Wednesday, January 8, 2025

And here they are, they're so appealing...

Tonight at 7pm, my appeal hearing against expulsion from the Alba Party will take place, but my preparations have been interrupted by a bit of unexpected drama.  I was out walking near my home yesterday in a place that used to be very popular with dog walkers, but has become much harder to get to in recent years, so very few people go there now.  I probably hadn't been there myself for at least a year.  I found a sheep that was hopelessly tangled up in...well, I'm not quite sure what the correct terminology is, but branches and jaggedy bushy stuff.  I tried to free it myself but couldn't.  It suddenly dawned on me that because dog walkers don't go there anymore, there was an 80% chance that nobody would find it in time unless I made a phone call.  So I left a message on the answerphone of the farm where I thought the sheep must have come from, and then I phoned the SSPCA, who sent an officer around but they couldn't find the sheep.   They assumed the farmer had probably got to it first, but they told me to phone back if I was out walking again and it was still there.


So today I went back down there to doublecheck, assuming the sheep would be long gone, but it was still there and still trapped.  I phoned the SSPCA back, but I got very unlucky with the person who answered the call, and a frustrating five minutes ensued.  She was suffering from what I now call "McEleny Syndrome" after my experience of dozens of Alba committee meetings.  Because the written report from yesterday said that the sheep was no longer there, she was insistent that was the reality of the situation, even though I was standing at the exact spot and telling her it wasn't true.  "I'm not sure there's much more we can do" she said, "the location has been checked and the animal wasn't there".  Eventually I got exasperated enough with her that she said she'd pass the message on to an officer.  I didn't have any huge confidence that anything would actually happen, but fortunately two people turned up and this time I met them and led them to the sheep.  They freed it from the branches, but as I write this they're still down there deciding on the next steps.

But anyway, tonight's the night.  So could it still be a big night, if I play my cards right?


The answer to that question is likely to be "no", because according to Yvonne Ridley's boast, she had inside information months ago that the Alba leadership had made a secret decision to get rid of me from the party, meaning the extremely lengthy "disciplinary process" that has followed has just been for show.  However, let's stay optimistic for a few hours more, and in tribute to the late great Brucie say with absolute sincerity...

"Nice to see the Appeals Committee, to see the Appeals Committee...NICE!"


56 comments:

  1. You did good helping that poor sheep 🐑 James
    Let's hope it's definitely gone and free if you pass by again tomorrow

    I think your too good for the Alba party, there has to be another party to join?

    Your an honest blogger... Let's say you set a good example of covering facts unlike a certain winged person

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  2. Once you have your already prepared ruling from them send in a subject Access request including all handwritten and typed comments relating to both disciplinary and appeals, chris hates a subject access request,

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    Replies
    1. That's a good idea, I didn't think of that.

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  3. Well done helping the sheep, James. You have a kind heart. Good luck this evening.

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  4. 'What3Words' may have been a useful tool in this scenario to pass on exact location of the sheep to the SSPCA.

    https://what3words.com/pretty.needed.chill

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they took me through that process. The problem may have been that the bush (or whatever the correct word is) was obscuring the sheep from some angles.

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  5. "I found a sheep that was hopelessly tangled up in...well, I'm not quite sure what the correct terminology is, but branches and jaggedy bushy stuff. I tried to free it myself but couldn't."

    I feel a metaphor coming on. So whatever the outcome of unfinished business your next blog post should be "Freeing The Sheep".

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  6. Mike Thurston of Thurston Air Handling SolutionsJanuary 8, 2025 at 5:45 PM

    Was the sheep bleating "Both votes SNP!"?

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    Replies
    1. Better than 2 for ALBA. In its death rows.

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  7. Good Luck tonight, pal.
    You should maybe take the baa-baa along as a sacrificial offering?
    But McEleny would probably just appoint it as the next Head of Comms.

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  8. There's a good few entangled sheep in Alba.

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  9. Nearly 7pm. Is this being televised?

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  10. Given that they have changed who is going to chair this meeting at the last minute, without telling you who the replacement is, I would just cancel. They are deliberately messing you around.

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    Replies
    1. "And tonight’s surprise special guest is .........."!

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  11. They are up to no good. Replacing the Chair at the 11th hour suggests a stitch up. Not that it wasn’t a stitch up any way. The appointed chair is a fair person and you might have stood a chance
    But a Corri, Tas choice well briefed on the outcome they expect ! You have literally no chance
    I’ll eat my hat if you win your appeal

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  12. If you were to win your appeal it would be a vindication of your original actions if you ever find out what those actions were.
    Honestly, I think this episode might be the most pure example of corrupt practice I've ever encountered.

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  13. Best of luck with the bargain basement Stasi.

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  14. All political parties in Scotland are now corrupt - to a greater or lesser degree. Their self-selected 'elite' are only supported by people who have expectations of self-aggrandisement, either status or material enrichment, or both. It matters not to them that their parties have little, if any, support outside of flocks of cheerleading tribalists. This must be challenged, if we are to stand a chance of gaining independence.

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    Replies
    1. Peter A Bell's the man for ye 😏

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    2. Ah, the old Daily Mail line used over the past 10 years or so to attempt to normalise the criminal behaviour of the Tory party and the appalling behaviour of the recently elected Labour Party. Toddle off.

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  15. Perhaps the SSPCA think sheep are just general secretaries and fit only for the underbrush. But they're all still God's creatures, great and small.

    Well done with the effort with the sheep though.

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  16. A thought for the night. From the National:

    "Lord Provost goes 'nuclear' using gavel 50 times in council meeting chaos "

    Probably thought the table was a mirror.

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  17. This blog is brilliant. You have the stats and analysis. Reform UK in the mix. James trying to get Alba to do the right thing but exposing their tiny brains. David Frances and the like. Hard as Tungsten. sour Alba but dinney
    forget to wash your “boaby” in the bath.

    Hopefully Alba will let James return to the fold.

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  18. I see Swinney has finally apologised to island communities for the ferry scandal.
    Not before time!

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    Replies
    1. I note he didn’t apologise for RET. Did he apologise for inflation too? What other thing should he be apologising for? The BBC? Brexit? Your answers on a funny post card

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    2. Sailing next week. High speed train willl never travel in Scotland and Wales yet we pay for the £billions

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    3. I feel confident that Scotland is now capable of projecting its soft power. Our next step will be to establish an embassy in an under-utilised part of the Flannan Lighthouse. My management software has told me that there are no major cost implications.

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    4. Pitiful stuff from anon@9:38.

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    5. Except that it's true about the trains.

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    6. He has nothing to apologise for unlike slab and their disgusting Waspi policy or the tories for.....well existing.

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  19. C'mon James, don't keep us on tenterhooks........what happened last night?

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  20. I have secret, insider, news….

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  21. I found a sheep in a similar situation on a highland hike many years ago, but managed to successfully free it. Don't make the same mistake as me and tell people you saved a sheep from exposure - it took me years to live that comment down!

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    Replies
    1. He's just a sheep-saving b******!

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    2. “SNPbaaaaad.”

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  22. Ahh an underminer. I think he appealed because he appears to have been treated unfairly and with prejudice. You know that of course.

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    Replies
    1. Actually an above miner. Open cast for me.

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  23. You're a very repressed sadsack :(

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    Replies
    1. What does that mean? And who are you talking to?

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  24. O/T but Campbell over on wings has just proven beyond reasonable doubt what a complete idiot he is. His most recent post is that of someone living in a bubble and deluged by mouth frother comments on a daily basis. It has clearly impacted on him. The height of nonsense, but clearly he sees it as a work of genius. It would be funny if he didn’t think it was brilliant, but he does. Poor stuey.

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    Replies
    1. He’s a troll in a world run by bigger trolls than him.

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    2. The latest post isn't by Campbell, it's a guest post by Ash Regan, but don't let that stop you misrepresenting him.

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    3. Musk-Campbell Fruitcake CompanyJanuary 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM

      Somerset calling !

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    4. Can't challenge the fact that it isn't by Campbell, I notice😊

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    5. If you're talking about the Regan post, that has only just appeared, so it's not what Anon at 11.43 was referring to. Nice try, but no.

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    6. Anon at 1. 33 and 2.40. You know exactly what I was referring to. Or are you an idiot as well as a liar? Pathetic troll. Anything to say? Wipe the eggs off your face.

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    7. I’m nominating anon at 2.40 as arsehole of the year and it’s only early January. Grade one moron.

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    8. Too hoo where are you? Has the egg congealed?

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  25. Aye James...dont keep us in suspenders!

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    Replies
    1. Has James gone coy on us?

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    2. It's like waiting to find out who got shot in that last epside of River City.

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  26. O/T but are people here bullish or bearish on the gold price?

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