Douglas MacQueen's blog

Nicola Sturgeon First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party  has said that the debate on independence of Scotland will restart in the coming weeks. Her comments were made ahead of the publication of the report of the growth commission, set up in 2016 and due to be published next week, it will make recommendations on monetary and other policy options for an independent Scotland. 

Stonehaven (Scottish Gaelic: Cala na Creige) is a coastal town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The town grew around an Iron Age fishing village, and gradually expanded inland from the seaside. Stonehaven was a Jacobite stronghold at the time of the Jacobite rising of 1715 and this was also the case during the Jacobite rising of 1745. It was one of the north-eastern Scottish ports where reinforcements, plus money and equipment were periodically landed from France in support of the efforts of Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") to regain the throne for the House of Stuart.

Negotiations have now concluded for the community purchase of  the Scottish island of Ulva. The ownership will transfer on 21 June and follows negotiations that were launched about a year ago. North West Mull Community Woodland Company have bought the island after receiving £4.4m from Scottish Land Fund, financed by the Scottish Government, to make the purchase.

Fairburn Tower stands near to the village Muir of Ord (Scottish Gaelic: Am Blàr Dubh) in the Highlands of Scotland. The building was built in 1545 by Murdo Mackenzie on land left to him by King James V of Scotland. The building is now in a very fragile state and could be at risk of collapse. Now there are plans by The Landmark Trust, a building conservation charity, to restore the tower house and bring it back into use. 

Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) decision to license the slaughter of 300 ravens in Perthshire has been widely condemned. A petition to prevent the raven cull has now gained nearly 30,000 signatures. Scottish Natural Heritage have authorised the culling of ravens in Perthshire as part of a five year experiment to see if the breeding of another species of birds would improve if there were less ravens around.

Bravehound is a Scottish charity that supports former servicemen, women and their families. On their website they state "dogs can help heal invisible wounds" The charity provide training and dogs to support veterans, some of whom have post-traumatic stress, mental health issues and physical injury. One man who has told his story is Army veteran Paul Wilkie who thinks that his dog, Irma, saved his life.

Thousands of Scottish independence supporters marched through the streets of Glasgow today. Some estimates put the turnout at 90,000 and the march left Kelvingrove Park at 11:30 and ended with a rally on Glasgow Green. It is one of a series of such events being held across Scotland by the pro-independence organisation All Under One Banner.

St Andrews University in Scotland is leading research into the stability of a massive Antarctic glacier. In conjunction with US scientists a five-year programme will be undertaken to examine the rapid process of melting that is underway in Thwaites Glacier. It is currently in rapid retreat, accounting for around 4% of global sea-level rise, an amount that has doubled since the mid-1990s.

The first of four Scottish Kiltwalks in 2018 took place on Sunday from Glasgow Green to Loch Lomond and raised £2 million pounds for charity.  The others will be held in Aberdeen on 4 June, Edinburgh on 17 September and St Andrews to Dundee on 20 August. A record number of walkers wearing kilts took part in the event which was open to all charities, so that walkers could raise money for any cause in Scotland they wanted to support.

Tourism is a continuing success story for the Scottish economy, worth more than £5 billion. Last year record numbers visited and the trend appears set to continue in 2018. A major factor in its popularity is the stress placed on the unique Celtic culture of Scotland. Along with its thousands of historic sites, including prehistoric stone circles, standing stones, burial chambers, and Bronze Age, Iron Age and Stone Age remains.