The National is Scotland’s newest daily newspaper and it aims to become a strong, proud and permanent voice in the Scottish media landscape. Importantly, it is the only daily newspaper that supports the idea of independence for Scotland. The newspaper now features a regular column entitled ‘View From Abroad’ and we were recently approached by […]

James Kelman once stated that real drama is to be found in ordinary people’s everyday lives, and certainly the same could be said about real horror. The supernatural and fantastic may give us a shock or inspire nightmares, but our greatest fear and terror is surely based in reality; the dangers which can be found […]

What can be said about Neil Munro? In a Canadian obituary, it was written: “Neil Munro – the very name o’ him is grand to hear. A grand name, wi’ something baith braw and hamely in it. A name wi’ a sniff o’ peat reek, the bloom o’ heather, a skirl o’ the pipes, an’ […]

One of the never ending discussions about books is whether the meaning comes from the reader or the writer. Of course, the answer is both, but where the balance lies is constantly shifting, and often circumstances and situation dictates this as much as the writing itself. Candia McWilliam’s ‘Debatable Land’ is full of rich metaphor […]

When the date for the Scottish Independence referendum was announced last year, I knew I had to be back in Scotland for the vote. I expected it to be an important constitutional moment. What I didn’t expect was to be moved to tears by the mood of confidence and optimism of the Scottish people.

Preface by Pete Reid: Matthew is the owner of Song, By Toad Records and author of the Song, By Toad blog. He is also a good friend and I respect his opinion on most subjects, even music. Here, he writes a long, detailed, and sweary explanation of his voting intentions for Thursday.

We have said before in these columns that the early to mid-nineties in Scotland was one which was politically bleak, no matter what your persuasion was. The victory of the John Major led Conservatives in 1992’s UK election saw Labour victorious in Scotland, and with no power in the rest of the UK, the promised […]

In the last couple of years there was a lot of debate about which Scottish books and writers should be taught in Scottish schools as part of the set texts for the Higher English exam. If I had had a vote, Matthew Fitt’s ‘But n Ben A-Go-Go’ would’ve been in my top three choices for […]

When I worked at the Scottish Parliament about 14 years ago, I had a fanciful conversation with a senior MSP about what effect a Scottish World Cup win would have on a vote for independence. My feeling was that if it happened on the eve of a referendum, the feel-good factor of such an, admittedly […]