Identity is, simultaneously, the simplest and most slippery of concepts. The impassioned debates today pitting the determinism of biological sex against the (arguably) social construct of gender identity is simply the latest iteration of age-old tensions between individuals and the societies within and against which they define themselves. If linguistic ability is inherent in the …
It was on the final day of the RSVP conference – Saturday 15th June – in Stirling that I noticed this magnificent collection of thistles. It seemed an appropriate visual image for a place so associated with William Wallace – spiky, hardy, standing proudly independent of the surrounding vegetation. I’m happy to say that there …
What is it that links people as disparate as footballers Duncan Ferguson and Billy Bremner*; King James VI of Scotland and I of England#; jockey Willie Carson*; journalist Kirsty Young § and former Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman≠? All have a deep association with the ancient Royal Burgh, and now city, of Stirling in central …
Today Liverpool welcomes the new Cunard liner Queen Anne. I hope she enjoys a long and successful life at sea – and doesn’t suffer the fate that befell the clipper James Baines in Liverpool’s Huskisson Dock on 22nd April 1858. As reported in the press at the time – including this paragraph from the Illustrated …