The start of the new year brings the prospect of fresh perspectives but not it seems in the world of mainstream news. Across nearly all news outlets, and in particular…
What are the main characteristics of Scottish politics? Fifteen years into SNP Government, the party is still popular; the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has ratings any incumbent could only dream…
John Lennon would have been 80 this Friday. To add to the poignancy, two months later is the 40th anniversary of 8 December 1940, when Lennon was killed in front…
Last week, one story gripped part of Scotland. It wasn’t COVID-19 or the independence majority in two polls. Rather, it was the fallout from the Kirsty Wark programme on the…
The songs that we sing individually and collectively in our hearts, homes and at public occasions tell us something: about who we are, our relationships with each other, and the…
I felt European long before any other identity: Scottish, British, Dundonian, a citizen of the world. This was in the 1970s when the UK joined the EEC and then held…
Gordon Brown is a defining figure in the history of modern Scotland: a presence for many of us through our adult lives. He has always seemed to be there: first,…
Glasgow Rangers FC have returned to the top of the football game in Scotland. At the same time, twice in the space of two months a section of their fanbase…
Over the past two months, I’ve spent much time packing and unpacking piles of books: putting them into boxes, labelling them, taking them out of boxes, and putting them up…
2022 is the centenary of a year of rebellion. The Irish Free State was born in 1992, the Red Clydesiders went to Westminster; and the year gave its name to…