It’s not all doom and gloom. Local communities have found inspiring new opportunities in lockdown. For Sceptical Scot, food writer Jonathan Trew ventures into the heat of a a virtual kitchen bringing cultures together
Culture
Dateline Covid capital of Scotland
“The tension between reporting the facts and the grave reality of the situation and the responsibility to boost morale is laid out in front of you as a reporter.” Trials and tribulations of being a frontline local news reporter during the pandemic movingly described by the author.
Edinburgh reimagined: the future will be localised
Arts and culture are at a turning point, says Morvern Cunningham, facing the risk of returning to a kind of normal that we saw pre-pandemic. Only this time, the normal we are heading back to is likely to be worse than before.
Covid inspires a can-do response to old problem
Brace yourselves for good news. A ‘can-do’ story of enterprise, ingenuity, and kindness. Though, there is a familiar theme – how Covid has exposed the faultlines of our society. Who knew so many university students would be going hungry?
How to end food poverty?
Fair shares? Big supermarkets and other private corporations have seen profits boom during the pandemic. If they each invested just a small percentage of their profits it could end food poverty in Britain.
We will dance, oh how we will dance!
“There’s nothing that can quite live up to the thrill of live performance. I realise now that it was something I took for granted.” Craig Angus finds liberation in a film that seems made for our time. ‘Stop Making Sense’ fills a void where live music once was.
The play must go on
“There is a range of attitudes in the industry from blind optimism to sheer pessimism, depending on who you talk to and what day of the week it is,” says Williams, when asked how hopeful he is about the future of Scottish Theatre. “I do think that when people can return to the theatre, they will. I think there will be a real hunger for live events.”
Overcoming lockdown blues – and barriers
Many people in Scotland are finding this second lockdown harder than the first. People are tired, burnt out…no-one knows when this will end. Philippa Kemp describes how human contact can provide vital support – both online and offline
Infants in care – Scotland’s civic emergency
In Scotland, one in every 85 children born between 2008 and 2017 was in public care at some time before their first birthday, separated from their mothers in their first year of life. These figures are shocking. They raise a basic question no one here seems to be asking: why and why so many?
Doses of compassion from the doctor-poet
“If it is our mission…to alleviate suffering as well as to preserve life …”
The crystal-clear words of doctor-poet Gael Turnbull feel like a timely gift in our time of need.