Tomorrow afternoon the good folk of Uist are gathering at Lochbosidale Pier to peacefully protest against the complete disregard for our community by those who control our lifeline ferries.
Maybe…I mean it might just be me and my pals 😅
1/ Due to the ferry issues my business didn’t receive our delivery of meat or veg this week. This additional below cancellation means that we won’t get any deliveries from our main supplier in Stornoway AND our suppliers form the mainland are refusing to take an order as they
Are they seriously calling Stornoway, “Seriously remote”? 🫣
Lewis has a population of around 20,000. There are photos and descriptions in this article that show it is far from “seriously remote”.
Seriously?!
@Minnie_Mo_
@BlackIslePMD
Yes, and I speak to friends who are islanders regularly.
They seem to understand this ok.
You seem to be in a very small minority that doesn't.
Calmac are fined by Scottish Gov for cancelled ferries. £4.5M paid back in the last 18months!
This money should go directly to the communities that are being decimated by these cancellations.
Not to Scottish Gov to squander.
@HumzaYousaf
@ScotGovFM
@MairiMcAllan
@ShonaRobison
Two things I’d never have thought would happen:
1- My name and business being mentioned (top of the list) at First Minister’s Questions.
2- I’d ever be thanking
@Douglas4Moray
! Thank you for applying the pressure 🙏
(I’m still never voting Tory though 😅)
I never planned on fronting a political campaign, but here is an honest and in-depth conversation I had with
@sz_campbell
about how we got to where we are, and what the ferry crisis means to me personally 👇
2/ Are unable to guarantee it’ll get to us or not perish due to delays.
@AngusMacNeilSNP
@alasdairallan
please tell me what I should do to pay my staff/rent/bills this week as I won’t have any food in stock be able to trade.
❌RED
#Mallaig
#Oban
#Lochboisdale
05Apr-13May Due to delays to the overhaul programme, all sailings have been cancelled from Wed 05 April – Sat 13 May.
Ready for our meeting with
@Robbie_Calmac
tomorrow.
Whilst the Scottish Gov have got us in the mess, (Snr Mngmt) Calmac have their part to play in the chaos.
Poor management
Poor decision making
Poor communication
Terrible new booking system
We met with the latest Minister for Transport
@FionaHyslop
yesterday. We made it clear that just because our ferry service has returned does not mean that we will suddenly quieten.
There is still lots of work to be done.
I’ve added a note (not minutes) of what was discussed 👇
3/ We are a business that uses as much local food as we possibly can. But there are a whole host of foods we simply can NOT get here. We don’t even have a tescos to be able to get last minute supplies just a tiny coop that lacks options and is EXTORTIONATE.
Insanely proud of my son for getting his first local Mòd medal with a 2nd place for singing 🫶🎶
He spent the week saying he’s too scared to do it…and now he’s chuffed with himself!
The drop in Gaelic speakers in WI is a huge problem for the language + culture, and is a result of the wider depopulation issues.
We need more affordable homes, better infrastructure, reliable and frequent transport and support for families (both financially and with childcare).
I’ve said this before but Gaelic in the central belt is a class privilege. I’m sorry but I genuinely do not care if the wealthy children of Glasgow and Edinburgh enjoy the “benefits of bilingualism” while the western isles is left with no children.
B’ i Lucy a bhuannaich cridhe dhaoine agus na farpaisean aice aig Luth-Chleasan na Dreòlainn am Muile an-dè. Bha iadsan a’ comharrachadh 100 bliadhna bhon a thòisich iad
#AnLa
@BBCAndreasWolff
FYI I’m heavy on the block button these days - anyone commenting anything degrading to Uist or the classic “yOu GeT wHaT yOu VoTe For” is getting an instant block ✌️
I always love the assumption that because I’m holding SNP accountable for neglecting island transport, I’m somehow an anti-independence/ Scotland hating/ English born “incomer”.
There’s also the one that because I own a very small business I’m loaded and loved capitalism 🤣🤣
Ok nigheanan agus balaich, WE’RE LAUNCHING! 🎉🎉
Serving from Biadh Beag, our little catering van, this is our initial menu which will be changing regularly to keep things fresh and seasonal 👍 1/3
Jesus, I have a lot of respect for Alasdair and Susan, but to say islands are repeatedly betrayed by Westminster without acknowledging the let downs by Holyrood isn’t going to save SNP votes.
Busy & brilliant day for
@HumzaYousaf
in Stornoway and Isle of Lewis with SNP candidate, Susan Thomson, and
@alasdairallan
.
Scotland’s island communities have been repeatedly betrayed Westminster. Only SNP MPs will stand up for their interests & better future with independence.
Island tourism headlines have reached peak absurdity. Why are you describing staying on Barra like it's a haunted mansion you inherited from your great uncle
Ever look around a meeting room and think “wtf am I doing here?” 🤣 Today I had one of those!
But thank you to
@JohnSwinney
for the open discussion this morning. Now we just need to see some action 😁
Thank you to the woman, who I’d never met before, for catching some photos of me and my daughter having fun together with a wee boogie.
Mums are always the ones taking the photos and rarely in the photos!
🔶AMBER
#Uig
#Lochmaddy
Until Further Notice: Due to a technical issue with MV Hebrides’ mezzanine decks, there will be a reduced vehicle capacity onboard. As a result of this, we are currently unable to accommodate motorhomes.
Being freshly out of hospital I am in absolutely no mood to tolerate trolls or anyone who wants to add their 2 cents on a subject they clearly know nothing about so any comments along those lines will be removed and blocked.
Today I had 1 of those moments when you think you might actually be doing a decent job at parenting. Left the kids watching a movie whilst I cleaned the kitchen and when I came back almost-5YO had folded the washing that was next on my to do list. He did a better job than I do!
'The word of the week is “mainsplaining”
'I wish I could take credit – but I can’t. The credit goes to
@Minnie_Mo_
'The definition is when mainlanders try to explain island issues to islanders - and that’s exactly what unfolded as Woodburnergate took hold' //
@wodieskodie
"It feels like decisions in the parliament that impact on the islands are taken by central belt lovies making decisions about islanders when they have no understanding of their life."
It was a pleasure to meet with
@AnasSarwar
yesterday to touch on some important local issues.
As someone who’s not a “party voter” I’m really interested to see what plans are drafted for the radical change that’s needed.
Thank you to
@Torcuil
and
@RhodaGrant
for your time too🏴
Thank you to everyone that made us feel so welcome in the Western Isles over the last few days.
Lots of interesting conversations, big challenges to confront and great ideas to pursue.
This beautiful part of the world deserves a local champion in
@torcuil
.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Kinlochleven Men’s Shed last week as part of
@sriparliament
.
Chatting to these wonderful men and hearing about their aims to tackle loneliness and mental illness in their community was genuinely inspiring.
Keep up the great work gents 🙌
“what Michael Gove did was essentially fly in, take a look at a horse disappearing into the sunset, and propose a task group on closing the barn door.”
@MclachlanEve
👏
Sick to death of being told the crises will be “looked into”, instead of real action.
Explained New Year / Hogmanay to 3 Y/O and asked what he hoped for the year ahead. He thought hard and quietly and then eventually announced...
“I really hope it rains chocolate”
And tbh, same pal, same!
Wedding 2/4 attended this weekend, in gorgeous Dornie. Celebrating the man who introduced me to my now husband, and his brilliant wife. I spent the whole day laughing ❤️
@luluphooey
That 95% doesn’t take into account “planned” cancellations such as ZERO sailings to Lochbosidale for a month. Nor does it include the massively reduced capacity on other islands.
If you are not personally effected by a problem, that does not mean the problem doesn’t exist.
The worst thing about Twitter is that people either forget or don’t care that there is an an actual person behind the account or person they’re verbally abusing. Real people are hurt for the sake of a few “likes”. People really show their worst on this platform.
£9mil to *rent* a boat for 9 months, does not and will not help us here in South Uist
@HumzaYousaf
@ScotGovFM
.
It should be up to the people of Uist, Arran, Tiree and Mull to decide where and how this money is spent.
Islanders affected by ferry cancellations "need compensation", says ScotTories leader Douglas Ross
FM Humza Yousaf says the money deducted from Calmac in terms of penalties and fines is used to reinvest into the resilience of network.
Live
#FMQs
➡
Despite the hard time I give
@Robbie_Calmac
, I’d much rather see those who control our services stop and spend time here and get to know the place, rather than rushing in and out as quick as possible like most others do.
Fair play,
@alasdairallan
has contacted me directly to discuss the ferry fiasco. I’m probably going to wait until I’m 2 glasses of Pinot Noir down before I reply though.🙃
This isn’t good enough.
1) Holidays have already been cancelled and bookings made elsewhere, now meaning the loss to toursim is irreplaceable.
2) It shows there was no need to remove the service in the first place, once again disregarding S.Uist’s life line status.
“Following my engagement with CalMac last week, I’m pleased that they have undertaken further work on possible vessel deployment options and identified a solution that will enable the Lochboisdale route to continue to operate until at least the 16April.” 1/2
Southend charity match: 2024 team Vs “Old Timers”
Raising funds for NHSGCC Schiehallion Ward in support of my awesome (and football daft) wee cousin Layla 💚
Great effort from everyone 👏
@Southend1960
A fascinating and thought provoking few days at
@CommunityLandSc
conference
I’m heading home with more knowledge of the part that community ownership plays in repopulation of our rural communities, and some ideas to try implement in my own role.
Mòran taing CLS
#communityland24
I’m heading to Tiree for the first time this weekend 🥳
How easy is it to get from South Uist to Tiree and back? Just 2 ferries, a plane, a little road trip and a chartered boat 😪😂
For clarity, I have nothing bad to say about any port staff, crew, call centre operators, area managers… any of the front line people who are left to bear the brunt of the issues.
While I seem to have your attention… please consider donating to St Jeromes Centre in Kenya.
An amazing small organisation that not only cares for young children but works tirelessly to reunite them with lost family, like Samuel here who was reunited with his father today 💚
My kids nursery is amazing - my almost 5yr old was teaching me Makaton tonight and in Gaelic! For the staff to learn Makaton and incorporate it enough for my son to pick up the amount he knew just blew my mind ❤️
Torcuil has absolutely smashed this campaign, being proactive, getting into every corner of the community and listening to what the real local concerns are.
He’ll represent us well and with decency.
And if not, he knows fine we’ll be on his back 😉
Congratulations
@Torcuil
👏
JD said it perfectly: “Thanks to Scottish Labour for putting forward the motion in the parliament, it’s just disappointing that party politics is more important than an island's survival!"
If we don’t need feminism anymore why are
@NicolaSturgeon
and
#MeghanMarckle
being pulled apart by the papers, but they didn’t seem to care when it was Hancock and Prince Andrew breaking actual laws.
#eyeroll
For those interested, I’ll attached some rough notes or what was discussed last week in our meeting with Calmac in this tread.
This is not official minutes, just points that myself and
@DrRupertM
noted
1/5
@elgoldave
Oh Hi 👋🏻 this is me you’ve screen shotted here.
I’m trying to use the media to educate dafties like you on what the reality is.
But I’m sure you, someone who has likely never seen a ferry in your life, knows more about what is and isn’t happening than the local islanders…🙄
Bedtime questions from my 5YO tonight:
1) Did *you* paint all the house?
2) Why do we have nails?
3) 5YO: Why do me and sister have teddies, but you and daddy don’t?
Me: because grownups don’t have teddies.
5YO: but Mr Bean is a grownup and he has a teddy?!
My kid is back with his bedtime questions.
4Y/O: what is skin made of?
Me: millions of teeny tiny cells.
4Y/O : ok tomorrow I’m going to ask you what Cells are and what they do.
THE KID IS GIVING ME HOMEWORK NOW! 😅
Trying to get my 4Y/0 to stop talking and go to sleep last night.
“But mummy, one more REALLY IMPORTANT question…
…Where is Bin?”
Bin is the chef from the hotel, who moved back to China OVER A YEAR AGO! 🤨😂
My mum keeps pushing me to make a resolution this year but IM NOT DOING IT SHEILA. We’re 2 years deep in a pandemic and I think that’s enough of a reason to just not.
Population Renewal workshop provided us with great discussions and insightful comments. Thank you to all who contributed and a thank
@RuralHousingSco
for asking me to co-lead the workshop with the brilliant Young Islanders Network and Argyll & Bute’s Milly.
#RHSConference2024
Davide is prime example of why you shouldn’t be with someone for their looks. Absolute ZERO personality on that Italian Adonis 🥱
#LoveIsland
#LoveIsland2022
WHO is now taking responsibility for this chaos we are in the middle of?
WHO do we now take our grievances to?
WHO is going to fix this mess?
@HumzaYousaf
@ScotGovFM
the islands are still a part of Scotland, stop letting our communities down and sort this out ASAP.
3y/o: Why does the mouse have a tail like monkeys?
Me: lots of animals have tails, not just monkeys.
3y/o: We don’t have tails mummy.
Me: no, we don’t.
3y/o :.....we just have willies!