John MacDonald
@1johnmacdonald
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Abrach. Ex-everything. Watch this space.
Lochaber - Highland - Scotland
Joined July 2014
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Eight years ago today. Imagine settling for this. I find it incredible. 🏴
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This is just Arisaig. It's happening in countless other places too. The Highland economy has been weaned onto this absurd four-month tourist season with wholly inadequate provision to support it. Change.
Why I'm avoiding all my favourite places this summer.
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Young people & local families having to leave. Retirees and holiday-homers moving in. This isn't a future for the Highlands & Islands. A bold plan incorporating affordable housing, house purchasing rules, and economic diversification is needed asap.
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THREAD: This week, a campervan stopped in front of a friend's croft, emptied its chemical waste tank into the burn that serves as the croft's water supply.
Today, an old man we know tried to stop a campervan driver emptying his tank at the roadside. He was told to f**ck off. ⬇️
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"It's too expensive here, I'm moving to London." Said no-one, ever.
Ian Murray has warned that more Scots will move to London if Humza Yousaf raises taxes for higher earners.
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Scroll through the Twitter feeds of our prominent UK historians - Dan Snow, Kate Williams, Lucy Worsley, Simon Schama, Mary Beard, Bettany Hughes. They're all fairly prolific tweeters, yet not one of them has acknowledged this anniversary.
#DeclarationofArbroath
is 700 years old on April 6 - date Americans made Tartan Day cos they believe our Declaration influenced framers of their own Declaration of Independence. New film made b4 coronavirus shutdown may interest
@ASFevents
@ScotAmStudies
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I love this.
Abdullah Al Nakeeb and his brother Majd have been awarded certificates for the progress they have made in learning Gaelic at Stornoway Primary.
The boys and their family, including brother Anas, moved to Lewis from Homs, Syria, four years ago.
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What the hell is wrong with people?
📷The queue outside Lush on Buchanan Street this morning. Will you be hitting the sales?
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They're not 'rebellious'. They are ambitious, open-minded, and able to envision a bright new trajectory for Scotland.
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Me speaking with a very nice person yesterday who told me they've recently moved up to the West Highlands from the south ("We *adore* the Highlands!"), having purchased two lovely houses - one for the family, the other for holiday lets.
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A ruined house in Glen Roy. During the early 19th century, a company of 100 soldiers could be raised from the young men in the glen. Now, no-one lives east of Bohuntin and the big house at the end of the glen is owned by a millionaire who doesn't live in it.
#Lochaber
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'Isolated'. It's Dalwhinnie!
Just driven by one of the most isolated whisky distilleries in 🏴 Can anyone name this distillery that creates a mellow, sweet pre-dinner dram? 🥃
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4. Highland campervanning is currently thriving. But I doubt there is adequate infrastructure, education & regulation in place to support (and protect against) this activity
We need better
@HighlandCouncil
@KateForbesMSP
@ScotEnvironment
@DAJCameron
@JohnFinnieHI
@BenThompsonCM
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Leadership.
#brexitshambles
Pounds falls further as Prime Minister Theresa May speaks
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Phoned a bodach today. Business call. I don't know him. He wouldn't talk shop until he'd let me know who 'his people' were (on both sides), and I had reciprocated. This is a generational thing and it's dying out, which is a shame - it's a great conversation to be involved in.
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In case you missed it. Gove unlawfully awarded a contract to associates at Public First. UK Govt initially planned to appeal the ruling but withdrew, thus accepting that their conduct over the Public First contract had been unlawful.
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The tedious replication of the UK electoral cycle, all so we can get 10 years of basically the same from Tory-lite Labour. Come on, Scotland.
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Scotland's worst politician?
Has the constituency MSP for Ibrox been on to congratulate her local team on their success today? Usually quick off the mark on such occasions?
@RangersFC
#Champions
#55
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Watching CNN all week. Now watching Andrew Marr.
It's like returning from a week-long break in San Francisco, then having to attend a whist drive in Dalwhinnie.
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Reading with weary incredulity Rod Liddle encouraging everyone to disperse to the Highlands, and then boycott the Highlands once this crisis is done. His disparagement of Kate Forbes is simply embarrassing. Odious twat.
The SNP's Kate Forbes has urged people not to head to the Highlands. What a ghastly thing to say, says Rod Liddle
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I never used to like
#JeremyHunt
. But I do now because I'm Scottish, and this kind of thing appeals to me.
#Scotch
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THREAD: A few thoughts on the subject *the international context to Scottish independence*, prompted by today’s dreadful Foreign Policy piece.
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Channel 4 News with a great piece on Palestine and its people. There really isn't another British news programme which comes close.
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Henry McLeish speaking sense on BBC1 just now: As things stand, there is no clearly articulated alternative to Scotland exiting the UK. This has to change. If it does not, democracy cannot be denied. We cannot keep saying No to a referendum.
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Renovate the damn thing and offer it to a local family.
Great renovation opportunity on beautiful
#Islay
. The former Port Ellen school house is for sale. Close to amenities, stunning scenery and wildlife. Offers over £95,000. Closing date 15 October.
Read more
#abplace2b
#closerthanyouthink
#propertiesforsale
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This makes me sick, as does the willingness of our media to help make the sales pitch.
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"We mustn't undermine the petrochemical industry."
Said Alister Jack. Today. At COP26.
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No-one who drives the A82 ever moans about the A9.
#nichetweet
I drove from Glasgow to Inverness on the A9 today and aside from the obvious fact that I hate driving I just cannot overemphasise how badly that whole road needs turned into a dual carriageway.
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Coming soon: a Gordon Brown speech forecasting higher Irn Bru prices in iScotland.
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The Prisoners' Stone, in Culloden wood. Seventeen wounded Jacobite soldiers were reportedly executed here, by government troops, three days after the battle of Culloden.
#Culloden
#Highlands
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Eòrpa on BBC 2 just now, disproving the myth that Scottish broadcasting need be insular. Reporting from the Faroes, then Ukraine. Easy to see why it recently won an award.
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You first tackle depopulation by addressing why an area is depopulating. Is this really so difficult to understand?
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Politicians dismissive of the nation's culture, and ignorant of the benefits of multilingualism, could harm academic achievement.
#G
àidhlig
#Gaelic
#education
#Scotland
Educating pupils in Gaelic could harm academic achievement say Scottish Tories
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Azeem Ibrahim with more wild nonsense about iScotland. He speculates that a 'small, desperate' country like Scotland could forge alliances with hostile states. The only question raised by this piece is how Ibrahim continues to be offered a platform.
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A caller rightly criticising Kaye Adams for her inability to discuss background/data around the issue - alcohol pricing - she's chosen to focus on in her phone-in. The standard of morning radio on
@BBCRadioScot
is incredibly poor.
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I'm trying to find the section of Scottish Twitter that only tweets about Rowan trees and abandoned croft houses. Directions welcome.
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Rory Stewart on Radio 4 just now, talking about Afghanistan. What a smart, thoughtful, man. Always enjoy hearing him speak.
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I lectured American Politics for 15 years at the universities of Dundee & Glasgow. I consistently urged students to read Howard Zinn's People's History.
It remains a great primer for anyone wishing to understand the inequality and violence inherent in US society.
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'Consider the Lilies' was published 50 years ago.
Iain Crichton Smith: 1928 - 1998.
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I wanted to alter The Count of Monte Cristo but fear got the better of me.
#RemoveALetterSpoilABook
#Idontswearontwitter
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The EU Commission lowering its flag in Scotland's capital. If there was an angry font, I'd be using it.
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Nowhere in this fawning piece are 2 key points addressed:
1/ Why is it that someone can simply 'buy the Highlands'?
2/ What about the Highland people themselves? Where do they fit in?
#landreform
#Scotland
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Just politely refused an invitation to go on a cruise tomorrow. The vessel is called Iolaire. Seriously.
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6/6: There's an international audience keen to learn more. But there’s undoubtedly an analysis void which can easily be filled by poor, headline-grabbing, articles. There’s some great internationally focused work being done in Scotland now. Get it out there. It will travel well.
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Just visited
@HighlandBks
in Fort William with excited 7-year old. Fantastic shop, lovely staff. I hope you all forsake Am*zon and make your literary purchases here.
#Lochaber
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Feasgar math, fellow teuchters. Sick to death of ludicrous 'Highland Clearances' comparisons? You'll love this one ⤵️
It’s desperately sad to hear of so many brilliant B&Bs closing because of
#STLlicensing
, like this one today in the Highlands:
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I'm utterly contemptuous of the honours system - but the pettiness of this exclusion...
John Bercow becomes the first speaker in 230 years not to be offered an honour after stepping down
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Like every government, everywhere.
Government in an independent Scotland could have to consider either tax rises or spending cuts 'before too long'.
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Recovery - undoubtedly the strongest Runrig album. Musically excellent, it also illuminated Highland issues (not just
#Gaelic
) with a new voice. To produce an album like that, at that time, was groundbreaking. It pointed the way forward.
#Runrig
#TheLastDance
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After yesterday's elections, it's time to get to work. Here's a key issue. The data below is over 2 years old. Things are probably far worse by now.
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This is getting ridiculous. Stop clapping and fannying around. Start venting your spleen at a government which underpays and underequips NHS staff.
FULL STEAM AHEAD: London's Woolwich Ferry performed donuts on the River Thames in support of health care workers on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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CNN thinks your boss is just like Donald Trump. Just saying.
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Cameron on
@SkyNews
: changes in airport duty will unfairly shift economic advantage to Scotland. Clearly, advantage must only flow to London
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What a welcome sight.
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Westminster to plough millions into Latin roadsigns. What's Latin for An Gearasdan?
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New Zealand venison in
@marksandspencer
Fort William. Is that buy local/save air miles ethos still a thing?
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The most scandalous aspect of this phenomenon (which looks set to continue apace) is the inertia at Holyrood.
A 9 ha bareland croft in Seilebost, Harris. And not 9ha of ploughable land, a lot of it looks v poor. Offers over £200,000. Specifically marketed to "people who are looking to put down roots in the Outer Hebrides". The people who already have roots, excluded by the price.
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No Scottish Conservative MP would come onto
@BBCRadioScot
this morning to discuss
#Brexit
forecast the UK government wanted to withhold. Pathetic.
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Me standing in Fort William high street, explaining that it's pronounced 'oonach more', not 'annach more'.
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'A paradigm of political strength amid chaos'. Yup, the First Minister's had a very good year.
#GlobalThinkers
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Nearly 50% of young people in Highlands and Islands plan to move away in the next 5 years. 76% say housing is unaffordable. Key NHS + civil service posts go unfilled because there is nothing to rent or buy. This crisis is worsening. via
@pressjournal
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Dangerous statement for a 'coast guy'.
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Another Gordon Brown review. The conceptual poverty of Labour's Scotland strategy is quite something.
"No deal with the SNP going into an election, no deal with the SNP coming out of an election," says
@Keir_Starmer
when asked about a coalition with
@NicolaSturgeon
. He promises a "new Britain" and a new constitutional settlement coming out of Gordon Brown's Union review.
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More of what we already know: the UK government can't afford to run Faslane safely. Faslane - where UK nuclear weapons are based.
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SCOTLAND IN THE WORLD: Thread on this UnHerd piece by Henry Hill, which criticises the SNP for 'doing things' beyond the UK, thus making the UK Government 'look bad'. 1/7
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If Scotlands best supported party, and party of govt., is given pariah status by UK establishment, how does one defend a 'democratic union'?
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Imagine the reaction if ScotGov declared that shortbread & haggis were to underpin Scotland's trade plans.
#Brexit
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Dana Linnet: the UK government is being intellectually dishonest in its arguments against Scottish independence & EU membership.
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Walked the old Coffin Road - aka The Mam - which links Glen Roy to the church at Cille Choirill. 'Resting cairns' mark the route, created by generations of funeral parties who - on stopping to rest due to carrying a heavy coffin around the hill - would lay a stone.
#Lochaber
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Something needs to be done about this. The Highland future needs to be predicated upon supporting locals rather than merely pandering to holidaymakers and escapees.
The country faces a crisis. Folk can't afford homes on Skye. But this scumbag outfit is advertising 23 short-term lets for self isolation.
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Today, I visited the abandoned house and croft of the renowned Cranachan Macdonalds. Their family lived here at Cranachan, Glen Roy, for around 300 years. The main house was built around 1820.
#Lochaber
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If you're in your room, you're not socialising. If you're too stupid to understand this, probably best if you remove yourself from the conversation.
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The Willie McRae cairn, west of Invergarry on the A87, overlooking Loch Loyne. The layby the cairn is sited in is the only one on this entire stretch of road which has a ditch dug in front of it, presumably to stop cars from stopping at it.
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2. A great many Highland campsites are shut. Many/most public toilets here are shut. Yet, there are campervans everywhere.
This week, a friend of ours in Glasgow told us that nearly everyone she knows is talking about hiring a campervan and heading to the Highlands. ⬇️
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Neatly encapsulating Scotland's place in things: Gibraltar's Chief Minister has seen the PM's latest Brexit deal; the Scottish government has not.
#BrexitDeal
#Scotland
#ScotlandinEurope
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If *everyone knew* about Salmond, why didn't Mr MacDougall and his affiliates speak out? They are complicit through their own silence. The culture of turning a blind eye to the transgressions of men is something for all of us to address. Stop weaponizing this for political ends.
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Excess is becoming the trademark of commemoration.
An original Second World War Dakota has dropped 750,000 poppies over the White Cliffs of Dover.
#RemembranceSunday
Follow scenes live from across the country here:
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Ooh, my crab claws, prawns and scallops have arrived from Uist. Glè thoilichte.
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Sorley MacLean was born on this day in 1911, in Osgaig on Raasay.
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