Went a wee dander up Ladyside in the Moorfoots. It's the classic mix of sheep farming and grouse shooting.

What did I find, 25km from Edinburgh Castle? 🧵

A Ukrainian ambulance in Edinburgh tonight. Medics are deliberately targeted in this terrible war. Big moral questions for UK citizens. Do you support contributions going directly to help Ukraine buy the weapons they need? Or too squeamish to consider this? ⁦Ukrainian Red Cross

Russian embassy, London

So proud of and happy for my friend whose book has long deserved this.

Still thinking about literary Christmas gifts?Then head over to BfS for this review of Elspeth Barker's Notes From The Henhouse, published by W&N!
booksfromscotland.com/2023/12/david-…

Can’t help but smile at this shelf of Scotsman Arts best Scottish books 2023. Along with my own Wild History there are 6(!)books I commissioned for birlinnbooks & Polygon Books - brilliant works by Denise Mina, Alan Warner, David Greig Lynsey May Dougie Strang & Merryn Glover!

Our revels are begun! It's the new issue of BfS with the best gifting recommendations from our friends including Black & White Luath Press John Murray Press Polygon Books saraband Quercus Books Canongate Cranachan Publishing Association for Scottish Literature Bloodaxe Books & more!
booksfromscotland.com/issue/revel-re…

One of the funnest characters I’ve ever written is Cardinal Wolsey. Reforming rhymester William Roy wrote:

Fie on his golden three-folded crown
Which he wears upon his head;
Fie upon his majesty and renown
Claiming on earth to be in Christ’s stead

amazon.co.uk/Blood-Descende…

I am a life-long supporter of the Palestinian search for freedom and statehood , but this morning am feeling only utter revulsion, horror and depression at the press descriptions of yet more innocents massacred. No one, least of all children, should ever have to endure violence…

Trainspotting parodies usually bore the shit out of me, but I quite like this one.

My father in his football-reporting prime - 92 today

The city of Berlin’s culture budget (population 7m) for 2024 has been set at €947m. The whole of England’s culture budget (population 57m) for 2024 is £458.5m,

Berlin's new culture budget more than double England's arts funding | Euronews euronews.com/culture/2023/0…

Just caught up with this. What a cracking read.
theguardian.com/food/2023/jul/…

Cracking piece here by Peter Ross Ross with all you need to know about Westminster Abbey - a curtain-raiser of sorts to his excellent book Steeple Chasing: Around Britain by Church out next month from Headline. smithsonianmag.com/history/histor…

Open Up! It's the April issue of BfS, starring our friends from Polygon Books Sandstone Press 404 Ink Luath Press Saraband Books Floris Books Taproot Press Mantle Books Penguin Books UK Little Door Books Cranachan Publishing ScotlandStreetPress & more!

booksfromscotland.com/issue/open-up/

“She dares to have the gall to say ‘the deep state blocked me’, are you shitting me?!”

Jon Sopel slams Liz Truss’s “nonsense” claims about her mandate being blocked during her short-lived stint as PM.

Coming to Global Player

Whoever Humza appoints as Scottish Education Secretary, if they're serious about narrowing the gap between poor schools and good ones, this is the first charity they ought to get behind.
crowdfunder.co.uk/p/super-power-… crowdfunder.co.uk/p/super-power-…

🦸⭐️ WE ARE HIRING 📚🎉

It's an exciting time to join the the Super Power Agency! With our goal to expand across Scotland and serve 3,000 young people each year, the Workshop Leader will form an integral part of our team.

More info superpoweragency.com/we-are-hiring-…

It’s the perfect time to #volunteer with us. The next orientation is on 24 April - eventbrite.co.uk/e/560507120887

£100,000 per annum - that is quite the salary for eight hours a week for Lee Anderson MP presenting for GB News. He will have to deliver for that. And this is the Tory deputy party chairman. And he’s only been an MP since 2019. Hope that goes down well with his constituents