Review: How the Scots invented Canada
By Graeme Murdoch The Scots are history’s underdogs. Sir Walter Scott wrote: “I am a Scotsman; therefore I had to fight my way into the world.” Canada is often referred to as Scotland’s own colony –...
View ArticleA marathon and then some: the Glen Ogle 33
By Matthew Shelley My ultra marathon virginity has been lost: a coy start followed by seemingly endless humps and bumps and a sprint for the finish. The inaugural Glen Ogle 33 was not a race I...
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Opinion: Bright new leader for Scottish Tories, but same old problem
By Stuart Crawford Anyone seeking confirmation of the imminent demise of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party need look no further than last week’s leadership election. By favouring Ruth...
View ArticleMonday song: Silvio’s Lover
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band have produced another video by way of accompaniment to their popular album. Written and performed by Tommy Mackay, Fife comedian of the year, the new song (slightly...
View ArticleOpinion: When fantasy economics become all too real
By Colin Borland There was a sketch in one of the early Comic Relief shows in which a banker from the 1970s explained the extent to which servicing their international debts had impoverished so much...
View ArticleDaniel Craig, Sam Mendes and the Crinan Canal: 007 heads for Argyll
By Elizabeth McQuillan Scotland is to once again set to host a maelstrom of Hollywood action, with another film crew and movie entourage set to commandeer the "wilds of Scotland" as a backdrop. The...
View ArticleBeyond the birds and the bees: talking tweenage sex education
By Elizabeth McQuillan If you balk at the very thought of using words such as "penis", "masturbation" or "sexually transmitted" to educate your your pre-teen kids about the birds and the bees, then...
View ArticleDoes the Isle of Man have answers to Scotland’s ‘devo max’ dilemma?
In all the scrabbling around for ideas on what "devo max" would look like, nobody, it seems, has looked on Scotland’s doorstep – or not until now at any rate. SNP MSP Kenny Gibson has spent the last...
View ArticleEnjoying the company of an Edinburgh otter
By John Knox I have finally seen my neighbourhood otter. There he was, popping his head up in Duddingston Loch and then diving again with a swoop of his smooth back and long tail. It was mid-afternoon,...
View ArticleUseful Scots word: heise
By Betty Kirkpatrick Many Scots of a certain age will have memories of a Scots word used in their childhood and never encountered since. Trying to locate the word later in life can be tricky. Some...
View ArticleBlow for Scottish rugby as its brightest young star heads for England
Richie Gray, by some distance the most impressive young star to come out of Scottish rugby for years, is to quit Glasgow Warriors for a lucrative move to English Premiership club Sale Sharks. In what...
View ArticleWhat is it good for? A few thoughts on Remembrance weekend
By John Knox As I get older, Remembrance Sunday becomes sadder and more and more moving. I see soldiers falling to the ground like autumn leaves from the cherry tree outside my kitchen window. The...
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Review: Why Do We Kill? The Pathology of Murder in Baltimore
By Alex Wood Kelvin Sewell was Baltimore police officer for 22 years. An African-American in a predominantly (64 per cent) African-American city, he served in homicide, narcotics and internal affairs....
View ArticleWeir’s Week: Genuine Scots, poppy politics and goodbye Smokin’ Joe
By Stewart Weir Saturday Scotland’s Ricky Burns beats Michael Katsidis on points to win the WBO interim lightweight title, his first contest at that weight. It was a disciplined performance from the...
View ArticleFriday song: Dalgety Bay
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band have produced another video by way of accompaniment to their popular album. Written and performed by the all-aglow Tommy Mackay, Fife comedian of the year, the new...
View ArticleOpinion: Why we can’t rely on the state to look after us in our old age
Martin Sime is director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, and writes a monthly column for The Caledonian Mercury. When we think about our older years, most of us expect that if we...
View ArticleThe curious case of the disappearing marker on Britain’s highest hill
“No.4 Gully. For climbers returning to the CIC Hut or Allt a’Mhuilinn area, this descent is straightforward in good visibility. The top of the gully has a metal marker post with the number 4 drilled...
View ArticleFor Lothian, read Aragon: another tram system not running on time
By Chris Holme In the bleak midwinter – a capital city paralysed by roadworks. No tidings of comfort and joy for traders, tourists or shoppers. And still no prospect of the new trams that will deliver...
View ArticleEurozone problems add to the gloomy Scottish economic picture
It’s been a depressing few days for the watchers of Scotland’s economy. First came the CBI, which cut its forecast for growth in the UK between now and next year to just 0.9 per cent. Then the Office...
View ArticleClip-clop, red-top: memories of the St Cuthbert’s milk horses
By Elizabeth McQuillan As a small child, in the early 1970s, I would listen for the clip-clop of the milk horse doing the rounds in Polwarth area of Edinburgh. The steady clatter of iron on the...
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