Category Archives: Environment

To End All Wars

Posted on August 12, 2018 by

This week we had another series of news items reminding us of te centenary of yet another WW1 battle—this time the Amiens offensive when the Allies finally had success in breaching German lines on the Western Front and rolling them … Continue reading →

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Our Clowns Are Back

Posted on June 3, 2018 by

SOS Puffin is a volunteer project sponsored by the Scottish Seabird Centre which started in 2007. It aims to bring under control the invasive plant tree mallow which had taken over the islands of Craigleith and Fidra, threatening important populations … Continue reading →

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Republicans Want to Turn the Entire Country into Oklahoma

Posted on February 9, 2018 by

By Paul Waldman  February 8, 2018   © Washington Post We have in this country an essentially unchanging disagreement about what model of governance will produce the best economic and social results. Democrats advocate what we might call weak social democracy: … Continue reading →

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Blowing the Inheritance

Posted on August 18, 2016 by

Edinburgh deserves its status as a World Heritage Site. Its New Town is—along with Bath—the shining example of magnificent Georgian architecture. Its regular streets of coherent facades are interspersed with circles, squares and gardens and gifted with wide views of … Continue reading →

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Trans-Arctic Convoys

Posted on April 2, 2016 by

Once upon a time, the British took the Phoenecian and Viking idea of building a maritime empire to its logical global conclusion. We spent the last two centuries congratulating ourselves on how clever we were to do so. Leave aside … Continue reading →

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Carlekemp: Architectural Gem

Posted on March 10, 2016 by

You can drive down Abbotsford Road in North Berwick and not even know it’s there. Carlekemp, a long, elegant pile of mellow Rattlebags stone, hides in its expansive four acres of grass and trees behind a high wall that retains … Continue reading →

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Rewilding Highland Ecology

Posted on October 14, 2015 by

As a Scot descended in part from Appin Stuarts, I get emotional crossing the Highland Line, feeling the huge flanks of the mountains close around me like a herd of giant cattle and suffusing me with subtle feelings between awe … Continue reading →

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Operation Puffin Update

Posted on January 14, 2015 by

I have reported on the terrific work that 100+ volunteers have done on the Forth Islands to protect the indigenous puffin population from being crowded out of house and home by an invasive plant. What follows is the latest report … Continue reading →

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Getting Your Feet Wet

Posted on December 17, 2014 by

Just recently, I was asked to give a presentation to a civic group so lively it refused to accept defeat after a decade of bureaucratic foot-dragging by the local council: the Friends of the CC Museum. Founded in a century-old … Continue reading →

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Our Maritime Neighbours

Posted on August 29, 2014 by

Apart from fishermen, yachties and the odd boat trip, few of us spend much time beyond our shoreline, let alone wonder what’s beneath. The superb food and drink we are becoming famous for includes excellent shellfish and a seasonal abundance … Continue reading →

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