Thought for the Day

We are expecting to hear from the First Minister later today that we will soon be moving into Phase 2 of the easing of restrictions. The chances are, though, that there will be vociferous complaints that the easing does not go far enough, or fast enough. Concerns about children’s education, the state of the economy, […]

One of the main stories yesterday was the decision of Government ministers (in Scotland as well as England) to provide free school meal vouchers for the summer holidays. Holiday hunger (and term-time hunger) are very real  issues for many families – the situation has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, but it existed long before

How will it be when schools re-open? When will schooling be back to ‘normal’? What will be the immediate impact on pupils hoping to go to university, college or a career? What will the longer term impact be on all children who have lost out on an important part of their schooling this year, and

A few weeks ago roads were very quiet, and people only went out for a short time each day. Now we can go out for longer, and on the whole the weather has been favourable for going out for longer. Many people seem to be walking or cycling, which is good for both physical and

Over the past week there have been on-going debates in the media about ‘racism’ and ‘transphobia’, which join topics such as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and homophobia, that were often in the news before it was swamped by Covid-19 stories. From as far back as we have historical sources, and from a wide spread across Planet Earth,

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the surrender of the 51st Highland Brigade at St Valery, and Poppy Scotland, the Royal British Legion and others are marking the event in various ways. It was the ‘flip-side’ of Dunkirk, the troops who didn’t get away at the fall of France, and ended up as prisoners of

The news media, and government advisers, around the world from time to time discuss whether it is better to focus on suppressing the virus (and accepting the economic consequences) or keeping the economy going (and accepting that people will become seriously ill, and some will die). There are arguments both ways (even trying to discount

There is widespread coverage in the news media of the debate around statues and memorials to people associated with the slave trade, slavery and colonialism. It is a difficult one for Clydeside because its 19th Century prosperity was rooted in all three (tobacco, sugar, cotton, ship building, supplying goods for the Empire). At the same

9th June is traditionally marked as the Feast of St Columba. “Come, bless the Lord, all you his servants. Lift up your hands towards the sanctuary and bless the Lord.” Psalm 134: 1, 2

On a walk along the shore, up-river from the Castle, we came upon dozens of jellyfish washed up by the tide. There is an amazing variety of wildlife in Dumbarton, from ravens to wrens, bats to geese, deer to rabbits and foxes, some folk have spotted a seal and an osprey here. How much wildlife