David Macpherson
@macpherzone.bsky.social
Writer, poet, LTL, Discworlder, puppy lover & tripawd owner. Creator of ‘The Rig’ on Prime, plus other things hopefully, eventually, maybe…
Reposted by David Macpherson
For #InternationalMensDay - a thread of amazing Allies. First, Sir Walter Scott who supported several female writers including Susan Ferrier who found the 'burden of authorship' heavy. Scott called her his 'sister shadow' & said she was a better writer than him. (she was!)/1
November 19, 2025 at 8:40 AM
For #InternationalMensDay - a thread of amazing Allies. First, Sir Walter Scott who supported several female writers including Susan Ferrier who found the 'burden of authorship' heavy. Scott called her his 'sister shadow' & said she was a better writer than him. (she was!)/1
Reposted by David Macpherson
This is happening like clockwork and exactly as the activists predicted.
Does this answer a few of those niggling questions that have been cropping up in your head too …?
@wanderinggaia.bsky.social
theconversation.com/how-the-rich...
@wanderinggaia.bsky.social
theconversation.com/how-the-rich...
How the rich world is fortifying itself against climate migration
Climate change is already linked to mass deportation – and the worst is still to come.
theconversation.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:49 AM
This is happening like clockwork and exactly as the activists predicted.
Reposted by David Macpherson
"Utterly focused" on the Cost of Living.
Water Bills - Authorised record increases.
Energy Bills - Still going up, still the most expensive in the world.
Rent - Refused rent control.
Council Tax - Going up at maximum or above.
I would hate to see him doing nothing.
Water Bills - Authorised record increases.
Energy Bills - Still going up, still the most expensive in the world.
Rent - Refused rent control.
Council Tax - Going up at maximum or above.
I would hate to see him doing nothing.
November 18, 2025 at 3:58 PM
"Utterly focused" on the Cost of Living.
Water Bills - Authorised record increases.
Energy Bills - Still going up, still the most expensive in the world.
Rent - Refused rent control.
Council Tax - Going up at maximum or above.
I would hate to see him doing nothing.
Water Bills - Authorised record increases.
Energy Bills - Still going up, still the most expensive in the world.
Rent - Refused rent control.
Council Tax - Going up at maximum or above.
I would hate to see him doing nothing.
Reposted by David Macpherson
For #RobertLouisStevensonDay (I'm running late I grant you) I give you D E Stevenson, 2nd cousin of RLS whose father disapproved of her writing so she did so in the attic of their Edinburgh house. She sold 7 million copies of her 40 novels. Yes, more than RLS. Gaun Dorothy. Where are the Women tho?
November 18, 2025 at 10:56 AM
For #RobertLouisStevensonDay (I'm running late I grant you) I give you D E Stevenson, 2nd cousin of RLS whose father disapproved of her writing so she did so in the attic of their Edinburgh house. She sold 7 million copies of her 40 novels. Yes, more than RLS. Gaun Dorothy. Where are the Women tho?
Reposted by David Macpherson
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:27 AM
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
Reposted by David Macpherson
Argonaut is my local, and is the best bookshop I've ever been near. They're lovely people who care about what they do, know the tastes of their regulars, and have been nothing but supportive of me and my work. Waterstones can fuck right off.
Waterstones to open about 100m from Argonaut, a particularly nice indie bookshop. Quote from Waterstones management makes it sound like they got Argonaut mixed up with the gaming café next door.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908...
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908...
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 18, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Argonaut is my local, and is the best bookshop I've ever been near. They're lovely people who care about what they do, know the tastes of their regulars, and have been nothing but supportive of me and my work. Waterstones can fuck right off.
Reposted by David Macpherson
This has become the normal ‘local news website’ reading experience.
November 17, 2025 at 9:14 PM
This has become the normal ‘local news website’ reading experience.
Being a sheep gets a bad rap - hang out with my pals, eat and sleep all day and do it all in our snazzy, warm jumpers we grow ourselves. What's not to like.
sorry but this is such a funny post from someone self identifying as a hobbit in her username
November 17, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Being a sheep gets a bad rap - hang out with my pals, eat and sleep all day and do it all in our snazzy, warm jumpers we grow ourselves. What's not to like.
Reposted by David Macpherson
Delighted to see On Falling directed by @lauracarreira.bsky.social smashing it at Bafta Scotland awards - I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura earlier this year, here she is again for the still curious...
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ma...
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ma...
‘You’re always on edge – it has consequences’: the extraordinary drama about working in an Amazon-style warehouse
In On Falling, first time director Laura Carreira exposes the hardships and humiliations of a woman struggling to earn a living in a ‘fulfilment centre’ in Glasgow
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Delighted to see On Falling directed by @lauracarreira.bsky.social smashing it at Bafta Scotland awards - I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura earlier this year, here she is again for the still curious...
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ma...
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ma...
Seriously - who sells a bookshelf with shelves that are too short for a standard paperback. Wayfair - that's who - grrrr
November 17, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Seriously - who sells a bookshelf with shelves that are too short for a standard paperback. Wayfair - that's who - grrrr
Reposted by David Macpherson
A lovely story of an archivist reaching out for religious community support to fully understand a holy book in the collection, and that community getting a wonderful experience in return.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sikhs flock to see rare outing of ancient holy book in Edinburgh
The Guru Granth Sahib is so fragile it was taken to Edinburgh Gurdwara in a special convoy by curators for just a few hours.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 9:58 AM
A lovely story of an archivist reaching out for religious community support to fully understand a holy book in the collection, and that community getting a wonderful experience in return.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by David Macpherson
Hey the Nazis did this to my grandparents so this sounds cool @teamlabouruk.bsky.social
The Sun has been told Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will on Monday propose confiscating jewellery, watches, necklaces from asylum seekers to meet asylum costs
This reflects the most controversial aspect of the Danish scheme - the Jewellery Law. The toughest Labour MPs thought this was OTT
This reflects the most controversial aspect of the Danish scheme - the Jewellery Law. The toughest Labour MPs thought this was OTT
November 17, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Hey the Nazis did this to my grandparents so this sounds cool @teamlabouruk.bsky.social
Reposted by David Macpherson
MeToo did not go far enough. People were saying "MeToo has gone too far" when it had barely just picked up momentum.
It was an attempt at reckoning with how institutionally misogynistic and sexually exploitative most institutions are and what women are constantly put through. So it was crushed.
It was an attempt at reckoning with how institutionally misogynistic and sexually exploitative most institutions are and what women are constantly put through. So it was crushed.
This idea that #metoo was a temporary piece of insanity that happened because America was too woke...
Fuck you. It was a temporary moment in time when people decided, for the first time, that 20 women were finally equal to one man.
Fuck you. It was a temporary moment in time when people decided, for the first time, that 20 women were finally equal to one man.
November 17, 2025 at 8:37 AM
MeToo did not go far enough. People were saying "MeToo has gone too far" when it had barely just picked up momentum.
It was an attempt at reckoning with how institutionally misogynistic and sexually exploitative most institutions are and what women are constantly put through. So it was crushed.
It was an attempt at reckoning with how institutionally misogynistic and sexually exploitative most institutions are and what women are constantly put through. So it was crushed.
Reposted by David Macpherson
Pope Leo absolutely cooking
November 16, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Pope Leo absolutely cooking
Reposted by David Macpherson
The broken remains of James Macpherson’s fiddle are held in the Clan Macpherson Museum, Newtonmore. They also have the original Banff town clock, reputedly set forward by 45 minutes to ensure that Macpherson was executed before an expected reprieve could arrive.
7/7
www.clanmacphersonmuseum.org.uk
7/7
www.clanmacphersonmuseum.org.uk
November 16, 2025 at 2:08 PM
The broken remains of James Macpherson’s fiddle are held in the Clan Macpherson Museum, Newtonmore. They also have the original Banff town clock, reputedly set forward by 45 minutes to ensure that Macpherson was executed before an expected reprieve could arrive.
7/7
www.clanmacphersonmuseum.org.uk
7/7
www.clanmacphersonmuseum.org.uk
Reposted by David Macpherson
Outlaw, fiddler, & folk hero James Macpherson (c1675–1700) was hanged #OTD, 16 Nov, for being Romani. Prior to his execution Macpherson composed his famous “Rant”. Macpherson sang his lament on the gallows & smashed his fiddle before meeting his fate
1/7
blog.historicenvironment.scot/2022/06/the-...
1/7
blog.historicenvironment.scot/2022/06/the-...
The loss of a son: Jamie Macpherson and his Gypsy heritage - Historic Environment Scotland Blog
Outlaw and folk hero Jamie Macpherson was tried and hung in 1700 for being a Gypsy. Uncover his story told by his Gypsy mother.
blog.historicenvironment.scot
November 16, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Outlaw, fiddler, & folk hero James Macpherson (c1675–1700) was hanged #OTD, 16 Nov, for being Romani. Prior to his execution Macpherson composed his famous “Rant”. Macpherson sang his lament on the gallows & smashed his fiddle before meeting his fate
1/7
blog.historicenvironment.scot/2022/06/the-...
1/7
blog.historicenvironment.scot/2022/06/the-...
Reposted by David Macpherson
I talk about this all the time but the fact that the world has been built in a way to protect violent abusers has never been more glaringly obvious than the effort to protect the people in the Epstein Files.
November 13, 2025 at 2:06 PM
I talk about this all the time but the fact that the world has been built in a way to protect violent abusers has never been more glaringly obvious than the effort to protect the people in the Epstein Files.
Reposted by David Macpherson
At the Place for Pulling up Boats
(one word in Gaelic) the tide is full.
It seeps over the grass, stealthy as a robber.
Which it is…
—Norman MacCaig, “Two Thieves”
from THE POEMS OF NORMAN MacCAIG (Birlinn, 2009)
#poem #poetry
9/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/the-...
(one word in Gaelic) the tide is full.
It seeps over the grass, stealthy as a robber.
Which it is…
—Norman MacCaig, “Two Thieves”
from THE POEMS OF NORMAN MacCAIG (Birlinn, 2009)
#poem #poetry
9/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/the-...
November 14, 2025 at 2:26 PM
At the Place for Pulling up Boats
(one word in Gaelic) the tide is full.
It seeps over the grass, stealthy as a robber.
Which it is…
—Norman MacCaig, “Two Thieves”
from THE POEMS OF NORMAN MacCAIG (Birlinn, 2009)
#poem #poetry
9/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/the-...
(one word in Gaelic) the tide is full.
It seeps over the grass, stealthy as a robber.
Which it is…
—Norman MacCaig, “Two Thieves”
from THE POEMS OF NORMAN MacCAIG (Birlinn, 2009)
#poem #poetry
9/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/the-...
Reposted by David Macpherson
From the corner of Scotland I know so well
I see Edinburgh sprawling like seven cats
on its seven hills beside the Firth of Forth…
—Norman MacCaig, “Assynt & Edinburgh”
in BETWEEN MOUNTAIN & SEA: Poems From Assynt (Birlinn, 2018)
#poem #poetry
6/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/betw...
I see Edinburgh sprawling like seven cats
on its seven hills beside the Firth of Forth…
—Norman MacCaig, “Assynt & Edinburgh”
in BETWEEN MOUNTAIN & SEA: Poems From Assynt (Birlinn, 2018)
#poem #poetry
6/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/betw...
November 14, 2025 at 2:26 PM
From the corner of Scotland I know so well
I see Edinburgh sprawling like seven cats
on its seven hills beside the Firth of Forth…
—Norman MacCaig, “Assynt & Edinburgh”
in BETWEEN MOUNTAIN & SEA: Poems From Assynt (Birlinn, 2018)
#poem #poetry
6/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/betw...
I see Edinburgh sprawling like seven cats
on its seven hills beside the Firth of Forth…
—Norman MacCaig, “Assynt & Edinburgh”
in BETWEEN MOUNTAIN & SEA: Poems From Assynt (Birlinn, 2018)
#poem #poetry
6/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/betw...
Reposted by David Macpherson
Norman MacCaig (1910–1996) was born #OTD, 14 November. A self-described “Zen Calvinist”, when asked how long it took him to write a poem he would reply “one cigarette – or two for a long one”
A 🎂🧵
“Toad”
THE POEMS OF NORMAN MacCAIG (Birlinn, 2009)
#poem #poetry
1/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/the-...
A 🎂🧵
“Toad”
THE POEMS OF NORMAN MacCAIG (Birlinn, 2009)
#poem #poetry
1/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/the-...
November 14, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Norman MacCaig (1910–1996) was born #OTD, 14 November. A self-described “Zen Calvinist”, when asked how long it took him to write a poem he would reply “one cigarette – or two for a long one”
A 🎂🧵
“Toad”
THE POEMS OF NORMAN MacCAIG (Birlinn, 2009)
#poem #poetry
1/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/the-...
A 🎂🧵
“Toad”
THE POEMS OF NORMAN MacCAIG (Birlinn, 2009)
#poem #poetry
1/12
birlinn.co.uk/product/the-...
Reposted by David Macpherson
The fact that this person remains Health Secretary is objectively one of the most significant British political scandals of the post-Covid era. But because he's doing something the media barons like, everyone has decided it's fine.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says that the British Medical Association, which represents Britain's doctors, is a threat to the NHS. Streeting took a record £225k from private healthcare-related donors in just two years.
British Medical Association ‘threat to future of NHS’, says Streeting ahead of doctors’ strike
Health secretary accuses doctors’ union of ‘cartel-like behaviour’ and tells it to ‘get real’ over pay demands
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:46 AM
The fact that this person remains Health Secretary is objectively one of the most significant British political scandals of the post-Covid era. But because he's doing something the media barons like, everyone has decided it's fine.
Reposted by David Macpherson
did not expect the site of Thomas Beckett’s murder to be memorialized in a fashion that is quite so fucking metal
November 12, 2025 at 3:12 PM
did not expect the site of Thomas Beckett’s murder to be memorialized in a fashion that is quite so fucking metal
I really don't understand what the problem is. Bond already died in Hank Scorpio's lair years ago and they just brought him right back
a cartoon character says " why didn t i think of that "
ALT: a cartoon character says " why didn t i think of that "
media.tenor.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:57 PM
I really don't understand what the problem is. Bond already died in Hank Scorpio's lair years ago and they just brought him right back
Reposted by David Macpherson
"JAMES BOND" IS NOT A CODENAME. HE ALREADY HAS A CODENAME. IT IS 007. RESIST THE URGE TO CANONISE STUFF. CANONISATION IS THE MIND KILLER. CANONISATION IS AMERICAN
November 11, 2025 at 2:46 PM
"JAMES BOND" IS NOT A CODENAME. HE ALREADY HAS A CODENAME. IT IS 007. RESIST THE URGE TO CANONISE STUFF. CANONISATION IS THE MIND KILLER. CANONISATION IS AMERICAN