Scottish Roundup

There are some great posts this week from the blogosphere of Scotland. Thanks to all who got in touch with their nominations.

Bellacaledonia wants a debate on Scottish independence and says the time is right for the discussion. http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2010/08/26/they-have-no-mandate-reclaiming-scotland-part-1/

A Burdz Eye View takes the opportunity of the news that Jack McConnell is leaving politics to reassess his legacy. http://burdzeyeview.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/hit-the-road-jack/

Lena the Hyena blogs about some people’s vitriol towards Kenny McAskill over the Lockerbie bomber release. http://lenathehyena.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/think-tank-director-the-baroness-and-the-shriek-of-english-bigotry/

Philosophical Zombie talks about the spirit level debate and asks, why can’t we be more like Singapore?  http://philosophicalzombie.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-society/

Alex Massie reviews Alistair Beaton’s Caledonia. at the Edinburgh Festival http://www.spectator.co.uk/alexmassie/6229495/oh-caledonia.thtml and says “There’s a great play to be written about Darien. This isn’t it.”

Whilst Ellen goes for the more lowbrow end of the cultural scale and makes no apology for it. Her (and her family) review the first episode of this year’s X Factor http://living.stv.tv/health-fitness/family/193698-x-factor-is-hitting-the-spot-in-my-family/ and she has trouble knowing how to talk to her postie on her own blog: http://bundance.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-cant-i-handle-truth.html

The Absurdists tries out the sports pages to see what all the fuss is about: http://theabsurdistshequeen.blogspot.com/2010/08/scottish-football-news-is-breath-of.html

A sad tale of sartorial disaster from me, Misssy M, this week: http://misssymartin.blogspot.com/2010/08/tales-from-hood.html

Yeah Okay bye is on a blog marathon this week. www.yeahokbye.blogspot.com I’m not going to pick any one post in particular because they all pretty much want to make you take a sledgehammer to your house and start rebuilding it. Choose your own favourite.

Claire O’Gallagher on the BBC learning Scotland has memories of Edwin Morgan visiting her school. He did a lot of that- my own sister met him at secondary school and I was taken on a school trip to the theatre where he read his poems to schoolchildren. A great Scot. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/scotlandlearning/2010/08/edwin-morgan.shtml

And now to what I’m hoping to become a regular feature- Blipfoto blog posts. This week the Blipfoto “Life Turns” Video was premiered at the Edinburgh Festival. Did your photo make it in. Watch it here. http://www.blipfoto.com/lifeturns/

And this week Blip highlights are here:

Meeester Feature on The Mither Tap http://www.blipfoto.com/Meestermartin

Daisyglaisy meets some strange characters in Oldmeldrum’s new square: http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=700480&month=8&year=2010

Alive and Kicking is up early with the dew http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=700138&month=8&year=2010

This’ll make us feel better about the rain, David Lewis is blipping in Canada http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=700463&month=8&year=2010

Snapping Aboot has some new additions to his family http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=699630&month=8&year=2010

There were some great nominations this week but not a lot to choose from, so we need more of you to be nominating or putting yourself forward. If you want to be included you can nominate your own stuff, you know- it’s OK to blow your own bassoon. Just email us or send us a message on twitter. Follow us @ScottishRoundup on twitter. Email us at scottishroundupp@gmail.com

News and Politics

This week in Scotland sees the first anniversary of the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds. Predictably the UK media have jumped on this date and well, the fact that he lives on. But are Scots bloggers doing the same? It seems the media coverage of the anniversary is getting our goat more than anything.  SNP Tactical Voting takes exception to the London Evening Standards coverage. And the Lallands Peat Worrier analyses public opinion. Forget about complaining about Al Megrahi being sent home, Rolled up Trousers calls for a new inquiry into the bombing itself.

In party political news, we’re all wondering if Charles Kennedy is about to defect. Gordon MacMillan at Hurry Up Harry has the latest insider info.

I wonder what was the last straw for Kennedy?  Surely the council housing announcement this week won’t have sat well with a lot of Lib Dems. The news that there may no longer be a council house for life has also caught Demitrius’s attention

And Caron looks at the coalition’s latest bombshell about taking benefits away from those addicted to drugs

Malc in the Burgh marks the first 100 days of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition

Subrosa looks at why for thousands of soldiers the Iraq troops withdrawal is a long drawn out process with an end even further in sight.

Obituary

Sadly two great Scots  died this week, poet Edwin Morgan and writer and activist Jimmy Reid. Here are some blogger tributes to them:

Go lassie Go on Edwin Morgan

Quotables put together some Edwin Morgan quotes to commemorate Edwin Morgan’s life

And if you’re a Gaelic speaker you can read this commemoration on BBC Gaelic Blog

Joan McAlpine tells us about Jimmy Reid’s funeral.

Bella Caledonia talks about Jimmy’s life as a Scottish socialist

And Gallus Glaswegian feels the loss of “the greatest MP we never had”.

Families and Friends

Hopeman Man finds a photo of his dad and brothers that brings back memories and prompts him to think about his dad and grabbing a moment in time.

Phil’s Phrase a Day continues with other gems from his daughter. Do you remember getting this involved in a book?

Talking of books, writer Nicola Morgan continues to give authors and wannabe authors tips on writing that bestseller. This week she considers what gets readers turning pages.

And of course this was the week that most Scottish kids went back to school. My son, Indy, went to the “big school” and it got me wondering why I was so nervous for him- could it have been memories of my first day?

And Big Rab’s girl trotted off to secondary as well, and this got him thinking about whether school days really are the best of your life. I defy anyone over the age of 35 to not recognise some of these school day memories.

On the subject of Ellen is thinking along the same lines  and is still upset about the removal of school milk by Mrs T .

Sadly one of Aberdeen’s best live music venues has sadly closed down. Here is a eulogy to Moshulu from someone posting on Aberzine who has a host of great memories of the place. Me? I’m still upset about the Venue closing down in 1988.

Design, Photography and Art

I thought it was about time we started to look at the expanding world of microblogging on Blipfoto. There are some great little photo blogs out there by an army of Blippers. Here are some that caught my attention this week for Scots Blippers:

Meeester M and the story of the Turra Coo

In keeping with the Back to School theme here’s DaisyGlaisy take on the first day back.

BeefyLorelei has possibly the coolest garden ornament I’ve ever seen

Rising early for a shift at the hospital Dr Ben shares his morning view when most of us are still in bed.

It’s a Dobb’s Life snaps one of Aberdeen’s hothouses of talent, Captain Tom’s studios and rehearsal rooms.

Moving away from Blipfoto, on the design front  Plan B thinks about the design of her home, Yeah Okay Bye looks at the architectural drawings of Laura Barnard and a new blog from a jewellery maker who used to be an electrician in His Majesty’s  Theatre. How did Hamespun get here from there?

Monty Python spoke the truth when they sang…“Finland, Finalnd, Finland. The place where I’d quite like to be “  A wee bit of cooking goes to Finland. No cooking though, she was presumably enjoying Finnish food, which is world reknown (anyone who’s ever been to Finland is laughing right now)  Her photoblog is here

And finally on the culture front, Scots Whayhae previews the Edinburgh Book Festival.

Something for Everyone

Mr Farty looks at the miracle properties of water and has a fight with science experts who dispute his methods

Mike Ritchie’s PR blog talks about dealing with a client who admits to knowing nothing about their public image.

Scot goes Pop talks about this decade’s Gold Blend type advertising saga: The BT ads . Bring back Maureen Lipman’s Beattie, I say.

And another ad makes Real Street think about pride and Islam.

ShopaHolly gives us a top ten of her favourite meals. And knowing her, they’ll be thrifty too.

And this bizarre story just in Bogey man volunteers at soup kitchen. He says he wants to give something back. Bless him.

And if you’ve not got enough of football in a summer full of it then head over to Scotzine for a fix and read their fan’s account of the Athens v Dundee United game .

Oh and finally folks,  it’s that old chestnut . Indeed I was a victim to it myself at London Fields Lido the other week along with countless others visiting our English cousins this summer. It’s the curse of the Scottish banknote. Absolvitor- gives us the facts before we make false assertions!

Can I have a Jerry Springer Final thought moment? Indulge me. Every time  my blog is featured on the round up I get loads of new visitors, which is great. But does anyone ever comment on any of the new blogs they visit? Do us a favour, if you read any or all of the posts in this week’s or any weeks roundup- say hello, leave a comment. And keep the nominations coming in for next week.

If anyone wants to edit next week’s roundup let me know, as I am Roundup Mighty Overlord for the next few weeks.

Cheers Scots bloggers and readers!

Misssy M

News and Political

Five years ago Torcuil Crichton at Whitehall 2012 visited Japan to hear the stories of the Hibakusha; the survivors of the Hiroshima atom bomb, these stories are recounted in his recent post:  “Most of us only read history but Sunao Tsuboi, he is testimony. As a 20-year-old student, Tsuboi stood little more than 600 metres from the centre of the blast: the original ground zero.”

Mark Gallagher notes the ongoing Hiroshima commemorative events.

Love and Garbage look at the Lockerbie Release a Year on and recount some of their recent comments to the Guardian website:  “I have sat as a Scots lawyer, increasingly bemused by the series of theories argued in the media. The following is not a criticism of Mr White, but draws elements of a general misunderstanding of the legal position present throughout the London based media. Perhaps if the London media spoke to some Scottish lawyers (or read their commentaries) rather than asking English practitioners to comment on Scottish legal matters the media might be better informed”

SNP Tactical Voting looks at a recent Holyrood poll: “It seems like a long time since the last one but a decent poll has been released from TNS-BRMB via The Herald.”

Health and Exercise

Belinda at Freedom to Choose has covered a number of NHS issues this week, including the cost to bring in enforcement officers to ensure the smoking ban is upheld at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee and the NHS Fife’s annual review meeting. Belinda put into perspective the cost of the enforcement officers when there are so many other issues in the NHS: “Isn’t abuse of staff vastly more objectionable than smoking in a doorway out of the rain?”

John at Morhamburn also blogs about the NHS, looking at whether NHS Scotland can take the proposed job cuts: ‘Either the NHS is big enough in Scotland to be able to pare away at it for the next few years without affecting patient care; or it is its very size that allows the NHS to deal with so many sick people, and to deal with them properly.”

Mark at Morhamburn discusses the Scottish Government’s alcohol summit and how much the alcohol problem is costing Scotland: “It cannot be argued that there is no alcohol problem in Scotland.  It was reported earlier this year that alcohol misuse cost Scotland £3.56 billion each year or £900 for every adult.”

Tim Carmondy at kotte.org has an interesting article looking at why athletes are different from you and me.

Home

Our homes are important to us; Taexailia contemplate the purpose of her own doorstep and the power struggle which can occur there: “My doorstep is for welcoming friends and family, accepting parcel deliveries, having a coffee in the morning sunshine, pondering my plan for a butterfly and bee garden. It is not a place where strange men should feel it is their right to disturb me, patronise me, try to manipulate me and lie to me.”

If you need some interior inspiration, such as a new sofa, head over to Yeah…Ok…Bye for a very nice Chesterfield sofa or any of her other great interior finds.

Food & Drink

For starters Wendy at A Wee Bit of Cooking comments on how great the tomatoes have been this year and gives us a simple recipe for tomato and basil soup – one of my favourites. Then Is there a Plan B looks at the difference between a couple of supermarket chickens – are you particular about the type of chicken you buy?

Do you remember getting your bottle of milk in nursery or primary school? Ellen Arnison reminisces about school milk and looks at its future: “It took me back for a moment. To a classroom, the smell of Copydex, a pair of nobbly tights under sandal buckles and what happened when I rubbed my thumb on the silver top of the milk bottle.”

Interesting

Finally there’s Missy M’s hitchhiking confession and Mark Frauenfelder highlights a memo from the 1970s from an oil company owner, who has no time for pleasantries.

Welcome to this week’s Scottish Roundup.

I’ve been left in charge for the first time and I do feel rather like a teenager whose parents have left them ‘on trust’, the urge to plunder the drinks cabinet is almost uncontrollable. However, I can probably postpone the rampage long enough to share a peep into the blogosphere of Scotland.

Actually, I’ve enjoyed reading a great many new blogs – often taking me to subject areas I don’t normally visit. The trip out of my blogging comfort zone has been refreshing and inspiring.

Speaking of comfort zones (see what I did there?), at Bright Green Scotland the discussion is how to achieve election success: it’s crucial to campaign outside of areas of moral high ground and previous glory. The message for the Greens is that it’s time to get a little uncomfortable.

Then there’s a look to the future. At Fear and Loathing in Glasvegas, Iain Hepburn ponders the future of Gaelic broadcasting and whether that’s the same thing as the future of Gaelic broadcasters. Sticking with matters future, Kenny’s of Rant Tank fame is inspired by the Gadget Show and discusses the use of new media in advertising.

If not the future, certainly with a futuristic sound, ScotGovCamp explains what happens at a self-organised unconference. It sounds a lot more sensible than my 1994-esque imaginings.

By pleasant accident, the blogging road has taken me rain-drops-on-roses-style past some of my favourite things. Coastrider‘s photographs illustrate how a perfectly ordinary mid-week bike ride with a few chums and take a weary soul to some wonderful countryside. It almost inspired me to get the bike out of the shed…

Bagging Scotland for his Munro of the month has picked Buachaille Etive Mor – that great big thing that looms at the mouth of Glencoe. For my money, it’s one of the most glorious and satisfying hills to be had.

And to the next, Scotswhayhae provides inspiration of the inevitable nasty weather, after all there’s no point in climbing a hill if you can’t see anything. In their look at the Scottish books that deserve a good reading, they feature Iain Bank’s The Wasp Factory. It’s IB’s first literary effort and, arguably, one of his best.

One of my favourite buildings – Donaldson’s school for deaf in Edinburgh – is there in its gleaming glory on Suitably  Disparing‘s blog. SD argues that for once, the plan to build a new hotel in the city, is a good one if it preserves the splended building.

And who doesn’t like a day out with the weans? Cartside grasps the opportunity to take her family to one of Scotland’s pick-your-own fruit farms. I bet you didn’t even put that on your things-to-do-before-school starts list.

Still fruity, rehabilitated tabloid sub editor Julie Scrumptious invites us to pav our cake and eat it. Her headlines are nearly as good as her recipes.

A different kind of fruity brings us to Missy M and her very snigger-some tale of children learning to swear.

But as Voltaire said: “A witty saying proves nothing.” Or at least he did the other day at the Glasgow-based quotabl.es.

Key change here: major to minor. Many of the posts I read tackled the baddies, taking on the nasties and giving them what-for.

In gloomy mood, Slugger O’Toole argues that the Calman recommendations will bring economic misery for Scotland. Marvellous.

Turning to the miserable subject where no one comes out winning, NewsnetScotland suggests that the BBC’s coverage of the Megrahi affair has lacked editorial neutrality lately.

Gender imbalance anywhere (and let’s face it, the ladies usually come off worse) is pretty poor show in these enlightened times. So Lallands Peat Worrier kicks off a lively debate about a supposed gender gap among SNP supporters. Burdz Eye View explains the feverish activity among MSPs and wonders about how to get jobs for the girls without upsetting the political apple cart.

Phew grown-up bit over. Scottish Rebel lifts the mood with some thoughts about Robert Burns’ years in his home town of Dumfries.

And finally. Laura Boyd reflects on a year of living with leukaemia and hints of some charity bash loveliness to come

Well it’s my first time here at the Scottish Roundup, I was feeling rather relaxed about it until I started reading articles on some of the nominated blogs, articles relating to both spelling and grammar, with Mike Ritchie noting:

“There is so much available to read as social media continues to expand but, unfortunately, a lot of it is riddled and marred by bad spelling and poor grammar. To me, rightly or otherwise, such factors indicate a sloppiness and a questionable attitude to detail.”

Then there’s Ellen Arnison at In a Bun Dance who recently noticed a spelling mistake in the London Aquarium, I’m sure to be under scrutiny!

This roundup will be a tour heading from the South to the North of Scotland focusing on what’s going on around Scotland at this point in the summer.

In Ayrshire, Socrates MacSporran discusses the upcoming London Olympics and the relevance of ‘team GB’ to “a small far away country of which we know little” (a title we may have previously been referred to as).

Sandy Stevenson provides us with many photos of Scotland, old and new, on Tour Scotland Photographs, from a statue of a dwarf near Peebles, to a crannog in Loch Tay.

On the Paisley Blog Brian McGuire discusses the problems Scottish holiday makers have as they miss their local food and drink: “A survey of passengers at Glasgow Airport has also revealed that Irn Bru and square sausage are the items holidaymakers miss the most.” Thankfully plans are in place to ensure they can get what they’ve been missing, before they even leave the airport.

Scotchpotch has an interesting poll currently, asking, “Should we pulverise The Proclaimers and make Leith (the place that spawned them) into a landfill site for Edinburgh?” The current result is very close so ensure to get your vote in!

The Edinburgh Festival posts have started to appear throughout the blogosphere, with the Arts Extravaganza already underway in the city and not long until the Fringe starts. The Edinburgh Spotlight is previewing some of the opportunities available to you, including dining 100ft in the air above Princes Street Gardens.

Throughout the country, university students are destined to be part of Coca Cola’s recent marketing campaign with new vending machines described on Revolver blog which may bring ‘happiness to all’!

Secret Scotland highlights one of the risks of being a tourist in Scotland – the midge – which he claims “It looks as if the Scottish midge has its roots in Glasgow, and taken after the example of the city’s legendary ‘hard’ men”.

Over at Other Aberdeen we get some pointers on the etymology of Mounthoolie, the name of a large roundabout in Aberdeen, a roundabout which has been designated by Aberdeen City Council as an ‘Urban Green Space’. “It’s ours, all ours to enjoy whenever we want to. But how is it possible to enjoy a roundabout?” Well you’ll have to visit Other Aberdeen to find out.

My Nairn recommends a trip to the Highland Aviation Museum, where there’s been a recent addition of a Nimrod that reached the museum by road. There are not many museums left where you can actually clamber into the exhibits.

Wendy from a Wee Bit of Cooking shares a great shot (as usual) from a road trip to Ullapool. Then we head to Caithness, where Not Delia visits the Caithness Smokehouse; the most northerly UK mainland smokehouse for our most northerly blog link of this roundup. Not Delia informs us that “[the smokehouse owner] is willing to smoke pretty much any foodstuffs his customers care to bring him”.

Now if you feel you’ve not had quite enough links to keep you going all week, Biogal at Panoptifier has provided you with a list of interesting links, from Bromosexuals to Juanita W. Goggins. If you’d like a quick extra laugh The Big Dollop can provide you with the kind of antics which you may expect more from the Duke of Edinburgh than the Prince of Wales.

That’s a small selection of what’s going on in Scotland, with quite a few new blogs in the mix. Please submit your nominations by using the form on the right of the Scottish Roundup site or by email to scottishroundup@gmail.com or by tweeting @ScottishRoundup.