Blethering Skite

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Work at the University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute has demonstrated that hemp is an affordable nutritious food with the potential to help Scotland meet its health, climate and nature targets. It is superior to rapeseed and olive oil, lends itself to many recipes and could help with carbon capture. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes with Dr Madalina Neacsu The Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Kate Forbes, learnt…

We teamed up with academics from the School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen, to use cutting-edge tools to advance our understanding of the Loch Ness ecosystem, representing a significant step forward in scientific exploration.

Taking to the water with Alistair Matheson the Skipper for The Loch Ness Project, to search the famous waters onboard Deepscan, the Aberdeen team deployed an advanced digital holographic camera to get a unique look at life below the surface.

Dubbed weeHoloCam, the technology is capable of producing several thousand digital holographic images of microscopic marine organisms in one dive, and uses the latest in artificial intelligence techniques to classify the images. weeHoloCam has never before been used on the freshwaters of Loch Ness, and after its initial dive captured incredible images of what look like “micro-monsters” but are in fact plankton particles.

Poll: Most voters say Labour government doesn't understand Scotland

THE clear majority of Scots (61%) think the new Labour-run UK Government has little to no understanding of the issues facing Scotland, according to a new poll.

The YouGov survey, published on Wednesday morning, also found that just three in 10 Scots (30%) think their country is better off now Keir Starmer is in power.

The plurality (35%) said they think the change of power at Westminster has made no real difference, while 15% said they think Scotland will be worse off.

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February 1, 2023

According to Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) data, nearly one in five people left Bute between 2001 and 2020 – the largest exodus of any island ‘data zone’.

Meanwhile, between 2001 and 2020, the proportion of islanders in Scotland aged 65 and over rose from 18 per cent to 26 per cent, while the proportion of those under 25 fell from 28 per cent to 24 per cent. Today, the majority of Scotland’s islanders are, according to SPICe analysis of National Records of Scotland data, all over 45 years old.

SPICe research found that, as of September 2021, just one per cent of Scotland’s homes were second homes. However, six per cent of the homes in Argyll and Bute and the Western Isles were second homes – the highest proportions of all local authority areas – followed by four per cent in Orkney.

High concentrations of second homes can increase house prices, reduce housing supply and impact community cohesion, it found. The issue has led to calls for Scotland to adopt Norwegian-style laws which stop first homes being turned into second homes to protect housing stock.

The SNP and the case for Indy

Some 81% of respondents said that "the SNP has not effectively developed the case for an independent Scotland". (The remaining 19% believed: "The SNP has managed to develop the case for an independent Scotland since 2014".) Further, 57% rated the SNP's stewardship of the independence cause since 2014 as either "ineffective" or "very ineffective". The proportion who thought the SNP had been "effective" or "very effective" on this was just 17%. 

What about the Yes movement?

There was a strong feeling that the SNP had not listened to the wider movement, with just 6% of respondents agreeing with the statement "the SNP leadership has valued the views of the wider Yes movement highly". Some 43% felt "the SNP leadership has paid no attention to the views of the wider Yes movement"

What now?

Remember, the vast majority of respondents (95%+) to this survey are Yessers. From the fact they made the effort to take the survey we can deduce that they are dedicated Yessers too. They are the people whose votes the SNP needs. These are the people that the cause of independence needs if it's ever to happen.

Their morale is low. The majority feel the SNP has not advanced the cause for independence in the past ten years. They feel the movement is rudderless and fractured. Some think there need to be new structures. Others believethat existing ones need to work together better (as opposed to better together…). It's also worth noting that the word "egos" came up dozens of times. They think there needs to be thought leadership and more serious policy work done.

If I was an SNP strategist, I'd find a lot of food for thought there. 

One positive note, 78% respondents think Scotland will be independent one day.

Port Glasgow, Scotland A sculpture dedicated to this town’s rich shipbuilding heritage.

Located in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland, the Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow is a prominent sculpture that pays tribute to the town’s rich maritime heritage and the skilled workers who contributed to its shipbuilding industry. The sculpture stands at Coronation Park, near the banks of the River Clyde.

Unveiled in June 2021, the Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow sculpture was created by artist John McKenna. McKenna studied at the Edinburgh College of Art, where he honed his skills in sculpture and developed a deep understanding of materials such as bronze and steel. He also trained in welding and metalwork, which is evident in his robust and detailed sculptures. This sculpture commemorates the significant role that shipbuilding played in the economic and social life of Port Glasgow. From the 18th century until the mid-20th century, Port Glasgow was a major center for shipbuilding, producing numerous renowned vessels.

Ah, those ‘tough choices’ again.

They’ve adopted a sort of feigned impotence, embracing Osborne economics and are basically saying “the Tories have left us a mess, so we’ve got to impose austerity on you”.

This is continuity politics with different actors.

As the summer fades this is Labour’s moment they’ve been gearing up to. Starmer’s speech today is being billed by Downing Street as “a direct message to the working people across Britain”.

This is a setup for the Autumn statement and the coming cutbacks. It is a framing being put in place to resist demands to ­boost public investment, to end the two-child cap on benefits and to overturn the scrapping of the winter fuel payments.

Now Anas Sarwar is claiming that the budget cuts happening in Scotland are “not related” to the £22billion black hole the UK government is facing. But Sarwar, like Ruth Davidson and Douglas Ross before him will have some difficulty distancing themselves from Westminster austerity policies. They will also have to contend with the problem of Ian Murray being given the budget to undermine the devolution settlement while Sarwar tries to capture it.

We know where the wasps have gone

We know enough about the life history of these insects to explain the lack of wasps this summer.

Wasp queens start a new colony alone, collecting wood pulp to make a papery nest and hunting prey to feed her first brood. When female brood emerge as adults, they take over domestic duties. Only 6-9% of colonies survive into the summer in an average year. A cold, wet spring makes foraging conditions difficult for the queen. And if she dies before her first workers emerge, the colony is doomed.

The creatures that wasps eat – flies, caterpillars, beetles, bees and other invertebrates – are also affected by weather. So a poor spring is a double-whammy for wasps. And that’s what’s happened this summer.

There is no doubt that insect populations are declining globally, driven by pesticides, herbicides and changes in how land is being used. A 2024 study by Italian researchers showed how exposure to pesticides and other pollutants alters wasp behaviour and development.

" The UK Government’s approach reduces the Block-Grant Adjustment associated with devolution of the UK’s Winter Fuel Payment by an estimated £140 million to £160 million in 2024-25 – nearly 90% of the cost of the Scottish Government’s new replacement benefit, Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.”

The Labour MPs elected in Scotland all fully support the UK Labour Government’s policies and actions.

Higher Energy Bills for All of Us

From 1 October 2024, energy bills will increase by around 10% to an average of £1,717. Obviously for people in Scotland, and even more so for those of us in the Highlands and Islands, this will be an even greater amount.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19028455

Toxic lead pollution from a chipboard factory near Stirling could increase sharply after its operators won a five-year legal battle, the Scottish Government’s green watchdog has warned.

The Canadian forestry company, West Fraser, went to court to force the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) to allow a contaminated by-product to be burnt in an energy plant at Cowie in Stirlingshire.

But Sepa has now told The Ferret that lead emissions from the plant could rise by 47 per cent as a result – and put public health and the environment at increased risk. The Cowie site is already by far the biggest lead polluter in Scotland, discharging over a tonne into the air in 2022.

The risks are “profoundly disturbing” because lead in the environment is a “serious hazard for people and nature”, experts said. They questioned whether judges were better equipped to assess pollution risks than Sepa.

THE SNP, and subsequently the Scottish Government, have garnered much criticism this week due to a meeting between Cabinet secretary Angus Robertson and Israeli diplomat Daniela Grudsky. Most of the criticism understandably came from SNP and Scottish Government supporters.

"Most of the #SNP’s woes over the last 10 years can be traced back to dismal organisation and the absence of a professional [candidate] vetting system."

"Whether the party has grown arrogant or is simply showing how tired it is 10 years on from 2014, either way, the one thing that is certain is that the party is not in election mode."

• Mhairi Black

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Eilean Donan Castle, near Dornie, is one of the most easily recognised castles in Scotland and probably appears on more calendars than any other. It is, without any exaggeration, a Scottish icon. It therefore comes as a surprise to discover that although the island has been fortified since at least the Iron Age, the castle you see today was only rebuilt from earlier ruins in the years between 1913 and 1932.

The results of a preliminary investigation into what caused an RFA ONE first stage to burst into flames have identified an oxygen fire in one of the turbopumps as the culprit.

On 19 August, German launch provider Rocket Factory Augsburg conducted a static fire test of the first stage of its RFA ONE rocket on the company’s launch pad at SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. While the stage had already completed two short static fire tests, the 19 August test was the first with all nine of its Helix rocket engines installed.

A new method to extract valuable bio-based chemicals from whisky distillery waste streams could transform manufacturing and be worth up to £90 million in global chemical manufacturing markets.

Scientists from RIPCELL, a chemical manufacturing business, are working with researchers from the University of Aberdeen to demonstrate the feasibility of recovering high-value compounds, such as lactic acid, from pot ale and spent lees—co-products of the first and second stages of the whisky distillation process.

These extracted chemicals have potential applications in sectors including pharmaceuticals, food and drink, and cosmetics, where manufacturing typically depends on unsustainable, petrochemical-derived ingredients.

The project used samples of waste streams provided by whisky group Chivas Brothers from 12 of its distilleries across Scotland.

Finlaggan near Port Askaig on the Isle of Islay. This is an enormously important place in the history of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. During most of the 1300s and 1400s it was the administrative centre of the Lords of the Isles.

From the early 800s onwards, the Hebrides came under the increasing influence of the Norse. It was only in 1158 that they were ousted (and then not for good), by Somerled, who had been born of mixed Norse and Gaelic parentage. He was able to declare himself King of Man and King of the Isles and came close to establishing a separate kingdom, independent of both Norway and Scotland. This effectively ended when Somerled, was killed in 1164 by the forces of Malcolm IV. One of his sons, Angus Mor Mac Donald, founded Clan MacDonald and was appointed Lord of Islay by the Norwegian King Håkon IV. Four generations later, in the middle decades of the 1300s, one of Angus's descendents, John of Islay, managed to gain control over much of the area previously ruled by Somerled. He did so, however, not as a king, but as the self-styled "Lord of the Isles", nominally paying homage to the Scottish Crown: and he cemented his links with that Crown by marrying the daughter of King Robert II.

8th December 2011

Gusts of 165mph swept across Scotland as ‘Hurricane Bawbag’ (officially known as Cyclone Friedhelm) arrived. It was the most destructive storm to hit the country in a decade and elicited the UK’s first ever ‘red’ warning for wind to be issued by the Met Office. In preparation for its arrival, many bridges, including the Tay Bridge and Skye Bridge, were closed – and so were most schools.

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Scots leid

Hurricane Bawbag wis an intense extratropical cyclone, alsae kent bi the name Friedhelm, which brocht hurricane-force winds tae Scotland at the beginnin o December 2011.

The storm brocht prolanged gells an rochle seas tae the rest o the Breetish Isles, as well as pairts o Scandinavie. On 8 December, winds reached up tae 165 mph (265 km/h) at elevatit auries, wi susteened wind speeds o up tae 80 mph (135 km/h) reportit athort populous auries. The winds upruitit trees an resultit in the closur o mony roads, brigs, schuils an businesses.

Oweraw, the storm wis the worst tae affect Scotland in 10 years, tho a stranger storm occurred less nor a month efterwairds, on 3 Januar 2012

https://sco.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Bawbag

A rocket engine exploded during a test launch at Britain's new spaceport in northern Scotland, officials said Tuesday, in a setback for the UK's fledgling space sector.

No one was injured in Monday evening's incident at SaxaVord Spaceport on the remote island of Unst, said the operator, German rocket manufacturer Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA).

The company hopes to launch the UK's first vertical rocket into orbit from there later this year. Monday's failed test was one of the trials in the run-up to the launch.

It comes three months after RFA held its first engine test at the site, which was declared a success.

SaxaVord is the first fully licensed vertical launch spaceport in Europe.

Rocket Engine Goes Up In Flames During Test At SaxaVord Spaceport In Britain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EESJVNmXbI

What do a single mother, a convicted criminal, and a world-famous comedian have in common? While that sounds like the setup to a corny joke, it’s actually the start of the fascinating story behind a giant concrete foot lying in a park on the outskirts of Edinburgh.....

This would eventually lead to the creation of the Craigmillar Festival Society.

Over the years, this arts festival would grow in prominence and scale. By the mid-1970s, the group was so successful they were able to commission a large-scale interactive model of the titular character from Jonathan Swift’s 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels. At the time of its construction, it was the largest concrete structure in Europe at over 100 feet in length.

Controversially, the sculptor chosen to carry out the work was a convicted criminal, Jimmy Boyle, who was serving a life sentence for murder. Boyle began his rehabilitation through artistic endeavors and would eventually find a successful career as an artist and writer.

He titled his creation The gentle giant who shares and cares. This was an enormous lying figure of a man, outstretched over the ground. There were portals interspaced where individuals could crawl in and out of the extremities. The project was funded in part by the Edinburgh-born actor Sir Sean Connery and would be unveiled by Scottish comedian Sir Billy Connolly.

Unfortunately, the structure would not have a long life. It had fallen into disrepair by the early 80s, and was eventually destroyed to make way for a drainage scheme. However, there is one remnant, a single foot, that has been given C-listed building status by Historic Environment Scotland.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gullivers-foot

On Monday 19 August 1745 a small rowing boat landed at the north end of Loch Shiel. It was early afternoon. Prince Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie" came ashore and met his escort of 50 MacDonalds before retiring to a nearby barn to await the response to letters he had sent to possible supporters all over the Highlands.

And so the '45 was born. It was to end in bloody failure at Culloden on 16 April 1746, less than eight months later. In its aftermath the Highland way of life that had existed for hundreds of years was swept away by brutality, suppression and self interest.

But in the meantime, Charles had come very close indeed to taking the crowns he sought. His army reached Derby on 6 December 1745, before retreating after a closely argued meeting in the upstairs room of a Derby pub. 

By 1815 the Jacobite threat had receded sufficiently into history to allow the erection at Glenfinnan of a monument to mark the raising of the standard, paid for by the wealthy descendant of a Jacobite. This is a stone tower surmounted by a statue of a kilted highlander (not the prince himself as is often thought).

The monument was made possible by the construction in 1812 by Thomas Telford of the road from Fort William to Arisaig, which passed Glenfinnan as its successor does today.

The Glenfinnan Monument came into the care of the National Trust for Scotland in 1938, and they have maintained it ever since. They have also built a visitor centre, details above right, next to the main road.

The ancient kings of Strathclyde are believed to have had a hunting lodge at Cadzow, prior to that kingdom's assimilation into Scotland in the 12th century.

The original Cadzow Castle is believed to have been built in the 12th century on an earlier high status site, as an occasional royal residence for King David I (1124–1153).

Royal charters of David's reign were issued from here as early as 1139.

His successors Alexander II, Alexander III and others down to Robert the Bruce also used the castle, it is believed primarily as a hunting lodge due to the close proximity of the forested parkland, itself part of the once more extensive royal forest of the Clyde Valley.

The 16th-century castle

The present castle was built around 1530 by Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, who also constructed nearby Craignethan Castle. James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran was confined here in April 1566 after four years in Edinburgh Castle, for an alleged plot against Mary, Queen of Scots.

Following her escape from Lochleven Castle in 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed here. As a result it was destroyed by forces of the Earl of Mar, regent for James VI, in the late 16th century, as retaliation against the Hamiltons for their support of Mary. It was partially rebuilt in the 18th century, to serve as a folly within the duke's park.

OP @[email protected]

A good piece from Ruth Wishart - we should all be this angry.  Worth the time taken to read it…!

From The National - Ruth Wishart: From GERS scam to electricity highway – Scots are being duped

OP @[email protected]

It's time for Scotland to be properly represented in the media. The Scotland Channel aims to reflect the Scottish people, life, culture and achievements of this great wee country.

At The Scotland Channel, we believe that Scotland is an awesome wee country with a big story to tell.

And what's more, there are 78 countries in the world which are actually smaller than Scotland.

And when you consider that Scotland has shaped the modern world with its countless inventions, discoveries and independent thinkers, then we think Scotland deserves to be better represented by its media and that's where we aim to fill the void. 

After all, Brand Scotland is loved internationally and aside from expat Scots, there are also millions of people with Scottish ancestry or people who simply love Scotland, so we hope that our channel will appeal to them too wherever they live in the world.

Most Scottish pensioners - who suffer from very high levels of fuel poverty - are going to struggle even more without the universal winter fuel payment - despite Scotland being one of the most energy-rich countries in Europe.

Two-thirds of those in fuel poverty stand to lose the benefit under the UK government’s new rules. Yet unlike similar energy-rich countries like Sweden and Iceland, Scots pensioners pay the highest energy bills in Europe. Now even the tiny bit of help the UK gave them is being taken away. 

This serves to highlight the limits of devolution. As a devolved nation, Scotland has no control over how energy is regulated or priced or the way its energy infrastructure is being used. If Scotland were an independent country. It would have the levers of power necessary to achieve its potential as a renewable energy powerhouse. It would be able to make energy much cheaper for Scots consumers and businesses.

Instead, the Scottish government was called on by many to make the money up to pay the winter fuel payment out of its fixed budget. It was asked to pay the piper but without calling the tune. 

A rock formation spanning Ireland and Scotland may be the world's most complete record of "snowball Earth," a crucial moment in planetary history when the globe was covered in ice, finds a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers.

The study, published in the Journal of the Geological Society of London, found that the Port Askaig Formation, composed of layers of rock up to 1.1km thick, was likely laid down between 662 to 720 million years ago during the Sturtian glaciation—the first of two global freezes thought to have triggered the development of complex, multicellular life.

One exposed outcrop of the formation, found on Scottish islands called the Garvellachs, is unique as it shows the transition into "snowball Earth" from a previously warm, tropical environment.

Glacially influenced provenance and Sturtian affinity revealed by detrital zircon U–Pb ages from sandstones in the Port Askaig Formation, Dalradian Supergroup

The ‘Sturtian’ glaciation is the first of two ‘snowball Earth’ glaciations that characterize the Cryogenian Period, when ice is predicted to have extended to the equator where it persisted for millions of years.

An increasing contribution from Archean and Paleoproterozoic detritus to the sandstones through the lower c. 500 m of the Port Askaig Formation likely reflects the progressive glacial unroofing of the previously buried Lewisian Gneiss terrane. Archean and Paleoproterozoic grains then become scarce in the uppermost c. 300 m of the formation, which we attribute to glacial modification of the Laurentian continental margin landscape during the waning stage of ‘Sturtian’ glaciation.

The disruption to sediment transport pathways caused by this modification, and evidenced by the detrital zircon data, points to partially warm-based ‘Sturtian’ ice sheets that were, to some degree, dynamic.

https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/full/10.1144/jgs2024-029

A quarter of people in Wales have experienced stigma associated with poverty "always," "often" or "sometimes" in the past year, a report from Cardiff University has found.

Other key findings include:

Younger people experience higher levels of poverty stigma than older people;

People experiencing food insecurity experience three times as much stigma as those who don't;

The most common form of poverty stigma participants said they encountered was when, 'people make negative assumptions about me because I don't have much money';

People with disabilities, those who live in rented properties and benefit recipients are more likely to experience poverty-related stigma.

Nine out of 10 adults perceive that decision-makers, public services and the media contribute to poverty stigma.