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Author Archives: Stephen Shellard
Publishing’s Age of Change
Kirkcudbright Book Week, Selkirk Arms 9th March 2025 Is it truly impossible for aspiring writers to break into the publishing industry? At this, the penultimate event in Kirkcudbright Book Week 2025, the panel of experts seemed to think so. The … Continue reading
Did I Say That?…Next Question!
Arguments for Defence and Foreign Aid Spending in a Volatile World. [2130 words] I’ve spent a good part of my life arguing in favour of defusing conflict by means of unilateral disarmament and negotiation. I now find myself in the … Continue reading
Indebted
Why and How the UK Can and Should Invest Now in Grid-Upgrade and Solar Power The national debt is a perpetual and festering sore in any discussion of our economy. The more we borrow, the heavier the millstone we pass … Continue reading
On Street Fighters, Gladiators and Philosophers
When I first heard news of the spat on Elon Musk’s X between US Vice President JD Vance and former Tory politician, Rory Stewart it brought to mind the Sunday school classes I reluctantly attended over sixty years ago. JD Vance, … Continue reading
Posted in Comment
Tagged AmericaFirst, bible, Charity, christianity, ethics, faith, JD Vance, jesus, Nationalism, Politics, Populism, Religion, Rory Stewart
2 Comments
The Most Beautiful Words
I have occasionally listened to radio discussions in which poets have let slip their partiality for a particular word, usually arising from some resonant quality, something mellifluous in the sound or sounds of which it is composed. I find myself … Continue reading
Posted in Comment
Tagged china, Donald Trump, Economic Policy, economy, Political Satire, Politics, Tariffs, Trade Wars, Trump, US China Relations, US Politics
2 Comments
Inauguration Blues …
I was not paying a great deal of attention as President Donald J Trump went through the ceremony of his inauguration. Clearly, it was a great day for Trump’s admirers and the 1,500 felons he pardoned for their complicity in … Continue reading
Posted in Comment
Tagged "Donald Trump", democracy, Donald Trump, George Wallace, joe-biden, news, Politics, Sam Cooke, Social Change, Tech Oligarchs, Trump
1 Comment
A New Year’s Wish for the Blogisphere
And a Sauerkraut Starter For most of us who blog, I suspect, it is a relatively thankless pursuit. WordPress “Stats and Insights” makes it depressingly clear to me that only a small band of people subscribe to my blog and … Continue reading
The Monarchy is Dead …
But We’re Not Quite Sure What to Do About it So far as I am aware the only significant political party which openly opposes the monarchy in current UK politics is Alba and their ambitions are stated in orderly and … Continue reading
Posted in Comment, Other Constitutional discussion
Tagged electoral college, history, monarchy, news, Politics, republicanism, royal family
2 Comments
Bogland
Tradition, Memory, and the Future of Peatlands Once upon a time, the burghers of Dumfries would dig and burn peat to keep them warm in the cold of winter. The town had an array of bogs or mosses from which … Continue reading
Posted in Comment, Dumfries and Galloway, Environmental
Tagged biodiversity, conservation, environment, peat, peatlands, trees
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Carruchan 
The Reporter
A lament for a small town newspaper Not long after publishing my memoir, Remembered Fragments, I thought it might be an idea to contact the Newry Reporter in order to draw this momentous event to their attention. After all, at … Continue reading →