A sketch of Edinburgh as the Queen lay in state, September 13
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…
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 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…
ON the western edge of the Sleat peninsula, sometimes called the Isle of Sleat, is Tarskavaig, a scattering of whitewashed cottages looking out across the open sea towards Rum and…
Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof is at the heart of Europe’s sleek 21st-century rail network. Trains slide through on several levels, connected by long elevators and glassy lifts. It is a monument to…
Thousands of refugees from Ukraine have been arriving in Berlin – 6,000 estimated today. At the city’s vast central station, the Hauptbahnhof, volunteers awaited the new arrivals, carrying cardboard signs…
There was just one other couple in the cinema at Eden Court in Inverness on a wintry evening in to see Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers”. A spell-binding story, it touches…
To the Highland Press Ball in Inverness this weekend – celebrating local journalism with people from as far afield as Lewrick, as the UK Government likes to call the Shetland…
We are taking advantage of our status as digital nomads to base ourselves in Gran Canaria for most of January. I started off by correcting people who said ‘enjoy your…
On the first of January, 2021, the transition period ended and Britain effectively left the EU – closing a long period where the media was full of discussions about what…
Glasgow’s Barras celebrated its centenary on Saturday. A combination of rain and Covid warnings meant the place was quiet despite the anniversary. Christmas lights were refracted in the puddles outside…
The Labour Party has become increasingly defined by opposition to a second referendum and to the SNP generally – but it doesn’t seem to be bearing fruit electorally. There was…
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…