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Alan SimpsonHerald Scotland |
ANYONE who has ever had the good fortune to consume a mac and cheese on a CalMac ferry can attest to how good they are, even in a Force 9 mid-Minch. ...
THE dualling of the A9 trunk road, or the lack of it, appears to have been a topic of some discussion since time began. Before even that some would...
I recently listened to an archive clip on the radio that consisted primarily of people whingeing about the railways. Amongst the biggest complaints...
VAUXHALL motors was set up by Scots marine engineer Alexander Wilson in 1857 and went on to become one of the biggest car manufacturers in the UK. ...
TO say that Edinburgh is a beautiful city would probably be viewed as an understatement. With the elegant Georgian terraces along orderly streets in...
THERE are estimated to be more than 790 islands in Scotland, with 93 of them inhabited. Why the number is estimated is anyone’s guess as it should...
SEVERAL years ago, I had the good fortune to spend a Sabbath on the island of Harris during an extended trip to the Outer Hebrides. Very pleasant it...
MUCH has been said about Scotland’s ongoing ferry fiasco which has left the network with a large number of passengers but hardly any ships. It...
WAY back in the day, in 1604 to be precise, judge Sir Edward Coke ruled that an Englishman’s castle is indeed his home. Coke’s full quote was...
GEORGE Harrison was universally known as the quiet Beatle, although he could throw a good strop with the best of them. His song-writing talents were...
According to the acclaimed American writer Mark Twain, there are three types of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. It is a phrase which...
DRIVING north up the A90 towards Aberdeen it is impossible to avoid the sight of posters urging against the building of large pylons across the area. ...
IMAGINE, if you will, being forced to do your weekly supermarket shop accompanied by Jason Leitch and other Scottish government health officials. It...
FORT William is a place with a setting that is almost unparalleled anywhere on the planet. Dominated by Ben Nevis, and sitting on the banks of Loch...
I RECENTLY had the good fortune to partake in a Highland road trip that took in part of the NC500. We didn’t do it all and it was more like the...
IT is fair to say that Andy Murray had millions of people off their seats over the past two decades or so as we all suffered along with him during his...
ANYONE who has ever travelled on a long-haul flight know they are probably the most boring things ever invented even with the myriad of in-flight...
IT’s that time of year when clowns, jugglers, comedians, stilt walkers and an assortment of all sorts of halfwits take to the streets for a bit of...
IMAGINE a scenario in the future where everyone gets paid a full-time wage to do absolutely no work at all. It sounds great, but would probably get...
IT is fair to say that Scotland’s ferry network has been a bit of a mixed bag in recent years, with the service as reliable as a calm day on the...
THERE’’S an advert doing the rounds at the moment for ScotRail which claims that your ticket goes much further than you think. How much further...
It is probably fair to say that Paisley has been down on its luck in recent times. Once one of the most important textile towns in the world, and...
There is an old joke that does the rounds in the north-east and that is what is the only good thing that ever came out of Dundee? The answer, as...
WAY back in the day, I had a cat called Ferenc, named after the legendary Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskas. His full name was Ferenc pusscat,...
IT’s that time during a General Election campaign when politicians, for some reason, try to portray themselves as just like ordinary people. Back...
IT was a mere 13 years ago that the then First Minister Alex Salmond declared that Scotland had the potential to become the “Saudi Arabia” of...
IT is that time of year when most of us are thinking longingly about a fortnight in the sun, on account of Scots not having seen it for months, unless...
ANYONE who has recently tried to book accommodation in the Highlands this summer is probably aware that many are already booked up. They have also...
ACCORDING to a wise old sage, a week is long time in politics and for Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie this is certainly the case. This time last...
THERE is much to admire about a CalMac ferry, not least the onboard full Scottish breakfast which must rank amongst the best in the country. The mac...
ACCORDING to the sartorially challenged but slick Yorkshire crooner Robert Palmer in 1985, we all had to face being addicted to love. The hit song...
You can feel there’s an election on as politicians seem to be popping up in the most unlikeliest places which can only mean they are looking for...
ONE of the bizarre unintended consequences of moving towards a greener way of living is that the weather seems to have been replaced as the main topic...
WHEN you are a young child and you really want to emphasise displeasure with something, your parents or green vegetables, then the word most commonly...
IT is fair to assume that it must be a frustrating time living on Scotland’s islands at the moment. The well-documented ferry problems have ruined...
PORRIDGE has sustained generations of Scots for several millennia, but the way to eat it has caused arguments for almost as long. To some, it should...
THERE are some occupations that are so self explanatory there doesn’t need to be any supplementary questions. Pilots, for example, fly planes,...
After what seems to have been several millennia and at a cost of the entire GDP if the US, a momentous thing happened this week when the MV Glen...
IF you were to ask the average Scot what has no place in a modern Scotland, then the answers would probably vary wildly. For patients, waiting...
TYNINGHAME is a picture postcard conservation village in East Lothian situated just west of Dunbar and a decent commute into Edinburgh. With its...
IT is fair to say that William Shakespeare is not to everyone’s taste, probably as a result of having to study his plays for far too long while at...
MORE than 50 years ago, John Cleese brought the now-famed Ministry of Silly Walks to TV screens for the first time in Monty Python’s Flying Circus. ...
MUCH of Scotland could easily be designated as a national park given it’s stunning beauty and worldwide popularity. But of course there are only...
SCOTLAND has nearly 900 islands although just 94 are inhabited, with 89 of those offshore. Over the centuries, some have been depopulated out of...
ACCORDING to that well-known sage Forrest Gump, life is like a box of chocolates, as you never know what you’re going to get. For many businesses...
STROLLING around the tree-lined courtyards of Harvard university with my chum was an inspiring experience. So much so, in fact, that we decided to...