The long game of the Counter-Reformation enters its final century

A man on BBC 4 has just said lichen- rhyming it with kitchen

what if the real sex trafficking cabal was just the patriarchy we made along the way

The poet George Barker: 'I am for the people of Republican Spain, for the people of China, for the people of England, for the people of Germany, etc. I am against Fascism, Franco, Mussolini, Japanese Generals, Hitler, Walter Chrysler, the Archbishop of Canterbury, etc.'

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again. #Pinks #ProudBlue

Tell me again how nobody cares about theatre, how the arts are elitist, how Shakespeare belongs in the past…

For those keeping score at home:

Valentine Ackland (poet, essayist, and partner of Sylvia Townsend Warner): 'Fascism is symptomatic of the sick man's will to self-destruction: artists live to resist this will, they express the fight of the living people for life, against death.'

Definitely seems like they destroyed the country on purpose.

Yes. But did Mandelson pay enough stamp duty?

Baroness Kidron calls for justice in her foreword to our ‘Brave New World?’ report on GenAI Stand up for creators and write to your MP today - you'll find a link to the report, and how to write to your MP ihttps://buff.ly/HLhczJy #JusticeForCreators

Oh dear. Slightly worrying signs at TEC of the Council seeking more control of Lothian Buses operations. The last thing Edinburgh needs is Councillors and officers running it. @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @kate-c.bsky.social @chasbooth.bsky.social @kevin-lang.bsky.social

Niche Notice. Broughton History Society, Mon 2nd Feb. Mc Donald Road Library, Edinburgh, 6pm for Tea and Biscuits, 6.30 start. Nonmembers welcome for a small fee. I'm talking about number 28 Queen Street - and a wee bit about 29. The usual extraordinary stories of extraordinary people. Some pictures

Tears of joy! SCOTLAND HAS JUST PASSED SWIFT BRICKS INTO LAW unanimously! 4 years of asking England & Scotland sorts it in a month led by ACE ⁦‪ MARK RUSKELL MSP‬⁩ ♥️The RELIEF is unreal! Tell England to follow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿by emailing [email protected] now!WOOP!

Philip Glass has withdrawn his symphony world premiere from the Kennedy Center: "Symphony No. 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony."

1989. Looking down from the shoulder at the top of the Eiger at the clouds boiling over the top of the north face. It was Swiss National Day and beer and sausages when we got down.

Are you researching your Scottish family or local history? Are you interested in housing 1830-1930? A guide to resources to aid your research. #housing #history #genealogy #FamilyHistory #LocalHistory 📚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🗃️ thepastandotherplaces.wordpress.com/researching-...

On Burns's day - here at 10 Scotland St next to no.12 bought by William Whyte, when brother David bought number 10 from builders, I celebrate Wm, young music-seller in the New Town. Derided by book/music sellers of the Old, he lured Haydn from Thomson & produced his beautiful folio of Burns songs

In 2020 I sent a letter to Tim Davie, of which this is the gist. (I was proposing the creation of a trans-institutional framework for dealing with the issue.) Davie responded to say it was all fine and I shouldn't worry. (You remember Tim Davie, right?)

Some confusion surfacing about how number 8 Scotland Street can be above 10 Scotland Street - a relatively common arrangement in the New Town. I hope my fine artwork explains all.

My neighbour, high above 10 Scotland Street, when the light struck just right, found this etched on his bedroom window. Andrew Wallace Forbes 15 August 1865. The story of Andrew Wallace Forbes and his family is in NEWS on 10scotlandstreet.com

I need 1 more person to enrol by tomorrow morning! Thank you! adulteducationedinburgh.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spyd...

I went to a lecture last might and sat beside a "wee old lady." She was probably thinking the same of me. Then minutes later we were talking about the surprisingly tricky move to the left at the top of Agag's Groove, a steep but mostly straightforward route on the Rannoch Wall in Glencoe. Unexpected

I took this picture of the babies crawling up the comms tower in Prague in 2003 and have never quite worked out what I think about it.

I need at least 3 more folk to sign up for my Edinburgh Adult Education Programme archaeology classes at Craigentinny, or the course will be cancelled. If you know anyone who might be interested, please let them know. Thank you! adulteducationedinburgh.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spyd...

🎬 THE STORY OF DOCUMENTARY FILM @markcousinsfilm.bsky.social returns with a definitive history of documentary cinema, tracing its evolution across time through landmark works and long-overlooked treasures from around the world.

The German state of Schleswig-Holstein changed from Microsoft to open source solutions at a cost of 9 million. It will save 15 million in fees per year. www.derstandard.at/story/300000...

I heard last week that the physics teacher of the daughter of one of my colleagues told the daughter that girls who do their nails don’t do physics. Sigh. So, here are the nails of an internationally leading particle physics professor. My nails. Don’t believe the gatekeepers! #womeninSTEM

A very close union with the entire renowned nation and name of Denmark, which we have decided to maintain perpetually and inviolably. James VI to the Council of Denmark, Holyrood, 25 May 1590

Finland is world's happiest country for 8 years with best education system, third highest trust levels & child poverty at 3.7% (Scotland = 22%) Why do frozen Finns excel? New film screening just added at Cameo, Edinburgh & Dunfermline Carnegie Centre. Booking details lesleyriddoch.com/events

Denmark owns Greenland cos it landed a canoe there 500 years ago? Like everything Trump says, the truth is far more complex. This video - posted after his first bout of sabre rattling last year - delves into the history of Greenland, Denmark and the US. youtube.com/watch?v=lYfS...

In related news, a timely Dick Gaughan tribute concert is taking place on January 18th as part of Celtic Connections www.celticconnections.com/event/1/true...

@maryscottoconnor.com is entirely right here. Fourteen seconds of fabulous.

La Casa in on sale again. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...

NEW: MAYOR FREY: “They are already trying to spin this as an act of self defense. I’ve seen the video myself and I want to tell everybody directly; that is bullshit.”

from me too

Happy birthday to the University of Glasgow, founded in this city because Pope Nicholas V had heard good things about the weather and the food.

Frank Dunlop, onetime director of Edinburgh International Festival, has died. His tenure was not easy but his work was always brilliant. He revived Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis. I saw it with Paul Levy and ate supper later with him & Clive James & his friend Margarita Pracatan. Memorable evening

Oh gosh. Oh no. His films are incredible.

East Scotland Street Lane on my way home last night

There’s loads of great stories coming to the big and small screens this year. Get ahead and read the book that inspired the film or tv show. Here’s a list of titles that you can borrow from Your Library. Simply click to reserve and then pick up from your local library zurl.co/wB5P1

“It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity... It’s as simple as that.” -Tove Jansson

Happy New Year to all. Here's a lovely old painting of a boat by a sailor on a spare bit of wood. It's gorgeous.

'Studying in Glasgow means safety, dignity, and the chance to breathe again. 'I am seen not just as a survivor, but as a student, a thinker, and a contributor.' www.heraldscotland.com/news...

extraordinary project

Years ago I watched film clips with Terence Stamp from his great career: Fellini, Pasolini, Priscilla, The Hit, Superman. He was elegant, reflective, generous, insightful. The conversation is back on the BBC www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...