Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Oboogie wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2026 5:16 pm Will I be called an Imperialist English bampot if I question the nepotism, is it really wise to permit a wife and husband to be leader and treasurer of a political party?

Well, we already know you’re a bampot , but no, it’s not wise at all. It’s a bloody terrible idea, as Sturgeon & Murrell have demonstrated. Call me cynical, but I can’t help but be a little skeptical that Sturgeon was completely oblivious of her husband’s - ahem- illicit acquisition practices. As to the cause of their marriage break-up, well, who knows ?

Half a million spread over 12 years is fuck all to people as rich as them, so it's possible she knew nothing, but that doesn't mean she didn't. We may never know for sure.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2026 5:10 pm luxury wristwatches

I don't "get" this thing some blokes have for "luxury wristwatches". A ten quid Casio will fulfil the role of telling the fucking time perfectly, unless...

Of all the luxury brands there are, watches is the one I understand least. If smart clothes or fast cars are your thing fine, look smart and drive fast. But no matter how much it costs, to me a watch is always a watch. It looks no different and tells the time exactly as well no matter how much it costs.

Agreed. Once you start to spend more than say, about a hundred quid for a watch, you’re out of the world of function and into the world of vanity.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2027k1ev3zo

Nicola Sturgeon has told the BBC she feels like she is "serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit" after her estranged husband admitted embezzling £400,000 from the SNP, the party she led for years.

In an exclusive interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Scotland's former first minister refused to apologise for the scandal and struggled to hold back tears, recalling gifts from Peter Murrell that turned out to have been purchased with stolen money.

Sturgeon told the BBC: "I am not responsible for the crimes that my former husband committed and I'm not going to apologise for somebody else's crimes."

She has consistently denied any knowledge of Murrell's wrongdoing, committed between 2010 and 2022.

The former first minister was not charged following a police investigation.

Sturgeon was SNP party leader between 2014 and 2023 and in that role shared responsibility for monitoring the party's accounts.

<insert Jimmy Hill meme here>

Well, this really isn't going well for the SNP or the John Swinney. There are two strands here really. One is the embezzlement by Murrell- he wasn't involved, but present while people were asking awkward questions. He's digging himself into holes by saying the controls were fine, then saying, yeah, well they failed. And today he's making out that money ring fenced for an independence campaign was fine to be spent by the SNP on normal politics (with no independence campaign). A former MSP drily points out Swinney has in the past shown a rather less liberal interpretation of ring fencing when it's money from his government going to LAs.

Five years and three months for Peter Murrell.

That sounds a lot, considering the guilty plea. I've noticed before that Scottish justice is less liberal than you might think from the way the SNP project themselves as less nasty than us rabid English.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2026 3:26 pm That sounds a lot, considering the guilty plea. I've noticed before that Scottish justice is less liberal than you might think from the way the SNP project themselves as less nasty than us rabid English.

I would imagine that making an example of him would have added a bit to the sentence.

A woman called Lara Bird is the new SNP MP for Arbroath & Broughty Ferry. She has apparently got everybody's knickers well and truly twisted because on taking the oath required to be sworn in as an MP (the reason why Sinn Feinn MPs never took their seats), she crossed her fingers. Shock, horror, and pass the smelling salts.

Nobody seemed at all bothered that Ms Bird preceded her recitation of the oath by saying "“I take this oath only so that I can serve the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. My first allegiance is and always will be the sovereign people of Scotland.".

The outrage is of course, faux, confected bollocks. The whole oath of allegiance schtick is absurd Ruritanian guff that virtually nobody takes seriously in any case. A literal storm in a teacup. But hey, on we go.

The other controversy about her is that she's now speaking with a Dundee accent whereas there are videos of her from a few years ago where she's speaking in a rather posh English accent. Cue "SNP MP isn't even Scottish" outrage.

Going down 3 - 0 to a fluent Brazil.
We wait and see..

As a plus?
#2 son's best mate Craig was among the glum faces on TV applauding the team after the final whistle

Sadly Scotland were unable to pick up any advanced defence tactics from Ghana's last match which they so enjoyed.

I’ll say it. We were PISH.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 12:17 pm I’ll say it. We were PISH.

It sometimes takes an international tournament to highlight the gulf in class.

I take no pleasure in saying this, but during the first half.
* Scotland in possession: Pause, look extra touch, pass to a a man standing still precisely where he stands - no momentum.
* Brazil in possession: Mostly one touch stuff, passing into gaps where the receiving play can run onto the ball.

I hope the runes fall and permit Scotland to progress.

Frankly, Bones, we don’t deserve to progress further. The lads and lasses in the Tartan Army have done brilliant work in international relations in Boston and Miami, but the team could not match that work. Time to come home.

The decline of Scottish fitba is one of the saddest aspects of football over the past forty years.