Exchanges with Douglas Ross depended upon a hypothetical referendum, its hypothetical outcome, (wildly) hypothetical EU membership and hypothetical acceptability of a hypothetical but yet unspecified currency. They speak of little else in the foodbanks of Govanhill.

I vaguely wondered how any of this belonged in First Minister’s Questions since none of it involved devolved responsibilities. Maybe the Presiding Officer might one day summon up courage to ask the same question.

Anas Sarwar then transformed the tone with factually-based questions about the NHS and particularly waiting times for A&E. The dire statistics did not lie … or did they? Mr Sarwar asserted that thousands of patients referred direct by GPs to hospitals are not even counted, which would come as news to most people.

He gave an example: “At the Queen Elizabeth hospital, in one unit, on one night this week, 48 patients spent the night on trolleys in waiting rooms, side rooms or corridors, and some even had to sleep on chairs. Not one of them will be captured in waiting time statistics”.

Unlike fantasy politics, this is a hidden reality for which Ms Sturgeon is accountable and to which she had predictably little answer. Keep it up, Mr Sarwar, for Scotland’s sake.

Keep it up with the questions Mr Sarwar, for Scotland's sake - Brian Wilson