Wordwatch: bank
By Betty Kirkpatrick Banks have recently been front-page news once again, this time thanks to the Franco–Belgian bank Dexia. Without some kind of rescue plan, it appeared that the bank was in danger...
View ArticleSteve Jobs – 1955–2011
Previous reports of Steve Jobs' death were, like Mark Twain's, an exaggeration. Sadly, this morning, they are all too accurate. The man who gave the world the iPod, iPhone and iPad, has died aged 56....
View ArticleFuture is bright for Scottish rugby – but coaches must trust in youth
What do these figures mean: 22, 20, 20, 20, 12, 15 and 4? They are the number of tries Scotland have scored at successive Rugby World Cups, starting with 1987 and ending with 2011. Apart from the blip...
View ArticleOpinion: Time to reframe the debate on devolution
By Martin Sime Director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations Constitutional change is firmly on the agenda for Scotland and the majority of people will welcome it. Opinion polls...
View ArticleThe Friday song: Theresa May contain nuts
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band have served up another video to accompany their popular album. Related posts:Friday song: Four YearsFriday song: Oui Oui, Je Suis Gérard DepardieuFriday song: Of...
View ArticleWeir’s week: Norwegian wonder goal, a straight spinner and fitba on the telly
By Stewart Weir Saturday Can’t say today was anything other than very, very, very wet, standing on top of Drummond Hill, looking out over, well, frankly nothing but low cloud. The Colin McRae Forest...
View ArticleOpinion: in a chilly economic climate it’s time for Plan C
By John Knox “She’s going down,” Ernest Shackleton told his men as he ordered them to abandon their ship, Endurance. They had indeed “endured” the Antarctic winter of 1915 trapped in the ice when their...
View ArticleVideo: One year on, Scotland’s response to the Pakistan floods
Just over a year ago Pakistan was hit by its worst ever floods which destroyed more than a million homes and left ten million homeless and destitute. Two thousand people perished. But Scotland didn't...
View ArticleWill this year’s Leuchars Air Show prove to be the last one ever?
The RAF Leuchars Air Show is an institution. Like many others, I first went as a child. I went again when I had children, first taking them to a hill above the Fife airfield to watch the aircraft from...
View ArticleGilts and jitters – October is again a nervy month in economics
Historically, October has been a dangerous month for the world economy. The Wall Street Crash took place in October 1929. That led to a depression lasting over ten years. Black Monday saw stock...
View ArticleUseful Scots word: jag
By Betty Kirkpatrick It’s that time of year again when the relatively stricken in years or those with potential respiratory problems are advised to get a vaccination against the dreaded flu. Most of us...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scramble for seats starts as new electoral map of Scotland is revealed
The fight is on. Today the Boundary Commission is announcing the shake-up of Scottish constituencies, and it is clear that a number of MPs are going to lose out. One Westminster seat is going to go...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Alexander attacks Scottish colleagues as Labour bloodletting escalates
Douglas Alexander, the most senior Scot in the shadow cabinet, has today delivered a devastating critique on his own Scottish party in a latest bout of bloodletting to follow the party’s woeful...
View Article‘He didn’t just pick one horse and ride it’: Irvine Butterfield, hill man
When Dibidil – a bothy in a remote location on the south-east side of the island of Rum – was rebuilt in 1970, it gave its name to, and formed the subject of, the first book by Irvine Butterfield, the...
View Article‘A Better Nation?’ – a speech by Douglas Alexander MP
The following is the text of the Andrew John Williamson Memorial Lecture for 2011, given at Stirling University earlier this evening by the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP. The lecture is entitled "A...
View ArticleFriday song: Quantitative Easing Like Sunday Morning
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band have had enough time on their corporate hands to serve up another video by way of accompaniment to their popular album. This week’s tasty offering, written and...
View ArticleWeir’s Week: Panoramic views, ferry frolics and a Spanish stroll
By Stewart Weir Saturday The Rugby World Cup reaches the sudden-death stage. Lose and you go home. This Saturday morning feels like an old Five Nations day from bygone years, with an all-Celtic clash...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Skateboarding in safety: Transgression Park opens in Craigmillar
By John Knox The name fascinated me: Transgression Park. It suddenly appeared on a large warehouse on the edge of Edinburgh’s Craigmillar estate. Was it a prison? Was it somewhere you went to commit a...
View ArticleNicola Sturgeon: SNP government has hit the ground running
The following is an article by Scottish deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon, first published in yesterday's Sunday Times. Scotland has moved on decisively and irrevocably as a nation. Perhaps that is...
View ArticleIt affects men, too: why breast cancer is not just a pink issue
By Elizabeth McQuillan The little pink ribbon is a familiar symbol to us all now, a good exercise in public relations that has served to effectively raise the profile and awareness of breast cancer....
View Article