Author Archives: davidsberry

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About davidsberry

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

Fur Coats and No £nickers

Posted on January 1, 2024 by davidsberry

This weekend the Telegraph rounded out a difficult year for the UK and its government with an upbeat article on economic prospects for the country in its Business section, entitled “Britain to outgrow Germany for years to come as eurozone growth engine … Continue reading →

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Another Tea Party?

Posted on December 17, 2023 by davidsberry

Today marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, when 30 men boarded three East India Company vessels in Boston Harbour. They broke open 342 chests of tea and, carefully avoiding causing any other damage, dumped about 90,000 pounds … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics, USA | Leave a comment

Council of Despair

Posted on December 3, 2023 by davidsberry

Even during the heyday of empire a century ago, East Lothian was a sleepy country cousin of its dynamic Lothian sibling. Back then, despite the industrial might of Glasgow, Edinburgh buzzed with brewing, publishing and the law, West Lothian exploited … Continue reading →

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This “Maga Saga” Is Nothing New

Posted on November 24, 2023 by davidsberry

This month, tantrums by the Maga wing of the Republican control of the US House of Representatives got even worse. On November 15th, they shut down House business by refusing to pass a procedural vote to take up a spending bill. … Continue reading →

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Rather Grim Rutherglen

Posted on October 4, 2023 by davidsberry

The person who calls an election before the day is either gallus or foolhardy—or both. In its efforts to catalyse conversation, this blog has sailed close to the controversial winds. But in over a thousand posts, it has never stuck … Continue reading →

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Mass Oysteria?

Posted on October 2, 2023 by davidsberry

Time was when the denizens of the Edinburgh Enlightenment dined on woodcock and pigeon, while the poor had to make do with the humble Scottish oyster. So plentiful were they along the foreshore of the Forth. Since medieval times, they … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Community, Environment | Leave a comment

Our Nomenklatura *

Posted on September 17, 2023 by davidsberry

“You must believe in something. I believe I’ll have another drink.” The return of MPs to the hallowed halls of Westminster after their summer break has not gone well for the Government. P.M. Sunak came back empty-handed from the G20 … Continue reading →

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The Tangle O’ The Isles

Posted on August 28, 2023 by davidsberry

Open Letter to Transport Minister Hyslop Dear Fiona: When we last met in the re-purposed Infirmary Street baths, you were Culture Minister, which shows the time since we last spoke.  This week’s news of further delay to delivery of the MV … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Politics, Transport | Leave a comment

Boardroom Banditry

Posted on August 24, 2023 by davidsberry

The last few years have not been kind to Joe Punter. After two decades of growing prosperity in the aftermath of the Thatcherite 1988 stock market “Big Bang”, Harry Enfield’s “Loadsamoney” satire came uncomfortably close to reality. Then “Prudence” Brown, … Continue reading →

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Trump is Toast

Posted on August 20, 2023 by davidsberry

Despite what US Civics and uber-patriots might have you believe, the USA is not the “perfect union” that the Founding Fathers conceived a quarter of a millennium ago, embodying their noble principles in the US Constitution. More than two dozen … Continue reading →

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