Scotland is first UK nation to make residential outdoor education a legal requirement for all pupils, after MSPs backed landmark legislation guaranteeing every child access to a week-long outdoor learning experience. Well done Liz Smith MSP plus all campaigners. www.thenational.scot/politics/254...

Will the BBC fight or fold over Trump's absurd legal challenge? Is Europe facing civilisational erasure? Will the appalling murder of Jews in Australia silence protests over Israel's Gaza genocide? Why did Angela Constance not just apologise to MSPs? Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

The Netherlands 🇳🇱 WITHDRAW Spain 🇪🇸 WITHDRAWS Ireland 🇮🇪 WITHDRAWS Slovenia 🇸🇮 WITHDRAWS Belgium 🇧🇪 WITHDRAWS Iceland 🇮🇸 WITHDRAWS All because Israel’s in Eurovision. It’s the end for the contest. But couldn’t these broadcasters create an #AlternativeEurovision? They’d have half world watching.

John Swinney's indy energy promise is fine. But can he do nothing now as Scotland's green energy heads south? Is Trump driving Ukraine towards civil war? Any clear winner from Sandy Peggie case? Will Baron Malkie Offord boost Reform in Scotland? Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Beautiful Sutherland today.

Very chuffed to wear a berry crown in ceremony to celebrate 25 years since planting of A’Chraobh - a spiral woodland near Borgie in Sutherland with 18 species representing the Gaelic Ogham alphabet. Maybe the only such forest in the world. Short film coming soon.

Big questions about energy infrastructure news. 1. Why are we shipping energy across UK fm Highlands to s of England when they have green resources too? 2. Do windfarm communities benefit? 3. Can any of them really object or is this a done deal? A film. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LXy...

Rachel Reeves' budget - is it the guddle that just keeps giving? Will the missing black hole disappear with the OBR boss? Or will Labour high heid 'uns keep being asked what they knew when? Plus Saltires Hampden North Sea Oil & Highland wind farms. Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Save The Iain Anderson Show. I've signed the petition cos we need more support for our musicians, more knowledge & passion - not easy listening shows like every other radio station. The petition's being handed in soon, so if you've been meaning to sign, here's the link. c.org/LMwv5xtQtM

“Oh, thank you, imperial master. Grovelling thanks for sharing your hard-earned cash.” Did Rachel Reeves expect this when she announced some of Scotland's taxes will be sent back north? Actually that budget pop at the SNP is a sure sign of Labour nerves. www.thenational.scot/politics/256...

Finland is the world's happiest country for the 8th year running. How do they do it? New film coming very soon. www.reuters.com/business/fin...

Has Scotland's fitba victory left a lasting bounce? The Covid Inquiry says Scotgov should've deviated faster fm WM - should Nicola Sturgeon have closed the border? As Danish Labour lose Mayors to the left/greens sd UK Labour rethink its hardline migration stance? Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

In truth, it’s not the hope that kills you. It’s having nothing left to hope for. The men’s team have done their bit. Time for the rest of us to get back out there. www.thenational.scot/sport/opinio...

Watching Kenny McLean, radio commentators urged caution - ready to settle for just good enough. And then a man with a reputation for caution lifted his head, spotted a possibility, trusted himself & smashed every mediocre expectation of Scots to smithereens. www.thenational.scot/sport/opinio...

Listening to Radio Scotland phone-in. Tidal waves of repressed hope & joy unleashed. Have to write a column today. But sitting greetin, laughing and replaying vid of McTominay searching for his mum after that goal. Helps to hear half of Scotland is also awash with emotion. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Labour’s draconian crackdown against asylum seekers has pushed Number Ten's circular firing squad off the front pages along with the hokey Cokey budget. But will it push left leaning voters further away fm Labour & validate Reform’s empathy-crushing agenda? Yes. Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Scotland's Missing Forests 120k views in a week. Wonder if Scotgov gets the message. Barren-looking land, even overgrazed & burnt grouse moors, can support natural woodland & biodiversity. This is the story of two pals who went where politicians fear to tread www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuTV...

Chuffed to be discussing Scotland's Future tomorrow Sun 6pm at AyeWrite in Glasgow with former FM Henry McLeish, chaired by Kirsteen Paterson. Henry & I had frisky chat at Kircudbright Fringe a month ago. Trust this will be similar. Some tix still available. www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/unfi...

Panorama's mistake has riled Trump. But one bad edit merits apology & correction not capitulation with our licence fee cash. The BBC sd prepare for court like NY Times & Wall St Journal with Number 10 support. Instead, we're in for a credibility-destroying grovel www.thenational.scot/politics/256...

Five UN Special Rapporteurs condemn Palestine Action ban as "not justified", "unnecessary" and a move associated with authoritarian states. Will this be raised in #PMQs? Will it be covered by @BBCNews? tinyurl.com/2s4cyzar

Has the BBC been captured by a bunch of extreme right wingers? Does anyone believe Aunty is pro Palestine? Who will pay Trump's damages - licence-fee payers? What about record low trust levels in Scotland post #indyref? Plus prisons, David Lammy & Trad Awards. Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Centuries of overgrazing & muirburn for grouse moors mean Highland Scotland looks treeless & desolate. But it doesn't have to be this way. New film Scotland's Missing Forests went online y'day. Chuffed to see almost 10k views. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuTV... @chrisgpackham.bsky.social

30 years ago this hopeless, overgrazed hillside was turned into a thriving woodland. Care & fencing restored desolate Glen Garry despite a sub-Arctic climate & proved forests are possible anywhere. So why is much of Scotland a barren wasteland? New film www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuTV...

Will Trump cut cash to NYC if 'communist' Zohran Mamdani wins Mayoral race? Are public reassured or panicked by Rachel Reeves pre-budget tough times speech? Reform manifesto pledges falling apart. Plus Land Reform Bill, Edinburgh Trams & the late Elspeth King. Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Well said. Elspeth was a life force. Blocked by the auld guys who didn’t ‘get’ the People’s Palace. A Harpies & Quines supporter with her suffragette research. She sd have run Kelvingrove but re-energised Dunfermline & revived Stirling’s Smith Gallery instead. It’s such v bad news.

I spoke at Yes Cymru rally in Rhyl last weekend and was blown away by their wall-to-wall use of Welsh. Astonished to be only non-Welsh speaker on that platform. Its obvious their language is massive part of Plaid’s Caerphilly by-election success.

Radio Scotland’s problem isn't GMS presenters but the station's inability to reflect the real, post-indyref, curious, questioning nation Scotland has become & all the narratives, sources & outlooks that exist beyond a weary mainstream. Today's National column. www.thenational.scot/politics/255...

Spooky - Reform hog headlines tho Plaid Cymru wins. Why is the UK media so desperate for the relentless-rise-of-the-right narrative? Plus Irish Presidential election, violence in Scottish schools, Your Party Glasgow launch & Labour's McNukes policy. Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

This looks good.

Why didnt stunning Caerphilly victory clinch prime 8.10am slot for Plaid_Cymru on BBCr4today prog this am? Instead it's all about Labour & Reform losing. Wakey wakey chaps. This is why Welsh folk feel so ignored. Special free podcast with Yescymru folk I met last weekend. lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Or …. Plaid played a blinder. Belief in UK weakened. Small party with zero coverage pulled off massive result.

Are Scots the most indoor folk in Europe? Daytrippers. Next to no family weekend huts. Priced out of overnight stays. Lost family links. Strangers in our own land. Why no outrage? Speaking at Blether of Books Festival Nov 2 Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway. Tix tinyurl.com/bdfcfev2

Must Scotland thole being a net exporter of green energy to England with the highest energy bills in Europe? This summer 56 Highland community councils came together to demand a pause & local control. Are they NIMBYs or spot on? See the film Carnoustie next Tuesday -free with Q&A

Is rising popularity of Welsh language driving Plaid's poll lead for 2026 - what can Scotland learn from Cymru? Starmer makes another bad call letting Andrew keep title as Prince. And Burntislanders need a law change to access their own harbour - why? Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Impressive ⁦‪⁦‪@YesCymru‬⁩ turnout in Rhyl on overcast day. No Saltires ⁦‪@YesBikers‬⁩ or ⁦‪@SaorAlbaPD‬⁩ pipers but Welsh dragon flags everywhere, brass band leading off & organisers using Welsh quite naturally. I’m on around 2pm. Hope I’m as perky #awfyearlystart

Morning @auob.cymru. See you in Rhyl. nation.cymru/news/thousan...

Great news. Will Maclean & Marian Leven have just won the Marsh Award for their Lewis land monument. In the 1840s the Hebridean Galson estate was cleared for sheep. Most people were put onto emigration ships to Canada. Finally in 2007 - a community buyout. Their sculpture celebrates that renewal.

Highland A9 corridor resembles barren wasteland. Easy to assume nothing cd ever grow here & 'sporting' landowners have taken over a real burden. Easy but wrong. Scotland’s Missing Forests film shows at REVIVE conference Nov 8. Then youtube.com/@Lesley_Riddoch www.heraldscotland.com/politics/255...

John Swinney's indy strategy. Will it work or devalue more likely election outcome - a combined indy party win? Are walk-in clinics game changing? Trump's Gaza ceasefire deal & the Nobel Peace Prize award to a supporter of Gaza coming - must we applaud? Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Very chuffed to be in this line up as Plaid builds its case for victory in 2026. Voters want change. And not just in the direction of Reform. @AUOBCymru nation.cymru/news/thousan...

If Met police are exhausted by 'repeat' Gaza demos why not stop arresting pensioners for holding cardboard signs? Labour has turned a valid political stance into a lawbreaking one - will that wash? Plus the empty Tory Conference v the louping Greens and the SNP ahead Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Ron Greer & Derek Pretswell took 50 years to produce a broad leaf forest in the sub-arctic climate & barren wastes of Glen Garry - but achievement ignored by the authorities. Why? Film “Scotland’s Missing Forests” premieres Nov 8 Revive Coalition Perth conf & Nov 9 on www.youtube.com/@Lesley_Ridd...

Are Highlanders climate crisis-denying NIMBYs or asking who benefits from green energy that isn't locally owned or controlled and (largely) won't reach the grid? Highland Windfarm Revolt screening plus Q&A in Phipps Hall Beauly, 29th Nov 2pm. Free with donations. lesleyriddoch.com/events

Difficult times. Cheer yourself up with poet & author of seven novels inc Testament of Gideon Mack, Joseph Knight, And the Land Lay Still and News of the Dead - James Robertson. Thurs 30th Oct, Steps Theatre Dundee 6-7.30pm. Org by @indydundeeangus www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening...

Starmer's right-wing pish appeals to folk down south. But not many in Scotland or Wales, set to reject Labour for the first time in 100 yrs next May. In 2026 it’s possible all Celtic nations will support the break-up of the UK. Conceal that if you can. www.thenational.scot/politics/255...

Are Scots the most indoor folk in Europe? Daytrippers. Next to no family weekend huts. Priced out of overnight stays. Lost family links to the land. Why no outrage? Chuffed to be at Blether of Books Nov 2 Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway. tinyurl.com/bdfcfev2

Finland's war readiness looks justified after Russian drones over Oslo & Copenhagen Airports - what next? Your Party launch was a washout - can it survive? Is Andy Burnham about to oust Starmer? Will the EU cut trade links with Israel? Listen to podcast lesleyriddoch.com/podcast

Finland has been world’s happiest country for 8 years running. After filming here for a week happiness is not laugh our cheeriness. Or even smiling a lot. But having the determination to ensure all the basics work properly for all. #Sisu-theunsinkableFinns

Helsinki-based Scots filmmaker Gavin Hanigan & myself have spent a week filming to tell Finland’s incredible story. Despite famines, wars, a meter of sea ice half the year & the perennial threat of Russia, these modest people are quietly top performing. A great model for Scotland

Nato intercepted Russian fighter jets in Estonian airspace today. It's the kind of provocation Estonians have dreaded … and prepared for. There's no way this Baltic State will let its hard won independence unravel. A film. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqLJ...