…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
The Earl of Hopetoun, Prince Michael of Kent, The Countess of Hopetoun and Princess Michael of Kent Last night in our ScottishSix show, the topic of Lesley Riddoch’s talk was “Harpies & Quines – is this still Macho Caledonia.” It
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The following was first published as a Guest Column in the West Highland Free Press on 10 August 2012. The subject matter is one of a large number of vital topics that should be addressed by the Scottish Government’s Land Reform Review Group.
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Today, the Scottish Government announced the establishment of a “Land Reform Review Group” that will oversee a “wide ranging review of land reform in Scotland”. If this happens it will be very worthwhile. However, the remit and membership of this
Continue readingFor the record (and bearing in mind this is written by a spin doctor), here is the opening from Scottish Land & Estate’s e-newsletter of 1 June 2012. “This has been a very busy week indeed, it started with our
Continue readingWell, Alex Salmond duly gave his speech to the AGM of Scottish Land and Estates on Tuesday 29 May. (1) Unfortunately, he chose not to take up the many suggestions made in response to my earlier blog and, instead, gave
Continue readingDuke Richard, the 10th Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, KBE BBC Scotland’s Business and Economy Editor, Douglas Fraser, conducted a fascinating interview with John Glen, Chief Executive of the Buccleuch Group yesterday (online report here & audio file here). There
Continue readingPictured above is Rob Bain of Ardoch, Deeside, Aberdeenshire who died in July, 2010. Rob was the son of Jean Bain, the last native speaker of Deeside Gaelic who died in 1984. In an interview with Sheena Blackhall, Rob
Continue readingAs the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) bill makes its way through Parliament, those of us who wish to see a crackdown on tax havens being used to record title to land in Scotland might care to recall this story of
Continue readingProposals for the development of Craighouse Campus in Edinburgh were reported in the Scotsman today. The developers. Craighouse Partnership is proposing to build 116 houses on the site. A local campaign, Friends of Craighouse, has been opposing the proposals. I
Continue readingOne of the first serious books I ever read (my 1982 John Donald hardback edition sits on the shelf beside me) was James Hunter’s The Making of the Crofting Community. It is a mark of Hunter’s brilliance that his
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