I note that the Chancellor, Nadhim Zahaw has been rather huredly changing his history on Wikipedia! He is eraising all references of his support of Owen Paterson!

I suspect he is looking to remain in post after the weekend. This is the same man who was caught claiming expenses to heat his stables!

He seems to think Wikipedia is the only reference to his past errors! You can’t just erase the past few years of your life. They tell a story, the story of who you were and most likely still are.

Politicians rarely have a ‘road to Damascus ‘ experience. Let’s be honest most are Party first Politicians eager to climb the greasy pole!

I have little trust in Liz Truss but she at least has so far not tried to erase her past beliefs. My cautions about her are much more mundane, she doesn’t seem to have many brain cells. Too many U-turns. She appears to be a follower rather than a Leader. Her relationship to the ERG worries me.

You know the ERG, the Party within the Party that actually runs the Tory Party! But as I said the other day, the jury is still out. I await like others to see if she really does have a mind of her own and has the courage to run with it.

I see Boris is on a farewell tour saying “we did it” referring to Brexit of course.

Have we really?

To my mind, he only tinkered around the edges and made a mess of that too.

The ‘Oven ready Protocol ‘ hasn’t exactly worked out well.

September and October will be interesting months for several reasons, non more so than for Scotland.

Remember the days at Wimbledon when Andy Murray was fairly well up the Leaders ladder, if he won he was British if he lost he was Scottish!

Well we have a similar thing going on today, STV announced last night that all rivers in Britain we’re being destroyed by sewage….ALL RIVERS! A similar story appears in many of today’s newspapers.

They obviously don’t know there is a border between Scotland and England nor do they know Scotland’s water is not privatised therefore no sewage is purposely being poured into our rivers or seas.

For the moment I will not buy and shellfish from Supermarkets unless it clearly states it’s from Scottish waters, and the further up the coast the better!

So, here we are at the end of summer and the winter of discontent has already started. I wonder if workers from all Unions will pull the plug and call a General Strike.

Wages are low not because there isn’t any more money but because Shareholders are demanding higher returns as are the CEOs. One day it will click that without the workers there will no dividends. It is the workers who keep the country moving not shareholders.

Will a new PM change things…NO. The furniture might move around a little but the outcomes will be the same.

I hate self-fulfilling prophecies, so at the moment the jury is out even though I am sure it will be Liz Truss.

Hustings are a bit like Elections, many promises are made but few are fulfilled. The fact that she refused to turn up last night to be questioned by Nick Robinson made me think that the votes are all in and she knows the results.

Absolute Power has been won, the only question left is, what will she do with it?

As they say, ‘The power to do good is also the power to do harm’!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/25/solar-farm-plans-refused-highest-rate-five-years-great-britain?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&fbclid=IwAR3j4_2Y9L6ciN0BxtU6YB7fZlewNGdwhUR42smfCOyq8illP37aozYcZcw

Tomorrow we are all in for a shock, a man-made one!

There are two problems, one short-term and the other long-term. About the first one, there is no doubt an emergency budget is needed. We are in trouble off that there is no doubt and this didn’t just happen overnight. The first PM to decide we needed to get all our energy needs from Russia was Margaret Thatcher selling our own coal miners down the river, now of course it’s oil and gas. One would think we had none of our own!

We now have renewables, but no, our wanna-be PMs don’t want to scar their green and pleasant land with wind turbines or solar panels. Yet have no problems with stripping Scotland of their assets.

The above report in the Guardian makes interesting reading, it shows there are solutions for future needs but nobody wants to know. Not even some Scottish Councils!

Are our big corporate energy firms greasing the palms of local councillors to turn down these ambitious schemes, schemes that have been tried and tested in other countries?

If you are fortunate enough to have shares in the companies you will no doubt be rubbing your hands together like Scrooge, for now.

But beware the people are waking up and they are angry, they are fed up with your top-down economics, and there is no anger like the anger of starving people.

We need new thinking, we need a circular economy where profits go back into the communities, not share holders pockets to be hidden away in some foreign lands.

Money in people’s pockets is money spent in local enterprises bringing more employment and the pool just gets bigger and bigger where everyone benefits.

Or is that just too radical?

It happens all the time on small islands, what was it the Three Musketeers said, ‘ All for one and one for all’ Imagine a country run like that.

Sadly we can only dream. Someone once said ‘even dreams must have a plan’

Ever thought about being part of the plan, the plan for Scotland?

Some days you get the most unexpected laugh and today was one of those!

Well, Emily Maitliss has well and truly let the cat out of the bag. Now, most of us already knew some of this but to have it exposed by such a highly rated journalist is quite something else.

Then to have it acknowledged in this way has to be the most ludicrous statement of the week.

“Ensures impartiality” she says!

Have you noticed any? I haven’t!

In fact, according to Emily things have got worse, a lot worse. Wonder what would happen if everyone cancelled their licence. The BBC has become the propaganda unit for the Tories whereas it used to be seen as a beacon of truth throughout the World.

The giant newspaper owners along with the Government dictate what is the truth these days, facts have little to do with it. We have to dig deep for those and thankfully many do. Yes, I acknowledge even facts can be embellished, so always read with caution.

Newspapers don’t report the news as is, they politicize it. Even so-called live reports are edited to suit the narrative of those in power.

Its smoke and mirrors all the way!

A huge problem is rapidly developing within English Fisheries and people are being poisoned because of it. Rock Oysters are the latest species to pass on the poisons from companies discharging raw sewage into the seas.

And yes it is a Brexit problem, one foreseen by many but neglected by the few companies that matter. The Goves of this world thought very little would change but everything did change, but not in a good way. There was very little thought about what we would need in the future that would no longer come from the EU so we would have to manufacture ourselves. Chemicals for sewage waste being one of them, and I won’t even start on Medications.

So, here we are pouring thousands of gallons of raw sewage not only into our rivers but the seas as well, in England at least. This is privatisation at it’s best or worst depending on whether you are a shareholder or an ordinary punter just taking your kids to the seaside.

Maybe those who can afford to eat Rock Oysters might now shout a bit louder! What next, Prawns, Shrimps, Crabs?

This is an opportunity for Scottish Fishermen to come into their own.

No raw sewage is being pumped out here, profits made are being poured back into the industry, not shareholders‘ pockets.

Buy Local!

I decided for obvious reasons that when I returned to blogging I would not be getting involved in Scottish Party Politics.

I hope I am maintaining that promise to myself in what follows.

So let me say from the start, I support the Scottish Government in their efforts to get a Referendum. Plan B is a Plebiscite at the next GE, Why a GE and not a Holyrood Election is the stuff of many discussions.

Given my concerns about Westminster believing that they have absolute power over Scotland and my belief that they WILL wield every ounce of it, have they got a Plan C?

I don’t hear anything saying they do, so, would that be it?

Well, no!

Deep within the long grass of Scotland, something is stirring and the momentum is growing at a pace. People are hearing a phrase and more importantly what it means for Scotland.

That phrase is “ Claim of Right “

Now I am no Constitutional expert, so at this point I am not going to give any opinions. It all sounds good but as far as I am concerned I need to go much deeper into it and in particular the practicalities of it all before I sign up in blood 😂

I invite you all to do the same.

https://salvo.scot/

By initially signing in you are only doing so to follow and get information as it proceeds.

One thing is for sure, Westminster saying No can not be the end of it, and before you ask, Salvo is NOT a Political Party it is a movement of the people by the people.

I for one am up for anything that brings a glimmer of Hope in these dismal days.

Is Salvo it?

Let’s have a discussion!

Some people never say what they mean or mean what they say!

Over the past two days, I have read two interesting rumours. The first one says Gove is retiring from frontline Politics, not sure I can believe that. A top job and huge pay rise would probably lure him back, after all he does have some expensive habits to maintain!

Today I read that Truss is already forming her Cabinet, guess who is rumoured to be in it, no less than Rees-Mogg himself! The man who said only a few weeks ago would NOT work for anyone but Boris. He must be having a crisis in living standards!

It appears to be a given now that Liz Truss will be the next PM, but I am a sceptic, especially when it comes to the dodgy goings on in Westminster. Why have the ERG endorsed her?

Many think as I do that they will see her fail very quickly and then they can bounce Boris back in, there is a caveat to this of course. If Boris is found to be guilty of misleading Parliament then he could be recalled and out on his neck. But will that happen? The committee looking into this is chaired by Harriet Harmen, good sign but Truss has said she will halt the enquiry. Wonder which woman will win.

Interesting times but certainly not good ones!

I am becoming so far Left in my Political thinking that I may yet fall off the cliff.

So, what has made me so?

Well, I could say corruption at the highest levels of government but then it’s probably always been there, just not as obvious. Or I could say lack of governance over Fiscal Budgets, but then I might have to include the Scottish Government in that also.

No, the things that are sending me more and more to the left are a lack of compassion and care caused by the greed of those who think they are above us. They forget they are there to serve……serve the people….us!

Apparently, Labour has lost over 100, 000 members, why, because they have lunged to the right. They have forgotten their roots. If you are a Labour MP and stand on a picket line you will be suspended from the Party.

Come on Mick, get the Unions together and form a new Party.

People are talking about a Winter of discontent, I am more concerned about deaths and starvation as near impossible decisions will have to be made by so many.

People like Truss and Sunak still believe we are Better Together, well they would as Scottish assets pour into the coffers of Westminster and we get peanuts back.

When you get the likes of Gordon Brown asking for temporary Nationalisation of Energy firms you know how bad things are!

We are indeed going back to the Victorian era.

PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] does not only affect military personnel, the clue is in the words. “Traumatic Stress”

This may come as a surprise to many, it certainly did to me when my doctor said I was suffering from it 3 yrs ago. How can that be I asked, I’ve never been to war. He then reminded me that I had lived through my own traumatic wars or battles for year’s and at some point, the stress had to come out.

PTSD affects different people in different ways, a lot of sufferers don’t display any symptoms for long periods, there has to be a trigger, usually, a sudden memory triggered by an actual live event no matter how unrelated.

In seconds one can be transported to the actual events, that’s how powerful our minds are. From there on the race to the bottom is at full speed and many times only medication can help. There is no stigma attached to anyone who seeks help in this way. PTSD takes many prisoners.

Counselling helps but only in that you know how to respond to such attacks. No amount of counselling can erase the memory of the trauma.

Accepting you suffer from PTSD is half the battle and nothing to be ashamed of, there are many out there who don’t even know they suffer from PTSD and try to battle on, some take to alcohol, some to drugs to drown out the inner pain of past trauma.

Abuse as a child or an adult whether male or female are two very common triggers. Sadly many don’t even realise they are being abused and when they eventually do fear sets in, the fear of not knowing what to do, where or who to turn to.

We all have a responsibility to watch out for each other and see the signs. The signs are always there, we just don’t want to see them!

A hug can say a thousand words!

One of the hardest decisions one has to make in one’s life is whether or not to end a marriage, and the one thing a friend should never do is to tell them to do so!

Ending a long-term relationship isn’t normally a sudden reaction to something, the thought will have been lodged in the back of one’s mind for a long time. The one thing I have said to people contemplating this action but are afraid to make the move is, you will know when the time is right when staying is harder than going.

The first emotion is one of relief, the freedom is almost exhilarating then comes the hard bit. Ending something has the same emotions as someone dying and going through those emotions is always tough, you even question your judgement especially if you are the one who has ended it.

The problem with emotions is, that they can creep up on you when least expected and can crush you. Therefore it is important to build a support group around you. It is also important to remember this journey you have chosen is a long one with many highs and lows. Why is this? The decision you have made does not just affect you and your ex but also your children and your inlaws.

Young people today don’t always have those emotions because they haven’t had the years of building those relationships, therefore divorce or separation comes easier…..too easy in some cases!

My advice to anyone contemplating or questioning the decision they have made is, to hang on in there and remember how bad things were and all the possibilities that lay ahead of you.