Audio version of my EdFest Substack
Are you walking the dog later? Or doing some gardening? Here is a round-up of some of the things I saw at the Edinburgh Festival on my theme of Living…
Big Beasts at the Edinburgh Festivals
Usually I manage, for a couple of days at least, to be one of the arts marathoners who dash from show to show at the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe. I…
On Kate Forbes and stepping back
The Indian Rug by Anne Redpath This week the deputy leader of the Scottish government Kate Forbes announced on her daughter’s third birthday that she won’t be a candidate at…
The Sandy Peggie tribunal proves we can’t avoid difficult conversations
Image created with AI I’ve always argued that “no debate” is a bad approach when it comes to trans rights – or anything else. If you tell people they’re not…
American art gallery acquires painting by underappreciated Scottish artist
Norah Neilson Gray, self portrait 1918 After visiting the National Gallery of Scotland last week, one of my young associates asked what I knew of Norah Neilson Gray, to whom…
UK Turns Its Back on Energy Reform — and the Highlands Will Pay
Image created by AI After three years of consultation on reforming energy pricing, the UK Government has decided to do… almost nothing. A few minor tweaks. It’s putting a cherry…
Photo/ travelog: A Hebridean Odyssey part ll
Last year, Rob and his friend Paul kayaked from Castlebay on Barra to Lochmaddy on North Uist (read about that here). This year they continued the journey, going from Lochmaddy…
Love in a Time of Popcorn: Why Cinema Could Help Fix the Relationship Recession
It was a joy to be back at the Edinburgh Filmhouse this week, watching a three-hour Turkish movie and eating a small pack of Jalapeño-and-Jarlsberg flavour popcorn. About Dry Grasses…
Should the Scottish government fund public interest journalism?
Scotland is in the middle of a long, slow media collapse. Newsrooms are shrinking, as is the audience. Social media is awash with influencers boosted by dark money. Public trust…
Scots leid has official status
Our friend Milo in a kilt – a practical garment for hiking, photo Rob Bruce The Scots leid – or language – was given official status in Scotland this week….
An evening at the theatre with Nan Shepherd
Arriving at Pitlochry Theatre with Brad Lewis Cannon and Walter Bruce ON a mild summer evening last week, travelling down from the Highlands by train, I suggested we stop off…
The BBC is stealing from Scotland
Scotland contributes around £300 million annually to the BBC – a third more than the Scottish Government’s entire culture budget. By law, the BBC is supposed to invest at least…
Are Scotland’s Ferries Too Cheap?
The Lady of Lismore, the island’s foot ferry Judged against other countries with inhabited islands, Scotland’s ferry service is among the best in the world, something its critics rarely acknowledge….
Magnus Wolfe Murray on Cox’s Bazar
First published as a Letter from Scotland on Substack, March 18, 2025 The US has made a huge cut in its Overseas Aid budget and the UK has followed suit….
Cape Town: Remembering a long dance to freedom
First published Feb 26, 2025 I got the chance to visit Cape Town last week, where I met up with an old friend from Scotland. Sonwabo Masepe taught me African…
A year on – flying the flag for Belarusian dissidents
First published March 21, 2024, updated March 19, 2025 At an Edinburgh freelance branch NUJ meeting this week, Howard Amos discussed his book Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the…
Energy privatisation has been a disaster for Scotland, Jan 14 2025
Energy poverty is when you can’t afford to heat your home or cook your food. Almost a third – 31% – of Scots are in this category, That is more…
Glasgow needs its “Mac” back
Letter from Scotland, published Dec 9, 2024 Paris welcomed world leaders this weekend to celebrate the magnificent rebuild of Notre Dame, completed on a time scale many thought impossible….
A sketch of Edinburgh as the Queen lay in state, September 13, 2022
Edinburgh for the last couple of days has been at the epicentre of the royal passing – a carefully-planned and tactfully-arranged ceremony. I don’t think I have seen a single…
25 years on from the referendum of 1997
25 years ago, on September 11, 1997, Scotland voted overwhelmingly for a Scottish Parliament, in a referendum Less than a fortnight before the poll, Princess Diana died in a crash…