Author Archives: davidsberry

Unknown's avatar

About davidsberry

Local ex-councillor, tour guide and database designer. Keen on wildlife, history, boats and music. Retired in 2017.

Quis Docebit ipsos Doctores?

Posted on June 12, 2016 by davidsberry

Actually, at school, I hated Latin. The relevance of dead languages was even less clear to me than that of calculus. But I was blessed with teachers who knew how to ignite thrawn teenage imagination and instill a heady mix … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged | Leave a comment

Trump des Willens?

Posted on June 10, 2016 by davidsberry

By James Kirchick, Washington Post, 9th June 2016 Republican leaders who support Trump are modern-day Neville Chamberlains With the rise of Trump, the party obsessed with the lessons of appeasement is now replicating his same exact mistakes. American conservatives are … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Brexit is an empire-era trick. Only the radical case for Europe makes sense – in The Guardian

Posted on June 1, 2016 by davidsberry

Originally posted on Yanis Varoufakis:
‘Sovereignty is dear to our hearts. We reject the notion that Britain must settle for diminished sovereignty as the price of global influence.’  Referendums can throw up some odd bedfellows. But there is nothing odd…

Posted in Commerce, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

And the First Shall Be Last

Posted on May 24, 2016 by davidsberry

Lunchtime today something of a bombshell landed in East Lothian Council with First Edinburgh’s peremptory announcement that they were cutting one fifth of all their services as of August this year. More specifically, they are pulling out of East Lothian … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Transport | Tagged | 2 Comments

Open Letter to Nicola

Posted on May 18, 2016 by davidsberry

I hope you’ll forgive the presumption but I have already tried writing in confidence to all four of your party’s members of Holyrood’s previous Local Government Committee and even to the Minister at the time (Marco Biagi). Unfortunately none saw … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Community, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Not Waving but Drowning

Posted on May 12, 2016 by davidsberry

Over its five years and almost 1,000 posts, this blog has been critical of the Scottish Labour party. In part, this has been in lively debate with some of its members and its policies. The position taken here has always … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

No’ Sae Green…but Cabbage-Lookin’

Posted on May 7, 2016 by davidsberry

Despite predictions (including my own) of this election being a rather boring shoo-in, credit is due to those who peppered it with upsets of pundit apple carts. Iain Gray increased a wafer-thin majority in the teeth of the SNP hurricane … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Election That Wasn’t

Posted on May 1, 2016 by davidsberry

It’s a funny old world. Once Thatcherism so scunnered the Scottish electorate in the 1980’s they sent a phalanx of Labour MPs down to Westminster in protest. It was a vain effort to block the worst effect of Tory privatisation. … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

If You Don’t Know By Now —

Posted on April 28, 2016 by davidsberry

I’m thinking about taking the advice of Unionist friends and giving this up. They think I’m wasting my time because I’m not any good. But the real reason for stopping is altogether different…is there any point? What more do we … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The First to Leave

Posted on April 26, 2016 by davidsberry

While English politicians and media work themselves up with two more months of lather over Brexit, Scottish politicians and media are in a similar spiraling clinch over looming Scottish Parliament elections. Given the relatively isolated nature of the snug Tory … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment