It is rare that you hear support for the now over two-decade sentence handed down to Luke Mitchell. But when you do, you may hear of his magical missing knife which must surely be the weapon he used to murder his girlfriend. I can’t find a missing knife. But that is the point. You can’t find a knife that doesn’t exist. No one is suggesting that Luke Mitchell did not carry knives. But the knives he carried are accounted for. I now present the amazing disappearing knife trick.

Two 14 year-olds are engaged in a text conversation, one phone belongs to a parent so the conversation is not private. Within seven hours the messages are irretrievably lost from both phones. At least, according to the Police. In those seven hours one of those teenagers has been brutally murdered not far from her home. Yet those hours are confusing decades later. In years to come, the case will morph. At trial the search party who found the poor girls body, her own sister and

Iranian stamp 11 August 1988 3 July 1988 Taking off over the Persian Gulf, Iran air flight 655 was stuck by two surface to air missiles....

Warning: You may find the images below distressing. Before the guilty verdict was delivered, Judge Nimmo-Smith said he would not tolerate outbursts. He grossly overestimated his power, which evaporated entirely upon the word ‘Guilty’. And so, at just sixteen, Luke Mitchell began a twenty year prison sentence after a trial that failed to show how on earth he could have committed the crime. Luke said that it was only by gripping the dock tightly that he remained standing. To fa

It's not possible to look into the murder of Jodi Jones without being struck by the sheer absurdity of the investigation. I've removed comments from previous articles for fear of appearing disrespectful. This piece is simply the heretical or silly thoughts that came to mind after hours spent trawling through farce, cowardice and obfuscation. I have used some posters from Scarfolk by Richard Littler, a dystopian series about a land that cannot advance beyond 1979. Much as I

Part 2. A response to ‘A killer’s supporters want to ruin my life – I’ll never let them win.’  by Jane Hamilton, published 19 May 2024 in...

The case for an independent inquiry into the conviction of Luke Mitchell. Part 1   This is the story of a murder conviction that reeks to high heaven. Explore it and before long the rats you smell practically introduce themselves to you. In a country whose education system was once the envy of the world, our judiciary is starting to expose itself to the incredulity of western society and the Scots who once believed in it. Never in my lifetime has anyone been cast so violently

Hope.  I do nothing to summon it, I don’t nurture it but there it is.  I don’t know what to do with it.  I’ve navigated it well in the...

Scottish stand-up and actor, Karen Dunbar wondered whether she could succeed in today’s climate.  She showed a roomful of trans and...

When Jamie and Blithe cautiously entered the flat, they listened out for a few seconds. When they were sure they were alone, Blithe went...

This is Scotland in 2023, a world of food banks, a crumbling NHS and strikes. A time to count my many blessings and I do. At least,...

‘If you will not be decent, then I will be indecent! Get it up yis!’ And so, for surely the first time in the history of the new Scottish...

You observe a tearful child of no more than ten, with brown eyes and fragile limbs. The child wants dresses and dolls but the child is a...

Stewart Lee knew what smug meant when I was a kid. He devoted a double page spread in the Fist of Fun book to the Cornish Curmudgeon. ...

‘They’ve had one in Wales! They’ve had a drag queen story time in Wales! We should have one!’ I was tasked with LGBT inclusion in the...

I was nearly denied the joys of Gary Oldman’s farting detective. Slow Horses is much like The Singing Detective, if you were to replace...

Introduction - Soutar Festival. Perth March 2022 I asked a question of the panel, who were discussing the future of the Scots language. ...

It’s a charge laid at us, that we don’t stop going on about WW2. Guilty. But it’s where modern feminism in the UK starts for me. That...

Dress by P J Harvey, is a piece of my musical puzzle. Not that I would command that Dress be played at my funeral, but, future planners,...

As a teenager I hated that I had a baby face. That, as well as other aspects of my personality, meant that people were protective of me....