This Was The Year That Was

Thank you for being here. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

The Paps of Jura, as seen from the far north. I shall not be climbing any of them this Christmas.

2023 has been a challenging year for much of the world but a gratifying one for The Debatable Land. I do not think these things are linked. Still, the number of subscribers to this newsletter doubled this year and, even more pleasingly, paid-subscribers tripled in number. Thank you all very much. I’m taking a few days off but here are ten pieces published here this year, some of which some of you may not have seen, and none of which embarrass me mortally.

Onwards, then. May you all have a fine Christmas and, when it comes, a splendid New Year. As ever, you can subscribe simply by clicking this button:

So what did Nicola Sturgeon ever do for us?

Rather less than the gushing tributes paid to her in the immediate aftermath of her resignation would have you believe:

One lost count of the number of eye-catching initiatives launched amidst much celebration that, in point of tedious fact, came to …