I had thought that Roundup this week would be nothing but festive froth and frivolity, a showcase of the best Christmas Kitsch the Scottish blogosphere has to offer. Well, there is certainly some of that, but there’s also been some fairly Serious Stuff happening this week.
It’s not every week that a famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) face from Scottish politics is found guilty of Perjury. Tommy Sheridan will not be having a particularly happy Christmas as he contemplates his sentencing which will take place a month from today. Lallands Peat Worrier look at the rights and wrongs of the “Perjuries of a Satsuma Socialist”, concluding that
This whole affair is an unnecessary gruesome catastrophe that squandered the possibilities of a better history.
Will Patterson looks at the future for Scottish Socialism while Bella Caledonia outlines what it sees as Sheridan’s successes over the years.
The other big story of the week also involved lies, this time told by Daily Telegraph journalists to various Liberal Democrat ministers at their surgeries. They came away with recorded evidence that the Liberal Democrats in the Westminster Government are not always in agreement with their Conservative coalition partners. I took some comfort in what Michael Moore, Secretary of State for Scotland, said. Love and Garbage has a typically satirical view of Vince Cable’s comments about Murdoch.
This week saw the twenty second anniversary of the Lockerbie Plane Crash. Love and Garbage has a very moving personal perspective of why we must never forget what happened that night.
Into the Roundup e-mail inbox this week fell a request for a shout out for nominations for the Scottish Music Awards to be held next September. These awards, they tell us, are
about the emerging artists and the regional businesses that help those artists to succeed. Record Shops, Rehearsal Studios, Retailers, Photographers, Websites etc all play a part in the Scottish Music Industry.
At a time when many of us, like the Burd, are looking back over 2010 so this might be an opportune moment to think of your favourites to nominate.
From music to sport now – and, given the frozen extremes of temperature we’re all experiencing at the moment, it seems appropriate to mention ice hockey. Andrew Reeves is a massive fan of the Edinburgh Capitals a plucky team who, despite not having as many players as other teams, or a full time coach, have been proving that they can compete with the best this season. Andrew has been moonlighting from his own blog, writing breathtaking match reviews for Deadline News. These accounts have invoked in me a very untypical desire to go and see them in action.
Jack Deighton is not enamoured with proposals for Scottish football.
This week saw the first lunar eclipse since 1638 to coincide with the Winter Solstice. Mountain and Sea Scotland was there with their camera to capture some stunning images of the red moon over Aberdeenshire. I liked the way he also speculated about what our ancestors might have made of this. From there, I couldn’t resist a headline that said “Highland Christmas” and found Where the Mountains Meet the Sea’s reproduction of a wonderful account of a highland croft owner’s festive preparations.
Being single or otherwise alone at this time of year can present its challenges. Kelvin has some very wise words to say on the subject.
Now, I promised you frivolity, and here it is. First of all, did you know what purple glitter adds to reindeer food? I don’t know if it was purple glitter that Ellen found in her eyebrow but she shares with us some of the lessons she’s learned over the Festive Season.
If you didn’t get enough books in your Christmas Stocking, SeraphicSpouse has the next instalment of her “Bodis Ripper”
I know Stephen doesn’t live here any more, but I still see him as a Scottish blogger. He posted this hilarious video of how the Nativity might have been looked if the internet been available to Mary, Joseph and the Wise Men.
There can only be one winner in the Christmas film stakes, though. If Indy Martin ever wins an Oscar, you might remember where you first heard of his talents, in Christmas Massacre, a wacky, original and very funny antidote to the usual festive schmaltz. Please don’t try to re-create it at home.
Next week’s Roundup will be a review of 2010 and a look ahead to 2011. Please submit your favourite blog posts of the year through the nomination form on your right, via Twitter @ScottishRoundup or by e-mail to scottishroundup@gmail.com. Bloggers, don’t be shy about nominating your own posts – you are more likely to remember that gem you wrote in February than your readers.
In the meantime, we at Roundup hope you are all having a peaceful and happy festive season.