Bylines Scotland

Every morning, I wake up, make myself a cup of hot water with lemon juice and settle back in bed sipping it slowly as I read the news. The first thing I saw today was a horrific video of a woman protestor being abused and beaten at a Reform UK rally. Nigel Farage watched from the stage, smirking and blaming the victim for the violence inflicted on her by his supporters. Then I read about masked men invading the Port of Dover to intimidate people who did not support their far-right policies.

A sense of stagnation weighs heavily on the Scottish independence movement. In the recent writings of respected commentators, frustration and a palpable sense of impotence rise from the page. Scots face the contradictory forces of progressive, far-reaching, aspirations directed by a Scottish National Party (SNP) who appear conservative adherents to tradition and gradualism - leaders who seem unwilling or unable to recognise the decisive leap required.

In southeast Perth and Kinross, surrounded by forests, fields, hills and open country, lies one of Scotland's most famous and precious bodies of water: a loch. This loch is a haven of nature, a gift to the eyes and a heaven for explorers. Home to the Heritage Trail, Loch Leven is a world of its own. The Heritage Trail The Loch Leven Heritage Trail is a 13-mile, mostly level circular path that spans the entire circumference of Loch Leven. There are no gates or barriers on the trail itself.

While more action is needed to support Edinburgh's architectural heritage, some small-scale projects show what can be achieved Reading a review of Charlie Ellis's discussion of urban declinism in Scottish Affairs, I recognised a familiar Edinburgh sentiment: disappointment with the present, measured against the splendour of a supposed golden age. Yet some of that disappointment is justified. I share the concern about a loss of civic pride.

Marena Riyal, Palestinian writer and actor, walked into a gallery where I was exhibiting my artwork in Edinburgh this August. She was looking for refuge - a friendly face and a quiet corner - to escape momentarily from the Fringe frenzy where she was presenting her play A Palestinian Love Story. We talked for a while over a cup of tea, and she invited me to see her performance the following weekend. The play is written and performed by Marena herself and directed by Maiya Pascouche.

Selina Ivy Robertson's The Participant introduces readers to a whole new world of storytelling and a coming together of genres "I need a participant." The four infamous words which throw Lyla Brooks' life into an impossible nightmare scenario. But for readers, there is no nightmare. There's only intrigue, excitement and an inability to put the book down.

Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, concludes its extensive treatment of colonies with a penetrating reflection on the relationship between Great Britain and its North American possessions. Smith observed, in the final paragraph of the book, that the political connection binding the colonies to the mother country was in many respects abstract and tenuous.

The month of August in Edinburgh bubbles with excitement. The International Festival, the Fringe, the Film Festival and the Book Festival overlap like a delicious millefeuille of culture infusing the senses with stimulating conversations and creative events. The Book Festival, specifically, is a brilliantly curated collection of prominent thinkers. Changing your mind The theme of this year's Edinburgh Book Festival was "Changing Your Mind".

Paul Krugman has long been concerned about the effects of wealth inequality on the American economy and democracy. The concentration of enormous fortunes in a very small number of hands matters not simply because of the distribution of income and assets, but because wealth can also confer economic and political power. In a recent Substack discussion, Krugman returned to these questions with French economist and inequality expert Gabriel Zucman.

"If you told me four years ago I would be writing stories like this, I would not have believed it," says Omowunmi Ola-Edagbami. A migrant from Nigeria who moved to Scotland four years ago to do her masters, she doesn't have a background in journalism, but has previously written short stories. Now, alongside holding down a full-time job, she runs her own publication. The skills she has been able to bring to this stem partly from a Fellowship provided by Migrant Women Press.