In Scotland water is in public hands, not privatised. In England, the water companies have paid £52 billion in dividends to shareholders since 1990. Resist the lies told in Westminster: www.believeinscotland.org/media_watch_...
I am a musician and a teacher, taught cello from 13-70, & arranged music for pupils, and now for friends. I have a published collection of cello stories, plus some short stories too. I kept goats for many years. I've lived in London, Wales and Orkney.
26 followers 34 following 97 posts
view profile on Bluesky
In Scotland water is in public hands, not privatised. In England, the water companies have paid £52 billion in dividends to shareholders since 1990. Resist the lies told in Westminster: www.believeinscotland.org/media_watch_...
Aug. 19th on Fox “I’ve solved seven wars. We ended seven wars.” Israel and Iran, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Pakistan and India, though Indian leaders refute that claim. Trump has also admitted he is worried he 'won't get into heaven'. OMG Gaza & Ukraine may not nominate him!
Ukrainian friends brought us a flourless cheesecake (I can't take gluten) today. But we were all too full to try it after the first course.
I like solutions that think outside the box: www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/natu...
about time America did something to stop the downfall of the US worldwide, that Trump's government is causing.
wow, great photograph.
Just hiding from all his failures.
Curlew in the barley stubble today
I wonder if that is due to climate warming. I've noticed far more butterflies than usual this year, particularly Red Admirals (who like our Michaelmas daisies) and small whites.
Sums it up neatly.
A friend just said, "Good thing I got my dad's present off in time. Would be pretty crap if I can't send my own dad a present on his 94th birthday." As of today, it is no longer possible to send a parcel from the UK, & 33 countries, to the USA using Royal Mail or Post Office because of US tariffs!
The Missouri votes don't seem to support their 'representative'. youtu.be/HTwD9PNKxPI
MIchael Rosen on the difference between Zionism and Judaism:~ www.facebook.com › michael.rosen.5496 › posts › 10162832788562225
If only Trump were educated! youtu.be/YGj-PscVAHU
Leaked: secret documents reveal Putin wants to totally wipe Ukraine off the map Story by thedailydigest.com
The 1-in-1-out scheme: "The Conservatives argue.. will not be a big enough deterrent and will not return large numbers of would-be migrants. They believe that Labour's deal with the French will be less effective than the Rwanda plan proposed by the . Tory government." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
youtu.be/L5yc4M_0OXs
But we'd rather he didn't come to Scotland. We had to demonstrate.
'Even Joel Barnett, who devised the formula whilst working as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 1978, has disavowed it, calling it a “terrible mistake”.' thegsaljournal.com/2020/04/01/a...
WTF? Furious. Cut winter fuel allowance for pensioners and give Trump £180,000. The world has gone mad. Better nationalise his golf course and ban him from entering the country.
www.msn.com/en-gb/news/w...
24th July Pannekoeken for breakfast
The view that Scotland's water is more polluted than England's is not borne out by thhttps://www.brexitspotlight.org/scottish-water-is-publicly-run-and-67-of-its-rivers-are-in-good-health-england-shows-this-isnt-a-coincidence/is:
How on earth did Americans vote Trump in for a second term? youtu.be/gdstZDCCgAc
🇪🇺 🤝 🏴 An independent Scotland asking to rejoin the EU would be welcomed by most Europeans but it is clear that the only return into Europe for Scotland is through independence. 🔗 Read more: www.believeinscotland.org/europeans_wi...
He really should be checked for dementia, he's increasingly confused and irrational.
My collection of cello stories, now in its revised 2nd edition has had some lovely reviews, and costs less than the first edition.
What a weekend! ☀️ Beautiful sunny weather for the opening ceremony and the first events of the #IslandGames2025 here in #Orkney! 24 island teams from all over the world, and they have brought the sunshine with them ❤️☀️
Will they just use live rounds instead? I hope the wording of the court order was careful....
Draw your own conclusions: youtu.be/lTnV9GtvlW0
More of a leap than a drift.
Just lucky to have boarding tickets. We bought tickets to visit our son in Cyprus 4 months ahead, and at Heathrow were told we could not fly till the following day when they gave us seats next to loo with no luggage space, as it was in use by aircrew.
Trump has been threatening sanctions on Russia since taking office in January but has so far failed to impose any. In June, he stated that he pointed out sanctions "cost a lot of money" and signalled he was waiting to see whether a deal between Russia and Ukraine would be signed instead. & tariffs?
Then why not just call it something a bit different? Let's have a Genocide protest, for all those Ukrainians, Palestinians etc. who are being wiped out by aggressive neighbours: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Vaccination Against Rabies #OnThisDay theorkneynews.scot/2025/07/06/v...
“We commend the counter-terrorism police for their decisive action in protecting the people of London from some cardboard signs opposing the genocide in Gaza and expressing support for those taking action to prevent it. It’s a relief to know that counter-terrorism police have nothing better to do.”
A mural of the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes in shame was created by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw. It is in a high population area of immigrants in France…!!! She said ‘The values that the statue once stood for - freedom hope, the right to be yourself - have been lost for many’…!!!
I quit smoking 52 years ago...
Good idea. I'm on a parallel with Greenland and Alaska...
@universityofleeds.bsky.social New fossils from Earth’s most famous extinction show climate tipping point was crossed. theorkneynews.scot/2025/07/03/n...
www.buzzfeed.com/alanavalko/m...
My red Duke of York haven't flowered yet, so I guess too early to 'lift' them. I'm far N & high enough in the windy Isles, that I grew them in a huge pot in the polytunnel, with a feed sack so I could earth up. The only way to get the potatoes will be to tip the lot over onto a plastic sheet.
No better way to build morale in the military than forcing troops to march down largely empty streets in a thunderstorm to celebrate a draft dodger’s birthday
The squeaking wheel had a starring role:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...
"[President Donald Trump's] behaviour, over these first months of this term, I don't think should fill any observer with confidence about America's commitment to its allies," www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
🔗londonukrainianreview.org/posts/russias-summer-camps-and-mass-deportations-of-ukrainian-children
Now with Israel's attack on Iran, the airports are shut down, and our three remaining 'Madleen' team members, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Marco van Rennes may face an extra month, illegally detained in Israeli prison. Contact their government and demand they protect their citizens.
Open Democracy's investigative reporter found that Reform’s major donors are linked to tax havens, fossil fuels, and the financial services industry.
I wish tRump would be sat down to watch this analysis of the war in Ukraine, and the state of Russia: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpyL...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=--Wv...
@orkml.bsky.social
Vigil for #Gaza in #Orkney
I'm a British musician & author, with a published book of cello stories - Mellow Cello Revised edition; Celtic folktune arrangements for cello duet in the pipeline; a collection of stories about Orkney and Orcadians from 5000BC to now with a publisher at present. Lived in London, Wales & now Orkney.
My sentiments exactly, except to be less hospitable, I don't excuse you Republicans, as this is the second term you've given this disgrace: conservation-of-nature.quora.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSQG...
What has this Republican right-wing interviewrr to say on Ukraine? www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVRu... "We've issued a very exclusive proposal" says Vance. Yes, exclusively beneficial to the USA and Russia. Apologies for ad-breaks!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySsx...
“Greed is an infection caused by exposure to other consciousnesses who are affected, and who infect others.” pensaroundtheworld.com/weewis/remem...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQs...
Shame Musk doesn't think free speech should exist in the USA (unless he's the one speaking). Our UK government is a sight less repressive than the one you're aiding! www.tortoisemedia.com/2025/01/06/m...
The White house has cut transmission of intelligence to Ukraine. Perhaps that's because there is no intelligence in the White House...
“Parliament has nothing to learn from a serial liar, cheat, womaniser and bankrupt. We don’t need Trump to lecture and dictate his unilateral terms to our elected representatives." www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItB9...
Lights Out for Historic Lanes and Closes theorkneynews.scot/2025/04/18/l...
🟥 Westminster is failing Scotland. 🏴 More and more people are seeing the only way to create a healthier, wealthier, fairer and better Scotland is with the full powers of independence.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=odFT...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
just over a month before the US Presidential election, Zelensky had a meeting with Trump. Tensions between the pair had heightened before this: Zelensky had claimed a few days earlier that Trump didn't "really know how to end the war", after he asserted he could do it in "one day". He was right.
How many MAGA fans does it take to change a lightbulb? None. Trump just tells them it's already been changed. Then they all stand in the dark and cheer.
2014 Russia broke the Minsk agreement. How can the US suggest partitioning Ukraine, as Germany was after it's WW2 aggresssion? It is Russia that should be partitioned! Russia wants to conquer Ukraine; failing that to take over Ukraine's eastern border with the Black Sea & Ukraine's trade routes.
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, & UK have announced travel advisories against travelling to USA. UK updated its travel advice on Mar. 15, recommending visitors comply with “set and enforce entry rules strictly” warning, “You may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.”
This. If automation naturally lead to UBI, we'd have it already. We've already seen massive shifts in labor and productivity due to totally normal technologies. But it didn't. It just made the rich people richer. And that will continue. Which is probably why rich people are the only excited ones.
I'd love to hear her evidence on "all the women in ¥our country raped by migrants"! Are all Americans so ignorant and so rude?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDzF...
SoA members in Scotland wanting to pitch your books to agents 📢 On 28 March 9am-9pm take part in Scotland’s BlueSky Writers’ Pitch for a chance to pitch works of unpublished original trade & commercial work. AI content is ineligible. 👇 www.publishingscotland.org/event/bluesk... #scotwriterpitch2025
We are disappointed but not surprised that Meta has used millions of pirated books to develop its AI systems. As a matter of urgency, Meta needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting. But what can authors do? Read here: societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/t...
The USA has not slid, it's taken a gigantic leap and the USA now has a dictator, who said before the election, that if people voted for him, they would not need to vote again. He actually warned you Americans that he intended to hold power for ever, like his friend Putin.
It's not slid, it's taken a gigantic leap and the USA now has a dictator, who said before the election, that if people voted for him, they would not need to vote again. He actually warned you Americans that he intended to hold power for ever, like his friend Putin.
and when they say they believe in free speech, it's only their own speech they want to be free to say whatever they wish.
Each place I visit in Ukraine has an Alley of Glory. The Alley in Ternopil is particularly long. I took a one-minute overview for you. The price of freedom is incredibly high.
This was the furthest extent of the Russian empire in the past. Now tell the USA it is not a threat to world stability!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLmL...
Bbbbut ... he has to do something with all his spare time!
“Ukraine’s future, and her fate, is our future and our fate.” On 30th September 1938 the UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned to London with the Anglo-German Declaration (the resolution) of the Munich Agreement (German: Münchener Abkommen) to commit to peaceful methods signed by both…
A sobering report. We need to realise and act on the information that the USA is no longer a reliable ally, but an enemy.
Trump is planning to cosy up to Putin by ejecting Ukrainians from the US, and close embassies across Europe. US soon you will be at war with Europe, your president plans it! www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
What to understand about our patrimonial president. New rules of the game.My latest co-authored piece. www.persuasion.community/p/sins-of-th...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Occupy Democrats posted: Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg brilliantly dismantles Donald Trump's deranged speech to Congress, says that it was filled with "darkness" and "dazzle" but zero substance. My response:
Russia, USA & the UK, have failed Ukraine. Budapest Memorandum signed in 1994, by Ukraine, Russia, the USA, and the UK. Ukr. surrendered the 3rd-largest nuclear arsenal, for assurances of Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence. The UN would intervene if aggression occured.
I hope someone puts the White House and Mar-a-lago up for sale.
Then there is also this stolen piece. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, but an attribution to the composer John Bull has sometimes been made. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Sav...
Let's revive the words of To Anacreon in Heaven by John Stafford Smith. USA is nothing if not a filcher of the culture of others: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ana...
Just sing the original British words to both tunes. Neither were written by American composers. To Anacreon in Heaven by John Stafford Smith en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ana...
Also be aware that the tunes of Star-spangled banner and My Country, 'Tis of Thee were both written by British composers. Nothing original in the US, and they still owe the UK a lot of back taxes.