On:
In: Maureen MacGregor
With: 0 Comments

As the severity of the situation began to sink in just over a week ago and the rumours about school closures began to intensify, the numbers attending steadily decreased.  By the final day of school, attendance wasn’t far off 50% and it showed – complete rows of dinner tables not set up, lots of space in the playground and less outside noise at break time which was probably the strangest thing to get used to. The children adapted readily as they do; news headlines heard but not fully understood made for some interesting retelling at the beginning of the piece but gave way to acceptanceRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton
With: 0 Comments

This Coronavirus is really showing our human race up for what it is. Maggie Thatcher’s policy of ‘me first’ has well and truly matured. It is not a pretty sight. Thanks to the UK parliaments lack of leadership and over reporting by media of scare stories from other countries, some people have shown their true colours. Yes, they may be panicked but that is still no excuse for the way they are behaving. Last night I read a comment on social media that a woman was buying gluten free products because the shelves were empty of the normal product. When challenged she said the coeliacsRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton, Uncategorized

Silly old me. I thought that this month the trial being heard in Edinburgh (of which we will not comment during the course of) would be the smokescreen that would hide what Westminster was up to. How wrong could I be? Sadly, something that has a much more profound effect on people has been spreading around the world and arrived here in each of the home countries. The Coronavirus has given the media in each of the UK countries an excuse to go into overdrive. We get a full 15 to 20 minutes on the main British news programmes followed by a further 15 minutesRead More →

On:
In: Grant Thoms

A recent event for public relations professionals heard from three political journalists covering a tabloid, a quality broadsheet and the BBC. Their personal details are unimportant: we focus too much on personality and forget to listen to what others are actually saying, whether their argument is grounded or contestable. After 90 minutes of question and analysis, a realisation struck on how Holyrood-centric the discussion was focused. A London metropolitan-centric viewpoint has become easy to identify, label and rail against; but are we in danger of being caught in a bubble of tartan proportions? Scant mention of the asymmetric devolution mess that the UK created underRead More →

On:
In: Maureen MacGregor, Uncategorized

Myself and the youngest were to go off to London for a few days and had been researching things to do when we were down.  One of the trips was to be either the Dungeons or the Tower of London with its tombs, the latter being my preferred choice as I thought it might be more meaningful.  The bairn preferred the theatre and location of the Dungeons however and neither of us were for giving in. Parental responsibility took over and I decided that it would be the Tower and so went to the website to book tickets.  I got no further than the firstRead More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

As Sir Keir Starmer bores us all to death in ascending the leaden throne which is the leadership of the Labour Party, one constant criticism is that not one of the eight remaining candidates for Leader or Deputy have offered a valid critique of why Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership was such a disaster. This, we are assured, is the time to look back and consider what went well and what didn’t. My regular reader will not be shocked, stunned nor amazed to learn that I have some views but why should I intrude on private grief. But it occurs to me that if the aftermath ofRead More →

On:
In: Grant Thoms

There is endless commentary which questions ‘where are we going next?’ in the independence campaign. Invariably it involves second-guessing the First Minister’s strategy or pre-empting the UK Government’s response to further demands for an independence referendum, especially in light of the Prime Minister’s firm refusal to the First Minister’s request for a Section 30 Order. For some, that refusal was a litmus test for more one-sided actions such as a consultative referendum, civil disobedience, unilateral declaration of independence or even more extreme measures. Whilst all of these suggestions strike a chord with the majority of independence supporters, they are the sort of measures which willRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

This week saw the embarrassing scene in Brussels of the Brexit party taking their leave of the European Parliament. Brash, noisy, insulting and oh so imperialist. Broke the rules and had to be spoken to from the chair. Totally turning their backs on Europe but expecting that same Europe to co-operate with them in future deals. In comparison the SNP MEPs became part of a Friends of Scotland group. Europeans willing to support Scotland in our efforts to regain entry to Europe in our own right. Aileen’s speech asking the parliament to welcome us back when the time comes was warmly received and the MEPsRead More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

There have been numerous theories advanced in the month since December’s general election to explain why Labour did quite so badly. Mostly they revolve around the idea that Jeremy Corbyn was unelectable as an individual, that he was viewed as sympathetic to terrorists, unpatriotic or that Labour’s manifesto was simplyunbelievable. There is however a far simpler explanation and I tend to the general principle that the simplest explanations are often closest to the truth.It has little to do with Corbyn, good or bad. It has little to do with Labour’s manifesto. It is simply this; England is simply becoming a more right-wing country! As theRead More →

On:
In: Maureen Forbes

Back in the months leading up to 2014 there was no doubting the alliance between the SNP, the SSP and the Greens as they came together to ensure that there would be a positive outcome in the referendum.  Working together within the Yes campaign along with other smaller groupings, in public at least, the idea was out there that the SNP were not the only political party seeking to embrace the changes that would arise with the rebirth of a once again,independent Scotland.  No matter where you travelled in the country, the signs were there that people were coming around to the idea that notRead More →