The Bank of England Governor has said that the anticipated recession may not be as bad as was feared – but it still sounds pretty bad. For those affected in terms of lost jobs, job opportunities, income it is awful – individuals, families, communities. It is easy to talk in terms of statistics, graphs and

The local lockdown in Aberdeen is a blunt reminder to us that the pandemic has not gone away, and neither have the restrictions associated with that word ‘lockdown’. We thought that we were doing so well in Scotland – almost a little oasis of improvement in a world of resurgence. Now we are reminded of

75 years ago today the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Since then a number of countries have developed atomic or nuclear bombs (and the number is probably higher than ‘official’ figures). There have been times when there has been real fear of a war between the Great Powers

The devastating blast in Beirut is a reminder to us that the world has many other problems apart from the virus. Lebanon was a country with multiple problems before the blast, and these will only be confounded by it. Our prayers are with the people there. We hope that the international community will provide the

Exam results day. Always stressful, and more so this year, when there were no exams. It is always the hope that the results will do the young folk justice, and enable them to take their life-plans forward – whether to university, college, apprenticeship or job. Some will be pleased with their results, some will be

Went for a walk yesterday along the path beside Gruggie’s Burn, South of Castlegreen Street. In a pool a fish was swimming lazily (don’t know what kind, but quite big). In the late Spring (in the hot weather) the water in the burn was very low. On Saturday (after the thunderstorms) it was a fair

August already! The Premiership resumes today. Fans will be pleased, but no fans will be present in the grounds to support their team. How will players feel playing to an empty stadium? Will it affect the quality of their play? (Dare one ask, ‘will they be a bit rusty after all this time?’) Will fans

There is an old adage about hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Seems a bit like that when looking at the news: schools in Scotland definitely planning to re-open the week after next, swimming pools and gyms in Wales re-opening from Monday, but restrictions placed on large numbers in Northern England, quarantine