in the world I agree with about absolutely everything. It’s not even a particularly outrageous point of view, just one that fails to understand the “fluid dynamics” of crowd movement.
I note someone was trying to whip up fury about the Wings post about Scottish soldiers being killed in Britain’s wars, accusing Stu of publishing a photoshopped picture of military coffins. No link, of course. The photo was of one of the cortege processions in Wooton Bassett, and the only photoshopping was the blurring of the number plates on the hearses. Iain Hamilton said he was going to pick a fight with someone about that misrepresentation.
I do find it quite depressing that every time someone surfaces on Twitter praising Stu’s work, the same clique of naysayers will start tweeting about Stu being a bigot and a homophobe and a transphobe and a misogynist and so on, retweeting the same out-of-context snippets from years ago because they can’t find anything else. Then he comes under attack for refusing to apologise for something said in jest in the distant past. I mean for goodness sake.
The other one of course is that the SNP and Yes Scotland don’t endorse him, or have distanced themselves from him or whatever. Well duh! I suspect the SNP and Yes Scotland love him dearly, but it suits them far better to have a maverick harrying their opponents’ flank than to take him under their wing (so to speak). The campaign needs free spirits, and they have to be left to get on with it.
This fundraiser is a phenomenal achievement. My only worry is that using that sort of money effectively in such a short time is too much work for one man, even for Stu. However, we’ve trusted him up to now and he’s delivered in spades. We just have to let him get on with it, and support him in any way we can.
Morag and X-Sticks
Thanks for your responses to what I wrote, there. Wholeheartedly endorse what you’ve written in reply, and Morag, I also feel your fury at the continual plaguing of Stuart on Twitter by these energy-sapping morons.
I often find myself wondering: do they actually READ Wings? If so, then I cannot fathom for the life of me why they are not gob-smacked and transformed by the eye-popping truths he reveals and explains. They can only be so dyed-in-the-wool, so Stockholm-Syndromed to tribal hatred, that their faculties of reason and intellect are seriously impaired. In which case we should pity them for their inability to “see”.
But if they DON’T read Wings, and are just Twittering fear and loathing based on the knee-jerk assumptions that other hate-Twitterers must be “right” about that Wings guy, then frankly they should just be condemned and ignored outright.
The world is unfortunately full of such numpties, but that’s life. In the meantime we have important business to do, and must help Stu in all our various capacities to pull this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity off.
I just hope he has broad enough shoulders to withstand all this crap. I often find myself wondering and hoping that he’s managing to get enough sleep; eating healthy food, and generally getting enough rest and relaxation so he doesn’t burn himself out before September!
As to that last bit, I doubt it. Someone asked him what he was going to do after the referendum and he said, “sleep”.
I sometimes find myself coming over all mother-hen in the wee sma oors, seeing Stu still tweeting away, and I have to curb the urge to tweet, “away to your bed, son”. While recognising that I’m busy doing exactly the same thing he is at that precise moment.
He needs help, a part-time secretary or gopher or something, but when you point that out he just says, where wuold I put them? Well I’m not privy to his domestic arrangements so how would I know? Something needs to be arranged though, to get our money’s worth out of him.
Finally Indiegogo accepted my contribution towards Ronnie’s badge. Like wading through treacle.
“Finally Indiegogo accepted my contribution towards Ronnie’s badge.”
Is someone keeping a tally? 🙂
“I just hope he has broad enough shoulders to withstand all this crap.”
Don’t fret. I had 20 years practice. You think I get it bad, you should see what videogames journalists have to put up with…
Tally? It’s overfunded, trust me. Just GIVE HIM THE FREAKING BADGE!
Ah, but Stu, bear in mind that you’re a failed videogames journalist. Clearly lacking in stamina! (I’ll get me coat….)
“Is someone keeping a tally? 🙂 ”
http://wingsoverscotland.com/t-plus-one/#comment-823102
Can’t check they’ve all donated, but I’m sure they’re all trustworthy.
Yea Stu, give him the badge.
Starts chant!
🙂
Tempted to bring back the Badger vid.
@chicmac
The badger vid?