PARCA/Nosey

NoseyPARCA is an online newsfeed about Plantation, Fort William

Nosey press releases are typically issued by Jennifer Seitz and published on EMD's (=Mark Drayton's) eponymous 'Download' on SubStack - see link (in subheading) below. Most releases are drafted by Mark and edited by Jennifer. Nosey house style is basically Mark's, and other contributors are encouraged to adapt theirs to his, within reason.

Archive (NB: This is usually updated first)

April 2022

<#1> (11th April), <#2> (13th April), <#3> (17th April), <#4> (18th April).

END of archive

NB: Occasionally, entries are added to the above list a day or so in advance of the scheduled publication of a release.

Style and process

Nosey house style for press releases is, first, to refer to them as 'press releases' rather than 'news releases' because that's the vernacular. However, 'NEWS RELEASE' is used in the heading of the release itself because it is more accurate and editors are familiar with both terms.

Each draft release begins with:

  /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/
 DRAFT ONLY - NEWS RELEASE - DRAFT ONLY
  /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/

Each issued release begins with:

  /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/
 NEWS RELEASE - NEWS RELEASE - NEWS RELEASE
  /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/

A typical release generally continues with something along the lines of:

 NEWS RELEASE
 
 Community councillor announces new initiative to [...]
 
 DD MONTH YYYY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

As yet, Nosey have never needed to embargo a press release (but you never know, right?).

A typical release generally concludes with with something along the lines of:

 Entirely predictably, Mr Drayton couldn't resist further adding that,
 ideally, residents should join the <https://NextDoor.co.uk> social-networking
 platform/app rather than relying on Facebook, say.  "I don't trust
 that censorship-loving [Mark] Zuckerberg bastard any further than I
 could comfortably excrete him," Mr Drayton has previously explained.
 "Fuck that cunt."
 
 As we reported six days ago, Mr Drayton's views regarding Mr
 Zuckerberg are all-too-well known to readers of his 'Wednesday
 Headway' SubStack columns, part of his so-called 'Drayton Download':
 on 8th & 15th September 2021 Mr Drayton re-posted a long article by
 British-born science journalist Nicholas Wade defending the 'lab-leak'
 hypothesis of Covid-19's origin; Mr Drayton's brief introduction (at
 <https://draytonmark.substack.com/p/wed-head-xxv-pt1>) forthrightly
 condemned Facebook for censoring discussion of the theory.
 
 Mr Zuckerberg remains unavailable for comment.
 
 END
 
 NOTE FOR EDITORS
 Further information about this release can be obtained from the following:
 (for NoseyPARCA DOT WordPress DOT com)
   Jennifer Seitz (Secretary)
   that.tiresome.rationalist AT gmail DOT com
 (as a member of Fort William, Inverlochy, and Torlundy Community Council)
   Mark Drayton
   EddieMDrayton AT gmail DOT com
 
  /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/
 

The "Fuck that cunt" quotation is sometimes included, sometimes omitted. Kind of depends on whether it's my time of the month. -Jx


--

Drafting Area

News Release #5

<https://NoseyPARCA.WordPress.com> news release #5 - 19th April 2022

/*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/

DRAFT ONLY - NEWS RELEASE - DRAFT ONLY

/*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/

NEWS RELEASE

Community councillor to [..]

19 APRIL 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[..] He confirmed that his SubStack (at <https://DraytonMark.SubStack.com>) would be the "centre of operations" for this, but also that other social network platforms would be "drawn into the circle," enabling questions to be posed publically (as comments below the master copy of this very news release at <https://DraytonMark.SubStack.com/p/news-release-4>, or privately by email, NextDoor message, or even SMS (to 07933 760031).

Entirely predictably, Mr Drayton couldn't resist further adding that, ideally, residents should join the <https://NextDoor.co.uk> social-networking platform/app rather than relying on Facebook, say. "I don't trust that censorship-loving [Mark] Zuckerberg bastard any further than I could comfortably excrete him," Mr Drayton has previously explained.

As we reported exactly a week ago, Mr Drayton's views regarding Mr Zuckerberg are all-too-well known to readers of his 'Wednesday Headway' SubStack columns, part of his so-called 'Drayton Download': on 8th & 15th September 2021 Mr Drayton re-posted a long article by British-born science journalist Nicholas Wade defending the 'lab-leak' hypothesis of Covid-19's origin; Mr Drayton's brief introduction (at <https://draytonmark.substack.com/p/wed-head-xxv-pt1>) forthrightly condemned Facebook for censoring discussion of the theory.

Mr Zuckerberg remains unavailable for comment.

END

NOTE FOR EDITORS Further information about this release can be obtained from the following: (for NoseyPARCA DOT WordPress DOT com)

 Jennifer Seitz (Secretary)
 that.tiresome.rationalist AT gmail DOT com

(as a member of Fort William, Inverlochy, and Torlundy Community Council)

 Mark Drayton
 EddieMDrayton AT gmail DOT com

/*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/ /*\ \*/

--

Making (a fine) Friday (even) Finer

Making a fine Friday even Finer

Self-styled eco-warrioress Dr Fiona Fawcett, the Tory party’s election candidate for Ward 21, may well struggle to win a seat on Highland Council, thanks largely to the financial heft of Lib Dem candidate Angus MacDonald. Having met her today, I can straightforwardly say that that’s a pity. Worse, polling suggests that success for her would most likely come at the expense of the Independent candidacy of Thomas MacLennan, whose evident (bitter) experience taking on the Nessiemafiosi infuses his election flyer and who would, no doubt, also be a tremendous champion for Fort William. Worse still, the unutterably mediochre Dr Kate Willis (Green), a seriously delusional watermelon (green on the outside; red through-and-through) looks unstoppable because her party’s risible policies, a perfect complement to what can only be thoroughgoing economic illiteracy on her part, will almost certainly attract enough ex-Labour voters to bring her home in second place behind the SNP’s Sarah Fanet (whose first-place is assured - no bad thing, either: she’s got the right stuff, right enough). Therefore, unless Mr MacDonald’s wholly misguided candidacy can somehow be headed-off - which seems unlikely, unfortunately - then, as things stand, Fort William will inevitably be deprived of the service of one of two bloody good potential representatives: a real shame :-(

Despite a certain amount of nudging I have yet to actually speak on the phone with Mr MacLennan yet (let alone face-to-face), nor has he proposed a day and time to tour Plantation with me. He has, however, replied to my colleague Jennifer with persuasive and ingenuous answers to the first batch of questions in NoseyPARCA's hustings-over-email (a 'cyberhustings' perhaps?), particularly in respect of question four, which asked for the candidate's view on the possibility of creating a town council for Fort William, Caol, Corpach, and Kilmallie. Interestingly, neither Mr MacLennan nor Dr Fawcett was willing to say at this stage whether they are for or against; rather, both laid out what their criteria would be for making the decision and in both cases this struck me as a mature way to approach the issue: Mr MacLennan's answer was, in my opinion, the more carefully thought-through: he stressed the pressing need for much greater localism throughout the ward, not just along the Linnhe shoreline - something he's dead right about. Dr Fawcett's principle criterion was that any reorganisation must involve real devolution of power from Inverness to ensure we don't create "just another talking-shop" - thereby echoing Mr MacLennan's call for increased localism, albeit looking at the question through the other end of the telescope. (It is admittedly true that I had not thought much about the effect on rural communities of creating a Town Council here - shame on me, really: I'll have to do some thinking about that.)

I can't say much more about Mr MacLennan because, unlike Dr Fawcett, he has engaged so little with me - despite a fair few nudges. I can, though, quote something my Nosey colleague Jennifer (accurately) reported my saying about him last weekend which speaks for itself:-

"Mr Drayton has previously described Dr Willis as 'dense' and Mr MacDonald as 'hopelessly naive - totally out of his depth, frankly. He shows not the least understanding of what he's going up against. The Nessiemafiosi are just going to run rings round him. I don't know Mr [Thomas] MacLennan from Adam, actually - he was before my time - but he's got to be a far, far better bet: look at the stress his flyer puts on local spending, local decision making, accountability, on his being "experienced and determined." Those are the words of a man with scars on his back.' " (source: <https://draytonmark.substack.com/p/news-release-4>.)

So much for Mr MacLennan. About Dr Fawcett, far more may be said. Here is some of it: she and her husband, Richard, spent well over two hours touring Plantation and the 'Slug' allotments on Friday, which happened to be 2022's 'Earth Day', too - see the aforementioned 'news release' (ie press release) for more about Dr Fawcett's environmentalism. That press release reported Dr Fawcett's acceptance of my "challenge" to all candidates to visit Lochaber's highest SIMD** locale. I'm not sure what she and her husband were expecting to find here but, happily, it is very little exaggeration to say that she was quite charmed - almost enchanted, indeed - by a (wonderfully sunlit) Plantation estate. Coming with fresh eyes on a beautiful day, she found much to admire in our distinctive architecture, the wonderful views, the potential of our green spaces, and even - at least to some extent - the layout of the houses and flats. She did not canvass at all (even though I'd indicated, as I have to all five candidates, that I'd look the other way if they did), but she did speak at some length to two or three locals without explaining the reason for her visit. The last was an East-European lady working to a sweat in the Slug polytunnel; the pair spoke of the slow growth of basil and coriander this year (coincidentally, my favourite herbs, along with sage) - apparently Dr Fawcett is a committed grow-your-own-producer and has her own polytunnel at home.

**the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, which measures poverty.

Home for her, alas, is not Lochaber. Yet. But, if elected, she will (at least, initially) be shacking up locally with her (newly-elected) friend and fellow Tory councillor, Ms Liz Saggers (Caol and Mallaig). If Ms Sagger's is anything like as passionate and driven as Dr Fawcett promises to be, our shoreline conurbation will be blessed with a dynamic duo of very great energy and resource: let's hope so.