Search: David J Black

The perverse jury can be a fair fickle beast. The acquital of four defendants who quite clearly broke the law when they pulled down the statue of Edward Colston is a case in point. Manifestly, it was wantonly remiss of Bristol's Labour Council and Mayor to risk leaving the said effigy of the reprehe

What is admissible in evidence in our ongoing trial of the past? The Arab slave trade? Modern slavery across Asia? Or are rules and consistency passé? Does Lady Justice need scales or will the sword suffice? Edinburgh Council, for example, remains coy about its plaque in Abercromby Place that

An interesting little conundrum for those with too much time on their hands. The flash floods in Edinburgh’s fashionable Stockbridge area earlier this year did significant damage to property, but thankfully, in contrast to similar events in Germany, no lives were lost. For this we may be grate

Campaigners fighting to save one of Edinburgh’s finest streets are paying tribute to a relentless champion of the city’s heritage, as admirers prepare to mark their respects at his memorial service tomorrow. The Atholl Crescent residents’ campaign was effectively born late last yea

A memorial service is being held for the late David J Black next month in Edinburgh. Towards the end of his life, David expressed that he was having a lot of fun planning his own memorial service, even though it was a party that he would never be able to attend.

In part three of his series on the ME/CFS saga, David J Black examines the durability of medical dogma in the face of facts and the risk of a new psychogenic orthodoxy prevailing with a generation of Long Covid sufferers, whose malady bears a striking resemblance to ME/CFS. See also: parts one and t

A replacement plaque was installed this morning at the base of the Melville Monument in St Andrew Square in Edinburgh.

One of the most jaw-dropping aspects of the Post Office Horizon scandal and the merciless persecution of its victims was the unfettered power granted to a state-owned corporation which, in England at least, had the singular privilege of investigating itself and bringing private criminal prosecutions

David J Black wonders whether 'British art' is a term of mere invention. For those who enjoy a challenging book this one hits the mark perfectly. Eloquently written, intellectually rigorous, impeccably researched, the challenge is posed by its scope. The timespan encompasses a period of 65,000 years

David J Black reviews a brace of new books on Edinburgh, ‘Scotia’s darling seat’. Alistair Moffat’s A New History of Edinburgh could best be described as a quixotically compelling, if not always satisfying, read. A prolific writer with a well-known background in television, t

In the final part of his medico-legal series, David J Black explores how Covid-19 has thrown into relief the maltreatment of ME/CFS victims. The boon to life sciences afforded by the pandemic and the huge sums invested in researching Long Covid have left the psychogenic hypothesis a sinking shi

David J Black recalls a bygone era in Demarco’s Edinburgh.

A terrible fate potentially awaits any Scottish folk troubadour lacking knowledge of US copyright law should he or she be tempted to record or sing in public a Scottish variant of Woody Guthrie’s great American anthem This Land is your Land, This Land is my Land, for they could find themselves

A former employee of the Scottish government has had her claim of harassment and victimisation on account of her race based on deliberate underpayment and unfair treatment dismissed by the Employment Tribunal. Claimant J Adegun, who was ethnically black, sought to establish that the Scottish Ministe

James Haldane Tait died peacefully at home on 9th April, 2020, from causes unrelated to the coronavirus outbreak. Known to his friends as Haldane, he was a remarkable man who has left the world immensely enriched by his time upon it. He is remembered with love and affection by all of those whose liv