Search: David J Black ME/CFS

Choices, choices, always choices. On February 25th it was between an event in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall marking the third anniversary of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, or a ‘Gray Day’ in Glasgow’s Oran Mohr marking the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Scotland&r

Musing over the haggis, coaxed down with a friendly single malt, David J Black shares his thoughts on why it is that so many Scots have a bizarre love-hate relationship with that man from Ayrshire. Robert Burns is, by a long way, the most celebrated poet in the world. His January 25 birthday feast i

In the final part of his series on Big Book, David J Black finds yet more revelations between the lines. See part three here. Let us park Ms Rooney in a lay-by for the moment, and focus on the man in the shadows. A dyed-in-the-wool Republican, one time Rubio-supporting Trump sceptic Paul Elliott Sin

David J Black finds that money and sanctimony make for a heady cocktail as the plot of his bookish inquiry thickens. See part two here. Sally Rooney really should know that Waterstones’ US parent, private equity fund Elliott Advisors, is part of corporate giant Elliott Investment Manageme

Literature is another casualty of our ailing civilisation. David J Black discusses the simulacrum left in its wake. See part one here. Unlike her risque predecessors Jilly Cooper and Joanna Trollope, Ms Rooney enjoys the honorific sobriquet "the voice of a generation", in which office she has seemin

Word reaches your scrivener that a well regarded seasoned journalist by the name of Claire Atkinson is engaged in writing an unauthorised biography of the old boss we both used to share, namely one Rupert Murdoch. But will she cover everything? Fans of the brilliant, yet chilling, HBO series Success

According to The Times of November 1st the total cost of state support for the sick will exceed an unprecedented £100 billion a year by the end of this parliamentary term. This frankly unsustainable health burden is largely the outcome of successive governments placing fiscal imperatives above

Ahead of the US election tomorrow, in which one candidate hopes to win bigly, David J Black looks at interference on both sides of the Atlantic. Aspirant President Donald J Trump, who now joins the disparate ranks of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin in condemning the very idea that Scotland should opt f

The rule of law is inevitably one of the first victims of war, and that is particularly the case when the aggressor nation chooses to pursue its objectives regardless of the impact on a civilian population, targeting hospitals, schools, public buildings and residential homes in a bid to undermine th

David J Black traces the highs and lows of the Edinburgh Festivals in the second part of his prolonged lament on their decline. Read the first here. The chemistry between the official Festival and the Fringe was, at times, diplomatically awkward, yet the relationship had benefits for both. With bril

Putting aside the well worn fact that remembrance of things past can be delusional and misleading – madeleine cake dipped in tea, long hot summers on the beach when one was ten, definitely more butterflies and, for sure, much more succulent strawberries, first kiss etc. etc. - we should interr

Narcissists of minor repute, for whom notoriety is more achievable than fame, have bitten the hand that feeds them in their latest attack – on the UK's book festivals. David J Black adduces evidence of their hypocrisy, among other things. They never seem to bother with the detail or consider t

Scotland's earnest desire to be noticed by the world has been fulfilled. But, as the adage goes, 'be careful what you wish for'. David J Black reflects on the chaos of the past few weeks, as we put into practice the 'progressive' ideas that others have merely preached. Says Police Scotland: "The Hat

If he might crave the reader’s indulgence, this idle scrivener would very much like to share his fun idea for an exciting new parlour game or, equally, a pub quiz for the judicially aware at any learned hangout where good claret can be had. A subtle combination of Where’s Wally and Clued

It could have been a rerun of Clochemerle, that droll 1970s Simpson and Galton series about the hotly disputed provision of a public pissoir in an ultra respectable French village. In 2021 Miranda Dickson inherited her three story townhouse in Edinburgh’s Drummond Place from her parents, Ian a