Rt Rev Alan McDonald
November 29, 2006 by David Torrance · Leave a Comment
Today saw an interesting (and long-standing) fixture in the year for both the Scotland Office and the Church of Scotland.
Every year, the incumbent Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland visits London to meet with the Prime Minister, Scottish Secretary and various other Scottish MPs. This includes a sermon in the charming crypt underneath Westminster Hall, which the Rt Rev Alan McDonald gave this morning. Douglas Alexander, the Scottish Secretary, was supposed to give a reading but instead it was taken by David Cairns, his under-secretary (David is a former Catholic priest). Then there’s lunch for the Moderator at Dover House, which was today hosted by Douglas Alexander, and then several meetings between the General Assembly’s Church and Society Council (formerly the Church and Nation Committee) and Government and Opposition MPs in (oddly enough) the Speaker’s Bed Chamber.
Tam Dalyell
November 29, 2006 by David Torrance · Leave a Comment
The former Father of the House, Tam Dalyell, has given my book, The Scottish Secretaries, a good write up in the December edition of The Oldie magazine.
He focuses in on two Scottish Secretaries, the 6th Earl of Rosebery and Arthur Woodburn, both of whom Tam knew personally.
You can read the full review by clicking here.
Stone of Destiny
November 29, 2006 by David Torrance · Leave a Comment
An amusing story running on the BBC today, that cake designers have come up with a ‘cake’ replica of the Stone of Destiny to commemorate the tenth anniversary of its return to Scotland.
The lump of rock was of course transferred from Westminster Abbey to Edinburgh Castle on St Andrew’s Day in 1996, an initiative of the then Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth.
You can read the full story by clicking here.
West Highland Free Press
November 23, 2006 by David Torrance · 2 Comments
The former Scottish/Scotland Office Minister Brian Wilson devoted his column in last week’s West Highland Free Press to a (sort of) review of my book, The Scottish Secretaries, and in particular its references to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. You can read the full article by clicking here.
Single ballot paper
November 22, 2006 by David Torrance · Leave a Comment
The Scotland Office today confirmed proposals to consolidate both the constituency and regional list vote into a single ballot paper for next May’s Scottish Parliamentary elections. The Scottish Secretary, after all, is still responsible for Scottish elections. You can read the full Scotland Office press release by clicking here.
Lord Robertson
November 16, 2006 by David Torrance · 1 Comment
I had a very enjoyable evening at the launch of Lord (George) Robertson’s new book of photographs depicting the islands of Islay and Jura. The bash was held at the Westminster Bookshop on Artillery Row (formerly Politico’s), and was well attended by the likes of Lord Forsyth (with whom George sparred as Shadow Scottish Secretary in the mid 1990s) and Rosemary McKenna MP, fresh from seconding the loyal address to the Queen’s Speech in the House of Commons earlier that day.
My book, The Scottish Secretaries, was also on sale and George told me that he’d just recently received his copy. I was also able to clear up a few things, including the fact that Robertson did expect to become Scottish Secretary in 1997 but was far from disappointed to discover that he was going to the Ministry of Defence instead.
You can order copies of Lord Robertson’s book, Islay and Jura, by clicking here.
18 Doughty Street
November 15, 2006 by David Torrance · Leave a Comment
I appeared alongside Douglas Carswell MP on last night’s Vox Politix on the internet political television station 18 Doughty Street. Douglas and I were interviewed by the ubiquitous blogger Iain Dale, and his co-host Zoe Phillips, Douglas about his new online community tv station – Clacton TV - and me about my book, The Scottish Secretaries. It lasted about an hour and was hugely enjoyable. You should be able to watch it again by clicking here. You take a look at a whole range of political programmes by visiting www.18doughtystreet.com.
Scotland on Sunday
November 12, 2006 by David Torrance · Leave a Comment
Eddie Barnes has reviewed my book, The Scottish Secretaries, for today’s Scotland on Sunday. You can read the review in full by clicking here.
Iain Dale’s blog
November 11, 2006 by David Torrance · Leave a Comment
Iain Dale’s ubiquitous blog includes an entry on my book, The Scottish Secretaries, just posted this evening. You can see it by clicking here. And if any of you are regular viewers of Iain’s 18 Doughty Street online political television channel, then you can see me as a guest on Tuesday evening.
allmediascotland.com
November 6, 2006 by David Torrance · Leave a Comment
The book and I also get a mention on www.allmediascotland.com, a website devoted to Scotland’s sizeable media community. You can read it in the ‘Spike’ section of the site by clicking here.