I’ve been thinking a lot about the poisoned dialogue directly after and since the EU referendum. ‘You lost. Get over it.’ springs to mind and does nothing to reach out to the 48% who voted against this silly catastrophe. In fact, it pushes us further into the margins of resentment and rage. Not the best…
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I’m four days into a break from work. My stress levels have been quite high and I’m looking forward to unwinding a bit by being productive. I’ve an egg stand to build, a garden to help sort, and a kitchen that needs a deep clean and reorganisation. Staying busy is key as I can’t tolerate…
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Measuring success – of a person, a business, or a country – seems easy enough. You look at the figures. You check the bank balance. But is it really that simple? What about the things you can’t count? I inherited my first business when I was 20. I lucked into a position managing an insurance…
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It’s official. UK manufacturing is in recession. If the UK leaves the EU with anything less than single market and customs union membership, it’s game over for manufacturing in Britain. And the knock-on consequences* for the British economy are catastrophic. Brexit will impact every person in the UK who depends on manufactured goods as a component,…
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I used to write every day, usually in the morning and always after a pot of strong coffee and a cigarette or two. Nothing quite fired up my brain as well, and since I’ve given up smoking and limit my coffee to one cup a day, my melty grey matter doesn’t work as well as…
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As a new recruit to Yes, I’m flabbergasted by the number of people on the other side who accuse all indy supporters of ‘hating the English’. This is ludicrous. I don’t hate the English and I don’t hate England. What I hate is Westminster’s callous incompetence, and I think that Scotland would be better off…
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The recently released Growth Commission report hasn’t had a universally positive welcome, with some critics arguing it isn’t radical enough. Fair enough – it isn’t possible for a document like this to be all things to all people. But the document, and the response to it, got me thinking. Whose responsibility is it to bring…
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I was surprised last night to come across a tweet from a prominent historian insinuating that the independence movement in Scotland was neither progressive nor liberal. It seems extraordinary to me that any educated person can’t – or won’t – recognise parallels between 2018 Britain and the darker forces on the rise in the 1930s. My own history…
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Back in the early days of Live Journal, one of my friends stated that attention is the currency of the internet. It didn’t sound nice, but she was right. How many times have we thrown our virtual net with the hope of catching comments, likes, and retweets? I’ve done it. I still do it. That…
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A couple of weeks ago, I did something the me of 2014 could never have imagined I’d do: I marched for Scottish independence. Followers of my blog will know I was a no voter in 2014, but you might not know I suffer from social anxiety and the thought of walking with a huge crowd…
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This won’t be a particularly wordy or thoughtful post, because I’m tired and not full of enthusiasm at the moment. I’m sensing a general fatigue has come over many of us, so I’ll keep this short and pointy. I voted No in 2014 for a couple of reasons – the main one being that I…
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I badly need a holiday. I’m tired in way I’ve never experienced – and I do have a bit of experience with being tired. I’ve been newborn-baby tired (twice), grief-stricken-at-the-loss-of-a-loved-one tired, and gutted-at-the-end-of-a-relationship tired. I’ve been tired after being sliced open and having bits of me removed. I’ve been tired after relocating over an ocean…
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Thank you to everyone who took time to read my post about my learning to appreciate the indy movement and SNP. I was quite nervous admitting that I’d been blinkered and silly, and didn’t expect the outpouring of genuine compassion and understanding I undeservedly received. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised, though, as this has…
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My husband doesn’t like Ben Folds. It isn’t the music he doesn’t like as my husband would be hard-pressed to name a Ben Folds song. He doesn’t know why, but he knows he really doesn’t like Ben Folds. He thinks he might have read something years ago that gave him the impression that Ben Folds was shifty…
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It’s an unfashionable view in the wake of the Brexit campaign, but I tend to trust experts. I like to hear from people who know more than I do about complex issues, because it helps me make an informed decision about my family’s future. I listened to experts during the Scottish independence referendum of 2014,…
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