Editor’s Pick? My pleasure.
Today, I have selected for you my top pieces from the last seven days from our opinion writing. You will find no greater flag waver for The Herald team than me, so off we go.
1. Kerry Hudson on weight gain
I loved the honesty, humour and bravery in Hudson’s writing as she spoke about how ill health and medication have caused her to put on weight, and in turn, being mistaken for a mum-to-be. There is no question that our readers also enjoy such open writing (we can see it in our figures) and the warmth and self-reflection from Hudson is beautiful. What is worse than being fat, she asks? Being a Tory? Or obsessed with being slim? This piece made me think and smile.
2. Andy Maciver on Scottish education
Our coverage of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data this week was first-rate, led by education writers James McEnaney and Garrett Stell. Wrapping things up today was this piece by Andy Maciver, writing passionately (and admittedly with no anger) about the state of Scottish education in the wake of disappointing results. Where do we go from here? How does education secretary Jenny Gilruth fix this? Bold, confident, informed writing from Maciver, as always.
3. Vicky Allan on heat pumps
No two words right now are guaranteed to provoke interest among readers than heat pumps. We have seen genuine engagement in recent months with the topic as Scots clearly take the issue of environmentally friendly heating sources seriously. Here, Allan addresses the topic and the reality behind the options facing Scots. What are the costs? What about people living in city tenements? Can we actually kick our fossil fuel habit?
Read more:
Editor's Pick | Catherine Salmond: Regardless of party, our politicians want Scotland to thrive
4. Catriona Stewart on Boris Johnson
“Boris Johnson's testimony, as slippery as a wet fish, was infuriating, offensive, exhausting and opaque”. The former prime minister was back in the public eye this week, scruffy and dishevelled, as he gave evidence at the UK Covid inquiry. All eyes were on him, and his evidence was widely covered across the world. But how was he received? Stewart made her feelings clear in her weekly column: “He was returned to his most authentic self the moment he stepped out of the door: slovenly, eccentric, dressed in his awful puffa jacket and Grimsby Town hat.”
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5. Susan Swarbrick on Christmas films
‘Tis the season to be jolly, and yet in a world of hard news that is often difficult. But Swarbrick offered an amusing distraction for readers when she posed the question: What does your best-loved festive movie say about you? I am all for the “big-city girls returning to sleepy hometowns” (think Four Christmases). What about you?
Catherine Salmond
Editor
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