Category Archives: Great Scots

Chippy Harry McNish

Posted on June 13, 2020 by

An occasional series on eminent Scots ignored or forgotten As true as I can tell it, this is the story of a Scotsman and an Englishman. The Scot was called Harry McNish. The Englishman was called Ernest Shackleton. As the … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots | 26 Comments

What is Coronavirus?

Posted on April 6, 2020 by

We – the world’s nations in the west and Asia – were warned in 2019 a new incurable ‘flu’ was on its way and we should prepare for it. We did not. What is the virus and is it Armageddon, … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Great Scots | 4 Comments

Mary Somerville

Posted on March 14, 2020 by

An occasional series on great Scots unjustly ignored or forgotten Put off by the acrid smells of school science laboratories, I avoided the study of science subjects like I did tripe (a sheep’s stomach) boiled in milk. That is my … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots | 10 Comments

Jane Haining

Posted on August 17, 2019 by

An occasional series on great Scots unjustly ignored or forgotten Empathy for others is one of humankind’s greatest qualities.  There are those among us, ordinary down-to-earth folk, modest in ambition and material possession, that make a life altering decision to sublimate their … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots | 2 Comments

Patrick Matthew on Origins

Posted on June 9, 2019 by

An occasional series on eminent Scots unjustly ignored or forgotten From the minute we were entranced by a bug on a rug, or wondered why blackbirds are black and gulls are white and live by the sea, we were told … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots, Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 32 Comments

David Douglas

Posted on February 16, 2019 by

An occasional series about eminent Scots unjustly forgotten or ignored It has not occurred to me to write about plant hunter David Douglas because I’d already written about another plantsman who lived closer to our age, the redoubtable George Forrest, … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots | 8 Comments

Scotland’s Don Roberto

Posted on February 18, 2018 by

An occasional series on eminent Scots unjustly forgotten or overlooked The real Scottish ‘ward’ The great advantage of Scottish nationalism in the twenty-first century is the robust bulwark it provides against unrestrained British neo-colonialism. It offers the last bastion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots, Scottish Politics | 11 Comments

Frederic Lindsay

Posted on October 28, 2017 by

An occasional series on eminent Scots under-valued by the general public or forgotten. An independent novelist There are 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 with us, Frederic … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots | 4 Comments

Promoting the Proclaimers

Posted on July 2, 2017 by

When the Proclaimers manager phoned asking if I’d shoot their first promotional video I refused. “I don’t do pop videos.” Back in the day, pop videos were made by frustrated drama directors, people from art school who could barely draw, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots, Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 6 Comments

The Master Builder

Posted on June 27, 2017 by

An occasional series on gifted Scots unknown or ignored in their homeland  It is highly misleading to suggest Ian Ritchie is unknown in Scotland. He and his London-based firm of architects are respected among his Scottish peers and our town … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots | 2 Comments