Category Archives: Comment

Indebted

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

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 →

Posted in Comment, Economics, Environmental | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On Street Fighters, Gladiators and Philosophers

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

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 →

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The Most Beautiful Words

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

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 →

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Inauguration Blues …

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

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 →

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A New Year’s Wish for the Blogisphere

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

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 →

Posted in Comment, Misc | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Monarchy is Dead …

Posted on December 30, 2024 by Stephen Shellard

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 , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bogland

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Stephen Shellard

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 , , , , , | Leave a comment

Far between sundown’s finish and midnight’s broken toll

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Stephen Shellard

I saw a post on Facebook recently, an excoriation of racism. Maybe I thought it a little self-righteous in its sentiment, but I couldn’t think of any comment that wouldn’t itself seem a little self-righteous.  I don’t really know the … Continue reading →

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A National Park for Galloway…

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Stephen Shellard

A Chance for Revival or a Risky Gamble? A proposal is afoot to make some part of Galloway – as yet undefined — a national park also to include, perhaps, South Ayrshire. This proposal has sparked increasing debate, with strong … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Dumfries and Galloway, Environmental | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

From Cat Food to Clickbait

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Stephen Shellard

The Evolution of Irresistible Convenience Food Out in the unsettling world of clickbait, family pets seem to have a special place in the pantheon of what the bored or purposeless internet user finds irresistible. So here’s a story of Macklin … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Environmental | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment