ANYONE GOT ANY IDEAS ON THIS APPARENT INVITATION TO ELECTORAL FRAUD?

Once again, as with all of these things seen on social media, I cannot guarantee that this is genuine. However, according to my twitter source, it is the real thing.

Can anyone really confirm this or does anyone have proof that it is a spoof?

If it's true, isn't it incitement to fraud?

After all I have several friends in France, Jersey, America and England who very much want an independent Scotland. But much though I want it, it wouldn't  ever have occurred to me to offer them the use of my address. We'll need to look out for the population of the Western Isles expanding... 

All comments welcome.

(Yes Niko, even yours, but maybe in Latin this time?)

CAMERON MAY GIVE US PERMANENT SUMMER TIME

David Cameron has proposed that the clocks be moved forward on a permanent basis to what he calls British Summer Time, but what is, in fact, the time that Western Europe uses. And I totally agree.

It makes sense that the UK should be in line with its trading partners in the European Union. Every day there must be a period of 2 hours (at the beginning and end of the working day) when offices in one or other of the partners are closed... not to mention lunch hours.

Cameron’s plan would be that the time stays the same all the year round and that there would be no move forward (to GMT + 2) in the summer. It would boost the tourist trade and mean that people would have an hour longer in the evenings before the dark set in.

There is of course a problem with the morning rush hour having to be dealt with in the North of Scotland in the dark. And some people are getting themselves into a state over this.

Angus MacNeill, the SNP MP for Nan-Eilean Siar has said that Cameron needs to wake up to the impact that the proposals would have on people in Scotland. But to be honest, I don’t think that the impact will be huge. He says that it is wrong to plunge Dundee into Darkness in an attempt to boost Tourism in Torquay. Nice alliteration Angus, but I live in Dundee and, at the moment in the winter the 5 o’clock rush hour takes place in the dark. We would transfer that to the mornings... Does that make a huge difference? As to your own constituency, with respect I imagine that there will not be a massive rush hour on Nan-Eilean Siar.....

An alternative idea, which has been proposed by MacNeill himself is that the change still go ahead but that it should take place later in the year, and that is certainly worth considering. A time change in December and change back in February would be worth thinking about. Unfortunately Angus then comes out with a totally crazy suggestion that the people “down south” should be persuaded to get up earlier to enjoy the sunshine. I hope that was a joke.

David Cameron has said that the proposal will not go ahead without the agreement of the Scots and that he does not favour a situation where Scotland and England are in different time zones. Clearly that would be bad for trade between Scotland and the rest of the UK so I hope that Scots can be persuaded to consider seriously supporting the change. It seems wrong that 6 million people should hold back the wishes of the majority of Brits.

Additionally it should boost our trade and give us longer evenings at the same time.

One possible problem could come with Ireland, where there is much cross border activity and where the republic still uses GMT and GMT + 1. Unless Eire was minded to change, that might prove a bigger stumbling block than Scotland.

BON VOYAGE YOUR MAJESTY: WE'RE JUST STAYING AT HOME THIS YEAR, THANKS

The Queen has decided to take her family on a little holiday, not this time to her own house in the peaceful Scottish countryside at Balmoral, but on a cruise around the Western Isles. This cruise used to be a regular feature of the royal family’s annual 2 month break until John Major pulled the plug on the state footing the bill for a royal yacht, and the Queen declined to pay for it herself.

This year, however, the Queen has chartered, at her own expense, a cruise ship, aptly named the ‘Hebridean Princess’, so that she can enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scenery of the Scottish islands. But, when I say “at her own expense”, that isn’t entirely true.

It seems that whilst the Queen and large numbers of her extended family are enjoying their break, the country is picking up a massive bill for their security, including the use of a Royal Navy warship at around £3/4 million, together with divers, MoD police launches, Scotland Yard body guards and local police. Although the cost of royal security is never divulged (the government says for security reasons; some others might say because we would be horrified at the amount), it is estimated that the cost for the 10 days is likely to be well over £1 million.

Although this blog is republican in nature, I personally have no particular grudge against the Queen. It’s not an easy job in the first place, made much more difficult by media attention, hungry for stories as trivial in nature as what she has for breakfast, and a set of selfish children and grandchildren who frequently abuse their privilege. I tend to have sympathy for her rather than anything else. She’s been lumbered with the job, like it or not, and worse, she’s been lumbered with the family from hell.

However, at this time when we are all tightening our belts, getting ready for the spending review that is to come, with reductions in spending of between 25% and 40%, a frightening amount, I wonder at the wisdom of the royal family insisting on such an expensive holiday for themselves.