A sight for sore eyes

I SUFFER from the eye disease called glaucoma. Using the word "suffer" makes me feel a fraud because the only time this affliction is painful is when I fall over, or collide with the furniture. ...

Another expert, another abuse

PSYCHOTHERAPIST Sally Brown has published an article arguing that as well as domestic abuse in the home people should have more awareness of emotional abuse. Brown says it can be just as ...

When the elites lose our respect

ONE OF THE SORROWS and disappointments in life is the frequency that we see rare talent, one might even say, without employing hyperbole, real genius, being wasted by some in our society. I refer, of ...

A matter of faith...

I AM NOT a Roman Catholic. For me, this is simply a fact of life. It does not please or displease me and might be called simply an accident of birth. As the issue of ...

Vincent Van Gogh: another view entirely

Dear Reader,

FOLLOWING the theme of constant misrepresentation of art and history by a fanatic pro-modern art media I thought it maybe helpful to share some light on one of the most misrepresented artists ...

Please, no more about the Olympics!

LONDON WAS the best Olympics ever and we even finished in the top half of the medals table. Clearly, all those athletes from the other Johnny Foreigner countries came to London and were eaten up ...

The mythical New York

THE HISTORY of New York City changed abruptly and savagely with the heinous atrocity that was 9/11. This famously bold and brash megalopolis was almost brought to it's knees by a cowardly cheap shot, a ...

Churchill: The man not the myth, Part II

Alastair Stewart continues his essay examining the best sources to understand Churchill the man over Churchill the myth. Today he looks at Churchill’s reputation as a boorish war leader with a penchant for expeditions over expediency. Is it justified?

Churchill: The man not the myth, Part I

With two British movies about Churchill’s war years within six months of each other, the much-panned Churchill, and the much-lauded The Darkest Hour, Alastair Stewart begins a two-part essay examining the original sources of information about Sir Winston Churchill, distilling what’s real from anecdote and discussing the best material to allow people to appreciate the military, political and human character behind the legend.

A piping history worthy of a wider readership

Book Review 1: Piping Traditions of the Inner Isles of the West Coast of Scotland, by Bridget Mackenzie (Birlinn, 2012) paperback £25.00

Book review 2: When Piping was Strong, by Joshua Dickson (2006, Birlinn) ...

Of tormented genius

THIS IS THE scenario, friends. I am alone in a room with an attractive, bubbly woman, young – in her early twenties, I guess. I am the centre of her attention. She comes close to me, ...

Leonardo and the value of real art

DEAR READERS, a Happy New Year to all, and I would like to begin this year with a complaint I received whilst I was away during the festive period. Namely a sense of outrage regarding the cost ...