Ed’s speech was spot on, being remembered for not mentioning the two headline issues for a lot of UK voters, the Budget deficit and immigration.

GO ED !

I’m off too, now.

Quite dire I agree, I really wish we’d chosen the other brother. I get emails and tweets from the party & they really are abysmal – as shallow as condensation.

No vision, just further bloating of the public sector.

It’s great to have a bike permanently set up with mud guards all year round. In Englandshire it occasionally rains during the summer – handy to have an alternative.

(Having said that I was on my winter bike for the 1st time on Saturday – like riding a farm gate compared with my good bike). Roll on next summer.

Some sports physios are also Osteopaths.

Is a shower pump somehow pressurising the Hot/ Cold water system?

Leather is kid and dog proof.

Do it, also looks great

Have had your leg manipulated?

(My wife had similar, she stumbled on the stairs and had to get physio, a fantastic benefit of the manipulation as treatment she received was the pain from running & cycling (but spookily, not skiing) she previously experienced also disappeared)

Also looking forward to being able to go back to talking about something else…

Hear hear!

Make sure your insurer will accept the design/ understand what rating they will give the extension (Seedum roofs increase fire load)

you say that like it is a bad thing?
Would you not sacrifice a little wealth for independence?
Do you still live at home with your folks rather than suffer being economically poorer just to be “in charge”?

A friend in Aberdeen made the same point to me, and previously I had not ‘got it’. I said, but you’ll only be as powerful as Belgium, fine he replied, but we’ll be masters of our own destiny.

People in England generally don’t understand this point of view I think.

I’ve had various BMWs over the years. The one I liked best was a 330d E46, lovely car.

(I currently have a 320d F30, which is rea;ly nice as well)

IMO 3 series are nicer than 5 series, if you don’t need the room, real drivers cars.

If you like proper cantonese, the Chung Ying on Wrottesly St in China Town is great (5 Mins from the O2)

The 2012 MoD budget was £35billion in total, so Scotland’s share was around £4billion

That £4billion has been spent many times over, even if Scotland sacks everyone and turns bombers into ploughshares

(Oh, but hang on, Clyde shipbuilding is guaranteed, as have been the jobs at Leuchars and Arbroath)

It doesn’t add up.

Very sorry to hear that. Courage mon brave.

Windows 8 is a bit of a pain IMO, unless perhaps you buy a machine with a touchscreen.

I did a bit of research & bought a 15″ machine from John Lewis, who were cheapest in the end. It must be good, I’ve hardly had my hands on it since – the kids are always using it.

It was an Acer Aspire (sadly with a glossy screen, I wish it was matt)

@ben, is this really true ? If that is the case the UK needs to get to work on some other countries. We cannot surely export more to 5m Scots than we do to the US or France or Germany.

You need to appreciate the difference between GDP, and GNP (& apologies if you do already). Quite a lot of apparent rUK exports to iS would melt away anyway

I suspect that in the general divvying up of Company HQs (and their attendant Statutory reporting lines), and locations for production then Scotland will find that her GDP is not what was hoped or promised.

(and the reaction as people realise what they’ve actually voted for).

Do you think that much will change for the Scots in the short term?

I’m expecting a fairly protracted & gruesome negotiation, which may possibly be enlivened by another European financial crisis.

[And in a similar vein, a Secondary school near me was arranging to become an Academy, two days before the ‘Academisation’ was due to be completed, on the 1st September, a load of Pikeys moved onto the playing fields.

Funnily enough the Academy plans have been put on hold whilst the nice County Council people evict the Gypos.]

Shetland. Is their status really still uncertain ? I just read in a piece of research about Oil fields (Chevron:Rosebank and Total:Laggan-Tormore and 12 other oil companies) that they where likely to remain with the UK or perhaps even independent of both Scotland and the UK

Yes, I’d heard the same thing from friends in Aberdeen. Shetlanders declaring UDI, becoming a Crown Protectorate and all becoming instant millionaires, A La Kuwait.

Tongue in cheek surely?!

The best one I came across was when a Salesman was selling tyres to a kid for his Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI (Remember them? Absolute death-traps at the best of times).

He sold him remoulds with an N rating (Intended for Mexican donkey carts I thought).

Totally shameless

Plenty of posts on here denigrating chavs, pikeys, scum, pond-life, underclass etc etc – untermensch anyone?

Let’s see, a pretty blond girl with middle class parents goes missing and there is a massive worldwide outcry and media hysteria. Meanwhile dozens of kids from less salubrious backgrounds go missing and no-one gives a shit.

In the similar case at Derby, a couple of years ago, several of the victims were from ‘middle class’ but troubled backgrounds. I remember one of the girls who had been abused had a pony.

Another point from Derby, in one of the spin-off cases a ring of white middle class businessmen were convicted for using child prostitutes.

It’s not just Pakistani problem

I’m broad English and work in Glasgow a couple of days per week, and Bike, Ski and Climb in the Highlands 2/3 times per year as well. Been doing this for 20+ years

I’ve never experienced any grief/ Racisms whatsoever. (& I can’t say the same for North Wales!!).

I use them most weeks, I find the staff good and they always seem to try to help (I’m not good at leaving enough time for travel, so often end up in a bind)

Any never had a problem with baggage.

Not true. Oil is a very nice bonus to have, but even without oil the GDP per head is similar north and south of the border.

That ignores the multiplier effect that Oil revenues give.

I’m English and in Glasgow at the moment with work. I had a long chat with the guys here and, possibly influenced by what is seen as a highly successful Commonwealth Games, they are swinging towards a yes vote.

They feel the biggest things holding back ‘Yes’ support are:
1) Alex Salmon – he seems to be a despised figurehead
2) Not much else really; they’re a bit uncomfortable with the uncertainty over many of the things discussed on here, ad nauseum

The attraction and excitement of going it alone and being self-determining is out-weighing the fear of the unknown.

They told me that excitement is building amongst their friends in the city towards a possible ‘Yes’

(A small straw poll of young professional male Glaswegians, who previously leant towards ‘no’)

I’ve got 100/ 120 TALAS. They stay in 120 for everything except steep twisty technical climbing.

120 strikes me as about right.

ery interesting. This bit was particularly interesting :

Because Scottish banks would not have access to a currency-printing lender of last resort, they would have to make their own provisions for illiquidity, and would necessarily act more prudently.

I can understand the appeal that might have to a right-winger. Welcome to austerity Scotland.

In reality, the financial institutions would largely head South and set up in London. The EU banking regs would also require a substantial shift of employment to London as well (Bank HQs are required in the Country where they employ most of their staff).

Obviously this wouldn’t be a problem if rUK were to exit the EU towards the end of the decade.

ery interesting. This bit was particularly interesting :

Because Scottish banks would not have access to a currency-printing lender of last resort, they would have to make their own provisions for illiquidity, and would necessarily act more prudently.

I can understand the appeal that might have to a right-winger. Welcome to austerity Scotland.

In reality, the financial institutions would largely head South and set up in London. The EU banking regs would also require a substantial shift of employment to London as well (Bank HQs are required in the Country where they employ most of their staff).

Obviously this wouldn’t be a problem if rUK were to exit the EU towards the end of the decade.

STV viewer still not working for me, anyone else?

I’ve used the Passport Office at Victoria for a 4hr turnround in the past. All worked fine, is that not an option?

I sincerely doubt that the staff at the passport office were deliberately trying to cock things up for the OP, cock-ups do however happen (in my world anyway)

I find them very good. O2 coverage is good as well (Sothern Peak District anyway + towns & Cities)

If your wear shorts whilst using a urinal it makes you realise why you need to dry clean suit trousers more than ‘ a couple of times per year’.

The Gold Coast bit was rubbish indeed, but Kylie remains a minx.

Well done Glasgow for putting on a really great event. The atmosphere in Glasgow was like a fair, when I went up last weekend. The weegies should be proud of themselves, a huge effort has paid off I think.

‘London 2012’ was over-blown I think, I liked the ‘home-spun’ feel of Glasgow 2014.

The ‘Team Representative’ was not Malaysian, she was Scottish (and presumably not Muslim, or not worried by dogs). No Malaysian team member was asked to touch the dog.

When in Rome…….

I’m a builder myself, there’s no excuse for the defects on a new-build; it’s a lack of good site management and a ‘build it and bugger off’ attitude to the Customer.

I hate the way house builders call defects ‘snagging’, to try to massage away the seriousness of the problem. Snagging should be things like easing doors, and touching up damaged paintwork, not rectifying patent defects like low water pressure in bathrooms.

It’s a pretty crap industry apart from the major contractors who build for repeat clients (who are expert). You don’t mess those guys around.

House Builders are the arse end of the industry, one notch up from unqualified local builder cowboys. (Given there are some gems who work in this area, who are excellent and get work by recommendation)

The building industry is booming at the moment, unqualified staff are being sucked in. If you’re buying a new house at the moment I’d be very wary, it’s probably being built by amateurs who are learning on the job – your home.

Another vote for Montgenevre (Slightly tempered with the observation that the skiing is mostly above the tree line, so a bit bleak. Town is relatively undeveloped & is authentically French (More Rabbit stew than Burger)

Some folk are quite communist in their outlook, if you have more money that them, and they know it, they see it as perfectly alright to do a bit of ‘averaging’ on behalf of wider society by spending your money.

A mate of mine is notorious for this ‘You can afford it’ he says when you ask for it back.

Ireland’s actually doing okay now, isn’t it?

Sadly not, severe negative equity problems and an economy that contracted by around 25% since 2007. Recovery/ confidence is extremely fragile

(Interestingly, the UK ‘bailed out’ Ireland at the height of the crisis, just like Osborne has said the UK wouldn’t do for iScotland in future. As a major trading partner it wasn’t in the UK’s interests to see Ireland’s economy disappear completely down the shitter)

@ Jambalaya

I think the UK makes a net contribution of about 15billion Euro to the EU. Assuming iScotland would generate about 10% of that (Given Scottish social deprivation, Vs an ‘Accession State’ deal on Rebates) then I think that would put Scotland in the top third of contributors.

I think the EU will indeed fudge together a deal to keep iScottish contributions rolling in!

I take your point about the Basques and Catalans (and I’m sure lots of other would-be separatist regions), but I’m sure the Spanish could be persuaded to participate in the fudge.

I also think it is correct that the Spanish are likely to be the main obstacle but I bet the EU can find a fudge through that somehow if they will it.

You bet, they’ll want the VAT Scotland generates! Scotland will indeed be a special case in that regard.

I don’t agree with your point on interest rates though; the committee’s terms of reference are set by the Treasury. The Term can be changed at any time if the Treasury don’t like the rate as set by the Committee.

The trouble is that masks can only filter the bigger particulates. The ones that do the damage (that can cross your lung and get into your bloodstream) are too small for filters.

Abbotsholme is near us, a lot of locals send their kids there in the 6th form. It’s apparently a very mellow place & concentrates on the pastoral side & develops potential (In unpromising material!). It’s very arty as well.

See here