Andrew McNiven
@drandrewmcniven.bsky.social
Artist. Itinerant doctor philosophiae; Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture, Zeppelin University; Trustee: Stills, Edinburgh; former chair, WHALE Arts, Wester Hailes, Edinburgh
www.andrewmcniven.com
www.andrewmcniven.com
Earned titles have little value in the orbit of privilege. It’s worth considering what can go on a UK passport: an unearned title (e.g. Lord, Lady, etc.) can be included; an earned title (e.g. Dr, Prof.) cannot be included…
November 6, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Earned titles have little value in the orbit of privilege. It’s worth considering what can go on a UK passport: an unearned title (e.g. Lord, Lady, etc.) can be included; an earned title (e.g. Dr, Prof.) cannot be included…
During the Miners’ Strike I sat opposite Mick McGahey on a London to Edinburgh train (2nd class…). He had every daily paper with him, and read these the entire journey, spending more time on the right wing ones, but much, much longer on the FT than any other.
November 4, 2025 at 7:30 AM
During the Miners’ Strike I sat opposite Mick McGahey on a London to Edinburgh train (2nd class…). He had every daily paper with him, and read these the entire journey, spending more time on the right wing ones, but much, much longer on the FT than any other.
'My Little Poppy'...
November 1, 2025 at 11:19 AM
'My Little Poppy'...
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
November 1, 2025 at 10:48 AM
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
His narration is great. And he was mesmerising as Baptiste on television. Very sad news...
November 1, 2025 at 10:39 AM
His narration is great. And he was mesmerising as Baptiste on television. Very sad news...
Here’s mine from a couple of years ago:
October 31, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Here’s mine from a couple of years ago:
It'll be colour coded patches - to be worn at all times - next...
October 31, 2025 at 7:46 AM
It'll be colour coded patches - to be worn at all times - next...
This may be useful (but given the reach of US tech, perhaps that's wishful thinking...): european-alternatives.eu/alternatives...
European alternatives for popular services | European Alternatives
We help you find European alternatives for digital service and products, like cloud services and SaaS products.
european-alternatives.eu
October 31, 2025 at 7:41 AM
This may be useful (but given the reach of US tech, perhaps that's wishful thinking...): european-alternatives.eu/alternatives...
The 'truly immersive' element being, one imagines, a full scale re-enactment of the Battle of Jutland...
October 19, 2025 at 8:56 AM
The 'truly immersive' element being, one imagines, a full scale re-enactment of the Battle of Jutland...
The City Lynx meetings at the (long gone) Trades' Council in Picardy Place had an air - to me at least - of the Smolny Institute, a remnant of Edinburgh's 60s radical counterculture. And I remember Colin Somerville - he was a nice guy, open-minded and also very patient...
October 12, 2025 at 11:18 AM
The City Lynx meetings at the (long gone) Trades' Council in Picardy Place had an air - to me at least - of the Smolny Institute, a remnant of Edinburgh's 60s radical counterculture. And I remember Colin Somerville - he was a nice guy, open-minded and also very patient...
Really interesting overview of the range and scope of listings publications over that time (& couldn't agree more with the last sentence...). Good to note that City Lynx is not quite forgotten; I wrote a couple of (very bad) pieces for it whilst at school, pseudonymously thankfully...
October 12, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Really interesting overview of the range and scope of listings publications over that time (& couldn't agree more with the last sentence...). Good to note that City Lynx is not quite forgotten; I wrote a couple of (very bad) pieces for it whilst at school, pseudonymously thankfully...
Your search filters conflate 'England' with 'Britain' (actually the UK, etc., but that's another can of worms...). Scotland (where Hill and Adamson were active) is not - and has never been - part of 'England'.
September 26, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Your search filters conflate 'England' with 'Britain' (actually the UK, etc., but that's another can of worms...). Scotland (where Hill and Adamson were active) is not - and has never been - part of 'England'.
I always liked Borges’ idea that “the original is unfaithful to the translation.”
September 22, 2025 at 1:37 PM
I always liked Borges’ idea that “the original is unfaithful to the translation.”
I should add that that this therapeutic effect is mitigated on the days when Emma Barnett is a presenter, as I am unable to listen... (as Francis Bacon noted: “The remedy is worse than the disease.”).
September 21, 2025 at 7:21 AM
I should add that that this therapeutic effect is mitigated on the days when Emma Barnett is a presenter, as I am unable to listen... (as Francis Bacon noted: “The remedy is worse than the disease.”).
Brilliant. Me too. Toned my reply down for BlueSky…
September 20, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Brilliant. Me too. Toned my reply down for BlueSky…
I find the 'Today' programme highly therapeutic; I use it as a purgative. I get a good number of 'fuck offs' and 'for fuck's sakes' out of my system and am generally much calmer during the day, having got these out early. But I'm not sure that's what Today's editors might hope for...
September 20, 2025 at 7:29 AM
I find the 'Today' programme highly therapeutic; I use it as a purgative. I get a good number of 'fuck offs' and 'for fuck's sakes' out of my system and am generally much calmer during the day, having got these out early. But I'm not sure that's what Today's editors might hope for...
It's clear he fails (dismally) to realise that freelancers working across the creative industries (now threatened with either being replaced or ripped-off by the AI tech firms he champions...) all had the 'drive' to start businesses, and have done so for decades...
September 19, 2025 at 11:02 AM
It's clear he fails (dismally) to realise that freelancers working across the creative industries (now threatened with either being replaced or ripped-off by the AI tech firms he champions...) all had the 'drive' to start businesses, and have done so for decades...
Definitely an improvement...
September 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Definitely an improvement...
They'll give the slot to Amol Rajan and re-title it 'In My Time'...
September 3, 2025 at 12:29 PM
They'll give the slot to Amol Rajan and re-title it 'In My Time'...
This was produced in Scotland, not England, as stated: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_&_...
Hill & Adamson - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
August 31, 2025 at 3:40 PM
This was produced in Scotland, not England, as stated: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_&_...
The University of Edinburgh researched and put online this searchable and easily navigated survey of prosecutions for witchcraft in Scotland which offers a highly detailed insight into the phenomenon: witches.is.ed.ac.uk
witches
witches.is.ed.ac.uk
August 17, 2025 at 11:08 AM
The University of Edinburgh researched and put online this searchable and easily navigated survey of prosecutions for witchcraft in Scotland which offers a highly detailed insight into the phenomenon: witches.is.ed.ac.uk
Wealth inequality (which decreased in the post-war years) began to increase again from 1979 (or thereabouts) onwards*. Of course we all sense this, and the evidence supports this, but it now seems to be beyond the scope or ambition of any government...
equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-econom...
equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-econom...
The Scale of Economic Inequality in the UK - Equality Trust
The UK has very high inequality of income compared to other developed countries. The UK's wealth inequality is much more severe than income inequality.
equalitytrust.org.uk
July 31, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Wealth inequality (which decreased in the post-war years) began to increase again from 1979 (or thereabouts) onwards*. Of course we all sense this, and the evidence supports this, but it now seems to be beyond the scope or ambition of any government...
equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-econom...
equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-econom...
Where Scotland leads, others follow (Prada, Marfa, Texas):
July 27, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Where Scotland leads, others follow (Prada, Marfa, Texas):
Worth considering likely beneficiaries: the populist right/Reform; financial de-regulationsists; Europhobes; isolationists; nativisists; the Putin regime; the Trump regime; China; etc., etc. Brexit has made things much better for all of these...
June 18, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Worth considering likely beneficiaries: the populist right/Reform; financial de-regulationsists; Europhobes; isolationists; nativisists; the Putin regime; the Trump regime; China; etc., etc. Brexit has made things much better for all of these...
Wasn’t this co-written by Terry Venables?
June 7, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Wasn’t this co-written by Terry Venables?