Tipping times

I always think of the equinoxes as the tipping points of the year, not the solstices. It’s not just the point in the earth’s orbit that’s at the tipping point this equinox, it’s that wee virus, it’s the world economy, it’s the...

Leaping or limping?

On this 29th February, the likes of which we won’t see for another oooh, well, four years, do we have a spring in our step as we walk into a bright new future, or are we limping into near-total shut-down of social life in the face of Coronavirus? It...

the man Burns, an a’ that…

Leith Festival kindly invited me to propose the toast at its fundraising Burns Supper this week. Here is the text in full; it had a mixed reception, and I accept that some may think it’s too political for the occasion, that’s a matter of judgement. Several...

A very merry Christmas to all my readers

Dear Reader, Deck the halls with boughs of holly / T’is the season to be jolly / Don we now our gay apparel / Troll the ancient Yuletide carol / See the blazing Yule before us / Strike the harp and join the chorus / Follow me in merry measure… and so on,...

World AIDS Day

1st December is a bit special this year, in Leith. A 1-hour documentary film has been shot here for screening on 2 December – the nearest they could get to the Day itself, the election has been messing about with the schedules – on BBC! at 2100 hrs, that...