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Category Archives: Comment
Reflections from the Kirkcudbright Book Festival, 2026
Poets Fixing the World, A Graphic Novelist, A Pioneering Musician with Roots in the Scottish Folk Tradition; and a Path of Slime Just the other day, I was talking with a friend about the challenges of appreciating poetry. I think … Continue reading
Unclubbable
Political Parties. Why we need more of them—But not too many! There was a time when, despite my coming of age journey in the 1960s through the First Newry cubs, boy scouts and senior scouts, I considered myself an unquenchable … Continue reading
From Moral Ambition to Moral Yearning
A Reflection on the Dangers of Moral Certainty Name the four US presidents who have been assassinated! That’s a challenge which one might expect in a pub quiz. Team members, such as myself, who have been roped in at the … Continue reading
Brexit Revisited
The Democratic Case for Pooling Sovereignty Although I voted to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, this did not reflect an entirely uncritical view of the European project and, in particular, its democratic structures. I was interested … Continue reading
Language Problems
Cultural Extinctions or Digital Revival: The Future of Language Learning Mandana Seyfeddinipur, Director of the Endangered Languages Archive, has issued a stark warning: “Of the 7,000 languages estimated to exist, half will have disappeared by the end of this century.” … Continue reading
Questioning Identity
Two Tales from Wigtown In his book, Against Identity, Alexander Douglas quotes Upton Sinclair: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” Douglas goes on to say: “Well, try … Continue reading
The Case in Favour of Open Borders
Opening the national border to all who wish to come is an unfashionable idea. The last person I can recall advocating such a policy was Angela Merkel. “Wir schaffen das” she said with the confidence of a true leader. We … Continue reading
Great Lives, The Lisbon Lions, Scottish Landscape and Bohemia in a Small Scottish Town
I’d never heard of the improvisational guitarist Derek Bailey until I encountered his story on BBC Radio’s Great Lives programme. Amongst other things, the programme was memorable for a short and fractious exchange between the presenter Matthew Parris, and comedian … Continue reading
Posted in Comment, Dumfries and Galloway
Tagged Art, avant-garde, music, Poetry, writing
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Carruchan 
Water, Water Every Where, Nor any drop to drink
I may not have been paying much attention in my school English literature lessons, but these lines from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, seemed suddenly to resonate with a number of themes which have been capturing my recent extracurricular … Continue reading →