‘There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about’, said Oscar Wilde.
He had a point. For if people are speaking about you, then you must be doing something worth mentioning.
And if the talking is being done by the Scottish Daily Mail, that esteemed organ of truth and respectability, then we count ourselves especially blessed.
In a fine example of fake news creation SCVO was today singled out along with some other Scottish charities merely for doing the work we are here to do.
Amid much desperate grasping for a news angle, we discovered that millions of pounds is spent on delivering charitable services in Scotland.
And that was it - nothing that can’t be learnt by having a quick glance at the openly available annual accounts of the charities mentioned.
What a treat to be given such high-profile attention.
In this we are proud to claim solidarity with the typical slow news day targets of the gutter press.
Indeed we join a great host of people and organisations which fall under the miserable gaze of the Scottish Daily Mail and its world-view that hates immigration, despises welfare and poor people in general, is anti-LGBT and anti-human rights.
It’s a way of thinking that we stand firm in opposing in all the work we do, in the charities we support and in the resolve we have to never let bullying and hate stop our work.
SCVO is an open organisation, happy to share its work with whoever is interested in hearing more. We invite everyone to find out more about what we do.
Just don’t expect to wonder at our apparently ‘plush HQ’ in Edinburgh. Not that there’s anything wrong with our offices, it’s just that they’re, well, ordinary offices.
In fact, they’re located in the basement of a church - hardly Trump Tower.
But why let the truth get in the way of a good story?
Martin Sime is SCVO's Chief Executive
Last modified on 23 January 2020
