We need to talk about Scotland. I’ve avoided it out of my love for that amazingly beautiful nation, the total majesty of which I toast every night with a symbolic sampling of its finest product.

But when the former First Minister’s husband gets arrested, their house gets impounded and the caterers set up a marquee on the front lawn to feed all the police, then the Treasurer of the leading political party gets arrested too, gets freed and promptly resigns… (pause for breath), its time to take a look.

Obviously not an impartial look, because I’m English. And a separatist. Don’t know if there are any others only too pleased to get rid of ‘that bit above the wall’ which Mel Gibson invented for a movie and it became ‘independent’. Then we bought it back and we’re still paying. Its about as ‘independent’ as Joey.

Nicola Sturgeon resigned as first minister because ‘she’d taken the Scottish Nationalists as far as she could’. By my reckoning that was ‘to hell and back’. Two weeks later her husband is arrested. He was the chairman of the SNP. Because the party had raised 650,000 pounds for the next election, and 18 months later, with no election in between, they’re down to 90 grand. Three months later Hubby ‘loans’ the party 100k so they don’t go bankrupt. The police took away ‘the Sturgeon’s’ brand new mobile home. But that didn’t cost 600 grand.

So where did the money go? Did they buy Erling Haaland for 2 weeks? I did’t notice and I would have, because in Scotland he’d have scored 30 goals in that fortnight.

No-one’s saying La Sturgeon has done anything wrong. Nor her husband, nor the former treasurer of their party. But take my word for it; once you get a marquee on your front lawn with ‘Police’ written on it, its way more than a ‘casual inquiry’.

Is there smoke without fire? I make no judgments. But might imply loads.

Happy Thursday

A xxxx