Hi folks! We may well have been expecting a Hung Parliament for some time, and the Scottish blogosphere went through all this three years ago, but let’s face it, we were always going to go into overdrive, weren’t we?

Anyway. Big Rab had a few observations on the big day, and on results night, FlyingRodent, Malc, Subrosa and Holyrood Patter all followed the many twists and turns.

And what a night it was! We ended up with the loss of Labour’s majority, a Hung Parliament and seats changing hands left, right and centre. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, anyway! The Scottish electoral map looked exactly as it did this time five years ago. This bizarre, change-but-no-change outcome obviously got you to your keyboards, with Anne McLaughlin, Planet Holyrood, Allan, Angus, Jeff, Jess the Dog, Lallands Peat Worrier and Stuart all lining up to offer their respective takes on the situation.

But with Labour’s share of the vote actually going up in Scotland, Dark Lochnagar and Subrosa wonder what Labour have to do to lose support for Scottish elections to Westminster.

Of course, this result only served to highlight how the election was, in a way, a tale of four nations, with the Tories beating Labour in England, Labour beating the Tories in Wales, the Conservatives remaining in fourth place in Scotland and the Tory alliance with the Ulster Unionists coming fourth in Northern Ireland. Alan Trench and Joan McAlpine look at the ramifications for relations between the constituent parts of the UK, but Jess the Dog and Alwyn ap Huw argue that regardless of whether or not the Tories have a mandate to govern Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the mandate they have to govern England should be respected.

Looking at the parties, however, Neil Craig argues that as a result of this outcome, everyone could lose.

Despite losing their majority, Scottish Labour bloggers’ tails were up following their results north of the Border. Tom Harris MP, Kezia and Richard McCready all hail local successes in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee respectively, while Yousuf ventures that while overall the night was disappointing for Labour, other parties had a far worse evening.

For the Liberal Democrats, a sombre tone emerged, with Caron dismayed at Willie Rennie not being re-elected in Dunfermline & West Fife, and Stephen reflecting on some of the main moments in his own campaign in Linlithgow & East Falkirk.

A reflective mood emerged in the SNP camp: Steven is disappointed and looks at how the party ought to react; Mark suggests that the evening, while a disappointment after a wave of overambitious pronouncements, wasn’t as grim as it’s being made out, while Osama thanks his campaign team in Glasgow Central.

Patrick Harvie MSP hails the victory of Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion.

Lallands Peat Worrier, meanwhile, looks at how the BNP performed in Scotland.

But with the results in, attention has turned to the Government that might emerge from it. Stephen discusses the issues that at at stake in a potential Tory-LibDem Coalition. Duncan doesn’t think such a tie-up would be a bad thing, but Caron is less sure. From outside the LibDems, Joan McAlpine and Jeff question what principles are at work in an agreement between Messrs Clegg and Cameron.

Another alternative is the so called ‘Progressive Alliance’, which appears to consist over everyone but the Tories. Eric Joyce MP and Boxthejack seem broadly in favour, but Dave pours cold water on the idea. Dark Lochnagar takes a look at the body language of the party leaders and suggests that pretty much rules out any deal involving Messrs Clegg and Brown.

One of the key points in any deal (or blocking ny deal) is electoral reform. Neil welcomes the prospect (and notes that the Tory refusal to agree to a UKIP offer in which they would stand down if the Tories offered a referendum on EU withdrawl could well be what denied the Tories a majority). Caron and Stephen crunch the numbers in favour of electoral reform, but Shuggy is less convinced by the arguments offered in favour of PR.

And despite Labour figures offering reform to the LibDems, re-elected Labour MP Tom Harris is not impressed at the idea, arguing that First Past The Post is less rubbish than other systems. James Kelly argues that, by refusing to support the electoral reform which could make or break a deal with the LibDems, Tom Harris has effectively argued in favour of a Tory Government, while Lallands Peat Worrier reminds us just how many Labour MSPs supported a Scottish Parliament motion backing electoral reform last week.

Meanwhile, with a great deal of pressure apparently being brought to bear on the respective parties to reach a deal quickly, Andrew Burns asks what the rush is.

And whoever ends up taking office, there’s been a lot of discussion at what impact the result has on the SNP, and particularly its prospects for retaining office next year. Dark Lochnagar, James and Jeff all reflect on how things might pan out.

Finally, Anne McLaughlin reminds us of the perils of phone canvassing!

But other things did happen this week, and Joan McAlpine and Andrew Reeves express outrage at the murder of gay teenager Jack Frew.

Ali takes a look at an advice column ghost-written for Danny Dyer in Zoo Magazine, which this week proposed violence as a method of settling a domestic dispute. Ali argues that if we expect sensitivity from Zoo Magazine, we’re going to be disappointed.

Fitaloon and David Farrer report on the Homecoming Parade which took place for troops in Edinburgh yesterday.

Rob McDougall was at the finish line of last weekend’s Great Edinburgh Run.

Scotland for the Senses goes on an Armchair Tour of Scotland, while Jade explores the joys of local travel.

Finally, Dear Scotland looks at how footballers present themselves in the media, and Rob presents his SPL team of the season.

So that’s it for another week – I daresay there’ll be a lot to go through for next week’s Roundup, and if you have any posts you’d like to nominate for it, then as always, you can fill in the swingamajig on the right, or drop us a line to scottishroundup@gmail.com. And yup, we’re on Twitter as well: @ScottishRoundup. Bye-de-bye!

Hi folks! As announced last night, here’s a bonus Roundup (aren’t we good to you?) summing up the final days of campaign bloggery. There’s nothing more that can be done or said: all that’s left now are the results, and their aftermath.

Starting with Labour, Tom Harris offers us his final thoughts, and also puts himself in the frame as the director of Labour’s next party political broadcasts. They’d be worth watching if he did them.

Yousuf charts the role Glasgow has played in the history of the Labour Party.

However, BellgroveBelle and Anne McLaughlin MSP look at some of Labour’s campaign material in the city and aren’t overly impressed. Allan doesn’t particularly like what he sees from them in neighbouring Renfrewshire either.

Mr. Eugenides casts his eye over Labour calls for tactical voting, while Steven wonders how Labour can square the use of the word ‘future’ with constant references to the past.

Meanwhile, Jess the Dog hails this as a day of change from Labour, while Paul Pearson looks at the Labour candidate who tore into Gordon Brown this week. With allies like those…

Cllr Cameron Rose explains why he is a Conservative, while Fitaloon endorses his local Tory candidate.

Stuart asks if the key question for this election revolves around David Cameron’s ability to bring about change. Alex Massie argues that Cameronism (is he worthy of an ‘-ism’ yet?) appears to stop at the Tweed.

I suppose in that context, maybe this Tory poster, flagged up by Andrew Reeves, which depicts the UK but omits the Western and Northern Isles, isn’t bad. It’s still pretty embarrassing when the message is “We’re all in this together”, though.

BellgroveBelle and Holyrood Patter both endorse the SNP, with BellgroveBelle also reporting on Tusday night’s ‘Ask Alex’ event.

Stephen Glenn sums up the LibDem position, with an obvious focus on Linlithgow and East Falkirk, where he’s been on the ballot paper.

Allan is backing the LibDems this time, but Joan McAlpine clearly isn’t.

The Shoogly Peg hopes for a Hung Parliament, while Subrosa is of the view that none of the parties deserve her vote.

Jeff discusses a blogpost he wishes he hadn’t published about postal votes – and the unfortunate consequences it’s had for him. Caron looks both at that and the possibility that the Tory candidate in Livingston has broken the Data Protection Act.

Neil Craig looks at campaign activity (or perhaps, lack of it) in Glasgow, while The Shoogly Peg gets exasperated at everyone’s claim to being part of a ‘two-horse race’.

James reviews the last Scottish Leaders’ Debate, and Stuart focuses on the speakers’ answers to the expenses questions thrown at them during Sunday night’s proceedings.

Tom Harris gives us a transcript of a slightly surreal canvassing phone call.

Angus Nicolson sums up the candidates’ positions in Na h-Eileanan an Iar, while Philosophical Zombie looks at the overall campaigns.

Alan Trench assesses the ‘devolution literacy’ of the parties’ manifestoes.

Paul, James and Malc give us their reflections on casting their vote.

Lallands Peat Worrier gives us his version of the Charge of the Light Brigade.

Allan looks forward to tonight’s proceedings, while Dave isn’t sure where to get his coverage from. Why, from Joan McAlpine on BBC Scotland, of course!

Crystal Ball time: Boxthejack, Julie and Bright Green Scotland all take a look at the result and its aftermath will be.

Jeff takes the view that if David Cameron walks into Downing Street, his opponents should show grace in defeat.

Mr. Eugenides looks at what will come next for Labour, and is amused at what he sees.

Mark reminds us that there’s also been a Council By-Election in Glasgow today, to replace Steven Purcell.

Former LibDem candidate Kelvin Holdsworth has his thoughts on the election, and compares attitudes involved in politics with those involved in the Church.

Returning Scot looks at the mood of the nation, and reflects on attitudes to equality in Norway.

Caron has warm recollections of polling days past.

Finally, Ellen asked her kids what they thought of the election.

And that’s it: I’m aware that besides myself, Holyrood Patter, Malc and Subrosa will be liveblogging. If you’re doing the same, drop us a line in the Comments section, but that’s it for this Special Roundup – I’ll be back on Sunday with the weekly edition, and as always, you can nominate posts for that by filling in the thingummydoowop on the right, or by sending us an e-mail to scottishroundup@gmail.com. We’re also on Twitter @ScottishRoundup. Bye-de-bye!

Hi folks! It’s all a bit quiet, really. Nothing to say. Well, apart from an election that’s been blown wide open and a volcano that’s belching tons of ash into the air and knackering travel plans across the continent. Meh.

We’ll start with Eyjafjallajoekull. And, no, this is not the latest villain in Doctor Who (in the vein of Banakafalata and the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius) , but the aforementioned volcano, which is presently contributiong to Iceland’s worryingly frequent habit of dumping its disproportionately large fallout on the rest of Europe. Dave points out just what the ash can do to jet engines (i.e. make them stop) . This has had the knockon effect of forcing the closure of airspace in the UK and subsequently, the rest of Europe. Bill discusses what that means for people, while Stephen reflects on the eerily empty skies on his way into work. Meanwhile, Tom Morton points out that the ash has landed on the northern Shetlands, while Mr. Eugenides is somewhat peeved to note that thanks to the current wind direction, Iceland itself is just going about its business.

Anyway. It’s not just beneath Iceland that tectonic plates have shifted: the first election debate has changed the state of the General Election campaign.

Of course, many were unhappy that a debate on UK-wide television would focus primarily on English issues and exclude players on the Scottish and Welsh political scene, to the extent that Bella Caledonia organised an online hashtag protest.

As for the reaction to the debate, it’s clear that despite the fact that Scotland seemed semi-detached from proceedings given that the majority of questions and answers weren’t on policy that would affect it, the programme qualified as appointment-to-view television, given the sheer amount of comment on it. However, Wot’s News?, Jeff and Subrosa all registered their dismay at the irrelevance of it. Stuart wasn’t happy either, but that had more to do with the actual way in which the programme developed.

Allan and Jess The Dog both took the view that Nick Clegg was the winner, and that Gordon Brown was hit the hardest, and Allan deseves points for comparing the set to that old favourite of mine, 15-to-1. All we needed was for Clegg to receive a fragment of Etruscan pottery at the end of it and the resemblance would have been near total.

On the other hand, Alex Massie, Mr. Eugenides and, it seems, a disappointed Jim Millar agreed that Clegg was the winner, but that it was David Cameron who came off the worst.

Tom Harris suggested that the reception Brown received was more positive from people who had just listened to it on the radio, while Angus Nicolson went further and decided that Brown was the winner. Political Dissuasion, meanwhile, took the view that the evening was the most productive for Cameron.

And there was even online reaction to the reaction. Joan McAlpine distilled how the debate was reported afterwards, while Ideas of Civilisation suggests that people may have seen what they wanted to see (hence the blogosphere reaction) and Scott at Love and Garbage notes the shifting post-debate polls.

On to the election itself. For those wanting a summary of where the campaign and parties stand, look no further than Kirk Elder.

Lallands Peat Worrier casts an unimpressed eye over Scottish Labour’s approach to making and presenting policy in this election.

On policy, Jim Ross looks at the Digital Economy Act, Youth Cancer Forum Scotland reports on a Macmillan campaign setting out what it wants to see from the parties, while Subrosa is exasperated to note that Afghanistan is not getting the attention it should. Perhaps Thursday’s foreign policy debate will remedy that.

In other stories, Tom Harris reflects on local campaign headquarters, while Calum Cashley takes time out to thank those who are taking time out to help him.

Caron wonders if Labour have given up in Livingston, while Jeff reports that the Labour candidate there, Graeme Morrice, has been reported to the police for some of his activities as a West Lothian Councillor.

Meanwhile, Caron reveals that the Tory candidate in Perth & North Perthshire, Peter Lyburn, is in trouble for misrepresenting the opinions of local businessmen (and it’s just occurred to me that at least three of the candidates in that seat are called Peter: the incumbent, the SNP’s Pete Wishart, the Tory Peter Lyburn and the LibDem Peter Barrett – perhaps the constituency should be renamed Pete and North Perthshire?)

And just next door in Ochil & South Perthshire, Jeff plays the footage of the handbags between Schools Minister Keith Brown MSP and Scottish Labour staffer Rami Okasha when Gordon Brown hit the campaign trail in Dollar.

Onto more psephological considerations now, Wot’s News? is exasperated that present opinion polls putting Labour third on votes project an outcome where the party has the most seats, and Scottish Football Blog compares the ridiculousness of First Past the Post to the barking mad SPL split.

And now that we’re on to more important matters, the same blog has a post on possible SPL restructuring, while Fan With A Laptop produces an alternative McLeish Report.

Lallands Peat Worrier has two thoughtful posts on justice: the first on the current state of rape law, and on the Holyrood Justice Committee’s considerations of knife crime.

Meanwhile, Anne McLaughlin MSP looks at suicide intervention training courses.

Back to the election now, and Chris Mounsey, Leader of the Libertrian Party, and more well-known to bloggers as DK, appeared on the Daily Politics where Andrew Neil effectively presented the contents of Devil’s Kitchen and slapped him around with it, the consequences being the deletion of the blog. David Farrer and Robert Sharp reflect on what happened. But fear not! Out of the ashes of Devil’s Kitchen comes Devil’s Knife.

Contently Managed takes a look at the publicity for the new Scotsman iPhone app.

Andy G discusses various failed attempts to place his accent.

Ellen Arnison discusses what it’s like to be followed by Martha Stewart – in the twitter sense, not in the stalky sense, that is.

Aye Tunes reviews this week’s singles, while Rory at Achiltibuie Cottages reviews At The Loch of The Green Corrie, by Andrew Greig.

Michael Greenwell spots an ironic sign in Barcelona.

And finally, Andy G gives us 101 fun things to do in a lift.

That’s your whack for another week – as always you can nominate posts for next week by filling in the flibbertygibbet on the right or dropping us a cod at scottishroundup@gmail.com. And of course, we’re on Twitter @ScottishRoundup. Bye-de-bye!

Hi folks! It’s been a busy and varied week in the blogosphere, and there’s been plenty going on for you all to get your teeth into.

The thing is, just as we’re supposedly heading for a rightward turn at Westminster, Holyrood appears to be facing the other way. Scottish Socialist Youth has a report from the PCS strike, which ended up affecting business at Holyrood as Labour and SNP MSPs announced that they were refusing to cross the picket line at the Scottish Parliament. Dave over at Holyrood Chronicles has two posts on the hyperbole surrounding this decision, while Stuart queries the motives and symbolism surrounding what was, essentially, the Parliamentarians’ secondary strike.

Meanwhile, it’s not just in supporting the PCS that MSPs have started moving to the left: SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn has tabled a motion praising Venezuelan socialist visionary leader/bloodthirsty tinpot dictator* (delete as applicable) Hugo Chavez, and has gained support from other SNP and Labour members, much to the chagrin of Andrew, Caron, and Mr. Eugenides.

Anyway. In other news, there’s an election coming up (no, really, it’s crept up on us, this one) and with the outcome too close to call, all eyes are on the LibDem Spring Conference to try and gauge their approach to a Hung Parliament. We didn’t learn that, but we did learn their election slogan. Stephen approves. Tom Harris doesn’t.

Meanwhile, Neil Craig sets out what ought to go in the upcoming budget (I suspect that he isn’t holding his breath, though).

Still, despite the recession, economic projections are turning out to be less controversial than environmental ones. Bishop Hill takes a look at attempts to predict the planet’s climate 100 years from now.

On a similar note, the recent spate of earthquakes and the devastion caused by them generates this post at Scottish Socialist Youth, where it’s argued that poverty and deprivation are the main cause of the catastrophe rather than the earthquakes themselves.

Ironically, while tectonic plates seem to be shifting at the moment, High Speed Rail isn’t – the first part of the line will go no further than Birmingham and it’ll be a long while before it reaches Scotland. Now, I’m all in favour of anything that gets travellers to the points failure at Oxenholme Lake District sooner, but Joan McAlpine has a more thorough set of comments on her desire for the HSR network to reach from London to Scotland, while Osama Saeed looks at discussions on who should foot the bill for a line north of Carlisle. He then follows that up with a second post in which he notes that the choice is either “trains or Trident”, and Jeff agrees.

Meanwhile, Glasgow is still the centre of attention, though not just for the Steven Purcell saga. The suicide of three asylum seekers in the Red Road area has generated this thoughtful post from Joan McAlpine, and a wider discussion of asylum policy under Labour led to this exchange of views between James, and Tom Harris, posting on each other’s blog (which explains why the links are that way round).

Staying in Glasgow, Subrosa reports on the logo for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, while Big Rab points out that it looks eerily similar to another part of the designers’ portfolio.

Moving along, East Lothian is also in the news for the local Labour party’s ongoing attempts to de-select their local MP: Andrew, Jeff and Mark all report on how, after years of trying, the local activists may finally be getting their way – and what the consequences are for Labour.

Meanwhile, in Dundee, Stuart fesses up to not knowing whether, for the purposes of Parliamentary representation, he lives in East or West Dundee, noting that an Angus Councillor apparently doesn’t realise what constituency he lives in either.

And in West Dunbartonshire, the Council’s continued ropey performance has led to an audit, which in itself has managed to raise a few more questions, if this investigation by Mark is anything to go by.

Maybe we should all just move to Edinburgh: these photos by Scott Liddell certainly present a good case for doing so.

Meanwhile, The Kiosque reports on two exhibitions by Frances Walker. She’s managed to get two displays on the go, but Crabbit Copy looks at some of the pitfalls of portfolio management.

Elsewhere, Peenko has an interview with Fiona Soe Paing, one half of audio-visual duo Colliderscope. And over at Elba Sessions there’s a review of singles by Chris T-T and Kill the Captains, while Aye Tunes has a review of the new EP from Miss The Occupier.

Meanwhile, The Pop Cop has two good posts this week, the first on the indie disco tracks that get everyone going, and the second a review of the Mumford and Sons gig at ABC1. I don’t think their opinion of the UK’s Eurovision entry will be overly high, though. Caron tries to find the positives. James Kelly doesn’t.

This week’s BBC Question Time managed to exasperate Martin Kelly. He should instead have gone with Subcity Radio’s Debate is Free, which held its own Election Question Time this week.

Speaking of election coverage, Jess the Dog is appalled that reporting from Afghanistan will stop during the campaign.

Richard Havers has analysed some of the reporting in the Scotsman, and come to the conclusion that it has ceased to be a newspaper.

Bill Boyd discusses communication skills for the 2010s.

Robert Sharp discusses how people are exercising too much caution on the blogosphere, lest their posts come back to haunt them. Over at Clinically Fed Up, there’s a post about not so much the caution as, well, pretty much that bizarre combination of joy and terror which came with being asked to send something into Ian Hamilton’s blog.

Ideas of Civilisation looks at how rules and reality rarely map onto each other successfully.

Elsewhere, the old chestnut that is homophobia in sport has popped up again, must to the anger of Stephen

And over at Left Back in the Changing Room there’s a look at suggestions to expand the Scottish Premier League.

So that’s your lot for this week. Next week it’s the turn of The Enraged Greek in the chair. As always, you can nominate posts for inclusion using the dooberrythingummyjig on the right, dropping us a line at scottishroundup@gmail.com or following our Twitter account @ScottishRoundup. Bye-de-bye!

Hi folks! It’s been another wacky seven days, and that’s left lots of bloggy goodness for me to sift through this week.

Of course, the main focus of attention has been on Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s donning of her MSP for Glasgow Govan hat to write a character reference for Abdul Rauf, pending his trial for benefit fraud. Though it hasn’t yet been given ‘-gate’ status. Lettergate, perhaps? Anyway, Yousuf notes how the papers currently make bad reading for the DFM, who is at least defended by Alex Salmond, citing the Code of Conduct for MSPs. However, in his defence, he omits a number of qualifications written into the code, prompting Tom Harris MP to accuse the FM of misleading Parliament.

By Thursday lunchtime, there were calls for the Deputy First Minister made by all opposition parties to make an immediate statement to the Scottish Parliament, but the Tories then went on to agree to delay the statement until after the brief Parliamentary recess. Andrew and Stephen rip into the Tories for this apparent U-turn.

However, the main thrust of arguments seems to surround Sturgeon’s judgement in the matter, with Jim Millar and Dave calling it into question. Stuart agrees to an extent, though finds the over-reaction and hyperbole exchanged by both sides exasperating. Subrosa isn’t overly happy either, but believes that it’s not a resigning matter.

Meanwhile, Malc offers the DFM his cautious backing, and stronger support comes from Caron, who argues that she would have done the same thing under the circumstances.

Also, Jeff takes a look at dodgy characters given support by politicians of other political hues and wonders why they don’t have ‘serious questions to answer’ as well, while James Kelly worries that this row will ultimately impact on the service and support that Parliamentarians will be willing to offer their constituents.

And speaking of MSPs duties, Richard Havers clocks a nearly-empty Holyrood debating chamber and wonders quite what MSPs are paid to do in the first place.

Still, Lettergate, or whatever you want to call it, has knocked Lunchgate off the front pages, but Ideas of Civilisation has managed to produce three posts on the story and its implications. Stuart, meanwhile, condenses his views on the story, the reaction to it, and its reporting into one thoughtful post.

And the reporting of the two stories draws comments at Bella Caledonia, where it’s noted that they’ve been prioritised ahead of other, arguably more serious matters.

Incidentally, there might be another ‘-gate’ brewing: SNP Tactical Voting-gate. It turns out that Jeff is the subject of a press release by Margaret Curran, and he doesn’t seem too cut up about it. But I daresay he won’t mind the supportive character reference from James Kelly.

The real online scandal can be found in the companies trying to use the present trends for social networking sites as a source of a quick and easy buck (so easy, in fact, that it doesn’t really require the services of a third party to sort out): Contently Managed has the story.

And speaking of social media phonies, someone’s been gallivanting around the internet pretending to be Councillor Terry Kelly – remember him? Of course you do. The fake has been wreaking havoc on Comment is Free, he/she/it/they went on to make an appearance in the Comments section over at Harry’s Place. This got the attention of CiFwatch, and ultimately, the real Terry Kelly had to venture onto Harry’s Place to try and clear things up, augmenting his response with a post on his own site. Since then, Terry has had to issue further posts on the matter, given continuing attacks and the appearance of the story in the local press. Now at the risk of editorialising, everyone knows that I’m not exactly the man’s biggest supporter, but really, this just isn’t funny anymore.

Anyway, in more pleasant blogging news, Contently Managed are publicising the latest Scottish social media dinner, to be held this Wednesday, and Tom Harris has his top ten tips for political blogging.

In other news, the Scottish Tories had their shindig this week, and Fitaloon offers two supportive posts. A less supportive post comes from James.

Andrew hails the defection of Glasgow SNP Councillor Alex Dingwall to the LibDems. It’s interesting that John McNamee’s defection to Labour provoked far more comments from across the spectrum, but this move provoked little comment from outside the LibDem blogosphere, save a quick post from Yousuf. Perhaps it’s because Cllr Dingwall was more respected, more of a stalwart, and has fewer bones to bury than his South Lanarkshire counterpart. Or perhaps it’s because he switched to the Liberal Democrats rather than Labour. Who can say?

Stephen notes with dismay that regardless of the outcome of the election, VAT may be going up to 20%. Leaving aside the monetary impact, on the plus side, this makes it easy to calculate – simply divide by five, then add, or to calculate the net amount, simply divide by six then subtract. On the other hand, it’s a passport to nervous breakdowns for accountants and financial or purchasing systems administrators…

Richard Thomson notes the support for a referendum on further legislative powers for the Welsh Assembly and asks why, when that vote is backed, and a referendum on the Alternative Vote has government support, the economic situation is too murky for a vote on Scottish independence.

Further afield, Subrosa takes a look at the possibility of Sarah Palin making a bid for the US Presidency in 2012.

More locally, We Know SFA considers Steven Pressley’s chances of keeping Falkirk in the SPL.

On a more sober note, Stephen discusses the overshadowing of the Opening of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, with the death of Georgian lugist Nodar Kumaritashvili.

On a lighter note, Ellen Arnison is perturbed to be turning into her mother.

Here’s an intriguing gem over at Except the Kyles and Western Isles: an obituary of Highlands & Islands GP Dr. Martha Devon from the 1960s.

Kasia has her reflections of Valentine’s Day.

From the gallery, Claudia Massie conjures up a romantic image of Perthshire, while Heidi Kuisma gives us a couple of images which are decidedly less romantic, though do have something to say about the way we live.

Finally, good news from BellgroveBelle, who is expecting her first child – congrats!

And that’s very much your whack for another week. Portis Wasp is in the hotseat next week, and as always, you can nominate posts for inclusion using the diddlydoodah on the right, dropping us a line at scottishroundup@gmail.com or following our Twitter account @ScottishRoundup. But from me, it’s bye-de-bye!