Weesiecodal

Never mind all that...... has Mrs Donaldson had the bairn yet?

You've clearly not seen much of United this season then? Flair isn't an accusation that's been levelled at them much (although they have an uncanny talent for inducing sphincter twitching in most united fans on a frequent basis). I felt that if we could get past Falkirk, we would manage to beat either ICT or Hamilton, but now we are here, I'm not confident. As you say, playing in the top flight is an advantage for Hamilton. Im hoping for a result tonight though. I don't agree with the neutral venue arguement. I think it's right that the clubs play at home, regardless of their capacity. Otherwise it's not a home game. It's hard for fans who follow their teams every week not to be able to get a ticket, but I think we just have to suck it up.

That seems unlikely since up til now the prices have been £15 for an adult, and at tannadice next Thursday it will be £18?

SPFL website says it's BT sport that has both ties?

Very true. That's a fact which is easy to forget what with us only being in the diddy league for one season. You on the other hand have plenty experience of that, so I bow to your superior knowledge

All other clubs involved in playoffs have kept prices down, thinking of the fans. I note you said "ground" rather than "stadium". Good choice of words. I hope I enjoy it too, thank you very much for your kind thoughts

Hamilton Accies just released ticket prices for Sunday. £22 and £12 for concessions. Greedy f*****s

My advice would be to look at each party. See what they offer. See which one most aligns to your beliefs and aspirations and vote for them. When the time comes

I don't think they even have to embrace or support independence, i think they just have to acknowledge that people in their party have different opinions. The official party line could be against Indy, but individual members could make up their own mind. Kind of like the Green Party in reverse. Their official stance is in support of Indy, but they leave Green Party members to vote as they see fit (although I don't know of any green msps who voted NO last time) Slab are driving their dwindling supporters away with this hard line. You would have thought they would have learned their lesson from the last time. There have apparently been thousands of people signing up to the Labour for Independence movement over the last week or so. They still identify as being Labour voters. SLab should be trying to harness and grow what little support they have left in Scotland.

To be honest, I can see both sides of this battle between May and Sturgeon. I absolutely agree that the best time for the Scottish electorate to vote would be once the deal has been agreed. We then enter the six month (ish) period when the EU and individual EU parliaments debate and ratify the deal. This would be the perfect time for us to also debate what's on offer and to decide whether it's what we want or not. If we vote for Independence, it's easier for us to negotiate entry into EFTA or EEA or full EU membership. However, the deal made by the Tories will be based on the UK leaving. Negotiations will include fishing, farming, movement of people etc and other areas which are particularly pertinent to Scotland. So once the deal is done, it could go to the EU for ratification and they say "aye, that's all good, on you bash", then we vote to leave the UK, and suddenly the deal they've reached is null and void. Or, the EU would say "well, we want to wait to see what the Scottish people vote for before we decide to go ahead". But the Tories argue that we can't vote til we know what it is we are voting for.....but we won't know what we are voting for because the EU aren't going to commit til they know what Scotland's decision is. It's unworkable. I honestly can't believe the Tories haven't been saying this already. Shows how utterly dumb they are I suppose. I think Nicola Sturgeon has played a blinder up til now...... long may it continue

I've just been watching QT on iPlayer as I wasn't able to watch last night. Im just going to put this out there...... Angela Eagle has some size of nostrils eh?

Is that the same kind of democracy which advocates that it's perfectly reasonable and justifiable to ignore a larger majority of voters wishes on a particular issue just because a significantly smaller majority answered a completely different question two years previously, aye?

Is he wearing a t-shirt of himself?

THIS is the reason I accused you of flippancy. This kind of "Oh well, they've done it before, they can do it again, never mind, let's get on with what WE want" kind of attitude. Like it's no biggie, like if it fails, it will be because they're not trying hard enough. For the greater good of whom? Certainly not for the greater good of the people living in NI. Not for the ordinary folk who have become used to a more peaceful way of life, wandering up the street to their local shop for bread and milk without rifle-toting soldiers milling around. They were beginning to forget the almost daily occurrence of terrorist kidnappings, shootings, assaults and killings. They were beginning to slip way from the fear that their teenage sons and daughters would be sucked into the world of republican/loyalist hatred and "join the fight". They were beginning to move past the fear of going to large gatherings and always wondering if it will be safe, where would be the best place to stand in case something happens? But it's still there, under the surface. There ARE still kidnappings and shootings going on. There are still neighbourhoods that Catholics or Protestants wouldn't feel comfortable walking through, and it wouldn't take a huge amount to fire it all up again. And your answer is to carry on, because you, NI, didn't really vote to stay in the EU - it was a UK vote, not a four nation vote. So, I understand your concern, but that's the way it is...... now move along! As for your personal accusations - if you read back my posts, you'll see I'm not a nationalist, I'm not an SNP supporter, I haven't at any point been aggressive towards you, and I hadn't taken any stand against you. I haven't insulted you at any time, or belittled your opinion in any way. If people can't debate without getting into personal insults then I'm not interested in getting involved. I left the playground a long time ago. I was genuinely putting forward points highlighting Westminster's complete disregard for the smaller nations. However, I see now how foolish I've been. Sorry for wasting your time. Carry on as normal

I only speak for myself mate, and have never purported to speak for anyone else. Like it or not though, (and obviously you don't) the SNP represent more Scottish people in both parliaments than any party ever has before. I'm truly astonished at your flippancy at the NI situation. I'm not sure of your age, but if you're a youngster, I suppose you may not remember the horrors of the troubles, and the massive amount of time and effort it took to reach that agreement. Thats what I'm hoping anyway, that you're too young to remember

I don't think you did get my point, otherwise you wouldn't be so wrapped up in the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon. How significant a force will they be after independence? Who knows, but I'd guess they won't be nearly as powerful as they are at the moment. Im not that bothered that Westminster treats her with contempt either. She's capable enough of standing up for herself. I AM however, bothered at the undisguised, blatant contempt they are showing for the whole of Scotland. You may be right that it's no different to how they treated us 30 years ago. The difference now though, is that people here have seen and heard for themselves just exactly how little their voices matter. That's not going to change, so the longer we leave it, the weaker we will become. A genuine question though. Does it honestly not bother you that a government which is supposed to represent four nations just carry on regardless, even with the perilous situation in NI? I watched the debates last week about exiting the EU, and at one point, Dr Alasdair MacDonnell (SDLP) said to Mark Harper (Tory) "Does the right hon. Gentleman not understand how serious this issue is? Does he not understand that he will not have a UK if he keeps going on with arrogance, with intolerance and with insensitivity? We spent 30 years getting a peace process together. We do not want to see any more dead bodies. Quite simply, what is going on here, with the intolerance that some Members are showing, is scaring me. I am asking myself why I am in this place at all." Does that not make you think that perhaps Westminster are NOT acting in the best interests of the people of the United Kingdom? That in fact, the kingdom is far from being united?

I bought my son his first legal drink on board this year and it was almost $11. That also add18% gratuity whether you like it or not. If you can get a package included when you book, it's well worth it, but I have a suspicion that they might be doing away with those

What a bizarre argument.

We went on a Baltics cruise in 2015 with Royal Caribbean, Brilliance of the Seas. It was fantastic. Left from Southampton, stopped at Copenhagen, Tallinn, stayed overnight in St Petersburg, onto Helsinki, Stockholm and Skagen then back to Southampton. We went with our two teenagers and everyone loved it. The only place I wouldn't rush back to would be Helsinki, but the weather that day was horrendous, so we maybe didn't have the best experience there. I wold highly recommend it, but if you go with RC, see if you can get a drinks package included because their drinks are extortionate.

Im not sure if I made my point clearly in my post? Clearly you didn't get it anyway. I was being honest about how I see things and what outcome I would like us to achieve, I wasn't patronising or criticising anyone else for having a different view. Im not here to convince anyone to vote one way or the other. I'm not fussy if you agree or disagree. Please yourself, your opinion is just as valid as mine. The thing about the Scottish parliament is that the voting system is far fairer than Westminster, meaning that generally, consensus is required to take things forward. So no one Party can ride roughshod over everyone else. So being telt to sit down and shut up would be less likely, and would be done with far less confidence and arrogance than the current Tory administration, who are in power for the foreseeable future. Its been proven in the last couple of weeks that no matter what Scotland says, it has no impact on Westminster. That won't change. I don't see any wonderful, fabled Scottish Nirvana, and in truth, I don't know anyone who does. There are still several unanswered questions that need to be addressed before the majority opt for independence. I do however have faith in our people that we are smart enough, talented anough and determined enough to make a success of independence. Arguements like "it's going to be a lot harder asking the rUK to treat us any better after independence" really isn't persuasive, is it? Is that why we should remain in the UK? Should we, as "equal partners" even have to ask to be treated fairly in the first place, whether we are in or out? If you were in a relationship where you were treated like shit, would you stay because your partner would be even more of a b*****d if you dared to leave? "We will not be the rUK's priority"????? We aren't the rUK's priority now. We never have been, and we never will be. Is that ok with you? The block grant will be cut year on year as they privatise their NHS, and there's absolutely nothing we can do to make any difference. But we should suck it up because they might be even more nasty to us if we dare to take responsibility for ourselves? As I said, I'm ambivalent about EU membership. You're right that I'm expecting the UK to get a tough deal from the EU. They certainly won't get a better deal than they have now, so the only way from this starting point is down. You, nor I, nor any of the hundreds of "experts" who have been giving their opinions, positive or negative, know either. That's all they are doing.... giving their opinion. They don't know what deal UK will get, and they (or you) don't know what deal, if any, an independent Scotland would get.

Independence is an absolute no brainier for me this time. I started off as a definite no voter before the 2014 referendum. I can't stand Alex Salmond and didn't think much of the rest of the SNP either, but after hearing a few folk I respected present their arguments, I did a lot of research myself and finally came to the conclusion that independence would be the best way forward for Scotland. Im not a nationalist, but I see Scotland and England (not nesecarrily NI or Wales) going in different directions. Anyway, this time, I can't see why anyone would think we are better off staying in the UK. 62% voted to remain in the EU. All Scottish parties and party leaders campaigned to stay in. All local authority areas voted to stay in. 58/59 of Scottish MPs voted against triggering Article 50, and yet we are leaving the EU. The collectiveScottish voice was totally dismissed. To me, this perfectly highlights that no matter what Scotland votes for, it will never be considered, unless it happens to co-incide with what middle England wants - and that's not going to happen too often, I suspect. And, more importantly than Scotland, the state NI is in at the moment. They could be on the cusp of a return to terrorism as a daily occurrence, and yet even that isn't enough to stop Westminster in their tracks and think again for the benefit of the people from a country who are supposed to be "partners". It absolutely sickens me. Personally, I'm ambivalent about leaving/remaining in the EU. There are positives and negatives to being a member. Im not ambivalent about being telt to sit down and shut up though.

All eyes will be on Barcelona, who have said they will hold an Independence referendum by September, even though the Spanish Government haven't agreed to it

Aye

Please don't! I went out this morning, up Annfield Brae outside Kingskettle, up to star of markinch, Glenrothes, Leslie, over the hill to Falkland, through the estate to Strathmiglo then up to glentarkie. I was overtaken by a group from Kinross cycling club going up the hill from Leslie, blowing out my arse. I'll need to get a few more training runs in before the end of the month

Anyone doing the Kinross sportive on 30th April?