Love and magical thinking: from the Province of the Cat

The following article by George Gunn was first posted on bella caledonia,. LOVE AND MAGICAL THINKING FROM THE PROVINCE OF THE CAT Next year in September will be the tenth anniversary of the 2014 referendum campaign. Although the result was gut-wrenchingly disappointing those who were 16 then and first-time voters will be 26 in 2024,…

Languages do not “die”, they are persecuted: A Scottish Gael’s perspective on language “loss”

 The following article was written by Paul Meighan and was first posted on bella caledonia. LANGUAGES DO NOT “DIE”, THEY ARE PERSECUTED: A SCOTTISH GAEL’S PERSPECTIVE ON LANGUAGE “LOSS” Two-thirds of the world’s 7000-7500 languages are Indigenous languages. One-third of Indigenous languages are experiencing language loss and “as many as 90% are predicted to fall…

The real honours of Scotland

The following article by George Gunn from the Province of the Cat was first posted by bella caledonia. It links King Charles receiving the ‘Honours Scotland’ with the seizure of the land under feudalism. This continues  to this day, albeit it as aggressive capitalist expropriation. However  it  acknowledges its feudal forebears in the pomp and…

A monarchy based on slavery

This article by Mike Small on the links between the British monarchy and  slavery was first posted on https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2023/04/16/a-monarchy-based-on-slavery/. It was written just before the coronation on May 6th, at Westminster Cathedral, but with Charles coming to receive the ‘honours of Scotland’ on Wednesday 5th July at St Giles Cathedral the EL&SD Editorial Board  is…

Your country – George Gunn

EL&SD is posting the new poem written by George Gunn. It highlights the continuing iniquity of land tenure in Scotland. YOUR COUNTRY   Your country is sold off in 45,000 acre parcels at £25 million a go by the inventor of the sticky back label who bought it from a down on his luck laird…

Leigh French – a tribute

It was very sad news to hear of the death of  Leigh French, co-editor of Variant. I was invited in the context of IndyRef2 to speak to a meeting organised by Leigh and Gordon Asher. What we shared in common was an appreciation of the significance of cultural struggle in challenging capitalism. Although we differed…

Ode to the Scottish Republic

George Gunn read the following poem at the republican rally on Calton Hill on the day of the coronation on Saturday 6th May. ODE TO THE SCOTTISH REPUBLIC        (Calton Hill, Edinburgh, 6.5.23) My allegiance is to the Scottish people to all people to be called a British subject & to swear allegiance to a…

We are citizens not subjects

The Radical Independence Campaign issued the following statement for the Calton Hill republican rally on May 6th.     WE ARE CITIZENS NOT SUBJECTS The Radical Independence Campaign initiated the 2023 Declaration of Calton Hill, signed by nearly 3000 people.  We welcome those attending today’s rally organised by Our Republic.  We are here to challenge…

Letter from John Dennis to The Herald, 1.5.23

  We are posting the following letter from John Dennis, a longstanding trade union activist and member of the  Radical Independence Campaign in  Dumfries Dear editor Picking up on Ian Gray’s letter (Challenging the system – May 1st), it seems Scotland is now led by a big feartie. Far from the radical policies he promised…

May Day international greetings to all

     MAY DAY INTERNATIONAL GREETINGS TO ALL For a Republican Internationalist Coalition    to challenge to the UK state and British imperialism                                                                …