It is the end of the season in the north-west Highlands. Shops are on reduced hours, many restaurants, hotels and cafes are closing up. Journey times are shorter because the…
We hosted Mathias Lyamunda, the chief executive of an NGO in Tanzania, as part of the HomeStay network for COP26. This gave us a glimpse of an African perspective on…
Food production will have to change to deliver the methane emissions reductions agreed at COP26. How will this work? Last week, I interviewed a “regenerative farmer” in Fife who may…
First published in the Sunday National, November 7 – (update, Mathias receive his visa on Monday and arrives tomorrow Tuesday Nov 9 for the last days of COP26) A senior…
It was interesting to see on the front page of the FT last week visitors to COP26 complaining that the nearest accommodation to the conference was in Edinburgh, 45 miles…
The political landscape of Germany and the UK and the US offers quite a contrast at the moment. The result of the German election means that there may be a…
First published in the Sunday National, September 26 Around one in five beds in Scotland’s major hospitals are occupied by elderly people who could be discharged – except there is…
Artists in Edinburgh’s Abbeyhill Colonies opened their houses, studios or gardens to show their work in an annual garden party gala at the weekend. I know one of them, Fraser…
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave her keynote speech to the Scottish National Party’s annual conference yesterday, saying there would be a referendum on Scottish independence by the end of 2023. “Trust…
IN BERLIN last week, I got an email from my uncle with a link to a Guardian article about an exhibition at the German History Museum on Nazi-era artists “Divinely Gifted: National…
Since I wrote this, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ennobled another 54 of his choices, one third Tory party donors. One donor – Malcolm Offord – failed to…
The annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures on Scotland’s economy came out this week – and they were seized on as a political tool to defend the Unionist…
The Food and Drinks Federation CEO Ian Wright wrote to Brexit minister David Frost and environment minister George Eustice this week to warn that without more clarity over the next…
First published in the Sunday National, August 8 Scottish soft fruit is being left to rot on bushes and growers are being forced by supermarkets to absorb Brexit-related costs –…
Edinburgh, August 8, Letter from Scotland number 9 – you can find links to sources and sign up here On an urban wander this week, I came across this statue…
Edinburgh, August 7 Letter from Scotland 8 – sign up to receive them here How much of what food costs to produce should the consumer pay? The European Union’s Common Agricultural…
Edinburgh August 6, 2021 Number 7 in my newsletters on Scottish current affairs – sign up to receive them by email here Scotland’s drug death numbers for 2020 were shocking – much…
Edinburgh August 4 This is the number 6 of my newsletters on Scottish current affairs – sign up to receive them by email here I took part in a You…
Went to the cinema to see the movie ‘Limbo’ tonight – it’s about a refugee who has been put on a mythic Scottish island to await the result of his…
There is a Latin saying “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” – but who will guard the guards? The same could be asked about the complaints about the SNP’s new complaints secretary….