Monthly Archives: October 2017

Frederic Lindsay

Posted on October 28, 2017 by Grouse Beater

An occasional series on eminent Scots under-valued by the general public or forgotten. An independent novelist There is any number of Scottish-born authors of detective fiction, a few full-time and very successful, but the best of them all is no longer … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots | 4 Comments

A Scot in Englandshire

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Education, education, education It is impossible for the privately educated Englishman, and some state school educated ones too, to accept Scots wholeheartedly as one of themselves for to do so jeopardises their status as Englishmen. The reverse is true for … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 22 Comments

The Death of Stalin – a review

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Armando Iannucci – let’s not forget the OBE – the creator of this darkly-satirical comedy, is a Scot who likes to be called a Scot. But before anybody cheers remember he is apt to defend the BBC, his alma mater, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film review | Leave a comment

Car News: Dependability

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Your weekly guide to all that’s rotten about car ownership, plus some good bits The most automobile magazines will tell you about the car you plan to buy is how well it drives, what space there is inside, and how … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | 5 Comments

A Confident Nation

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Grouse Beater

The world’s nations are governed by a remarkable clan of women, from Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of cash rich Norway, and Prime Minister Beata Szydło of Poland, to Angela Merkel commanding Germany’s prosperous economy. Like men, some are good at … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 6 Comments

Not Unity, but Democracy!

Posted on October 7, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Does the electorate, does anybody in Scotland enjoy the daily dose of tosh beamed at us of Theresa May and the jostle for power in the Tory Party? Who is running the UK? England’s self-inflicted woes erupt on Scotland like … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 4 Comments

Blade Runner 2049 – a review

Posted on October 7, 2017 by Grouse Beater

When Blade Runner was premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival it was not the wildly successful film that people fondly assume it was. In fact, it was something of a mystery. Bits of the plot went unexplained, the pace was slow, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film review | 7 Comments

Car News: A Plug for Dyson

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Your weekly guide to all that’s rotten in the auto industry plus some good bits Sir James Dyson is one those people for whom your admiration has severe limits. You applaud his inventiveness, his eye for clean, colourful design, and his determination, … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | 2 Comments

Catalonia Then and Now

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Grouse Beater

“In Spain, the dead are more alive than the living” Frederico Garcia Lorca – poet I’ve lost count of the number of visits made to Spain, to all points of that vast multifarious, humble, exotic land, but not the memorable … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Scottish Politics | 12 Comments