James Millar: Horsemeat pizza, John Curtice and the electioniest year in British history
If you think we’ve had lots of politics in 2019, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Columnists
Lindsay Razaq: My faith that Notre Dame will rise again, stronger still
“Hasten, O God, to save me; Come quickly, Lord, to help me. You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay.”
James Johnston: where are the economists with vision to end the world’s dangerous drift?
One of the joys of being a parent is the chance to help your children grow, and to encourage them to have confidence to take an approach to life that fosters engagement, develops understanding, engenders tolerance whilst creating a thirst for learning.
David Knight: Climate change catastrophe or a cheese salad sandwich?
I was having a chat with my grandson Jacob about Dippy the Diplodocus after he travelled from Aberdeen to Glasgow to see one of the world's most famous dinosaurs.
Right Rev Susan Brown: Our church may be smaller but it is more deeply committed than ever to doing good
In just a few weeks’ time my term of office as Moderator will come to an end and the next Moderator will, like a new boiler, be installed.
Catherine Deveney: It is not just Notre Dame that needs rebuilding, it is the Catholic church itself
There was something about the fact that the Notre Dame fire happened in Holy Week that made it seem all the more portentous; the soaring needle of the cathedral’s spire raging from within with livid flames, before falling through the Parisian sky like a giant firework, while locals gasped and wept below.
Ben Dolphin: When getting cold feet is just what the doctor ordered
Last week, during a long walk back from a particularly heathery Cairngorms lump, I stopped at a well-known pool on the Dee.
Bishop Anne Dyer: It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it – why Easter is a time to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in
In my house there are some jobs that none of us want to do.
Tom Peterkin: When and how will Nicola Sturgeon tackle Indy Ref 2?
The notion that Nicola Sturgeon might choose St George’s Day to announce her next independence crusade caused a few wry comments during the Easter Break at Holyrood.
A dram not a drama: how the whisky industry is working to lessen the impact of Brexit
I have tried manfully to avoid any mention of Brexit in these columns. However, its implications are so worrying for all sections of the UK and Scottish economies that it really can’t be avoided.
This planet is not a plaything: why vast ranks of plastic toys spell disaster for the environment
“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
I feel we need to all remember the royals are human beings – just like the rest of us
“Are there any toilets nearby?” I ask the huddle of photographers. It’s 2am and I’m sitting in my Nissan Micra on the road outside King Edward VII’s Hospital in Marylebone, desperate for a wee.
Theresa May might be pig-headed – but be thankful she’s better than Cameron
Tanya Souter – Local Lifestyle Guru
Are Brexit-obsessed MPs neglecting pressing national issues? You can bet the House on it
I offer a world exclusive which might explain why our MPs were tying themselves in Houdini-proof knots during that exhausting and exasperating Brexit indicative-voting marathon.
Making an ass out of you and me: why modern morals mean we must talk, not assume
I had an interesting experience whilst shopping this week. The assistant who served me, kept referring to me as “Mannie” in the good old north-east dialect.
Two books, 80 angry women and one hell of a long way still to go on feminism
I spent last Thursday evening in a room with 80 angry women. They weren’t angry at me, I hasten to add, or at least if they were it was only in my role as a token representative of my gender.
We closed the asylums and stopped talking about lunatics – but are we really much better at dealing with mental illness?
Isaac was almost 80 when he died, a tiny figure, wizened like an over-ripe apple.
Let’s not labour the ‘modern Clearances’ line: but history has lessons for us on land reform
The tragedy of the Highland Clearances is too frequently evoked, often inappropriately with predictions of “The New Highland Clearances” by those campaigning against threats to jobs or the like.
Lindsay Razaq: Regardless of where you stand on Brexit itself, it is hard to disagree that the waiting and not knowing must end
A Donald Trump bath duck, miniature porcelain clogs and a bunch of painted wooden tulips.
Chronic pain is torture: could the SAS teach us ways to manage it better?
I was quite good at a 60-yard dash in school athletics.
An April fool and his money are soon parted: why ‘crazy consumerism’ is no joke
April Fools‘ Day is joyous, it is the start of spring and plays right into my occasionally childlike mind.
Mothers and memories: Why this will be a weekend of very mixed emotions
My mother’s ghost whispers to me as I push the supermarket trolley past the Mother’s Day cards - no need for those now - hovers on my shoulder as I rummage for mushrooms in the fruit and veg.
Getting patients taped: the benefits of GPs slowing down and being more inquisitive
I’d forgotten how massive VHS videos are. And how satisfying the whirring sound when you load one into a video player and press fast-forward.
Politics is immature and unpalatable: could grown-up Lib Dems be the missing ingredient?
Depending on how politics shakes down there may be a general election and/or European elections in the next few weeks.
The road away from Christchurch-style hatred starts with lots of small conversations
There are some moments in life that have such an impact you know you’ll always remember exactly where you were when you heard the news - no matter how much time passes.
Flight risk: what a career in the RAF teaches me about the Boeing crisis
I remember the surprise I felt, during my second interview having left the RAF, on being challenged: “what do you know about risk?”.
Smacking ban: why it really might hurt them more than it hurts us
We are edging closer to a ban on parents smacking their children in a move which is backed by the Scottish Government.
Domestic violence will only be tackled if everyone – not least our faith communities – talks about it openly
I am not a great movie goer but I love the film “Chocolat” which was released in the UK in 2001.
Bishop Anne Dyer: We can all be much more dementia-friendly
It is Lent, the time when Christians often give something up. This year I have decided to take something up instead. This year I am trying to become more ‘Dementia Friendly’.
Aghast at the furious: angry venting may help our blood pressure but it’s ruining society
I guess there’s no harm in a little splenetic, foaming-at-the-mouth rage now and then when trying to reduce the blood pressure.
Spending a penny is not enough: walkers should linger longer in the places they visit
One of the nicest things about a Ramblers group walk is the possibility of coffee and cake at the end.
Eleanor Bradford: NHS targets measure hours, days, weeks and not people… This has to change now
With one in 10 visitors to accident and emergency waiting longer than four hours to be seen and nearly one in three of us waiting longer than three months for an appointment with a specialist, what can you do if you have the misfortune to find yourself waiting interminably for treatment?