Category Archives: General

Too Clever By Half

Posted on November 5, 2018 by

ON BEING TOO BLOODY CLEVER BY HALF Or writing screeds on why something is not what it’s not The furore that has arisen from the unveiling of Francis Bacon’s startling painting ‘The Screaming Pope’ has stirred up a tremendous controversy in … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 8 Comments

Cars News: Leccy Rules

Posted on April 12, 2018 by

A squint at the machinations of the car industry and why we’re all suckers for it. UK sales of new cars continue to fall markedly. There are lost of reasons for this, though I’d like to think we are getting … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Transportation | 5 Comments

Bolton’s War

Posted on March 24, 2018 by

Another demagogue “It is perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to the current ‘necessity’ posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons by striking first,” wrote John Bolton carelessly and with one eye on his reputation, a notorious right-wing hawk who … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 7 Comments

Car News: Bloody Cyclists

Posted on January 26, 2018 by

A weekly guide to all that’s rotten about car ownership, plus some good bits The end of the combustion engine? I think we are in a second golden age of the automobile. But this time around we might not be … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Transportation | 39 Comments

2017 Most Popular Essays

Posted on December 12, 2017 by

Edinburgh’s George Street festive illuminations are attractive from a distance, a bit of a disappointment close up, like the promises made by Scotland’s opponents. A year of marking time To my mind the funniest political episode this year was the stramash over Alex … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Scottish Politics | 4 Comments

The Crime of Voting

Posted on November 7, 2017 by

Cries of shame on EU neutrality are unfounded While I was in Spain last week the Flemish nationalist politician and deputy prime minister of Belgium, Jan Jambon, along with the former Belgian prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, condemned Spain for … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Scottish Independence Referendum, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Catalonia Then and Now

Posted on October 1, 2017 by

“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