Our new MPS first speech in westminster :

[cptdodger]

Just out of interest Rob, if you ever have the occasion to attend Raigmore for an appointment, on their television they go through the history of how all the hospitals in the Highland Region came to be, as in former workhouses and so on, it's very interesting.

[rob murray]

Just out of interest Rob, if you ever have the occasion to attend Raigmore for an appointment, on their television they go through the history of how all the hospitals in the Highland Region came to be, as in former workhouses and so on, it's very interesting.

Hope I never have to .....but the history you allude to sounds fascintating, thanks maybe as a vistor I can look it up.

[cptdodger]

I can't remember who actually does it, but the next time I am there, I will take a note of their website.

[rob murray]

I can't remember who actually does it, but the next time I am there, I will take a note of their website.

That would be much appreciated thank you very much

[rob murray]

heres a good site with hisorical caithness links well worth trawling through http://www.happyhaggis.co.uk/caithness.htm

[cptdodger]

heres a good site with hisorical caithness links well worth trawling through http://www.happyhaggis.co.uk/caithness.htm

That looks very interesting, thank you ! One question, this is re The Clearances, it says people went to Canada, USA and Australia, obviously they got there by boat, but who paid for their passage ?

[rob murray]

That looks very interesting, thank you ! One question, this is re The Clearances, it says people went to Canada, USA and Australia, obviously they got there by boat, but who paid for their passage ?

Yer keepig me on my feet ! see this link https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...lonies&f=false basically assisted passages were on offer ( free transport ) and was part of government policy to populate Australia ( with good people, not crims transported ) and bolster NZ population, anywhere the Brits had an interest in fact ( Canada...Nova Scotia...New Scotland ) , build up colonies and solve problems of poor law relief, cheaper to get people out than to look after them. In the north there was obviously Wick / Thurso harbours and other harbours in North West Sutherland and the islands that people would need to get to as that would be where the ships salied from.
Read below : very grim ...sorry...but facts are facts

1851 : Highland proprietors were clearing their estates with renewed vengeance in the aftermath of the (potato) famine, and being assisted by public money made available to them by the Emigration Advance Act of that year.... Conditions on board emigrant ships were often said to be worse than those prevailing on slave ships. The fitter and healthier a slave cargo the higher the price they fetched, but emigrants were they to die in mid‑ocean that would save on the cost of provisions and make for a higher profit margin. Two ships which sailed from the West Highlands for Nova Scotia in 1801 with seven hundred emigrants would only have been permitted four hundred and eighty‑nine 'passengers' had they been slaves putting out from the Gambia. Three out of every twenty emigrants died on board one of these ships ... and in the six years between 1847 and 1853 at least forty‑nine emigrant ships were lost at sea."

see also http://www.cranntara.org.uk/clear5.htm

[cptdodger]

Is'nt it awful, but I suppose they were between a rock and a hard place, what do you do, stay to starve or take your chances. Then again they would'nt have known the conditions on board before they boarded the ship, it seems they were told they were going to the promised land.

A trial of a former Nazi has just finished in the last couple of days, and on the news they were interviewing survivors who rightly said the Holocaust should never be forgotten, and it does go through my head, how could it be. But if you take The Clearances, which lasted for nearly one hundred years, I honestly knew nothing about them, I actually asked people I had been at school with all through Primary and Secondary if they remember being taught about it, and they all said no, and I went to school in Broughty Ferry, I just do not understand how an event that literally changed the landscape of the Highlands can be completely missed from the curriculum.

[golach]

It's been brought to my attention that your MP the good Doctor has tweeted that his fellow MP, Mhari Black's maiden speech has been viewed on YouTube 6,500,000 times the actual figure is 172,428 , that's a big exaggeration

[cptdodger]

It's been brought to my attention that your MP the good Doctor has tweeted that his fellow MP, Mhari Black's maiden speech has been viewed on YouTube 6,500,000 times the actual figure is 172,428 , that's a big exaggeration

And sadly I can guarantee every single one of his "followers" (I think that's what they are called on twitter) will believe him, no questions asked.

[Sandra]

Some more details here:http://www.heart.co.uk/scotland/news...bhgh6utGDc7.97

[BetterTogether]

There is a world of difference between how many views something gets on the Internet and how many people have actually seen it, the two should not be confused as no doubt quite a number of people have either watched it more than once or surfed onto the link then moved away quickly thus boosting the numbers. It's no secret that certain groups of people will hyper inflate viewing figures on some sites to make it appear more credible than is actually the case. This may well be one of those times.

[richardj]

Well the BBC are now saying over 10 million views and in my opinion it is worth a watch (I was pleasantly surprised) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-33585087 - The only thing that was missing were Members of Parliament from other parties!

[Scout]

I have looked at it and yes she did talk, too me waffled on, she would of got a nice payment for that as every MP & MSP stands up to talk gets paid. What I would like to know what action will SNP take for Scotland, will they get on with their jobs or we will just have to hear more waffle, They seem to say more in London then they do in Holyrood.

[BetterTogether]

I have looked at it and yes she did talk, too me waffled on, she would of got a nice payment for that as every MP & MSP stands up to talk gets paid. What I would like to know what action will SNP take for Scotland, will they get on with their jobs or we will just have to hear more waffle, They seem to say more in London then they do in Holyrood.

What has to be considered is, if you don't grandstand sufficiently, you don't get noticed and then you don't get paid lots by various media outlets to voice your opinion. All I'm seeing is another potential career politician trying to make a name for herself and jumping on the gravy boat nice and early. As you quite rightly state it's more about what action you take to sort out your constituents lives for the better, not just the SNP voters but all the constituents. As of yet she has yet to prove herself worthy of anything more than giving a noteworthy speech. Time will be her great reckoner.

[cptdodger]

Hang on a minute now, MP's get a salary of however much, are you saying that if they make a speech in Westminster, they get paid extra for that?

[cptdodger]

I have just had a look at The Scottish Parliament website, suffice to say I picked the wrong career -

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/St...April_2015.pdf

[rogermellie]

if you want a career with as high a salary as an MP and a lot less accountability then you should look at becoming a manager with the Highland Council

[cptdodger]

if you want a career with as high a salary as an MP and a lot less accountability then you should look at becoming a manager with the Highland Council

I have to tell you, the amount of run ins I have had with the Highland Council (THE masters of passing the buck!), that's probably not the best career path for me either !

Seriously though, I worked in retail for years, I used to get paid for 39 hours and that was it, I do'nt think I ever worked a 39 hour week ! I worked it out once (at the time) I was on less than £2 per hour. That was retail though, I do'nt know how MP's justify a salary like that when just as an example, nurses are barely scraping by.

[rob murray]

I have to tell you, the amount of run ins I have had with the Highland Council (THE masters of passing the buck!), that's probably not the best career path for me either !

Seriously though, I worked in retail for years, I used to get paid for 39 hours and that was it, I do'nt think I ever worked a 39 hour week ! I worked it out once (at the time) I was on less than £2 per hour. That was retail though, I do'nt know how MP's justify a salary like that when just as an example, nurses are barely scraping by.

Greed...matching their inflated egos....hardly any of our politicans have ever worked, they dont know nowt of the stress involved in business, ie paying a 35k monthly salary bill when orders and work are drying up...now thats stress..... speaking from first hand expereince, not pleasurable at all... ages you, makes you more open to illness in my case high blood pressure. Retail you make a good point, hard long work, not valued and treated like sh**e and as you say no clock watching ( my wife worked in retail until I stopped it the minute we could live without her earnins ) ... my experinece with HC and a local councilor was also shocking...really inept 100% : theyer more wrapped up in the game of politics did you know that at least 8 HC senior managers earn over £100k a year ( and have huge pensions ) , when challenged on this the excuse was that they ( HC ) had to pay the market rate....well I know dozens of very expereinced local qualified people who would gladly do the job at half the amount. Normal HC employees, front line workers are not well paid...wonder why....cos the pigs have their snouts well and truly in the pot thats why