Views fit to print
It’s a pretty widely-held axiom that supporters of independence rule the internet. While there are online No sites – mainly demented Loyalist affairs on Facebook – none of them has anything like the reach of even the middle-ranked Yes ones.
Where the independence movement has always trailed a long way behind is conventional media. For most of the modern era there hasn’t been a single newspaper or broadcast outlet that supported Yes. Now the Sunday Herald and The National have stepped into that space, with encouraging results, and NewsShaft are doing increasingly exciting things on air (though still web-based).
Clearly, though, more is needed, and one of the most impressive productions is one which has existed for almost a year already, but is curiously little-heralded.
iScot is a print magazine made in Helensburgh by Transmedia, and which is on its tenth issue. Each monthly edition runs to 100 glossy, full-colour pages covering all sorts of matters political and cultural. The production values are terrific – although you wouldn’t guess it from its clunky and awkward website – and it’s an absorbing read that, importantly, would do nothing to scare off a No-voting relative.
There are regular exclusive columns by Wings reader favourites Derek Bateman and Paul “Wee Ginger Dug” Kavanagh, interviews with famous and not-so-famous people in all kinds of fields, and it’s even had the FM herself writing features. There are puzzles and cartoons and everything you’d expect to find in a quality publication.
It’s deeply bizarre that it’s not more well-known, and we’re as much to blame for not promoting it as anyone. iScot has delivered the goods consistently where others have as yet only promised, and frankly it ought to be doing better, so it’s beyond time we gave it a much-merited shove into the limelight.
The magazine’s currently running a “fundraiser” which only has a few days to go, but it’s not like other cash appeals – there’s no charity being asked for here, and no vague unspecified commitments. Every penny you fork out gets you something straight back, in the shape of digital or print copies of the mag.
A mere fiver will buy you a couple of months of the digital edition to see if you like it, and for just £4 a month you can have the real thing delivered to your door for a year.
We heartily recommend at least giving it a try, and preferably in the flesh-and-blood edition. It’s the sort of thing that anyone who sees it sitting on your coffee table won’t be able to resist picking up. It’s a genuinely superb piece of work and a vital resource in terms of reaching people who’d never come to websites like this or listen to the likes of NewsShaft in a million years.
The Yes movement constantly talks about needing a physical media presence as well as a digital one, and Ken McDonald and his team have been quietly coming up with the goods in spectacular style for months. They deserve our support.
Click here to take out a subscription from just £5.
Brilliant magazine, so proud to be a founder.
Hear hear Rev.
I hope Wings gets behind this fantastic publication. They have been doing a magnificent job on a shoestring.
Better than the National as a way to undermine the relentless brainwashing of the people of Scotland.
Please also support Live Independence who have a fundraiser going. Another really deserving cause and not looking for a lot of money to keep the show on the road. They’ll be broadcasting the Syria march later.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/super-app-more#/story
Good magazine
Read a few and did a one months subsription a while back to try the digital version which was excellent.
Gone for the 1 year subsription and the whole archived back numbers.
Good luck Ken.
PS: O/T
Footie:
Geez! Aberdeen players got heads like threepenny bits and should have popped in at least 3 by now.
Aberdeen 0 v Celtic 1 (stonewall penalty) half time.
http://neolive.net/29684/1/Watch-Aberdeen-FC-vs-Celtic-/
Agree superb publication, look forward to it dropping through the letterbox each month. It’s got a fair way to go to reach the target and as somebody else pointed out recently Ken McDonald was instrumental in getting thousands of the Little Blue Book printed at his own expense.
Cmon Wingers get your hands in your pockets once again for a deserving cause.
Dont forget, once you’ve finished with it to leave it out at your doctor or dentists waiting room. 😉
Well done for this feature, Rev Stu!
Ronnie Anderson will have some back issues available in George Square next Saturday.
I’m persuaded. Good job, Stu.
Thanks for the prompt Rev. I’ve been meaning to do this for a wee while, and somehow never quite got round to it.
Yearly subscription and a wee bit more to them for bye.
Paula provided a link on the off topic thread a couple of weeks back for a Indigo fund raiser where you could go for a 12 month subscription.
I await my copy with………….anticipation 🙂
Cracking magazine and exceptional production quality too
I LOVE this magazine. Getting my copy is the highlight of my month. The production values are absolutely superb, but more importantly the articles themselves are great reading.
I’d fund it myself if I could. But I can only chip in with everyone else. So far, there haven’t been enough everybody elses to get the fundraiser going. It depresses me no end.
I appreciate they’re looking for a lot of dosh. That sort of sum can seem daunting. Arguably it might have been better to take it in smaller bites. But you know, IT’S WORTH IT. You can’t get quality like that on a shoestring. Oh wait, you can. They’re actually only asking for a shoestring in comparison to the capital behind similar glossy coffee-table magazines.
The publication has the potential to tap into a demographic that isn’t accessible other ways. It’s stylish and attractive and simply oozes class. It will break my heart if it has to fold.
Independence won’t be free. It might not even be cheap. But whatever it costs it will be a bargain and the best buy ever!
Remember, the Tories plan to make ‘austerity’ the norm in the UK forever.
Life can only get better with Independence.
iScot is helping get us there.
Have every issue – absolutely a cracking quality read & product to be proud of.
Its a YES must
Me too,
Will sign up for print version, sick of looking at wee screens.
Have now got the biggest phone I could get for reading wings on the move.
Getting to the age when I’m needing reading glasses. Noooooooooo
I’ve been a reader of iScot from the start and recommend it wholeheartedly. Excellent writing. Excellent design. A breadth of subject-matter that no other pro-independence publication can match.
Regular followers of Wings will encounter many familiar names and faces inside it, too.
Subscribe! You’ll come to relish the sound of it thudding onto your doormat every month.
Looks interesting. Shall leave my copy in the tea room at work once I’ve read it. People will read anything to avoid going back to work… perhaps even some of the staunch No voters here will give it a go!
I recall pre-referendum seeing one of my bosses, who was a very vocal No supporter, read one of the Wee Blue Books I’d surreptitiously deposited around the tea room cover to cover over a couple days. I have no idea how he voted in the end, I suspect still No, but he was noticeably less vocal on the issue of independence after that reading.
O/T
I’m probably going to be able to come down from Aberdeen on the 18th/19th for the indy rallies and would love to meet some of you folks there. Are there any WoS plans for either the Edinburgh 18th or the Glasgow 19th rallies? How can I help? 🙂
One year printed subscription duly purchased. Look forward to receiving this quality publication. So will Mrs Cybernat.
Yep. I’ll slap the moths away from the wallet and take out a subscription
And well done for highlighting the magazine
I’ve picked up the odd copy. Very good.
It isn’t always easy to find. Small independent outlets usually.
Is it being avoided by the big magazine wholesalers, or something?
It never seems to be in the big chains or supermarket magazine sections.
Problem solved for me now. A years subscription bought.
Your powers of persuasion are amazing. You could get a proper job as a salesman!
I did buy a digital copy when it first launched but somehow lost the clear cut way to order copies. Now solved via WOS.
I have read it, and it is a very decent magazine.
However, the flaw with the magazine not being known in the public domain may be due to one factor that the magazine falls under in its interest; the world of politics. Not everyone wishes to read politics. And in that, there may lie its Achilles heel.
Even though the magazine talks about a variety of subjects and interests, the essence of it is politics. I know a ton of folk who would vote ‘Yes’ in the blink of an eye, but have absolute no interest in politics.
Then there are the folk who are interested in politics, and want to be kept right-up-to-date with what is going on. In that may lie the second Achilles heel. Any interviews will possibly be over a month old …and the world of politics could have changed in that time. Opinions may be out of date; other major events may have arisen.
But, if do we want to get it out there then …well, a wee question …do we want to have a fundraiser to promote the magazine within the public domain itself, or is that just taking it too far?
From the table of seats at Westminster below, it is clear that even though Labour may change course under Corbyn, the Commons will remain staunchly Unionist. So even with help from the Labour party in some areas, the 56 SNP MP’s remain hugely outnumbered and the anti-Scotland sentiment at Westminster will remain. Why not send a message of support to your own MP, especially now that the media have begun their blackout.
Party Seats
Conservative 330
Labour 232
Scottish National Party 56
Democratic Unionist Party 8
Liberal Democrat 8
Sinn Fein 4
Plaid Cymru 3
Social Democratic & Labour Part 3
Ulster Unionist Party 2
Green Party 1
Independent 1
Speaker 1
UK Independence Party 650
Working Government Majority 16
There’s a special treat on page 90 of this month’s issue.
@ Finlay 1:58 – Archie(not Erchie) did say he was organising a minibus from Aberdeen for next Saturday but I’ve heard no more.
Hi Finlay @ 1.58pm.
“Are there any WoS plans for either the Edinburgh 18th or the Glasgow 19th rallies? How can I help?”
Don’t know about Edinburgh on the 18th; there’s a Wings get-together in Edinburgh, at the Alexander Graham Bell, on Saturday 26th. See ‘off-topic’ and Quarantine for details.
Wingers will be at the foot of the Sir Walter Scott statue in George Square on Saturday 19th. Look for the Wings banners.
Also, Yes Rutherglen are having a bit of a do on the evening of the 18th. I know there are some Wingers going.
You know, I deeply covet that cover art that portrays Andy Murray as Andrew de Moray, with the hilt of the sword as the handle of a tennis racket. The minute Murray appeared on the Wimbledon scene (then billed as Andrew Murray), I said, he’s got a tremendous name to live up to.
But, £500 for a digital print. It’s too much. I think somebody pitched it a wee bit high.
Rev :
Your timely posting has started a steady stream of donations for another worthy cause, very well done again.
Don’t know why the Sunday Herald doesn’t link up with this type of quality work (by money off voucher etc).
Well done Rev – my money paid
All on-line YES sites need to pro-actively support alternative MSN as these have the capacity to reach out to groups that in-line activism cannot reach.
We can help them reach their critical ‘break-even points’ and once this circulation level is attained and they are financially secure, then to be able to expand their content and appeal.
DON’T FORGET INDY LIVE http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/super-app-more#/story
O/T Glasgow Sees Syria live now
http://livestream.com/IndependenceLive/GlasgowSeesSyria
It might be some time before we hear from Stu again …
Aberdeen 2 Celtic 1.
His last tweet said he was heading for the off licence .. . 🙂 (Only Joking)
(Expect a few typos as the day goes on though)
Stu,
A heartfelt thanks for your kind words and excellent support. We really appreciate this.
Can I say to everyone, including Pam McMahon who has e-mailed me is that the digital log on process is a manual process, so we appreciate your patience.
My e mail Ken(at)iscot(dot)scot
Cheers Paula / Brian.
Hope to see you there! 🙂
I wanted to go for the full year physical sub but money is tight this month so went for the 4mth digital. I’ll hopefully go with the 12mth sub soon as I can, that way I can push it onto other folk 🙂
Delighted to see this endorsement of a magazine I was initially surprised to see because of its outstanding quality from the very beginning. I started to collect the complete series but soon decided to give them all away by leaving them for others to read. IScot punts the Yes cause decidedly up-market and appeals to a readership whose support the indy cause badly needs.
Been a subscriber from day 1… Superb magazine… My original thought was to leave the ‘read’ copies in either the doc’s or the dentist’s waiting room(s) but they are far too god for that.
I have supported the Iscot since month 3 and received the first & second editions retrospectively – which I foolishly lent to my sister and have yet to get back! There will be blood….
I too have been amazed at how obscure ‘IScot’ has been; it has slipped under the radar of so many for far too long. My family all fight to read it first each month & it is a sair fecht to get my copies back from the tight fisted bastards.
In for a penny and all that……the trees wont have died for nothing. I will be leaving well read copies lying around in work.
And we’ll done Rev with fundraiser. You done a good thing there mate.
Been subscribing for few months now (lord knows why we didn’t get it from issue 1!). As Stuart says, great production values and a very stimulating, thought provoking read.
They also have a few days left on their fundraiser, which also helps keep the boat afloat. If you can afford to do both (subscribing & donating) you will be rewarded with that warm glow of knowing you’ve done a really good thing.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iscot-phase-2-be-the-change#/story
oops – sorry Stuart, just noticed the embedded link in your text.
My excuse is that the dark blue for the link is very close in hue to the black of the text, thereby making my old eyes struggle to see the difference … honest!
JLT says:
12 September, 2015 at 2:11 pm
I have read it, and it is a very decent magazine.
However, the flaw with the magazine not being known in the public domain may be due to one factor that the magazine falls under in its interest; the world of politics. Not everyone wishes to read politics. And in that, there may lie its Achilles heel.
Even though the magazine talks about a variety of subjects and interests, the essence of it is politics. I know a ton of folk who would vote ‘Yes’ in the blink of an eye, but have absolute no interest in politics.
——–
I agree. The danger of overtly political publications is that they are preaching to the converted.
It looks like they are attempting to branch out to a degree. The tagline on the crowdfunder is “reaching the people other independent pro-Scotland media outlets don’t”
I think they will only really achieve this if they get onto the newsstands, and make it something that non-politics readers would pick up.
Perhaps a modern Scots Magazine style format, with politics also – but not so prominent.
Cover articles about the outdoors, food and drink, culture, innovation, ‘what’s on’ guides etc.
Hope it does well.
My old grey matter is not the best but I do recall my post noting Kenmacaroonbar’s excellent posts on WOS becoming rarer and eventually disappeared, iScot Magazine was the magnificent result.
Ken was clearly switching his time to the magazine.
I can’t find it now but anyone got the link to the fantastic Wings Film Trailer Ken did ?
I’m pretty sure it was Ken.
I can only add to the already great compliments .
I can only urge you to do what you can to support iScot Magazine.
#COYR
Told misses about my new subscription – glaykit look
I tell her its got to be better than that Heat magazine pish she buys……..’has it got torso of the week?’ she says
It has wee Nic in it on occasion I retort (who she knows I would leave her for in a flash – what with that cheeky wee eye brow lift look of hers)
Anyway, cue me dancing roon the living room with T shirt raised up to my holsters …..A’m your torso of the week I shout…..torso of the year…..every year!
She’s upstairs greeting her eyes oot
Good name – iScot. Ticks all the boxes.
Just signed up for a subscription to iScot.
Wish they sent the hard copy overseas, Digital copy next best thing.
We have our subscription and would urge all to do so, it is an excellent magazine, very professional and a tribute to the work done by Ken and his team.
Hear hear Rev. iScot is a great magazine. I’ve been a supporter and subscriber from day one and always look forward to it dropping through letterbox. (Last month they also sent me a lovely pashmina for being letter of the month so don’t just support it and buy it, write in and win things too!)
They are always open to constructive comment and new ideas too which keeps you invested in its success.
Available from newsagents, but, you will have to get them to order it. If enough folk order it, they might actually get a bunch to put on the shelves, who knows.
Here’s an idea. If you can bear to part with any of your back issues (I know, I know, they are lovely to keep), they could be donated to doctor’s surgery waiting rooms, dentists, hairdressers, tattoo artists’ salons (is that the word?), whatever. It is such quality that folk would see it and have to pick it up!
While I am at it, 1.6m or whatever voted for independence, yet the take up figures for The National seem rather low. It’s only 50p and has real words.
That’s all…
Well done Rev.
Thanks Rev. Sent them a wee something.
iScot is an absolute gem and unique in the new Scottish media.
All the best Ken and co.
KG 🙂
Dont buy any rags down here in deepest lancashire, only the national when i visit my old mum in ayrshire, so will be ordering iscot on subscription.
Corbyn is coming here next week, I wonder if he’ll make a Vow?
And will BBC Scotland have J McTernan on to attack him for attacking New Labour principles?
Jim Thomson
Oi, you’re cramping my stile. 🙂
Brian Powell says:
Perhaps Gordon Brown will pass the Vow Baton on to Corbyn to honour that guarantee of delivery which he made. 😉
Corbyn will not have the slightest understanding of, nor interest in, the situation in Scotland. He will be a London centric Unionist with English Nationalist leanings, despite any contrary claims.
Like National, been buying iScot off the shelf. That way encourages the shopkeeper to order in more copies. Good read. (Only thing missing, an essay from me.) 😉
Just recently unsubscribed from The Herald due to the mess they have made of their comments pages and selective closure of comments. Can’t think of a better use of that subscription money than to transfer it to iScot magazine. Look forward to receiving my first issue…..!
Word of mouth as we know is the best marketing tool, why not recommend the mag to a friend or sign up a family member to a years subscription as a gift or early Christmas present!!
I will try and buy a copy at a news agent, it does seem a high quality publication. The website is awful, surely some Wings reader can offer services: I’m only good at hacking websites!
Does anyone have the ISBN number?
However, were doing that thing we did for 2 years, preach to converted and hide behind a keyboard:
We really need a non-political outlet to get the message out, otherwise you’ll just have to wait till No-Voters are on their knees crying in 2020.
ISSN – 2058 2234
I think (code above bar code?)
Got an email update from Ken..
Wow ! What can we say but thank you very much indeed for this most generous response !
We were pretty much down in the dumps when we saw that the Big Al Carmichael’s fundraiser to cover the cost of his legal fees received in 24 hours more funding than we received in 4 weeks and we reckoned therefore that life was trying to tell us something 🙂
Therefore, it’s a hearty thank you to those that have come to our support and in particular to the magnificent Rev Stu for coming to our rescue and asking the power of the mighty Wings readership for a call to arms. We are genuinely humbled by the positive comments of support.
We plan to start issuing log on details prior to the end of the fundraiser, and we therefore ask you to bear with us as we manually log you on in the coming 48 hours.
Yours aye
Ken
Listen, I see Henry McLeish has woken up again with ‘home rule’ (the undefined edition) and listen, a wee plug for Kezia.
I’m listening Henry as tumble weed whispers through the ‘ideas dept’ of Scottish labour. Kezia will fall into line like a good lap dug as Corbyn clicks on the lead and takes her for a walk.
Whot! no comments from wee Wullie yet?
Just paid my years subscription for iscot magazine, cant wait to get my hands on it.
Thanks Stu for selling me on support for iScot – have just taken out 12 month Print Sub.
Many thanks to Kendomacaroonbar iScot for Donating IScot magazines to Maryhill Foodbank & giving a Service User £20,lots of happy people on Fridays distrabution.
A lot of you,s are thinking along the right lines ,when you,ve finnished reading ,leave the magazine in Doctors/dentist/hosp W/Room. Promote the magazine to the max.
Rev could you Please put iScot into the Scottish Politics section. Every bit of Advertizing helps our New Media get established.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iscot-phase-2-be-the-change#/story
Surprise Surprise – BBC News Channel have got McTernan excreting his verbal poison every half hour or so.
I can’t wait for Monday’s Misreporting Scotland and Sarah Smith show and will stock up on sick bags in readiness.
Sorry – I forgot about ToKayE Rose and her daily dose of bias.
It will be interesting to see if Kez makes herself available for interview.
I wonder what the cast list for tomorrow’s Marr prog. will be.
I think they will only really achieve this if they get onto the newsstands, and make it something that non-politics readers would pick up.
Perhaps a modern Scots Magazine style format, with politics also – but not so prominent.
Cover articles about the outdoors, food and drink, culture, innovation, ‘what’s on’ guides etc
They’re actually doing all that already. Our local newsagent stocks it, and not just for orders, I’ve seen it on open display. In fact, before I got a chance to ask him to put it on order for me, he punted it to me on spec when I went into pick up my National. It just needs to be in MORE shops.
There are articles about travel, architecture, history, countryside matters, all sorts. It’s a really stimulating read. It just needs to build on what looks like a winning formula and get itself more widely recognised.
Three Orange Bands just passed the back of my Hoose. Its better together 2 Scottish bands ,1 English band (Imperial Liverpool) Saterday Night whit TFek.
Aw nae Wee Saltire Shed tae vent there spleen on.
Anyone listen to RS , 7pm news ?
Did they speed KD up ?
FFS Kez !
It’s incredible , worth a listen on iPlayer , what a speed she was talking ! LOL
@Tackety Beets
I think this is the video you are thinking of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL8JKI1m5J8
@Bill et al,
The ISSN number is 2058-2234
The magazine is sent to over 800 independent distributers throughout mainland Scotland.
The main supermarket chains charge magazines to be displayed on their premises, and as we also have to pay a huge percentage to our distributors and retail partners, this just isn’t a feasible option for us at this point in time.
@JLT
The magazine is a pro Scot publication. It celebrates the very best of Scotland and its inhabitants, and you will find that although the magazine is fronted by some political articles, please remember that it was created by the generous donations of people from Wings.
We are a small grassroots team. We created this from almost nothing whilst saving up for the shoestring that most small business operate from. We have proven that we can deliver the goods.
Just FYI, our daily ‘colleagues’ reneged on a verbal offer to carry our advert request and demanded editorial approval over it’s content. They made us an offer we couldn’t accept, and that’s just how it is. We, on the other hand are here for a cause, not just to balance up losses on other publications.
The decision whether we are allowed to succeed, improve and expand is up to our ability to constistently deliver high quality product which meets the readers expectation. There is nothing like iScot – it was created post indyref by the kindness and generosity of Wings readers. We prooved what can be done if we, just mere punters, put our mind to making it happen.
Thank you to those people who believe in us. Yours aye, Ken
Been a subscriber from the start, genuinely quality publication, not just for political geeks.
gus1940
Wndering how that can work. BBC must be contorted into a triple, triple, triple knot. McTernan doesn’t like SNP or Corbyn, but ScotLab is New Lab.
@kendomacaroonbar – have you asked the Scottish National Archive if they’d like a copy from issue 1 onwards?
Preserved for posterity, that way.
@ronnie – whit’s happened tae yer hut? Is it oan holiday? In hidin’?
FFS! Email from JC….
Dear Croomp,
It is a deep honour to be elected as the Labour Party’s new Leader. The honour is not about holding office — it is about the opportunity to serve you in the fight to get a better government for our country.
I want to pay tribute to Andy, Yvette and Liz. As the last few weeks have shown, each of them cares passionately about the Labour party and its values and has made a fantastic contribution to it.
The Labour Party is the joint endeavour of each and every one of us that believe in fairness, equality and social justice. If you share these values then I want to use your talents to make us stronger, and I want to represent you.
So, help me be your representative. When I stand at the despatch box for Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, I want to be your voice.
What do you want to ask David Cameron? Tell me now and I will put your questions to him in parliament. My questions will be your questions.
Here’s my question for David Cameron
Let’s hold this government to account together with straight-talking, honest politics.
Thank you for your commitment to building a better future. I look forward to working with you.
Best wishes,
Jeremy Corbyn
I also live in England but I’ve been getting iScot through the post for a few months now & I have to say that it is great. Has some really good articles & stunning photos. All in all a very good read & that is from someone who never ever buys magazines.
I wouldn’t be without it 🙂
I’ve been paying a subscription of over $48.00 US per year for years for ‘The Scots Magazine’ .
I’ve since dropped the subscription and pick it up at the local Newsagents here in Massachusetts every 4 or 5 months. They stock about 6 copies every month. Looks like they have lost their audience, as last time I looked 5 copies were still on the shelf.
Any chance your iScot will ever appear here in the USA.
How can I help ????? I’d love to give more support to you. I’m a new subscriber to your digital mag.
A nice wee riddle for the Labour front bench… how many will resign.. how many didn’t.. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=4&v=hDrGwqsto_4
@Jim Thompson, Jim I haven’t – will check into it. Thanks
Well, the next few weeks are going to be interesting.
Here’s a wee picture
http://mistygee4.wix.com/-page-altered-images
Did anyone note what the total was before Rev put this post up?
(Currently at £12,518)
Labour like to boast that their membership is currently the highest ever but in 1945 its membership was double that at one million which proportionately is still less than the SNP’s current membership which represents 3% of the adult population of Scotland.
Last month Kezia Dugdale told us that Corbyn was not Prime Ministerial material and if the Left-winger was successful, Labour would be left “carping on the sidelines”.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/02/kezia-dugdale-corbyn-win-leave-labour-carping-sidelines-years
And Ian Murray said that as Jeremy Corbyn was a pensioner he was therefore unsuitable to be a Labour leader.
Ironic given his monstering of Neil Hay.
kendomacaroonbar says:
The magazine is a pro Scot publication. It celebrates the very best of Scotland and its inhabitants, and you will find that although the magazine is fronted by some political articles, please remember that it was created by the generous donations of people from Wings.
We are a small grassroots team. We created this from almost nothing whilst saving up for the shoestring that most small business operate from. We have proven that we can deliver the goods.
Hi Ken. I don’t doubt the commitment, nor the content of the magazine which on reflection, is of a very high quality. I have read a couple of the editions and have been deeply impressed with what I have seen.
The question I was answering in the comment above was based on why isn’t it known within the public domain. Politics isn’t for everyone and it is possible that this is the category that the magazine would come under. Just as World Soccer would come under ‘sports’, I would guess iScot would fall under ‘politics’. That was the question I was trying to answer as it had been asked in the above article (where it mentions ‘but is curiously little-heralded.’
That was quite interesting to know about the offer that was put to you. Many of us here probably weren’t aware of that fact, that others wanted to interfere, and thus possibly change the magazine’s influence. Sticking with the key principles of the magazine should be paramount.
As I also said in my comment, I would love to see the magazine take off. If we need to get it advertised so it does enter the public’s conscious, then a wee fundraiser here might be one answer. As some of the guys have said here, distributing them and leaving them in workplace canteens or waiting rooms isn’t a bad idea.
In the meantime (and something I should have done a while ago), I have now taken up the offer of the digital subscription. Looking forward to reading it on the iPad.
Ken …I wish you every success with the magazine. I know a few of the guys who contribute, and I tip my hat in their direction. But in the meantime …well done …and good luck with the future of the magazine.
@Sandra Schlegel
The postage is quite high to the US, however we have no objection to mailing overseas provided our postage and handling costs are covered. Happy to hear if you have any suggestions we could do to improve our distribution to new bods 🙂
Ken, I don’t know how it works for magazines, but a copy of every book has to be lodged with all the copyright libraries, for posterity as it were. My publisher took care of it for my book.
These libraries take anything they’re given – fanzines, local newsletters, anything. You should certainly be sending iScot to them. Or at least the Scottish one.
A bridge to far. Osborne and Johnston’s use of public money.
https://archive.is/iyPzG
Be sure to leave it somewhere prominent when you’re done with it – as I do with the National: on the train, in a Mcdonalds, my local library, etc.
Spread the message far and wide…
Ian, it was less than £3,500 before the article was published. I think just over £3,300 in fact. I know I brought it up to the round £3,000 on 30th August and it hadn’t moved very far since then. Nearly a fortnight later and Wings readers have rocket-propelled it.
@Kendomacaroonbar – I got the words the wrong way round. It should be National Archives of Scotland. http://www.nas.gov.uk/
Too fast with the keyboard and not using brain (normal for most days …)
“While I am at it, 1.6m or whatever voted for independence, yet the take up figures for The National seem rather low. It’s only 50p and has real words.”
———
I think the National daily sales had settled at around 17,000 last time I heard, which is respectable considering it is still rather light in content compared with the Scotsman and Herald.
The real value comes from having it on the newsstand with the front cover on display. For every person that buys it, maybe a hundred more will glance at the front page and take in a pro-indy message. That’s why it’s far more beneficial to buy a real copy rather than a subscription.
For this iScot magazine, there must be a good chance to take on the Scots Magazine.
It says on their website they have a 250,000 worldwide readership – which I suppose means around 62,000 copies sold with 4 readers per copy.
You would assume most of these readers would be patriotic Scots at least in a cultural sense. Surely plenty of them would prefer to support a politically pro-Scottish publication rather than DC Thomson.
@Morag
ISSN for mags and ISBN for books. We send magazines to the ISSN library.
I contributed at 2.00pm and the total then was £5,339.
I hope there will be much discussion on here about the possible effects of Corbyn’s leadership on the prospects for independence. I’m very unsure about whether it will create a Labour revival at Holyrood or destroy Labour across the whole of Britain.
call me dave says:
“A bridge to far. Osborne and Johnston’s use of public money.”
My first reaction was, it’s a joke. No!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_Bridge
“As of July 2014, the cost of the bridge has risen to £175 million, from the original estimate of £60m”
For Heaven’s Sakes! It’s a garden on a foot bridge. London already has gardens. I’ve seen them.
Just how much of the £175m will come from Scotland?
In the style of Iain M Banks, Culture novels.
Message begins: From LCU “Pissed again, but it’s Saturday” to all Wingers. Current status of ship mind known as “Dram”, update…. the mind is well on the way to recovery following serious circulatory pump refurbishment. Inputs of mind changing substances containing the following; whisky, red wine, beer (real) denied; micro-fields have not yet repaired taste buds. Consumption of taste neutral beverages acceptable (but can be accompanied by occasional smatter outbreaks).
LCU “Pissed again, but it’s Saturday” – Concerns that the mind “Dram” is planning to attend the Wingers night in Edinburgh have resulted in the allocation of the slap drone “Mrs Dram” (with complete knife missile suite) to prepare to attend this engagement.
Concerns around the involvement of GCU “Conan the Librarian who is now something else”, GOU “Ronnie’s shed offends Orangey types and likes it” and ROU “Dr Kerr’s tin badge rage against yes” mean that the missile suite may be required to protect the “Dram” (mostly from himself). Message ends.
Update the mind known as “Dram” has surfaced and sends the following:
a) What happened to Ronnie’s shed?
b) Contribution to ISCOT made – the ship should be allocated a proper Banksian name and allocation – GSV “ISCOT, looking and stepping to the future” – has a nice ring to it.
c) Respect to the writings of Iain (whose writing helped me get the brain working again), ISCOT and the Rev (ditto as per Iain, and if he permits this guff and even if he doesn’t).
From LCU “Pissed again, but it’s Saturday” Looking forward to the ISCOT updates. Night. Message ends.
IScot appeal zooming up since Rev’s appeal thank God
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iscot-phase-2-be-the-change/x/10763804#/story
Moving up by the minute
@ Jim Thomson 7.50 ( aka Rip van Winkle) Wake up that Elert Reader. the Wee Saltire Shed went tae that great chipper in the sky. Betty Boop gie yer man ah shake.
Not yet checked for typos or poor conjunctions, but here’s my Sunday essay:
https://grousebeater.wordpress.com/2015/09/12/we-are-better-than-them/
http://news.sky.com/story/1551521/snp-considers-second-referendum-on-independence
Ooh Er Missus.. MacWhirter…
Iain Macwhirter ?@iainmacwhirter 1h1 hour ago
12 hours in and I’m still pinching myself. Just look at the size of his mandate!
My missus is always saying that 😀
Regarding London’s Garden Bridge.. I like the design.
https://www.gardenbridge.london/
This has been a lovely day – thanks everyone, special hug for ronnie anderson – total hunk.
Scotland has her own destiny to pursue. What happens elsewhere is incidental & temporary.
@unchilfiltered
No one can know for sure but we all have our own expectations.
Mine are typically, for me, pessimistic (but sadly, that does not mean they are less likely to be correct).
Assuming an SNP first and second vote policy, which is now the only game in town, the window of opportunity for a more prudential split second vote tactic having closed around mid July, the history of my personal expectation levels for the three main outcomes as each development has occurred has been as follows.
Immediately after the 2015 GE:
SNP win outright majority on constituencies. 40%
SNP retain a majority with list MPs (theirs and others). 30%
Unionist parties have a majority 30%
70% chance of SNP government.
But obviously with concerns as to how events might unfold.(Expressed at time.)
After Dugdale won the SLAB manager contest:
SNP win outright majority on constituencies. 43%
SNP retain a majority with list MPs (theirs and others). 32%
Unionist parties have a majority 25%
75% chance of SNP government.
So far so good. MacIntosh, or worst still Chisholm in a holding role, would have been worse.
Frenchgate (concurrent really with SLAB contest):
SNP win outright majority on constituencies. 44%
SNP retain a majority with list MPs (theirs and others). 33%
Unionist parties have a majority 23%
77% chance of SNP government
Even better.
Farron wins LibDem leadership:
Initially:
SNP win outright majority on constituencies. 40%
SNP retain a majority with list MPs (theirs and others). 30%
Unionist parties have a majority 30%
70% chance of SNP government
But given his post leadership performance:
SNP win outright majority on constituencies. 43%
SNP retain a majority with list MPs (theirs and others). 32%
Unionist parties have a majority 25%
75% chance of SNP government
Phew!
Corbyn winning UK Labour leadership:
SNP win outright majority on constituencies. 20%
SNP retain a majority with list MPs (theirs and others). 25%
Unionist parties have a majority 55%
45% chance of SNP government.
Not so good.
This factors in how effective the MSM ‘SNP BAD’ campaign along with its continued smearing of Nicola Sturgeon, it’s ‘One party Nazi state’ jibes and its economic propaganda plays out over the next 8 months.
I do not believe that if the unionist parties have a majority that this time they will allow an SNP minority government even if the SNP are the largest party (See Jim Murphy for the justification for this).
Grouse Beater
I think the USA/UK’s emerging ‘drone culture’, poses a real and present danger to the rule of law and so basic human right. Then again, it is merely a repulsive symptom and not the disease……neo-Fascist interests who meet in secret, pull government strings and direct public opinion.
Looking at you BBC, among others.
Sunday Herald front page;
https://twitter.com/newsundayherald/status/642806902213185536
O/T
http://nationalleft.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/bbc-poll-question-on-welsh-nhs-breached.html
“BBC poll question on Welsh NHS breached code of conduct”
Chic
Overall I think your analysis is not bad. Farron has become invisible (not helped though that I always mix him up with Fallon).
On Corbyn, I was struck by how little the Corbyn factor had impacted on Scotland with only 21,000 members etc. eligible to vote for Kezia and only 7,000 bothering. On a roughly 10% basis there should have been 55,000 eligible to vote.
It also seems from the things that Corbyn has said that he doesn’t really get devolution or where Scottish aspirations are.
Corbyn will have an impact in England who have been starved of a genuine left wing option for 25 years or more but I am less convinced he will impact in Scotland. He is very London centric with an old school centralist mindset. I think he and Kezia and more particularly Alex Rowley might not agree on everything.
He is anti-austerity, anti-war, anti-Trident and sympathetic to the refugees but we already have a Scottish government that is all these things and more. We are ahead of the game. It is he whose task it is to ensure Labour catches up. Whether his party ultimately lets him is another matter. I see the Tory press is already in full vilification mode.
WOS Twitter saying Carmichael fundraiser has stopped taking donations…
Thanks Stuart. Desperately need a less negative, less Unionist media but it’s not always easy to know who or what best to support. Donation to fundraiser on its way!
Here’s the Carmichael fundraiser right now – no mention of it having stopped.
In case it disappears altogether, the main stats are:
Total raised: £5,470
150 donors in the past four days.
Most recent donation by ‘Anonymous’ (£25) four hours ago.
http://www.gofundme.com/yh3pe7nc
Just heard Kezia Dugdale on the midnight news.
It’s like Jim Murphy on helium.
Ian B = aye, but it’s the ‘Help Alistair and stop the SNP’ crowdfunder that’s stopped taking donations – not the good guys. 🙂
If you go to the site and click to donate, you get a message that the organiser has stopped donations, with only £4,570 raised of the £50k requested.
I reckon it’s had to be pulled owing to complaints regarding the veracity of the basis of the crowdfund viz:
‘This is nothing more than a ruthless attempt by the SNP to eliminate any remaining opposition to them in Scotland.’
http://www.gofundme.com/yh3pe7nc
Lying bastirts in support of a lying bastirt.
Carmichael. The organiser has closed donations. 00.08am
The fundraiser is now at 33% with 3 days to go. Thank you to everybody who has taken the time and effort to support us.
After the GP writes out the prescription there is a gap before the pharmacist makes it up and the patient can get access to the medication and it’s benefit felt. WTF?
The ‘prescription’ for Independence has been written.
Ian,
I see that the previous donation was from Jill Stephenson with the comment,
‘This ‘case’ should never have reached a court of law. It makes a farce of the Scottish judicial system.’
So it seems that the learned professor of history is unaware that it is a UK election court, judging UK law, sitting in Scotland and nothing to do with the Scottish legal system!
150 people donated £5470 to this scam. Why did they do that?
Why did two million people vote No in the Referendum scam?
@TJenny et al (whoever he is) –
Aye.
Click on the ‘Donate’ button and it says:
DONATIONS ARE COMPLETE!
The organizer has stopped donations
So, the question must be asked – what do they do with that dosh now? Refund it?
And if not, why not?
Silly silly sods for even doing it in the first place, and Carmichael’s made a real dick of himself by not knocking it on the head the instant he was made aware of it…which will never ever be determined, and even if it is, no-one will believe him.
Ah, quelle dommage eh?
When a ship sets sail, the time it takes to reach it’s destination is decided by the forces of nature such as wind and tide. Of greater importance is the course set by the navigator.
Scotland is on course for Independence. Let nature take care of time and tide.
Xaracen @ 7.13
Yes , thank you .
Kendo has a few on his YT channel. What guy .
For the insomniacs out there. Max Keiser on the ever imminent collapse of the global banking system:
http://www.rt.com/shows/keiser-report/314493-hurricanes-global-financial-markets/
I mentioned earlier KD @ full speed at RS 7pm news
Or as posted ” on Helium”
Hope link works , 23seconds in .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b069wsql
@cearc (12.20) –
She’s a very silly sausage, and her £25 is now, surely, history – what a shame she lobbed it into the pot just as the chain was about to be pulled!
‘Here I sit, broken-hearted,
From twenty-five sovs I have been parted…’
Got my copy,
Fantastic! Love it to bits!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-34234024
The BBC being Auntie Nasty Bitch, with her two best nastiest friends Ruthie & Willie, bad mouthing Nicola and the SNP.
Ruthie & Willie are Scotland’s most spoilt weans of politics.
Time to get rid of the list votes when it dredges up these two.
Strugeon considers triggers that would justify a 2nd referendum.
https://archive.is/EGwKZ
Youse yins will be represented by Westminster delegates and youse yins will lump it by staying at hame! 🙂
But…but
“Scotland has in recent years been part of the UK delegation to the annual UN climate talks so it is not unreasonable that on an area as important as tackling global poverty and the new sustainable development goals, that Scotland should be part of the UK delegation to the United Nations.”
https://archive.is/uG7v2
Today is day one of Corbynomics – which says ‘how can we help’ in place of Cameronomics, which says ‘screw you’.
Problem is Cameron’s in No 10, and will be for years.
We’re still screwed – that’s the bottom line.
Well done Rev. Well done Ken.
@manandboy (12:36)
Is the answer to both ‘because they are fucking idiots?’
(Ps…..What do I win?)
@kendo
What happens if this crowd fund ends without reaching its target?
Does this put the publication in jepardy?
I am interested in purchasing a hard copy subscription but I am not sure I will manage it before end of this appeal.
How do I go about subscribing if I miss the deadline?
call me dave @1.53am re Scotland’s exclusion from the UN annual Climate Talks to be held in New York next week:
The United Nations WILL notice and WILL take note of Scotland’s exclusion from their Climate Talks.
This will NOT reflect well on the UK Government…as usual.
iScot magazine is a brilliant read!
Bought the first six issues from our local shop and the YES Hub cafe. I’ve missed four issues! Time to subscribe – will be a lovely Christmas gift for my mum and dad( and then I can ‘borrow’ it too!)
What goes around comes around
in the sixties my mum said you can keep getting the Dandy and the Beano or you can get the Hotspur and the Hornet but your not having both, 🙁
Likewise today Im being told if you want to get the iScot you,ll have to cancel you subscription to the Independence magazine!
Wheres the unsubscribe button?
sorry SNP you know what its like
er indoors and all that. 🙁
Early start again Mr King. If only there were more likely you iScot magazine s future would be assured. 10% of SNP members would guarantee its future.
You can’t get too much of a good thing.
I off to work @ 7.00 Alex, hence the early posts. 🙁
Tom Harris and Jerry Hassan pontificate on radio Scotland about the Tom and Jerry leadership winners. Spooky!
Tom Harris (ex labour) predicts gloom and doom and a short future for Jeremy Corbyn and a long hard road for ‘Scottish’ labour.
PS:
Independence Referendum One Year On Willie Rennie: ‘The No campaign was dark and secretive … and Cameron was despicable’
https://archive.is/n89c3
Related in a way. I was at the Proms in the Park last night at Glasgow Green. I won’t harp on about the music or the English composer of the Scottish Music section that would be churlish. However there were people at every entrance handing out Union Jacks , you had to buy the saltires. It was most gratifying to hear the reaction of a majority of people telling them where to stick the butchers apron. I have not seen the tv coverage but I have no doubt the producers found a pocket of Union flags to zoom in on. I spoke to some of the BBC staff afterwards to chide them about wasting my licence fee on flags and was told it was ‘collection’ of unionist parties that we’re paying for and arranging the distribution. Not worth much when you have to give the flag away
The Sunday Herald is a must buy this morning with some great articles.
With only 20 MPs backing Corbyn, Labour is deeply divided and only Independence offers an alternative to a long period of Tory rule.
When will the BBC challenge Dugdale and Murray on their remarks last month attacking Corbyn?
Hi John King
O/T – Heads up mate! Been offered to swap sites. I’m now coming to work on your site full time. Will catch up with you next time I see you. Take care …and don’t work too hard!! Cheers
Interesting, I am sure many of you know about this, I am still trying to understand the “open net”.
http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_bartlett_how_the_mysterious_dark_net_is_going_mainstream?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button__2015-09-02
Sinky says:
13 September, 2015 at 8:38 am
The Sunday Herald is a must buy this morning with some great articles.
Aye, it’s fabulous this week, folks. Fantastic articles by Gordon, Bell, Macwhirter, the editor and others. Get yourself a copy before they run out!. 🙂
Phenomenal response from WoS contacts / total still rising folks !
Now sitting at 36% funded
I’ve been a subscriber to iScot since day one. It’s a great read, well produced and covers all aspects of life in Scotland.
Interestingly, I was in my local Spar yesterday and the girl asked if I wanted a free copy of the Daily Record. I declined politely pointing out I’d sooner poke my eye out with a stick than touch that rag when she smiled and said it’s the only way they can shift them…
Tescos. ‘cosset’ Scots lamb with antipodean substitute 🙂
https://archive.is/ivHEZ
Corbyn being portrayed as anti establishment but he is still a UKOK MP who did not speak out when Labour signed up with the Tories over currency.
Who can forget the day Miliband, (“A Labour government will never agree to Scotland sharing the pound”) Balls, Brown and Murphy lined up with Cameron, Clegg and Osborne to wage an economic war on the rebellious Scots if we had democratically voted for self determination and a Currency Union?
The Labour leader said he would seek a formal mandate from other voters in the UK to reject a deal to share sterling, by putting that veto in the 2015 general election manifesto if there was a yes vote in September’s referendum.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/08/independent-scotland-pound-ed-miliband-salmond
I’ve had a subscription since issue one,it’s a great read and high quality production.
I love when it drops through the letterbox and it’s a welcome addition to the staff coffee room
Excellent Sunday Herald today.
Particularly encouraging is Nicola Sturgeon’s
account on the currency question in particular in relation to other figures swallowing unionist spin and suggesting it was a serious factor in us loosing the referendum.
It was not
The shared pound at the point of independence was entirely sensible and a position that the UK would have been knocking our door with the day after had we won.
The initial shared pound undermined the Better Together scaremongering and was attacked relentlessly because it was the right position,not because it was wrong.
Whatever position we had decided on would have been attacked relentlessly.
Insulting unionist intransigence on the pound pushed as many towards a YES vote as it frightened towards NO.
In extensive canvassing not one voter mentioned the currency question to me. Many however questioned our self sufficiency and economic viability independent. That is the argument -the only major argument – we still have to win.
PS In the longer term I believe a Scottish currency controlled by the Scottish government is in our best interest and perhaps essential if we want to build the better country we aspire to. Sterling is crippled by huge, unpayable debt.
Just as interesting is the fact that Nicola felt we had won.
So did I. So did many well informed sources
The whole YES leadership team was very well informed on the biggest mass canvas Scotland had ever seen. This said we had won.
The puzzle remains and in fact grows.
Ref2 must be supervised by the Scottish Government and the EU or UN
Fantastic to see this doing so well and the great bonus is that you are going to receive a cracking magazine in return for your support
What is not to like 🙂
If you never buy the SundayHerald again this year, buy it today.
It is full of inspiring and insightful interviews and comments. Nicola and Alex are particularly good.
Indeed Davide Mc, We all felt it that morning, strangest day of my life…the utter disbelief. When I think of the signatures gathered in support of Yes too, all legitimate as full address had to be submitted, and yes the mass (internal) canvassing that indicated we were going to win, how is it possible that we lost?
It has never felt right.
Roddy nicol @ 8.38
I bumped into a fellow Yesser, with Green tendencies. I mentioned your post about the UJ Flags and added about my recently delivered Driv Lic with the UJ on it.
“We are still British , more important things to worry about , it’s not doing any harm ” was the reply.
Maybe they have a point. Makes me wonder have some like me become insular or isolated in our long held desire for iScotland.
Help me Rhona !
@Dave McEwan Hill, 11.58
Dave – I agree that the Scottish Government will need to monitor the next referendum. There needs to be an exit poll and there should be no postal voting.
Neither the UN nor the EU will monitor IndyRef2. The UK is not going to invite them. Given the conduct of the EU in Greece, Bulgaria and the Ukraine, the involvement of the EU as currently organised,is not recommended – see the following for background http://www.thepressproject.gr/details_en.php?aid=81299
The fiddle problem in the Referendum was not so much the operation of the Postal Vote by the electoral authorities but the the make-up of The Electoral Roll.
Individuals could add as many additional residents as they wanted and as far as I am unaware there registration was unverifiable as to whether or not they actually existed.
It was then possible to apply for Postal Votes for said non-existent individuals and submit Postal Votes for them.
That was where the system was most vulnerable to the fiddling of the Postal Votes.
Did anybody really believe the absurdly high % of the eligible voters who ended up on The Electoral Roll?
Bugger. bugger bugger bugger. I had meant in this early morning’s flurry of posts on the Sundy Herald to mention the indiegogo fundraiser but totally forgot. And there were at least a couple of threads I could easily have slipped it in.
Did so now on a new thread, but it won’t have the same readership, sorry iScot.
kendomacaroonbar hello,
I am willing to pay the cost plus postage and handling for One Year Subscription to iScot magazine to the USA.
Just let me know where to send details cc# etc.
Thankyou
@Sandra Schlegel
Hello, Can you mail me at ken(at)iscot(dot)scot pls thank you Ken
That’s us at 50% of target thanks to you good folks ! awesome effort from Wings
Nice touch, good plug.
Interesting that another 642 x £34 each, would = +£45,000
3 days to go.. would be braw to finish it off going into preindy2 weekend 😉
LET’S PARTY!
I’ve subscribed since the first edition. I don’t think it’s TOO political and has loads of interesting articles. Just love the glossy magazine. I will be buying subscriptions for Christmas gifts this year.
iScot – the £250 is interesting with its 1/4 page advert, 4 taken, same for £500 (1/2 page) and £1,000 (full page), plus namecheck. Wrong time of year for my little business, but I might look back next year for the cheaper £250. I presume / suggest the perks might keep going after the crowdfunder (now at 53%) ends …
@gus1940
I asked the electoral commission for info on the number of postal votes in Ref and GE in Scotland.
They sent me two spread sheets,one for Ref one for GE.
Reading the spread sheets their were 722,223 postal votes sent to the count in the Ref.
In the GE their were 605,312 postal votes in Scotland included in count.
That is 116,911 of a difference.
I can understand slight contrasts between the figures but well over one hundred thousand needs looking into I would have thought.
@Scot Finlayson.
Total votes in Referendum were 3,619,915 and in General Election 2,910,465, so the percent of postal voters in Ref was 19.95%, whereas in the GE it was 20.80% – i.e. actually slightly higher in the GE than the Referendum.
Scot
Did a quick calculation.
Total turnout for Scotland at the GE dropped to just a tad over 84% of what it was for indyref.
Postal vote dropped to just a tad under 84% so it was in keeping with the general drop.
All,
just an update to let you know that we’ve established that our mail server has been down for the past 2 days or so. This probably explains why the names and address e mail requests of those hard copy purchases aren’t being received by us.
I’ll keep you posted.