Wordwatch: jam
By Betty Kirkpatrick Traditionally it is the city of Dundee that is famous for jam. Now Edinburgh has taken over this crown, albeit for a different kind of jam, the traffic jam. It has been announced...
View ArticleUnrepentant Salmond may face defamation suit in human rights law row
Alex Salmond refused to apologise today in the increasingly acrimonious row over the UK Supreme Court and, as a result, he now faces the possibility of having to contest a defamation suit brought...
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Famous, snowy and naked – an interesting blend
Once upon a time, it was easy for whisky drinkers, at least for fans of The Famous Grouse. It has been the top selling whisky in Scotland for over 30 years and is one of the top-selling blended...
View ArticleWithout a shadow of a doubt, Britain’s finest drama in years
For a while during the promotion of Cemetery Junction, Ricky Gervais was telling anyone who would listen that he would love to next turn his hand to drama, a particularly dark one plotted around the...
View ArticleOxfam campaigns against crippling world food prices
By Peter John Meiklem, Oxfam Scotland Few will have missed the effect of the rising price of food on their own pockets. Whether it’s the cost of whole wheat bread, steak or potatoes, most people across...
View ArticleFriday Song: Sir Cockroach
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band have, for your pleasure, produced a video for their song Sir Cockroach, to promote their new album. Donate to us: support independent, intelligent, in-depth Scottish...
View ArticleDouble-clicking your way to divorce: the perils of cybersex addiction
By Elizabeth McQuillan Described by psychologists as the "crack cocaine" of sex addiction, netsex or cybersex is a growing problem, rising as a destructive force within the lives of many very average...
View ArticleWeir’s Week: smashes, stramashes… and Brian the snail
By Stewart Weir Saturday I’ve always been a fan of the Le Mans 24 Hour Race, from my first Matchbox Jaguar XK, through my dad’s bedtime stories and tales, the GT40s, Steve McQueen, to the famous Gulf...
View ArticleWhy would anyone want to stop the Edinburgh trams project now?
By John Knox Is there anyone in Edinburgh – or anyone in Scotland – who seriously believes we should stop building the trams, after spending £440 million on them? Apparently there is one such...
View ArticleArctic artistic angst as climate change film premiers in Edinburgh
by Rob Edwards It could have been “some horrendous sort of competitive artistic soup bowl where we’re all just starting to be complete bitches to each other”, according to the Scottish...
View ArticleReports suggest low consumer confidence but labour market upturn
Scotland’s economy is facing a challenging time. The Scottish ITEM Club – Ernst & Young’s forecasting group – believes that inflation and commodity prices will impede the country’s road to...
View ArticleKids off school? Seven activities to wear out the weans
by Elizabeth McQuillan Kids are fickle little blighters, and will be looking to the impending school holidays in anticipation of being able to both free-range with their friends and be entertained and...
View ArticleUseful Gaelic word: oir
oir – edge Listen to the pronunciation guide A nice simple word. Depending on dialect, it may pronounced as in the English word "or", or with a slight lisp on the final r, as in the English th-sound....
View Article‘The slight shudder of the peat’: saving Flanders Moss
By John Knox If you see a group of worried-looking men and women dressed in cagoules and gumboots walking out on to Flanders Moss west of Stirling this week, they are not the remains of a political...
View ArticleWordwatch: toff
By Betty Kirkpatrick Words, like people, can be unpredictable. Take toff, for example. For quite a while it has appeared to be, if not exactly dead and buried, then at least well on its way to...
View ArticleThe Edinburgh trams project: a disaster that should be mothballed
Two days ago, John Knox wrote a piece arguing that the troubled Edinburgh trams project ought to continue, and making reference to John Carson, who will be standing for election to the Edinburgh...
View ArticleFunding delays cause Ochil glen rockfall closure to rumble on
It is perhaps inevitable that discussion of the effects of the cuts and general economic restrictions tends to focus on urban projects, given that the population density is so much greater in such...
View ArticleFrom Bono to Great Uncle Bulgaria: ten acts to watch at Glastonbury
Glastonbury being what it is, you can find somewhere to go and watch Wimbledon on one of the big screens, or even catch Rod Laver – he juggles ping-pong balls and will be at the Circus Big Top,...
View ArticleFriday Song: Wimbledon
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band have, once again, produced a video to promote their new album. This week's topical offering, Wimbledon, is written and performed by Tommy Mackay, newly crowned Fife...
View ArticleSectarianism and Catholic schools – the taboo we are afraid to discuss
John Lamont is not the sort of MSP one would expect to indulge in deliberately aggravating behaviour, but that is what this mild-mannered, studious-looking Tory was accused of doing yesterday. His...
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