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.

Matthew Ch.10, Verse 26

Posted on January 24, 2013 by davidsberry

I’m not given to religious quotes and—lest any reader fall under the delusion that your humble scribe has gone all pious in his dotage, the only reason I know the verse in the title is from as eloquent an anti-war … Continue reading →

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Cottages: Cosier and Healthier

Posted on January 23, 2013 by davidsberry

All across Scotland a debate about the NHS and how its services can be preserved amidst these new financial strictures is bubbling beneath the media surface. Above the surface, what debate there is about health focusses on waiting times and … Continue reading →

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The Shape of the Future

Posted on January 18, 2013 by davidsberry

To quote Holyrood magazine which has proved itself pretty adept at putting its finger on the pulse of the moment: “Scotland’s population has reached its highest ever level. Official census figures published at the end of last year revealed that … Continue reading →

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Neart na Gaoithe

Posted on January 16, 2013 by davidsberry

Tuesday’s meeting of the East Lothian Cabinet was pretty light on council business but it carried one paper that will have long and deep repercussions for the whole Firth of Forth. Nine miles off Fife Ness and nineteen from North … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Environment | Tagged | 1 Comment

Saving Us from Ourselves

Posted on January 13, 2013 by davidsberry

It is meant as no insult to the Welsh, Cumbria, Peak District or anywhere else to say that Scotland has the most extensive rugged landscape in the British Isles—or, for that matter, Western Europe. There are more mountains to scale, … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Environment | Tagged | 1 Comment

Scrooge’s Abacus

Posted on January 9, 2013 by davidsberry

It was no surprise that the ConDems won tonight’s vote in Westminster on a Bill to limit annual increases in benefits to 1%, nor was it any surprise that Labour politicians lined up to condemn this development. So far, so … Continue reading →

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Posted on January 7, 2013 by davidsberry

Originally posted on A Burdz Eye View:
Two Scottish broadsheet Sunday papers, two quite different splashes. But they share a theme. The Sunday Herald’s front page story tells of the Scotland Office sitting on internal government files relating to devolution.…

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Education as Political Football

Posted on January 6, 2013 by davidsberry

Currently, politicians are getting stick for appearing to prefer squabbling to getting things done. While this can been seen as simplistic and not showing understanding of how democracy works, there is nonetheless much truth in the accusation. Because what they … Continue reading →

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Where Hell Froze Over

Posted on January 4, 2013 by davidsberry

The year 2012 will be remembered  for unusual weather. Sunny Dunny was drenched, Stonehaven flooded, Assynt suffered an unheard-of drought and much of England is still so sodden any new rain simply runs off. North of us was unusual too … Continue reading →

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Credo

Posted on January 3, 2013 by davidsberry

“We make out of the quarrel with others, politics, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry” —W.B. Yeats The previous post is a re-blog from Mute Swan with which I was particularly impressed because it asked politicians to rethink their … Continue reading →

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