Orlando. A tragedy, but an opprtunity to sort US Gun Control I don’t know whether the Orlando shootings were motivated by religious hatred, homophobia or a simple streak of evil. And although speculation about that has already consumed hours and hours of TV and radio airtime, pages and pages of newspapers, and dominated conversation in… Read more »
Scotland’s Named Person Scheme. What’s to fear? As I write this column the Scottish Conservatives are preparing to use this week’s Holyrood debating time to call for a rethink of Scotland’s Named Person scheme before it comes into force later this summer. From 31st August a ‘Named Person’ will be appointed to monitor the welfare… Read more »
Cooking with love There is a village near Delhi which is too small to be marked on the map, but a remarkable man lived there. He had two daughters and a son, and unlike the other village men, who worked while his wife took care of home and family, this man liked to cook. And… Read more »
Can 5 Dancers teach us about 5 Soldiers? My experience of the military is limited. I don’t have any family history, other than my grandfather being an ARP warden in Aberdeen during WW2, and he never spoke of it. I never considered the army as a career option, although one of my solicitor colleagues in… Read more »
Has Assisted Suicide been forgotten in Scotland? A news story from The Netherlands caught my eye last week and has left me deeply conflicted; I have been both saddened, and heartened, but mostly frustrated. The story is about Assisted Suicide, and my frustration is that the issue seems to have been forgotten at Holyrood. It’s… Read more »
If you have been anywhere near the internet, a television or a national newspaper in the last 10 days you might have heard of the baffling call from an American author for maternity rights to be extended to all women, not just those who are having babies. If her statement were a ploy to stir… Read more »
The real Spirit of the Speyside Whisky Festival I was lucky enough to be hosting the opening gala dinner of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival last week. That officially gave me the best job of the night; the opportunity to ‘nose’ (and taste!) some of the finest whiskies in the world, and chalk it… Read more »
Anti-semitism. Is it on the rise across Scotland? It has been a treat to be back on air on a regular basis in 2016. I love the buzz of live radio, and it means I can still legitimately describe myself as a broadcaster in my Twitter profile. Since January I have been a regular contributor… Read more »
Baby boxes for all won’t eradicate childhood poverty Three years ago I wrote about the Finnish healthcare service, which was celebrating 75 years of ‘baby boxes’ – a cardboard box given to the every expectant mother. The boxes contain clothes, toiletries and nappies – everything a new-born needs to get a good start in life…. Read more »
Nothing screams ‘Happy 50th Birthday’ like a Facebook reminder from your friendly local colorectal surgeon that your bowel cancer screening kit is in the post. We were away for a few days last week to celebrate Mr Marr’s milestone birthday – a three day jaunt around some of the finest foodie venues in Dundee and… Read more »