Rob Edwards, an environmental investigative journalist for 40 years Below is a look at the patient work that lay behind this investigation. On another note – I have tried to…
I had the opportunity to go to Paris last week. Thanks to the generosity of my loyal band of paying subscribers on Substack, I was able to add a couple…
Our wild swimming anthology is available to pre-order and will be published on September 11. We hope to see some of you at our September book events A Letter from…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
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…
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….
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….
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…
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 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…