…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
Image: Abandoned farm on a Deeside estate. Should tenant farmers in Scotland be given the legal right to convert their tenancies into ownership of the farm that they and their descendants have occupied and worked in some cases for over
Continue readingIn this Guest Blog, poet & novelist John Burnside reflects on the land, nature, folk and elite power. John’s most recent book is a collection of short stories, called Something Like Happy (Jonathan Cape). This essay was first published in The
Continue readingThe tortuous negotiations over the next Common Agricultural Policy reached a conclusion of sorts today although some of the details remain unclear. This morning BBC Radio Scotland invited me to speak about the implications of “capping the CAP” – an
Continue readingAt the weekend we got back to the hills after a period of enforced confinement due to work and school exams. We decided to camp high on the Lochngar plateau and stravage around the hills on Sunday before returning home.
Continue readingPhoto: The author working as a stalker’s ghille or pony-man on a large landed estate in eastern Scotland with my Highland garron, Brandy. Recently I found myself in the garden of a mansion house of a large Scottish landed estate
Continue readingI studied forestry at Aberdeen University at the time of the rapidly expanding afforestation of the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland. One day, the Chief Executive of Fountain Forestry, the company that was the leading player in this misadventure,
Continue readingThe following response was posted as a comment on my previous blog “Linwood no more. From the Hillman Imp to Tescotown“. I consider that the content merits a Guest Blog rather than a comment and am delighted to host this
Continue readingSometimes life is sweet. People think good thoughts. Folk are inspired to imagine and drive forward a happier, more contented society where we live good lives in good places with economic and political democracy. A little bit of that dream
Continue readingYesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Rootes Factory in Linwood that made the Hillman Imp. To accomodate the workforce, the small industrial village of Linwood was expanded and the first “Regional Shopping Centre” in Scotland was opened
Continue readingWhen I was at University in 1980s studying forestry, Forestry Commission land was being sold off and the private sector was booming with generous tax breaks on offer to investors to plant trees. Particular controversy erupted over the rapid expansion
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