Tuesday was a long and tiring day. I had to drive all the way to Peterhead to speak at an event for The National Roadshow, and then drive all the way back to Glasgow again. It tiring, but well worthwhile, and I heard some great news about The National that I’m not allowed to tell you about yet. There was a fantastic turnout in Peterhead, the venue was packed out, and there was even a surprise appearance from a couple of friends from Glasgow who were up in the North East on a visit.
I thought I’d give an update on the progress of the fundraiser. As of Tuesday night, there has been £3094 given on GoFundMe, £3510 via Paypal, and £325 given directly, making a total after less than one week of £6929, just over 69% funded. Many thanks to everyone who has supported me. I’ve also received some really lovely messages of support and good wishes. It’s wonderful to know that there is so much positivity out there.
Not everyone is so happy. I was informed by friends who use Twitter to have a wee look at the reactions from the British nationalist frothers on social media. They’re pure beelin’. How dare I get support from vile separatists to import a foreign homosexual. Some are sniffily demanding that I get a job. But I already have a job poppets. And that job is to write and blog, and to do speaking engagements all over Scotland. But last but by no means least, my job is to piss off small minded British nationalists. A job which I seem to have something of a talent for, and a job which I fully intend to keep doing.
One of the apoplectic little trumpmuppets has even reported the fundraiser to the Home Office, as though somehow a completely legal and open means of generating an income is going to provide evidence that my partner shouldn’t be permitted to live in this country. There are few things angrier than a well slapped gammon who lives in terror that a foreigner, and a gay one at that, is going to get into the UK.
If the person concerned is reading this, all that your petty vindictiveness is achieving, you pettit lipped fool, is to inform the Home Office ahead of the event that ours is a genuine marriage and not a marriage of convenience. So you’re actually helping to bring about what you’re trying so hard in your small minded xenophobia to prevent. Ha, and indeed, ha ha.
Can you copy the Daily Mail and the Express into your red white and blue net curtain twitching on Twitter please? Then there will be more documentary proof to help with the visa process, and the extra publicity will raise a few extra grand for the fundraiser. Thanks, there’s a love.
So to everyone who has helped with the fundraiser, a huge thanks. And that includes the inadvertent assistance from our British nationalist friends. I’ve not had such a good laugh for ages.
WEE GINGER FUNDRAISER
It’s that time of year again. It’s been a year since I last did a fundraiser. This year is going to be a particularly expensive one for me personally. There’s a wedding to pay for, and I need to ensure that my earnings are sufficient to prove to the Home Office that I am able to import my American spouse into Scotland to live here permanently. As well as the need to demonstrate a minimum level of annual income, £18,600, there are also hefty legal and visa fees to pay.
I really don’t like doing fundraisers, and I really don’t like to blow my own trumpet, but I work my wee socks off for the independence movement. I publish this blog, and I do talks to local indy groups all over Scotland without asking for a fee. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly enjoy it. It’s a huge privilege to meet all the wonderful, talented, and committed people who make the Scottish independence movement something really special. However it takes up a lot of time and energy to keep blogging and doing public talks, time and energy that I could be using to generate an income to prove to the Home Office that I am able to support my American spouse.
The truth is that if every regular reader of this blog gave just one pound a year, I’d be pulling in well over £100,000 annually. Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. Publishing and selling books and maps helps, as does selling t-shirts, but it’s pretty hit and miss. I do get paid by The National for my twice weekly articles, but that doesn’t pay anything like as much as you might think it would. In order to be confident that I can meet the minimum income requirements demanded by the Home Office, cover the cost of a wedding on both sides of the Atlantic, and cover the fees required to pay the visas and associated legal costs, I need to do a fundraiser for £10,000.
Any help you can give would be immensely appreciated. Help me to keep campaiging, and help me to show that Scotland is a welcoming place for migrants – at least one special migrant in particular, the man I’m going to marry in October.
You can donate by clicking the following link and donating on my Gofundme page.
https://www.gofundme.com/wee-ginger-fundraiser
Alternatively you can donate by clicking on the Paypal “Donate” button on this page, or by logging in to www.paypal.com and making a payment to me at weegingerbook@yahoo.com If you would prefer to donate by some other method, cash, cheque, or bank transfer, please contact me at weegingerbook@yahoo.com for details.
Many thanks for all your support. You’ve no idea how much it means to me.
You can help to support this blog with a Paypal donation. Please log into Paypal.com and send a payment to the email address weegingerbook@yahoo.com. Or alternatively click the donate button. If you don’t have a Paypal account, just select “donate with card” after clicking the button.
If you have trouble using the button, or you prefer not to use Paypal, you can donate or purchase a t-shirt or map by making a payment directly into my bank account, or by sending a cheque or postal order. If you’d like to donate by one of these methods, please email me at weegingerbook@yahoo.com and I will send the necessary information. Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.
