Lord Dunderheid

Just a few days after I published my post on Ulva and Gometra I saw a BBC TV programme (Designing The Hebrides) about the renovation of an old bothy on the south coast of Ulva. My post said that there were no buildings on the south coast of Ulva - or any paths in that direction. This, clearly, was not the case - but, in my defence, none of the articles I’d read, prior to my visit to Ulva, mentioned this bothy even existed. Having said that, I need to hold my hand up to failing to examine my maps more carefully and at a magnification level which will clearly show such features. Near the start of this programme there was a map which indicated the location of this bothy so I was able to use the map apps on my phone to focus on only this area. My Google Maps indicated nothing - and at first my free version of OS maps also indicated nothing - but, still on my OS phone map, I zoomed in on the area and there indeed was a small building shown (a small rectangle). I then used the map applicatio...

Ulva and Gometra are, most usually, described as lying off the west coast of Mull. I would argue that this is not totally true. As pointed out in my post about Mull, that island is so indented that it is not easy to find bits of it’s convoluted coast that line up with any of the four cardinal points of the compass - and that applies to the location of Ulva and Gometra. These two Islands are located in what I would call the northern side of Outer Loch na Keel (with Loch na Keel being a small section at the head of the loch). If, however, a line is drawn between Rudha nan Cearc (at the north western tip of the Ross Of Mull) and Rudh a Chaoil (at the western tip of the area known as Treshnish) then that line will run pretty much north to south - so the entrance to Loch na Keel does, I accept, look westward, but that is not the same as claiming that the coast contained within Outer Loch na Keel faces westward: some sections do - but some other sections face north and some face sou...

Foreword: The post that follows goes over an issue already addressed in my previous post on Scottish Politics - namely rejoining the EU, or not, after independence. This post attempts to expand on my argument with a few more observations. On Monday 27th March 2023, the SNP announced that Humza Yousaf had won the battle to be the party’s new leader and, over the next couple of days, he was confirmed as the new First Minister of Scotland, replacing Nicola Sturgeon in both positions. During the campaign all three SNP leadership candidates seemed to be making clear that a priority would be to get a consistent majority in favour of independence (while, at the same time, looking after the immediate problems of running the country). The figure of 51% was mentioned but I believe that at least 55% will be required, over an extended period of time, before Westminster might buckle and either permit a section 30 order or enter into independence negotiations. But what must the SNP, and wider YES mo...