On:
In: Maureen Forbes

Last week I visited the amazing recreation of a World War 1 battlefield at Leckmelm near Ullapool. Built as part of a transition project for the Primary 7 pupils moving onto secondary education, the community assisted the local History teacher to create this very time limited display. Situated next to Loch Broom, British and German trenches at Arras had been authentically replicated and rows of crosses bearing the names of the men of Lochbroom who never returned home stood under the shadow of the towering mountains. Although just a tiny number of the 140000 Scottish soldiers who lost their lives in the war to endRead More →

On:
In: Steven Marwick

Here we are again, Ruth Davidson, ever the champion of sticking to the day job, has given a speech on the economy this evening at Glasgow University. Her press team informed journalists in advance that she wouldn’t be answering questions or giving any interviews. So far, so the very same as last time and the time before. As an elected politician, it is incumbent on you to be able to not just articulate your position to the public but to defend it when subjected to scrutiny. This is the very essence of politics and the fact that the Leader of the Opposition in the ScottishRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

Tradition is a peculiar thing. According to dictionaries it is ‘The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.’ We are now in the year 2018. Last century it was tradition for the man to be the wage earner. The woman to keep house and bring up the children. The man washed the car and did the garden. The woman saw to the shopping while the man was at work. Although many have always questioned tradition, most people were happy to go along with it. It was easier. Life was simpler if you tookRead More →

On:
In: Kay Ullrich

“That a man thinks as his newspaper directs him – discuss.” The above was my choice of essay in the Higher English exam in 1960 – how time flies.  Now apart from the fact that the question seemed to assume that only men read newspapers, this subject nevertheless captured the attention of  this 16 year old “woman”. The points raised by this question seemed to be 1) Do we choose our  newspaper to echo our beliefs? Or 2) Have our beliefs been moulded by the newspaper we read?  My own experience of my family’s newspaper habit was, I felt, not typical.  My parents took theRead More →

On:
In: Grant Thoms

While the Indy movement rips into itself over whether to march or not, yet unites around the media bias (have to say BBC Scotland online news did report organiser’s and Police estimates of the number of marchers and it was top story for the afternoon), a lot of England went to the polls last Thursday. At first glance, the outcome of mayoral and council elections tells us very little. Tories wiped out the UKIP vote south of Birmingham to largely increase their overall representation in local government. Theresa May can breathe a sigh of relief that there wasn’t too much in the results to giveRead More →

On:
In: Jim Lynch

A bit of a mixture this time, as this week will be a busy one for me Some two years ago, I think, I got a new computer and decided to use a “civilian” email address. In the last two weeks BT, my supplier for this email address, said I had to change my password, specifying I could not use my current one. Since then I have not been able to access my “civilian” email! I had my eldest son attempt to fix it after fruitless tries, even using their “Helpful chat” method. ( I had to cancel that try as my tea was ready).Read More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

“Don’t raise your voice, raise the quality of your argument!” That’s a mantra which was drummed into me by the late Bill Johnston when, as a young, ambitious and very opinionated Nationalist I was losing a debate with him yet again. Bill was then the Convenor of the Association of Scottish Nationalist Trade Unionists, a forerunner of the SNP Trade Union Group. He mentored our group, giving us the benefit of a life time of experience as a Union activist. We would often meet in his house under the shadow of the Erskine Bridge as it was constructed, and where he would hammer home theRead More →

On:
In: Maureen Forbes

Four years ago, our summer holiday comprised of a week camping at Loch Lomond and travelling into Glasgow to attend events at the Commonwealth Games. There was a fantastic atmosphere everywhere and it was a privilege to see the athletes compete. That the subsequent games have just finished in Australia’s Gold Coast is proof that time really does seem to pass quicker the older you get! Scotland’s medal haul totalled 44 consisting of 9 Gold, 13 Silver and 22 Bronze – a remarkable achievement. From Duncan Scott’s outstanding collection of 6 medals to the heartbreaking end of Callum Hawkin’s marathon, there were many memorable momentsRead More →