Friday song: Eck’s Army
In these turbulent political times, the latest topical song from the Sensational Alex Salmond Band is entitled Eck's Army. The band's Best Of 2011 album is also now available, and The Caledonian...
View ArticleWeir’s Week: Serbian handball – followed by a Serbian masterclass
By Stewart Weir Saturday I can’t recall mentioning handball too often in the past. But for the handball fan out there you’ll have been viewing the sport’s 15 minutes of glory of an evening on British...
View ArticleWeir’s Week: daffodils, knighthoods and a pricey pigeon
By Stewart Weir Saturday The Ayrshire derby between Kilmarnock and Ayr United at Hampden to decide who went forward to the League Cup final didn’t really live up to the hype. Pity the game wasn’t as...
View ArticleFriday song: Royal Bank of Scotland (bonus edit)
In these topsy-turvy political times, the latest topical song from the Sensational Alex Salmond Band is Royal Bank of Scotland (bonus edit). The band's Best Of 2011 album is also now available, and The...
View ArticleGood coach, poor selector – Robinson lives up to that harsh tag again
Good coach, poor selector. It will be hard – impossible, even – for Scotland coach Andy Robinson to avoid that tag when he names a team like the one he has done for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup match. There...
View ArticleUp for grabs: six possible recipients of Goodwin’s cast-off knighthood
Forget about the rights and wrongs, the moral high ground and the financial hinterland. The key question is surely this: now that Fred Goodwin has been forfeitured, or whatever the word is, there is a...
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Scots win world debating championship
Five young Scottish debaters have won the World Schools Debating Championships in Cape Town, beating Wales to lift the trophy. The Scottish team is made up of Charlie Holmes, Alfie Hinchliffe, Josh...
View ArticleConservation concerns as Scottish Natural Heritage changes emphasis
By John Knox Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has signalled a change in emphasis to focus more on using Scotland’s natural assets to create jobs and boost economic growth. In its latest strategy...
View ArticlePoliticians stripping Fred Goodwin of his knighthood are just as bad
There is nothing more demeaning than politicians switching sides and turning on people they used to support – just for the sake of a few votes. But that is exactly what has happened over Fred Goodwin....
View ArticleUseful Scots word: peerie
By Betty Kirkpatrick A reader has written in about the word peerie. The sense mentioned relates to dimensions and is rightly defined as small. This meaning of peerie, although formerly more widespread,...
View ArticleScotland heading for wooden spoon unless Robinson selects winners
Odd weekend, really. I saw a top-class Scottish side sweep their English counterparts from the pitch, score four glorious tries and deny their opponents a single point. Then I went to Murrayfield on...
View ArticleVideo: Quality lacking in Scotland’s businesses
Businesses throughout the world need to promote the quality of their products or services. But members of the Power Lunch Club (PLC) in Edinburgh have heard that Scotland is not seen in Europe as a...
View ArticleFrom Carbisdale Castle to the Huhne case – a short history of revenge
What, one wonders, is going on in inside the head of Vicky Pryce, Chris Huhne’s ex-wife? Is she enjoying this moment, or ruing the day she claimed she had stood by her man and agreed to take the hit...
View ArticleOpinion: A call for better journalism
By Blair Jenkins Stronger and smarter press regulation is only one of a number of levers that will have to be applied if we are to secure better journalism in the digital age. The work of regulation...
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From STV to the Sky Sports limelight: the reinvention of Jim White
Acorn to oak tree, caterpillar to butterfly, goat herder’s son to US President. The capacity for transformation in all creatures great and small is an often wondrous thing. In the curious case of Jim...
View ArticleCrisis at Rangers: in the red, Whyte and (feeling) blue
By Stewart Weir I’ve used the line before, namely that there is no such thing as a new news story. It’s only a new tale to another generation, or an original idea scaled up or down. That, however,...
View ArticleWeir’s Week: from Kyle Stanley to Port Stanley, via Top of the Pops
By Stewart Weir Saturday Was at the Six Nations rugger today, Scotland versus England, and spent quite a wee while (big while, actually) in the company of Stuart Grimes, Doddie Weir, Ivan Tukalo, Peter...
View ArticleFriday song: Hurry Up Harry Redknapp
The latest topical song from the Sensational Alex Salmond Band – Hurry Up Harry Redknapp – is a right old knees-up, innit? The band's Best Of 2011 album is still available – go here for a video taster...
View ArticleUseful Scots word: preen
By Betty Kirkpatrick In English, preen is commonly a verb. Originally used to refer to birds cleaning and smoothing their feathers with their beaks, it then came to be used of humans who are...
View ArticleOpinion: regardless of the referendum, economic change is needed
Martin Sime is director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, and writes a monthly column for The Caledonian Mercury. In his speech to the David Hume Institute last week, the finance...
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