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Colin on Twitter
- RT @haveigotnews: England ‘definitely winning the Euros’ after narrowly beating team that didn’t qualify for the last two World Cups. 2 hours ago
- RT @haveigotnews: Boris Johnson to ‘step up’ campaigning in his constituency ahead of possible by-election, and has already taken vital fir… 2 hours ago
- RT @MicrosoftEdge: Good morning to everyone, even people who say that we're only good for downloading Google Chrome 2 weeks ago
- @FrankKhalidUK Cheerybye then ya wee brat. 3 months ago
- RT @GFFN: The Sun newspaper has bought a billboard in Paris to taunt France fans ahead of tomorrow’s game vs England. Classless as ever. ht… 3 months ago
- @saescentric Only the English ya fud. 3 months ago
- RT @Ryanair: They're coming home #NothingToDeclare https://t.co/aiFveqTnJP 3 months ago
- RT @StillGameReacts: “Football’s coming home” https://t.co/rBClP4NIUF 3 months ago
- @jilevin Ban money! 6 months ago
- Thanks to everyone who has donated so far! I was in the top 20% of fundraisers last month. See what I'm doing and w… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 6 months ago
Category Archives: Politics
Broken Nation – A Poem in Response to the Debate on Scottish Independence
There is a lot of debate going on here in Scotland just now, most of it surrounding the issue of Scottish Independence. When the SNP won the Scottish parliamentary elections in May 2011, they ensured their manifesto contained a promise … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Politics
Tagged Alan Bissett, Alex Salmond, Britain, nationalism, poems, Poetry, Scotland, Scottish, Scottish Independence, SNP, United Kingdom
4 Comments
How Not To Make Friends On Twitter
Image: Telegraph.co.uk I’ve started using a service to monitor who follows and unfollows me on Twitter. Through registering with TwitQuit, I’ve been able to highlight some interesting activity that I wouldn’t otherwise have been aware of. As you might expect, … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Politics, Scotland, Sport, Writing
Tagged 6 Nations, Calcutta Cup, debate, discussion, England, Fiction, Football, Internet, media, Murrayfield, poems, Poetry, rugby, Rugby Union, Scotland, Scottish Independence, Six Nations, social, TwitQuit, Twitter, Writing
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EBS Event: Alistair Darling
Image: The Guardian Alistair Darling Alistair Darling was in town last night to promote his new book, Back From the Brink, “a first-hand account of the (economic) crisis of 2007, and a fascinating view of life inside the Downing Street … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Edinburgh, Editorial Comment, Interviews, Politics, Writing
Tagged Alistair Darling, author event, Back From the Brink, Blue Drill Hall, Books, Chancellor of the Exchequer, charity, Conservative, Downing Street, economic crash, economics, Edinburgh Bookshop, Eleanor Updale, exhibition, Fiction, Gordon Brown, John Cooper Clarke, Labour, Northern Rock, Poetry, Politics, RBS, short story, The Dublin Quarterly, Trees for Life, Trevor Jones, workshop, Writing
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The Cost of Nationalism
Image: English Passport Scotland Votes The result of the Scottish Parliamentary Election was nothing short of staggering. While the Liberal Democrats were being punished for their performance at the Westminster, and the Tories were bumbling on as insignificantly as ever, … Continue reading
Posted in Edinburgh, Editorial Comment, Food, Drink and Bevvy, Politics, Scotland
Tagged Alex Salmond, economics, Edinburgh, election, Grassmarket, Labour, Liberal Democrats, nationalism, oil, Politics, pubs, Scottish Independence, Scottish Parliamentary election, SNP, Tories, unionism, whisky
1 Comment
Sarah Palin: American Ambassador
Image: The Periscope Post Sarah Palin is for Real Twitter throws up the most amazing things sometimes. Occasionally you pick up something someone has said and it totally connects, other times you feel like you want to throttle someone for … Continue reading
Posted in Edinburgh, Editorial Comment, Poetry, Politics, Scotland, Writing
Tagged America, Americans, Democrats, Edinburgh: City & Festivals, extremists, Guardian, IRA, Jihad, Kids' Poems, Leith, Mafioso, Muslim, notebook, Osama Bin Laden, Paul Auster, poems, Poetry, Politics, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Scotland, Scottish Parliamentary election, The Red Notebook, Twitter, United Nations, USA, Writing
7 Comments
Still Undecided in the Scottish Parliamentary Elections
Image: STV.tv The Scottish Elections It’s another sunny but chilly day over the Scottish capital. I think this contradiction in weather patterns has something to do with the Scottish Parliamentary Elections this week. Oh, hadn’t you heard? Yes, we Scots … Continue reading
Posted in Day Job, Edinburgh, Editorial Comment, Photography, Poetry, Politics, Scotland, Writing
Tagged Alex Salmond, Annabel Goldie, artist, boudoir, chapbook, chesty, cold and flu, Council Tax, Day Job, Edinburgh, elections, Gail Galbraith, Holyrood, illustrations, Independence, nationalism, parliament, Photography, Poetry, politicians, Politics, Scotland, Scottish Parliamentary Elections, Silly Poems, SNP, Tory, unionism, voting, Weather, web design, websites
3 Comments
After Bin Laden
Image: Denise Gould Dead or Alive So, Bin Laden’s pan bread. I can’t say I’m not glad to see the back of the Al-Qaeda leader, the biggest threat to the security of the World since Hitler, but I’m a bit … Continue reading
Posted in Editorial Comment, Politics, Writing
Tagged America, Britain, British, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, GDR's, Monarchy, national pride, OBL, Osama Bin Laden, President Obama, Royal Wedding, Royals, terrorism, The Queen, USA, work plan, Writing
2 Comments
No Hope for a Scottish Academy of Literature
Image: alba.org.uk Birthday wishes My dear young Mother (you owe me a fiver) had her birthday yesterday. 9th February 19-canteen saw my Mum coming into the world and yesterday she celebrated by having a nice meal out with family and … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Editorial Comment, Family, Politics, Scotland, Writing
Tagged Alasdair Gray, Alexander McCall Smith, Baccara Burning, birthday, Family, Fiction, Fiona Hyslop, GDR's, Ian Rankin, JK Rowling, Liz Lochhead, Makar, mother, novel, novella, revisions, Scottish Academy of Literature, Scottish Government, Slick, SNP, Submissions, World Book Night, Writing
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Freedom from the Mundane 
Thatcher and Me
I’m loathed to write something about the demise of Margaret Thatcher purely because so much has already been written and happened this past week. For me her death is nothing particularly remarkable. Back in the day I despised her politics, … Continue reading →