Braveheart won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1995, and four others: Best Director (Mel Gibson), Best Cinematography, Best Make-up, and Best Sound Effects Editing. It lost in five categories, two to Apollo 13. The Hugo that year went to the Babylon 5 episode The Coming of Shadows.

( Read more... )

Second paragraph of third section:The TCA is a basic trade deal that eliminated tariffs on goods that meet the relevant rules of origin but did little to reduce non-tariff barriers. If Scotland were to join the EU it would trade with England and Wales on the same terms as other EU member states do now, so new checks and processes would be required ( Read more... )

Baxter is best known for his SF writing, but here he turns his hand to history of science, specifically James Hutton, the Scottish eighteenth-century intellectual who boldly stated that the earth must be much older than the date of 4004 BC given by Archbishop Ussher the previous century ( Read more... )

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie ( Read more... )

Five and a half years ago I was reminded of this book's existence by clanwilliam, and as I was recovering from jetlag at her place last weekend, she kindly lent it to me and I zoomed through it as I lay on her spare bed. I have to confess that I still would have difficulty placing the 1547-48 siege of St Andrews in the wider narrative of Scottish history; but ( Read more... )

In the event that Scotland votes for independence in a referendum, what will happen to Scottish representatives at Westminster ( Read more... )

A Conservative prime minister, having failed to secure an majority for his party at Westminster, finds himself dealing with a Scottish Nationalist Party leader who is ascendant in Scotland; can a slide towards independence be bought off with an offer of maximised devolution? Obvious fantasy, dear boy ( Read more... )

I'm agnostic tending to positive on Scottish independence, and have been observing with great interest the current successful manoeuvring by Alex Salmond (see excellent interview by David Rennie)to put himself in pole position to win a vote which in fact is currently opposed by a majority of the Scottish population. As sammymorse points out, the referendum, ( Read more... )