Don’t worry about climate targets. They’re just numbers, “nothing more meaningful than a straight line on a graph”, to quote a Scottish Government source this evening explaining away the scrapping of climate goals. What a way to miss the point. And oh boy, by a long long way. Statistics are worth being angry about. Numbers…

In December 2023 I took a series of tour groups around key sites in Edinburgh’s surprisingly bright history of festive protest. Our first stop was St. Andrews Square where we celebrated Occupy Edinburgh’s taking of Scotland’s historic financial centre in the winter of 2021, a protest which included, on Christmas Day 2011, the raising of…

The story of the Eddowes family begins with the family bible. This book was a bought by Joseph Goodman, who was baptised on 2nd February 1798 at the church of St. Gluvias the Martyr in Cornwall, and some of its pages, adorned with beautiful cursive script, are still in the family. All the Goodman ancestors…

A baking Western Canada is on fire once again, following droughts and high temperatures. A week ago I took the bus from Vancouver to Calgary, snaking our way through scores of active and out of control fires. The route also follows the construction of the Transmountain Pipeline which scars the mountainsides (below). Canadian Government-funded, the…

The World Cycling Championships are coming to Scotland this week. It’s big news, not just because our wee country likes a spectacle but because it’s the first time all the different disciplines of cycling will compete together: mountain biking, track cycling, BMX and road racing. A first ever ‘olympics’ of cycling. The road races will…

This summer I travelled with my bike from Derby to Kidderminster cycling along some beautiful lanes and canals, stepping off a new train and finishing on an old one. Beginning at Willington, my route followed the Trent and Mersey Canal, Coventry Canal, Birmingham & Fazeley Canal then Birmingham Main Line Canal before leaving the waterways…

Last night we had the most gorgeous velvet simmer dim in Leith. I thought I would dip into the science of twilight because as it turns out, 1st June – 11th July is the gloaming time at 56˚ north! For most of the year the night is bordered by different depths of twilight. “Astronomical Twilight”…

Published 13 April, minor updates 15 Apr This is a reading list about Coronavirus, ecological breakdown, system change and justice. It’s aimed at UK climate but hopefully will be of wider use too. I’m a slow reader and this all took me about 3hrs to read. If you don’t have this time I’d choose one…