Archive - Sunday, 24 March 2019

Mark Brown's Theatre & Dance reviews
Theatre & Dance
Petition to revoke Article 50 and remain in EU reaches 5 million signatures
A PUBLIC petition demanding that Brexit be abandoned has gained over five million signatures.
Has Nigella found the recipe for the sauciest food porn photies?
ENOUGH is as good as a feast, they say. But not, it seems, when it comes to food photography.
We should ensure the visibility of our pro-Yes messages in day-to-day life
THERE seems to be a failure to distinguish between the long-term vital need to convince enough people that it is feasible and sensible for Scotland to take back full control of its own affairs and any final push to convert that into sufficient votes…
Is Scotland's broadcast media softening its anti-independence stance?
HAS there been a change in the wind? Are journalists, even the BBC in Scotland, beginning to report on the independence debate in a more positive way? Would it be too optimistic to say that independence is finally becoming mainstream?
In the politics of the workplace contractors slip through the cracks
"KEEP your nose clean and there’s a full-time job waiting for you. Big announcement in February.” The new Rolls Royce polo shirts imparted along with those words were symbolic, perhaps, of a halfway house between contractor and employee.
David Lidington denies plan to replace Theresa May in alleged plot to oust PM
DAVID Lidington has dismissed speculation that he could be installed as a caretaker prime minister under a reported Cabinet plot to oust Theresa May.
Damien Love's TV pick: The Yorkshire Ripper Files is far from exploitative
AS A rule, true crime documentaries tend to the exploitative, the lurid and the grubby. A dozen such films already exist about Peter Sutcliffe. But The Yorkshire Ripper Files: A Very British Crime Story, is not another.
Criminologist Prof David Wilson: 'I don't want tough justice, I don't want soft justice, I want smart justice'
AMIDST the instant, appalled reaction and rush to judgment over the shooting of 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, last week, the assessments of Professor David Wilson on Brenton Tarrant, the Australian-born suspected gunman, were…
Sturgeon: May would have left Downing Street long ago under normal circumstances
Theresa May is effectively "out of power" and would have departed Downing Street a long time ago under normal political circumstances, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The sad death of the first prince to become the Duke of Rothesay
IN all the long history of the Stuart dynasty there are many tragic figures such as Mary, Queen of Scots and King Charles I, but surely there can be no more hapless and lamentable bearer of the name than the first prince to ever carry the title of…
Fracking can and should be banned in Scotland, leading QC says
This article was brought to you by The Ferret.
Explained: The strengths and weaknesses of the US constitution
Sunday National reader George McQ. – who describes himself as “an American, British and Scottish citizen” – asks:
The plight of Kurdish hunger strikes grows – we must not ignore them
THERE are now more than 7000 Kurds on hunger strike, though you won’t read about this in the papers. Most are political prisoners in Turkish jails, where their protest actions are met by a harshening of the prison regime, but there are individuals…
Seven good ideas for seven days in Scotland
Here's what you can get up to in Scotland...
The tale of Brexit: Saint George, a European dragon and a toxic debate
THE omens were not good. “May’s appeal falls flat as EU seizes control of Brexit date” read one headline, while redtops frothed about “betrayal” and bad foreigners. After a marathon late-night session of talks, the EU’s leaders ripped up…
Roz Paterson: It's time for the moment of truth in my treatment
IT’S been four months, two weeks and three days since I read about CAR-T therapy, the pioneering cancer treatment that will, I hope, save my life where all other treatments failed. A fragment from the Newcastle Chronicle, passed to me by a fellow…
PM coup plot speculation reaches fever pitch after 'all over' tweet
SPECULATION that Theresa May will be ousted from Number 10 has reached fever pitch amid reports that Cabinet ministers are plotting a coup to get rid of her.
FM tells London march: Internationalism is at the heart of my indy beliefs
FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed crowds hundreds of thousands strong yesterday, as the Put it to the People rally amassed in central London.
Joanna Cherry: Halting Brexit won't affect our independence mandate
ON Wednesday night something rather wonderful started to happen. Across the UK people began signing an official online petition calling on the UK Government to revoke the Article 50 notice and allow the UK to remain in the EU.
Views from the Scottish marchers at the People's Vote London rally
‘BREXIT has started to permeate my dreams,” says Joan Carter, a retired mediator from Edinburgh. She’s standing on the edges of a small crowd of People’s Vote supporters at a rally on this chilly Friday evening. It’s been organised by…
How a network of former addicts are pushing back against rising drug deaths
A SCOTL AND-wide network of people with experience of drug addiction are to be trained as recovery advocates, to help save – and improve – the lives of people struggling to stay free of drugs.
Michael Russell: Scottish politics has visionaries ... and Willie Rennies
DURING the 2014 independence referendum, I set myself the task of holding a public meeting in every village hall in Argyll & Bute.
'Meeting recovering addicts here gave me hope'
TO the casual observer it’s just a group of people chatting over cups of tea in a slightly drab community hall. But for the men and women here at Forth Valley Recovery Community (FVRC) in Stirling, this Friday afternoon recovery cafe meeting is…
Every chemist in the city has run out of your prescription, cancer patient told
HEALTH bosses say supplies of a key drug will be resolved within days after a cancer patient was told every chemist in Edinburgh had run out of her medication.
Italian MP praises Scottish legislation on helping young people after care
SCOTTISH legislation to better protect young people leaving care is a “road map” for other European countries to follow, according to an Italian politician looking to improve the care system in her own country.
Calls for BBC’s documentary on indyref to be aired UK-wide
CALLS have been made for the BBC to show a series
Multi-faith gathering in Scotland remembers victims of Christchurch attack
A MULTI-FAITH gathering took place in Glasgow yesterday to remember the victims of the Christchurch terror attack last Friday which left 50 people dead.
Brexit already biting in Scotland as SNP MP details workload increase
SCOTS up and down the country are turning to their MPs to deal with their thorniest Brexit concerns. Alison Thewliss, MP for Glasgow Central, gave the Sunday National a snapshot of her Brexit-related workload.
Andrew Tickell: May's speech was malign ... but she had a point
IF you want a microcosm of how fat-headed and foolish these past few months in British politics have become, contemplate this. As many as 30 Tory MPs have told the Telegraph newspaper they are now prepared to back Theresa May’s deal – on the…
Scottish grandmother issues plea to readers after youngster's death
A GRIEVING grandmother, reeling from the sudden death of her 17-year-old grandson, has asked readers of The National for help.
Stuart Cosgrove: Facebook's digital discrimination put civil rights at threat
SO Facebook eventually caved in and admitted to a form of digital discrimination, which at its worst threatened to unpick America’s civil rights legislation. You could hear the thunderous voice of Dr Martin Luther King raging from the grave.
Analysis confirms Scotland leading the UK in fighting carbon emissions
NEW independent analysis from the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (SPICe) has confirmed Scotland is leading the rest of the UK in the fight to reduce carbon emissions.
Colin Barrie - Diary of a Scottish Gardner
Just another week to go and the clocks will be changing and that’s when it feels as though spring has officially arrived! I always love the clocks changing as it gives me time to get into the garden after work!
Best on the box: Damien Love's TV picks for the week ahead
Tuesday
Music: The Cinematic Orchestra
“I can be something you believe in,” sings Moses Sumney on the haunted, beautiful title track of I Believe, the mammoth new record by The Cinematic Orchestra - their first full-length album in 12 years.
Additional needs children left in limbo four months after school closes down
TWENTY youngsters with additional support needs are still in limbo with no educational provision – four months after their Perthshire school was closed.
Stravaigin, Glasgow – Joanna Blythman's restaurant review
IS any restaurant more comprehensively featured in eating out guides to Glasgow than Stravaigin?
Pete Irvine on the best of Scotland 25 years on from first guide book
ONE DAY back in 1992 Peter Irvine got in his open-topped Peugeot 308 in Edinburgh and set out to find Scotland. He travelled up to the Highlands and the Islands. He went down to the Borders. He visited all the cities. And on the way he called in on…
Outlander's Diana Gabaldon: The story of the First Lady of Lallybroch
THROUGH the window of Diana Gabaldon’s Edinburgh hotel suite is a panoramic view of Arthur’s Seat, but she doesn’t need to gaze upon it and commit it to memory. Scotland’s landscapes already provide the backdrop to her multi-dimensional…
We’ve made progress on land reform but we’re just tinkering at the margins
LAND reform is difficult. It involves challenging a range of fiscal, legal, and political issues that are deeply entrenched not only in our law but in the history whereby men who owned land and property had the exclusive right to sit in the…
Marie Macklin: 10 things that changed my life
In this regular Sunday feature, we ask people for 10 things that changed their life. This week, Marie Macklin, businesswoman.
UK's 'punitive' welfare system under fire as DWP figures are revealed
THE SNP have said that the UK Government’s welfare system “simply isn’t working” after official figures revealed that 70% of claimants who challenged the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over benefits decisions had their cases overturned.
Scotland's Insider Guide: Portree
NESTLING in a sheltered bay below Ben Tianavaig and Fingal’s Seat, Portree is the vibrant capital of Scotland’s most famous island.
US preparing to hear verdict of Mueller’s Russia investigation
THE main findings from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election could be released today.
The right is on the rise around the world. How are different countries affected?
USA FIRST used in 2012 in the United States by white supremacist Richard B Spencer, “alt-right” or “alternative right” is a euphemism used to disguise neo-fascism and overt racism and covers a loosely connected bunch of hate groups.
Cyclone Idai: Here's what it's like in the disaster zone – and how you can help
Once again, extreme weather is causing devastation in the developing world, this time in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

23rd March 2019