On:
In: Aileen Orr

Well a momentous few weeks in world and local history.  My job as an SNP councillor is to help everyone in the Ward, but wear my Party hat when the time is right.  However, the fact that Queen Elizabeth Second died peacefully in Scotland and the Tories died violently in Westminster illustrates our late sovereign had more dignity in death than our reigning government in the capital has had in life.  But the difference with her representing the people, irrespective of your views on monarchy, is hers was duty and our honourable friends in the other palace has always been about avoiding it. There areRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

The 10 day period of enforced bereavement has culminated in a day of the most British of Britishness. It was a historic moment, the type our media like to hype to the maximum of our endurance. They tried hard to include things from the nations but sometimes the irony of their choices seemed to be beyond them. To me it all seemed rather rushed, every day another service or ceremony. Announcing a public holiday was probably done with great intention, to allow those who wanted to line the streets or watch TV all day, the liberty to do so. In the real world though itRead More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

In the midst of all the preparations for the Royal Funeral, it seems an appropriate time to lift our horizons a bit and have a look at events away from these shores. It may not seem like it with the media doing nothing but wall to wall, 24/7, coverage of the funeral arrangements and constant reheating of the same tributes to a life well lived, but there are things happening across the globe and some of them will have a major impact on our lives. In the US, it seemed just a few months ago that President Biden and the Democrats were heading for aRead More →

On:
In: Maureen MacGregor

I had been in London at the weekend and took the train to the airport on the way home as usual.  It was quiet when we boarded and found a seat easily behind an elderly well-to-do couple sitting diagonally on a 4 seater.  I soon noticed that the man had edged our suitcase forward and was using it as a convenient armrest whilst reading the paper and wasn’t too happy when the bairn retrieved it suddenly.  As the train began to fill, their empty seats remained free of people  but laden with bags until a young woman got on with a baby and proceeded toRead More →

On:
In: Michael Hance

My partner and I are both pretty much bald. That doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t enjoy visits to the barber. I’ve never mastered the art of the home haircut and like many middle-aged men I have hair growing in all sorts of inaccessible places. Men like me can now have their follicle challenges addressed by the army of razor wielding Turks and Kurds who have opened hairdressing establishments from Shetland to Stranraer. My partner was recently having his shave at the Turkish barber in Campbeltown. While one staff member attended to him the other was glued to his phone.  My partner was able to hearRead More →