Month: October 2013
Project: Soundtrack to Independence


Soundtrack to Independence is an exciting new music project, calling for public contributions from musicians, amateur or professional, to create a vibrant, diverse independence sound.
We want your music to capture the energy and excitement of the independence movement.”
– Lou Hickey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKR_W0IHNHw
Music …read more
In the shadow of the cuts


By Sandra Webster
In the last week, when most of the media were caught up in the froth of the latest chapter in the soap opera which is the royal family, news of the impact of benefit cuts managed to fight their way to prominence.
These are the stories that …read more
Duggy Dug II – Borders, Tattie Scones and Irn Bru … coming soon


Scotland’s favourite dug is back. Duggy Dug, out for a walk, reminisces about past travels and the times he went to England and Ireland to visit his owner’s family.
But will it all end with independence? Will border guards prevent Duggy taking his favourite Irn Bru across …read more
The End of Privacy
The idea that a post-Britain Scotland would be less secure than one associated with British foreign policy misadventure has been derided. Douglas Stuart Wilson explores what we mean by ‘the national interest’. Many of us must have suspected that the… Read More › …read more
Prospect of independence drives Scottish politics left


By John McAllion
The election in 2011 of a majority SNP government made certain that there would be an independence referendum in the lifetime of this Scottish Parliament.
It also ensured that there would have to be a wide-ranging public debate about the kind of country that Scotland might become after …read more
England: Still Learning to Speak its Name


Contributing to this Bella Caledonia series only reminds me how far behind England is relative to the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Scotland decides on independence in less than a year, Wales is debating devolving police… Read More › …read more
Revolution for lazy people
Oh, I was irritating when I was 15. On our way to school, my friends would stop at Ian’s Newsagents and scatter their pocket money on the counter to work out how many fizzy cola bottles and packets of Space Raiders they could get. I’d do the same, but mine …read more
McDonald’s soon to be lovin’ it 24/7

A MORAY fast-food restaurant has completed a £130,000 investment, with a new dual-lane drive-thru scheduled to open tomorrow afternoon. …read more
Gordon Brown tells the truth

According to one theory, there is an infinite number of universes, which in turn means that all possible things which can potentially happen do in fact happen somewhere in the infinite multiverse, no matter how implausible or unlikely. There is a universe where there are actually more Tory MPs …read more
Cross word answers
Our man at the scene
Hello, I’m Andrew. Rather than follow my desires and mingle with the true believers at the Yes Scotland meeting in Penicuik last night, I decided to expand my horizons and instead attended the launch of Better Together Musselburgh at the Brunton Hall. My first surprise was to discover that the …read more
Independence will deliver a sustainable future
Two major events happened in the UK energy market last week – the first was extremely well publicised and dominated the news cycle for 48 hours the second went by barely noticed. I’m talking respectively about the announcement of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset and …read more
Spending £20 to save a tenner
This week it was claimed by Stuart Adam, senior economic researcher at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), that taxes would have to rise almost 14% in an independent Scotland, if they were the sole method used to fill the Scottish budget deficit. It’s a dramatic headline, for sure. But …read more
You get a say in jobs and housing boom
THOUSANDS of families are to be given the chance to shape plans aimed at creating a jobs and house-building boom in the north. …read more
Scots are not a world away from England 2015, says Gray
Richie Gray believes preparations for the 2015 World Cup in England effectively got under way when the Scotland squad assembled this week for a three-day training camp ahead of next month’s viagogo autumn Tests. …read more