Stapes

Told them I was a councillor, and that one of my constituents may be up in court. Guy didn't even check, took me off the list there and then.

Really? Thought the book, at least until I gave up, was utterly, mind numbingly boring.Anyway, just finished watching all seven series of West Wing in about three months. First five were brilliant.

Definitely a little too long. But a decent film. That ending though...

No, pretty sure it's not, as his brother waded in about some racist tweets a whole back.

Yep. Both my grandads fought in WWII and both were Scottish Nationalists. Christmas must be joyous when the Smart family get together. His brother is a legend. My favourite line if his, to the tune of American Pie: And the one man they admire most Tony Blair, their Holy Ghost Out-lefted by the Sunday Post The day Lib Labour died

Sums it up for me:

Some unis require a white bow tie, some black. Not a big deal if you get it wrong.

Yes, my gran lived nearby in Dalkeith and despised him (and the royals). Mainly due to his refusing to allow the Poles in the victory parade (my grandad was Polish).

I'm guessing she's probably paired with a supporter, and as such, in theory, voted against. Still a boot though.

What a load of nonsense from the lot of you. I'm watching the BBC and clearly this man was an intellectual giant, fighting selflessly to further the United Kingdom, and caught up in a scandal late in life that was difficult to defend himself against.

Yep, wife just got hers and it's an EU flag. Need to renew mine so will be doing that in the next few days.

Isn't it slightly lower? 38% I think.

The Master was one of the worst films I've ever seen. Self-indulgent nonsense that will, I'm sure, be given an incredibly high score by the critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

That's the engineer been and gone. Small gas leak which is going to cost an arm and a leg to fix methinks.

Just called them 10 minutes ago when I thought I smelled gas in the garage. Been told they'll be here in the next hour.

I've been through the selection process before and was asked a very similar question. I answered it in much the same way, as I believe that constituents should take precedence over party. I still got the gig. I'm also being told by someone who's been part of several selection panels that you won't fail a selection on a single answer.

Has anyone else played this? Someone pulled it out onBoxing Day and a few of us gave it ago. Now I'm not easily shocked, but I actually couldn't speak at times (from laughing with shock/horror/amusement). Basically you get a statement which includes 1-3 blanks. You have to fill these in using words or phrases on your 8 cards. The aim is to be the most shocking of all the players. So, '________ plus _________ equals ________, could equate to something like 'Daniel Radcliffe's perfect little @rsehole' plus 'masturbating in a pool of child's tears' equals 'sex with Patrick Stewart'. (I've deliberately toned it down as I can't actually bring myself to type some of the stuff on some of the cards - the Jade Goody one being particularly offensive (and brilliant)). If you get a chance play it go for it, best fun I've had in a long time. If you've already played it I'd be interested in the most offensive thing you saw.

That's a strange list. Sexy Beast and Heavenly Creatures????? Not bad films, but a must see before you die? No Mr Smith Goes to Washington, It's a Wonderful Life, Goodfellas, Saving Private Ryan ...

Was amazed how influential his Mad Dogs and Englishmen thing was. As Neilser says, what a voice.

I need to remember and thank my SNP-member wife - her union vote went to Murphy (and Clark).

I would urge anyone who liked Forgotten Highlander to read Unbroken. To my mind it was a better book, because it was two great stories in one. The first half of the book isn't about his POW experiences (which were as bad as in the Forgotten Highlander) but about his time as a world class athlete. Another great book for wartime enthusiasts is The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz (far, far better than the film).

Read most of Milton's stuff and it's very good. Longitude is also excellent. If you like this type of stuff try Nathaniel Philbrick, especially In The Heart Of The Sea. My favourites this year were two POW books - The Forgotten Highlander and Unbroken. Unbroken, especially, was incredible - Laura Hillenbrand is the best non-fiction writer around. I've also just finished Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, about the HeLa cells, and it's worth a read.

To be fair though, I didn't hear any unionists denouncing it, or the burning of Alex Salmond in effigy. Yet turn it around and make it less outrageous and you can almost taste the faux disgust.

Stupid. Leaves Yes open to criticism at the next referendum. I spent five years as a councillor and your first thiughts have to be - how will this reflect on me and how will it reflect on the party. Now they also have to think - how will this reflect onthe Yes campaign.

She voted that way because it'll do most damage to the Labour Party in Scotland. Findlay would definitely be helpful to them as they can stand him up as a solid left winger.