Category Archives: Great Scots

Patrick Matthew – the Natural

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 | 23 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

The Sins of Salmond

Posted on September 1, 2018 by

Let us not praise Alex Salmond but rather bury the cocky bastard. Let us do to him what we did to Hugo Chavez, another garrulous so-called democrat who did for Venezuelans what Salmond did for Scotland’s Great Gullible. They first fed them, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Scots, Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 20 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

An Independent Novelist

Posted on October 28, 2017 by

An occasional series on eminent Scots under-valued by the general public or forgotten. 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 Lindsay. Not all … 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