Category Archives: Uncategorized

Phoenix: Rising Fast…but Then Ashes?

Posted on December 3, 2016 by

Jet-lagged and shocked by temperature differentials, this may not be cohesive. especially after a 3-month hiatus in writing this blog. A month in the capital of Arizona is a real experience of the American Dream writ large. At 4.3m people … Continue reading →

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Toys Out the Pram; Bums Oot the Windae

Posted on June 24, 2016 by

I join over 15m voters in their varied disappointment on waking this morning to discover that Britain has voted to leave the EU. That’s about as sober a statement as I can manage right now. Because I am bealing, furious, … Continue reading →

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If You Don’t Know By Now —

Posted on April 28, 2016 by

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 →

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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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Why Did It Take So Long?

Posted on March 2, 2016 by

Today’s Herald reports that Nicola is to use a visit to a school in Midlothian to announce major changes to how Council Tax is levied. The paper reports that the SNP had originally wanted to replace it with a progressive … Continue reading →

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We Need To Talk About: Budget Underspends

Posted on October 5, 2015 by

Originally posted on The Common Green:
Q. When is a surplus not a surplus? A. When someone is talking down the Scottish Government. Today the Auditor General published its annual report detailing an independent opinion on how well the Scottish…

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Yes, We Must All Think for Ourselves

Posted on August 12, 2015 by

Monty Python’s Life of Brian is over thirty years old now and therefore probably unknown to younger generations. Pilloried in its day as sacrilegious, its humour has aged far better than its Carry On… predecessors, especially its shrewd observations on … Continue reading →

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Eastern Promise

Posted on August 6, 2015 by

The character of many small fishing ports around the Forth is stopped from falling into the soporific boredom of marinas like Port Edgar by the remaining fishing boats that still ply their trade. Though oysters may be a thing of … Continue reading →

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“Not Enough Votes, Mainly”

Posted on May 10, 2015 by

Tom Harris, whose dry comment on Scottish Labour’s election debacle this is, is only one of a posse of capable and experienced politicians whose next stop is the burroo. Aside from those who jumped ship, Douglas Alexander, Anne Begg and … Continue reading →

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Labour is already in mourning.

Posted on May 4, 2015 by

Originally posted on Iain Macwhirter:
? Spare a thought this weekend for the Labour MP for Glasgow North East, Willie Bain. Opinion polls had suggested that he might be the only Labour MP left in Scotland. It could have made…

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