“…now would be a good time to shake things up even further. Who will make that happen? I expect little from the Government or the Parliament, it’ll be for others to push for change..”
Prophets without honour in their own land
“Scots have a self-image of being frank and forthright. Within the professions at least, this is rarely justified. Agreement with official policy rather than plain speaking is the dominant form of discourse at the upper levels of Scottish education. Similar tendencies can be seen in law and medicine….”
Wishing love: a song and poem for the new year
“Each being is like a grain of sand or a pebble that makes up a beautiful whole. All are unique and precious. Sometimes when I walk on the beach I look for particularly special pebbles or sea washed glass. But, in reality – they are all unique and make altogether, a wonderful beach…”
The paywall keeping the public out of history
“At a time when digital resources are a godsend, the general public cannot engage with Census data to advance their own historical interests. Of greater significance perhaps are questions such as: How can the histories of a nation be written without access to the core data – the inhabitants and their locations?”
Year of the Squeeze
“For all the talk of the pandemic (somehow) boosting worker power, it looks more likely to deliver the third real wage squeeze in a decade, and to leave workers substantially worse off than they would have been otherwise. By the end of 2024, average earnings are set to be £740 a year lower than they would have been if even the sluggish wage growth prior to the pandemic had continued.”
Kathleen Jamie: the poetry of natural resistance
“But another important thing is that poetry is for everyone. Don’t for one minute think poetry was ever a highfalutin thing. It never was – particularly In Scotland. Think about the ballads, think about Burns – these are ordinary everyday folk.”
Why is inflation at its highest for decades?
As UK inflation hits a 10-year high of 5.1%, a leading Scottish economist asks why global prices are rising so fast – and what central banks must now do.
A hundred years of selling
“The Barras is a historic spot. But could it benefit, if not from gentrifiction, from some fresh blood – perhaps the kind of vintage clothing and upcycling operation which seems to bring the young and the tourists to Brick Lane or Portobello Road in London?”
A Labour-SNP coalition is the answer to gridlock
“What Scotland needs is something similar: a Scottish Labour-SNP pact – probably after 2024 or 2026 – with or without the Greens to deliver social and economic modernisation, including the just transition, digital transformation and local government reform, plus constitutional change.”
2021: cause for celebration the year live music came back
“It’s good to care about something. Whatever way the world changes in the next few years, I hope the infrastructure that makes all of these events possible remains strong.”