Mike Small
@bellacaledonia.bsky.social
Imagining a Scottish Democracy since 2007.
Bylines at the Guardian, Open Democracy, Herald, DeSmog, Bella Caledonia, Sunday National.
Bylines at the Guardian, Open Democracy, Herald, DeSmog, Bella Caledonia, Sunday National.
Pinned
The Power Shift: Renewables, Communities and the Question of Who Really Benefits from Scotland’s Green Energy Revolution - The Scottish Beacon
Published in partnership with The Herald As the world leaders gather in Brazil, to discuss the climate catastrophe facing us at COP 30, communities here in Scotland are trying to navigate the path of ...
www.scottishbeacon.com
The Power Shift: Renewables, Communities and the Question of Who Really Benefits from Scotland’s Green Energy Revolution www.scottishbeacon.com?p=7836 @scottishbeacon.bsky.social
Writing tomorrow on how the victory at Hampden was a 'luminous moment' and the most important victory against Scandic forces since the Battle of Largs in 1263
November 22, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Writing tomorrow on how the victory at Hampden was a 'luminous moment' and the most important victory against Scandic forces since the Battle of Largs in 1263
Papers of Roddy Lumsden bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/22/p...
Papers of Roddy Lumsden
The work of the remarkable poet Roddy Lumsden has been put online by Edinburgh University. A note about its arrangements explains: “Roddy Lumsden did not organise his work systematically. Ins…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 22, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Papers of Roddy Lumsden bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/22/p...
Edinburgh’s Broken Bridge bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/22/e...
Edinburgh’s Broken Bridge
The Question on South Bridge “Still kicking the buses?” It’s one of those lines that immediately calls for a short story. In what context could such a question even make sense? What struck me…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 22, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Edinburgh’s Broken Bridge bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/22/e...
Building the Craigmillar & Niddrie of the Future: Migrant-Led Change in Action workersobservatory.org/building-the... @workersobservatory.org
workersobservatory.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Building the Craigmillar & Niddrie of the Future: Migrant-Led Change in Action workersobservatory.org/building-the... @workersobservatory.org
Lewis already has successful community-owned turbines and proposals for new local wind farms, yet community developers have been squeezed out of interconnector capacity – threatening their ability to export power and fund vital local services www.scottishbeacon.com/news/local-d...
Speculating on the Wind in the Hebrides - The Scottish Beacon
Published in partnership with The Herald As commercial windfarms are being lined up for development in and around the Western Isles – and plans evolve for the onshore infrastructure to support some of...
www.scottishbeacon.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Lewis already has successful community-owned turbines and proposals for new local wind farms, yet community developers have been squeezed out of interconnector capacity – threatening their ability to export power and fund vital local services www.scottishbeacon.com/news/local-d...
Sradagan san Iarmailt / Sparks in the Firmament bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/20/s...
Sradagan san Iarmailt / Sparks in the Firmament
SRADAGAN SAN IARMAILT / SPARKS IN THE FIRMAMENT Ginealach Ùr Bhàrd Gàidhealach / A New Generation Of Gaelic Poets Francis Boutle Publishers announces the publication of Sradagan san Iarmailt / Spar…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 20, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Sradagan san Iarmailt / Sparks in the Firmament bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/20/s...
Argonaut Books (Leith's local book shop) needs your help.
Waterstones are set to open a new store just down the road despite committing to not disrupting independent bookstores. Follow them and support them here ...
Waterstones are set to open a new store just down the road despite committing to not disrupting independent bookstores. Follow them and support them here ...
We need your help.
@waterstones.bsky.social, without any direct communication with us, will be opening their 6th Edinburgh branch less than 100 metres from our front door at the Foot of the Walk in Leith.
Please read on for more information
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908...
(1/2)
@waterstones.bsky.social, without any direct communication with us, will be opening their 6th Edinburgh branch less than 100 metres from our front door at the Foot of the Walk in Leith.
Please read on for more information
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908...
(1/2)
Anger as Waterstones snaps up prime site on doorstep of independent bookshop
UK's biggest bookselling chain under fire over plans for new store beside Edinburgh tram line.
www.heraldscotland.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Argonaut Books (Leith's local book shop) needs your help.
Waterstones are set to open a new store just down the road despite committing to not disrupting independent bookstores. Follow them and support them here ...
Waterstones are set to open a new store just down the road despite committing to not disrupting independent bookstores. Follow them and support them here ...
This was a redemption story bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/19/s...
November 19, 2025 at 7:31 PM
This was a redemption story bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/19/s...
Since Yesterday: the Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/19/s... by @carlajeaston.bsky.social
Since Yesterday: Nothing Has Changed
One year after the premiere of Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands, girl bands aren’t the problem – the system is. Making The Film I remember, quite clearly, the first …
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 19, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Since Yesterday: the Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/19/s... by @carlajeaston.bsky.social
Walking In Circles by Paul Tritschler burninghousepress.com/2025/11/18/w... via @thearsonista
Walking In Circles by Paul Tritschler
Photo by Paul Tritschler Midway through the event, a woman seated in the front row of the audience asked the panel of four authors, all of whom had made an appearance for the purpose of promoting t…
burninghousepress.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Walking In Circles by Paul Tritschler burninghousepress.com/2025/11/18/w... via @thearsonista
Highland communities push back as renewable projects accelerate by Silvia Muras for the #PowerShift @scottishbeacon.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...
Highland communities say renewable rollout is overwhelming local democracy
Highland residents warn that rapid wind, solar and BESS expansion is outpacing local democracy.
www.heraldscotland.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Highland communities push back as renewable projects accelerate by Silvia Muras for the #PowerShift @scottishbeacon.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...
These are the 10 Steps that have led Britain to Fascism | Facing the Unthinkable open.substack.com/pub/fiftysix...
Facing the Unthinkable
How Did We Get Here?
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:28 PM
These are the 10 Steps that have led Britain to Fascism | Facing the Unthinkable open.substack.com/pub/fiftysix...
THE AGE OF DISTRACTION: From The Province Of The Cat by George Gunn bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/17/t...
The Age of Distraction
THE AGE OF DISTRACTION: From The Province Of The Cat by George Gunn As the recent reverse-reality black comedy at the BBC over a clumsy edit of a Donald Trump rambling rant has shown us, better tha…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 17, 2025 at 4:37 PM
THE AGE OF DISTRACTION: From The Province Of The Cat by George Gunn bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/17/t...
The Power Shift: Renewables, Communities and the Question of Who Really Benefits from Scotland’s Green Energy Revolution www.scottishbeacon.com?p=7836 @scottishbeacon.bsky.social
The Power Shift: Renewables, Communities and the Question of Who Really Benefits from Scotland’s Green Energy Revolution - The Scottish Beacon
Published in partnership with The Herald As the world leaders gather in Brazil, to discuss the climate catastrophe facing us at COP 30, communities here in Scotland are trying to navigate the path of ...
www.scottishbeacon.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:26 PM
The Power Shift: Renewables, Communities and the Question of Who Really Benefits from Scotland’s Green Energy Revolution www.scottishbeacon.com?p=7836 @scottishbeacon.bsky.social
Reposted by Mike Small
Carsphairn Seeks Balance Between Renewable Development and Rural Life
With 80 percent of its land given over to forestry and wind farms, Carsphairn is carrying more than its share of Scotland’s net-zero ambitions – and locals say it’s time to find a fairer balance between energy and everyday life.
With 80 percent of its land given over to forestry and wind farms, Carsphairn is carrying more than its share of Scotland’s net-zero ambitions – and locals say it’s time to find a fairer balance between energy and everyday life.
Carsphairn Seeks Balance Between Renewable Development and Rural Life - The Scottish Beacon
Published in partnership with The Herald Tucked between the Rhinns of Kells and Cairnsmore of Carsphairn, the parish of Carsphairn is the most northerly community in the Glenkens area of Dumfries & Ga...
www.scottishbeacon.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Carsphairn Seeks Balance Between Renewable Development and Rural Life
With 80 percent of its land given over to forestry and wind farms, Carsphairn is carrying more than its share of Scotland’s net-zero ambitions – and locals say it’s time to find a fairer balance between energy and everyday life.
With 80 percent of its land given over to forestry and wind farms, Carsphairn is carrying more than its share of Scotland’s net-zero ambitions – and locals say it’s time to find a fairer balance between energy and everyday life.
Here Sarah Ade looks at the village of Carsphairn in Dumfries and Galloway, and the impact net-zero ambitions are having there #PowerShift @scottishbeacon.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...
‘Never built for this’: Rural Scotland cracks under the weight of the net-zero rush
A remote Scottish parish faces blocked roads, heavy traffic and daily disruption as wind farms and forestry reshape life in the drive toward net…
www.heraldscotland.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Here Sarah Ade looks at the village of Carsphairn in Dumfries and Galloway, and the impact net-zero ambitions are having there #PowerShift @scottishbeacon.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...
The first of our articles in the #PowerShift series by the @scottishbeacon.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...
Who really benefits from Scotland’s green energy revolution?
Across Scotland, communities question who profits from the green energy boom as foreign ownership rises and local benefits fail to materialise.
www.heraldscotland.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:24 AM
The first of our articles in the #PowerShift series by the @scottishbeacon.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...
The Post-Truth era, normally assigned to 2016 had its origins in the independence referendum of 2014 | The Age of Lies #PostTruth #Brexit #Trump bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/16/t...
The Age of Lies
“One thing that’s been interesting this entire campaign season to watch is that people that say facts are facts. They’re not really facts. It’s kind of like looking at ratin…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 16, 2025 at 5:47 PM
The Post-Truth era, normally assigned to 2016 had its origins in the independence referendum of 2014 | The Age of Lies #PostTruth #Brexit #Trump bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/16/t...
No Compassion: The Moral Cost of Affluence bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/15/n...
No Compassion: The Moral Cost of Affluence
When Jeff Bezos – Amazon CEO and world’s third-richest man—announced that he would funnel his $131 billion fortune into the space company Blue Origin, the decision was justified by a self-dia…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 15, 2025 at 4:56 PM
No Compassion: The Moral Cost of Affluence bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/15/n...
‘Liberation’ and the JTPI Fallout bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/15/l...
‘Liberation’ and the JTPI Fallout
Until recently, the nativist turn of the nationalist movement has been left ignored. The idea that a Scottish democracy should be established by an appeal to the UN is so ridiculous that most peopl…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM
‘Liberation’ and the JTPI Fallout bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/15/l...
Scottish Film: an informed and irreverent guide for movie-lovers
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/14/s...
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/14/s...
Scottish Film: an informed and irreverent guide for movie-lovers
Scottish Films, Mark Furse, Luath Press, £16.99. Reviewed by Andrew Martin There was a time of course when home and library shelves were lined with useful and heavy reference books filled with pain…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 15, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Scottish Film: an informed and irreverent guide for movie-lovers
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/14/s...
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/11/14/s...
Bella is supported only by its readers. We don’t have corporate backers and we don’t take advertising, so we rely entirely on your support. Please give whatever you can. Make a small monthly donation and support independent Scottish journalism pay.gocardless.com/billing/stat...
November 15, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Bella is supported only by its readers. We don’t have corporate backers and we don’t take advertising, so we rely entirely on your support. Please give whatever you can. Make a small monthly donation and support independent Scottish journalism pay.gocardless.com/billing/stat...
Reposted by Mike Small
'What’s actually happening here is that powerful politicians and their allies who control the majority right-wing press in Britain are incensed that they can’t control the broadcast media and the BBC as they do the print media.'
Mike Small, via @bellacaledonia.bsky.social
Mike Small, via @bellacaledonia.bsky.social
Fake News and the War on the BBC
The war on the BBC by Britain’s right-wing press has been a constant for the past thirty years, attempting to threaten and control the public broadcaster to yield to their political agenda. T…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
November 12, 2025 at 11:00 AM
'What’s actually happening here is that powerful politicians and their allies who control the majority right-wing press in Britain are incensed that they can’t control the broadcast media and the BBC as they do the print media.'
Mike Small, via @bellacaledonia.bsky.social
Mike Small, via @bellacaledonia.bsky.social
Running of island-based community landlord 'dire' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Running of Western Isles-based community landlord 'dire'
Sealladh na Beinne Mòire says it is addressing issues raised in a specialist review of its governance.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Running of island-based community landlord 'dire' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...