Neil McIntosh

Up the Palace. Hour and a half to go until the open top bus begins its parade, and South Norwood is jumping. #CPFC

I follow some terrific newsletters, but their alerts over the last hour have been quite... dark.

Welcome to The Early Line The Early Line is the smarter way to start your day: a daily email with the best coverage of Scotland, the UK and the world. Join for free.

Wondering if I should try to spot the April Fools' in tomorrow's newspapers and link to the best ones in The Early Line... or if it's simply too high-risk a strategy at 5am in the morning, in these surreal times...

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Justin Bieber as the half-time show would be a decent booking

abrdn relents: but which is the worst rebrand ever? PLUS: Trump says the American dream is "unstoppable". Tories say school leaving age should be cut. And could football's drink ban be relaxed?

That rebrand poll...

PLUS! Trump's speech, @RussellFindlay1 's proposal to cut the school leaving age, and suggestions Scottish football's alcohol ban may be getting reviewed...

All in Scotland's daily briefing on the world. Join for free.

scotland.earlyline.co/p/trump-amer...

With the happy news that abrdn has finally rebranded back to something sensible - aberdeen - The Early Line's readers are having a little fun this morning, and voting for the world's worst rebrand.

Join in the fun - link in the 🧵

A buzzard, I learn!

Any birdwatchers among my followers? I'm keen to discover what this majestic bird was peering down at me while out with the dog first thing this morning. It looked a little more exotic than the usual...

Praise for Starmer after Trump talks Deals on trade and Ukraine mooted | PLUS the weeklies reviewed, and could away fans return to Old Firm games?

In which I heroically, I think, managed to avoid using the headline "Sir Keir Charmer", but did round up the reaction to those talks between Starmer and Trump in Washington.

There are real implications for Scotland, too (beyond Trump's mooted visit)

scotland.earlyline.co/p/praise-for...

"The meeting of his life" Starmer meets Trump. PLUS: Staff dispute Edinburgh University's crisis claims, Scottish self-ID plans abandoned, and Rangers win a game, eventually

Just how bad is Edinburgh University's cash crisis?

Staff say it could be resolved without big cuts. The University's management disagrees.

This, plus a briefing on Scotland, the UK and the world, in today's Early Line.

scotland.earlyline.co/p/the-meetin...

Welcome to The Early Line The Early Line is the smarter way to start your day: a daily email with the best coverage of Scotland, the UK and the world. Join for free.

The University of Edinburgh will feature a fair bit in tomorrow's edition of The Early Line - readers have been in touch to point me towards a few interesting documents on the University's financial situation.

More tomorrow at 7am - sign up for free!

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Welcome to The Early Line The Early Line is the smarter way to start your day: a daily email with the best coverage of Scotland, the UK and the world. Join for free.

Subscribers to Scotland's free 7am briefing, The Early Line, are enjoying - if that's the word - a swift primer on German election results, and who might take over at Ibrox (among other stories at home and abroad).

Join them, and get yours from tomorrow.
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(and yes, I carefully checked the headlines today)

Welcome to The Early Line The Early Line is the smarter way to start your day: a daily email with the best coverage of Scotland, the UK and the world. Join for free.

Just finished this weekend's Party Line, for my gang of paid subscribers.

There are links to good advice on surviving the grim news agenda, the rebirth of a classic game, the best TV and film... but I suspect we all only care about the rugby, amiright?

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Hahaha - no, it doesn't. It's been a long, apocalyptic week. Michael MacLeod of the Edinburgh Minute also refers to the "send" button as the "reveal mistakes" button. He's right, as usual.

I know. Not my best headline, I'll confess now. Thank goodness I got rid of the obscene filler text.

The prompt was "write a response to this tweet which sounds like it was written by AI in the tone of LinkedIn". It did very well, I think :)

[With apologies: above written by AI. Am mid-boring task, so entertaining myself doing this instead... Soon even that will be lost to the robots]

Fascinating adaptation! As human communication evolves alongside AI, nuances of personal tone become even more valuable. Finding ways to signal authenticity—whether through language, style, or even a well-placed ‘Oi oi’—is a challenge. Ace insight, ta for sharing! 🚀 #HumanTouch #AuthenticityInAI"

Sex scandals! Fights! Egos! Confessions of the chief whip Simon Hart was chief whip during Rishi Sunak’s crisis-ridden premiership. In his hilarious diaries, he reveals what was going on behind the scenes

I'm upset not to have not got this into today's Early Line. Have taken myself into my office for a proper bollocking, old school style.

In happier news, I find it even better if you imagine it being spoken by the Rt Hon Peter Mannion, from The Thick of It.

www.thetimes.com/article/e25f...

I knew you'd be On This. Not disappointed.

Sarwar starts his fightback PLUS: Trump says Ukraine is to blame, and football is a cruel business

Anas Sarwar has embarked on a world tour of Scotland's newsrooms, it seems: The Early Line, Scotland's breakfast-time briefing, tracks his movements and what he's saying ahead of Scottish Labour's conference this week:

scotland.earlyline.co/p/sarwar-sta...

Just arrived in Paris for crucial talks.

Europe’s security is at a turning point.

Yes, it is about Ukraine—but it is also about us.

We need an urgency mindset.

We need a surge in defense.

And we need both of them now.

How our world has changed Understanding what just happened in Munich. PLUS: Scottish water pay row, Labour poll gloom, and should wolves roam Scotland once more?

📣If you're wondering what just happened in Munich, maybe The Early Line can help.

Today, I look at five ways we can see our world has changed. Free to read and subscribe.

(The wolf relates to another story in the same edition. That's interesting, too)
scotland.earlyline.co/p/how-our-wo...

I should be enjoying the football.

Instead I've been devouring analysis on the Munich Security Conference, & typing away.

We now know how our world has changed... I'll brief you in tomorrow's edition of The Early Line, Scotland's free morning digest.

Sign up for free at earlyline.co

Ah, Arianna, so many questions.

YouTube video by Wellcome How to report on science news with journalist, Tim Radford | Wellcome

Here's a lovely reminder of his intelligence, and voice. Wonderful advice for young journalists, too: youtu.be/yAF0HJaEDTI?...

Tim Radford (1940-2025) A formidable intellect, Tim was a genial company and never tried to impress. By Roger Highfield

I'm very sad to learn of the death of the great Tim Radford, the Guardian's science correspondent for many years. We sat beside each other for almost five years: he was a wonderful, clever, witty colleague who produced some outstanding journalism.

www.absw.org.uk/articles/tim...

Trump and Putin agree to talk PLUS: Why all the money worries at Scotland's Universities? And big nights at Celtic Park and Goodison

It was a fun newsletter to put together this morning... Today's Early Life briefing includes:

📈Unexpectedly good news on the UK economy
🎓Why are Scotland's universities running out of money?
📞The world reacts to Trump's call with Putin

Sign up for free!

Welcome to The Early Line The Early Line is the smarter way to start your day: a daily email with the best coverage of Scotland, the UK and the world. Join for free.

Sign up for my 7 am email briefing - it's free Monday to Friday, and helps you stay on top of the news, quickly and easily:

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