Day 150: Update on Goals

It seems like no time since the last update, but here we are:

• Books: By this point I should have read 12.3 books. I'm right on target, which is nice.
• Blogging: By this point I should have posted 49 times here. It's fair to say that that hasn't happened. There is now essentially no chance of this goal being achieved this year. The other thing of note, however, is that I've taken the decision to put The Imaginarium on hiatus in the near future. My current intention is to take it to 1,000 posts, which should take it to the end of my current campaign, then add one last "placeholder" post (since Blogger seems to eat the newest post on discontinued blogs), and stop indefinitely.
• Redecoration: Shortly after the last update we completed the outstanding work on Surprise!'s bedroom. The only thing remaining for the stated goal is to look at the insulation in Funsize's room. There has been no movement on that, nor any on reredecorating the study, but maybe for next time...
• Complete my Campaign: The characters are now right at the edge of the unwritten segment of the campaign. Meanwhile the writing has advanced, leaving around 4,500 words and 15 areas left to be written. I hope to have completed both for the next update.
• Update the Church Website: No update since last time.

Other than the blogging goal, things are looking pretty positive for the year as a whole, so I'm pretty happy with things. It's a shame about the blogging, but I just don't see that recovering for the rest of this year.

#9: "Promise of Blood", by Brian McClennan

#10: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", by Ian Fleming (a book for Funsize)

#11: "Making It So", by Sir Patrick Stewart

#12: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again", by Frank Cottrell-Boyce (a book for Funsize)

Here We Go Again

A year ago I posted about the treatment being meted out to Kate Forbes in the SNP leadership contest because she is a Christian who actually dares to believe things. A year on and Humza Yousaf has proven to be a disaster and has lost his job as a consequence. The SNP need to find another new leader.

At time of writing, there are no declared candidates. There has been a lot of noise, but for the moment nobody has actually put their name forward.

And already the monstering of Kate Forbes has begun.

As with last time, the tone of that monstering is extremely important, and of extreme concern - because Kate Forbes is being decried as some horrific far-right bigot based on her having expressed what are, ultimately, some fairly mainstream Christian views.

I said before that if Kate Forbes was somehow barred from standing, or was ultimately pressurized into dropping out of the race, then I was done with both the SNP and indeed with independence - I have no interest in voting for a country where every minority is welcomed and respected except for mine.

Unfortunately, things have rather moved on since then; unless and until Yousaf's horrific Hate Crimes legislation is repealed I'm done with Scottish politics as a whole. (That's yet another example of well-meaning but atrociously-drafted legislation from Holyrood. It needs scrapped.)

But, again, if the monstering of Kate Forbes is such that she is somehow barred from standing, or she throws her hat into the ring and is then 'persuaded' to drop out, then there's no way back for the SNP. If she chooses not to run, fine; if she runs and is defeated, fine. But I'm watching them closely, and they are on their absolute last chance - get this wrong, and there's no way back for them.