ON Sunday the 6th of June last year, at the tail-end of the final weekend of his life, the poet Paul Reekie walked into the Artisan, an old-fashioned pub on Edinburgh’s London Road, one of his favoured locals. Reekie was, according to those who met him that evening, his usual gregarious self. He had a… Read more »
Keynote speech to the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Library and Informational Professionals Scotland
First published June 2nd, 2015 in the Apex Hotel, Dundee
HELLO everyone. Thank you for being here today. My name is Peter Ross. I’m a journalist, and the author of a book called Daunderlust, which is a collection of articles from around Scotland, from a fetish club in Edinburgh to a monastery near Elgin. I’m interested in many different aspects of Scottish life, especially remarkable… Read more »
George Galloway
First published August, 2005 in Scotland On Sunday
WE, the people, know an awful lot about George Galloway, and a lot of what we know is awful. We know about the various scandals and allegations which have attached themselves to him over the years like barnacles on a man-o’war – infidelity, indiscretion, saluting Saddam Hussein for his indefatigability. Some eagerly ascribe to Galloway,… Read more »
The Scotia
First published December, 2010 in Scotland On Sunday
“THE Scotia?” says Wullie. “This isnae jist a pub. Issa a way of life.” Although he topples backwards into a urinal shortly after making this declaration, there is no denying its heartfelt sincerity, and – though Wullie slurs his words – no difficulty in grasping his meaning. You could fall for The Scotia no bother…. Read more »
The Violence Reduction Unit
First published November, 2014 in Scotland On Sunday
IT IS a stiflingly hot morning and Karyn McCluskey is sitting at her desk with the windows closed, as usual, to keep in the heat. She wears a dark dress, a silk scarf and snakeskin-effect heels, and she keeps her blue eyes fixed on the print-out in front of her: a colour photograph of a… Read more »