In 1970 the island of Papa Stour, one of the fifteen smaller inhabited isles in Shetland, made headlines by advertising in a national newspaper for […] Read More
In a recent analysis of ‘Generation Left,’ James Meadway pointed out that, with 50% of 18 – year-olds attending university, ‘education is no longer a marker of […] Read More
You find yourself commuting home from work one day. Unexpectedly, your train stops mid-tunnel. You then notice that water is seeping through the closed doors, […] Read More
Shit — imagine huge immovable mountains of the stuff, caked into the stones or rushing forth in biblical torrents. A great leveller, tramped in by […] Read More
On crossing the border at Deadwater into Scotland, the signage is surprisingly dull. Scottish Borders and the Forestry Commission offer a muted welcome in fonts that resemble Comic Sans. Turn around, however, and […] Read More
If, like me, you’ve visited New York on the cheap, you may be aware that the Waldorf Astoria contains a Starbucks in its lobby – thereby allowing pretty much anyone to wander […] Read More
Christopher Silver reviews ‘Coal Country. The Meaning and Memory of Deindustrialization in Postwar Scotland’, by Ewan Gibbs. In 2019 I traveled to three European mining regions: […] Read More
Glasgow’s arts and leisure quango, Glasgow Life, recently sparked outrage when it released a list of 90 venues—from bowling clubs to a museum of religious […] Read More
The critical and popular success of Russell T Davies’ ‘It’s a Sin’ is a moment of triumph for its portrayal of queer lives on screen […] Read More
In 1968 a Labour MP sat down to co-author a pamphlet entitled ‘Don’t Butcher Scotland’s Future’ – a strident rebuke to the nascent force of Scottish nationalism. This […] Read More