Charles Bannerman

I expect that the SNP's leader on Highland Council Maxine Smith will by now have been consigned to the St Kilda Gulag for presenting the non-separatist parties with a cast iron strategy for winning next May's Holyrood elections. Because, according to the painted lady from Invergordon, all you have to do to get elected is to field doctors as your candidates and Bob's your Uncle! You're in! This, apparently, is why Jean Davis defeated the SNP's hoped-for successor to Drew Hendry in the recent Highland Council by election.... she is actually DR Jean Davis. Post-election, the less than cerebral Ms Smith opined: "The fact that the Liberal Democrat lady was a doctor helped enormously as psychologically people trust doctors to help them." Do simplistic thinking and lame excuses know no bounds within the SNP? It's an interesting and indeed highly hypocritical comment, though, since none come keener than the SNP to wave any medical or postgraduate qualifications in front of the electorate. For instance it's always DR Aileen MacLeod or DR Paul Monaghan (good Lord... what the HELL does he have a doctorate in?). So maybe airhead Invergordon beautician Ms Smith should get in on the act herself and acquire a Bachelor of Botox Therapy in advance of writing a thesis for a Doctorate of Dollops of Makeup. The University of the Highlands and Islands probably offers both courses - with very modest entrance requirements into the bargain. And by the way, has anyone else noticed lately how rapidly our Cabinet Secretary For Dishing Out Cash To Music Festivals Fiona Hyslop seems to be physically morphing into the said Maxine Smith?

IBM... as you well know, Oddquine doesn't just do "some"

No Laurence, even I would agree that IBM is perfectly entitled to make the point in question. I don't think it's particularly valid, but would still contend that he is being quite reasonable in making it.

As it now transpires that the Labour/Lib-Dem/Torry coalition made donations to T in the Park! Dearie me IBM! This appears to refer to £20,000 provided in 2007 to set up a Scottish Executive sponsored healthy eating outlet at Pee in the Dark. I'd also be interested to learn whether or not this transpired due to access provided for the festival organisers to Executive politicians of the time by a Labour or LibDem PPC who was also the bidie-in of a Labour/LibDem MP?

Paterson / United I remembered but I had clean forgotten about Butcher / Barnsley. Good call. I well remember Pele turning down United since I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time (in the tunnel post match) and was fed the line just in time to break the story on Sportsound. Apparently when Eddie Thompson, Steven Thompson's late father who was chairman at the time, heard it he was not a happy bunny at all and seemed to think that Pele turning him down was my fault! That may have been the autumn of 2002 - some weeks before Pele eventually went to Aberdeen.

I understand that the North East Man is currently on holiday.

Just looked up D D's profile.............. doesn't give his age but I think he is catching up with us Scarlet. Well I can confirm that Doofer himself will be 27 or 28 so that maybe presents a ballpark.

No wonder no one takes you seriously any more . Foaming at the mouth over the SNP losing a COUNCIL seat. Dearie me "A journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step" (Mao Tse Tung) Or maybe it's just that the traditional triumphalism of the SNP is catching!

Was he riding Shergar and in the company of Lord Lucan and Elvis? If I had a pound for every alleged sighting like this, I would be a tax exile by now.

PS - Odddquine, Jum Sullurs, Alex Salmond, the mannie that stole the Stone of Scone, Robert The Bruce, everybody at The Gelluns, T in the Park, Angus Robertson's £150,000 bird, Willie Wolf, Winnie Ewing, Feckless Fergus, Cybernats everywhere, Mel Gibson... your boys took one HELL of a beating

Now there was a time when, if the SNP had pulled off a result like that, it would have instantly been hailed, alongside every community council success, as "a referendum on the constitution" amid demands for an instant declaration of independence! It was interesting to hear the successful candidate speaking on the radio and quoting (OK self interested and anecdotal) evidence from the doorsteps of an increasingly less positive attitude towards the SNP. Let's put this into perspective. The LibDems are such a busted flush that they are most of the way down the toilet - especially in an area which is meant to be the Yes Capital Of The Highlands and where there has been a massive negative reaction to "Sir Danny" - and this seat goes up as LIBDEM GAIN. Here's hoping the separatist bubble can lose a lot more hot air than this before next May.

For as long as John Hughes is in post, this is an incredibly pointless and counterproductive thread.

.....and, as yet, no impropriety, far less any criminality, established. But a lot of people are watching with great interest as investigations and scrutiny intensify

So how can Rangers be worth £31.5 million while hundreds of creditors have never been paid the millions they were owed earlier - unless this of course is some other Rangers that didn't win 54 league titles (is it 54?? - I don't actually care) in years gone by?

Er... let's just call it 55 for the moment! I read that the SNP have stopped selling mugs and T-shirts which refer to the 56. That itself is nothing but a very minor inconvenience, but it seems pretty clear that regardless of the police investigation, the facts that are undisputed make it clear that Thomson should never have been made shadow business minister, especially for a socialist party. "Michelle knows what she's doing, knows her area and knows about fairness, equality and prosperity". Aye right, Nicola. Do some background checks next time. Well that's one Holyrood PPC, one Culture Secretary and one MP under intense sleaze scrutiny. So who's next......

So the departure of Billy MaKay wasn't after all the same kind of mortal wound as the similar exit of David Bingham in 2004 was also predicted to become?

I make that about 1500 g/km of CO2 emission! (So are you sure they're not VW lorries?)

Sounds like a relationship conceived in the Nurses' Home!

And the next line...... "Then fall Caesar". Significant? Unless you mean the time time Brutus and Julius were eating their sandwiches and Brutus went to the toilet. He came back and said "Julius... when I left there were eight sandwiches. Now there are only six." Caesar replied:"Et tu Brute". Brutus and Julius Caesar went out for a dram. Caesar sic in omnibus, Brutus sic intram.

Is there a cause and effect relationship there Scarlet?

That would appear to have been the Bishop's Palace of olde. Since 1976 it has been an annexe of Eden Court.

I can't read many of the battle honours nor the name of the regiment but I suspect this may well also be the Camerons. On the Union Flag I certainly see Rhine, Gothic Line and Akarit where the 51st HD, of which several Cameron battalions were a part, fought in 39-45. The blue one may contain names which are older, including the Peninsular War (1808-14), in which the "79th of foot" were very probably involved.

Is that Dochgarroch with the boat heading away from Sneck?

Yup. I would go with that. didn't get a chance to have a site visit today but will sort soon.

The Italian Chapel in Orkney is a wonder to behold! It's made out of two Nissen huts and the internal artwork is amazing. I know there are a lot of jokes about the Italians surrendering such as "How do the Italians start a running race?"..... "On your marks, get set, here comes the 8th Army" but I think they were the guys that got it right. A lot of Italians simply saw reality, realised that Mussolini was a complete t****r, rejected what the Axis was doing and took the pragmatic step of chucking it in.