Parliament Hall

Edinburgh has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to architecture. There is New Parliament House, Old Parliament House, the Assembly Building, St. Giles Cathedral, St. Mary’s Cathedral, the Royal Bank of Scotland HQ; the Library on the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace, most of the buildings on Prince’s Street and around St. Andrews Square and the list goes on and on. However, when it was decided that devolution was a good idea, the Labour Party decided to ignore this fine tradition of great Edinburgh architecture and instead built a monstrosity that would not be out of place in Soviet Russia. Now, I am all for this generation making its mark on the skyline of Edinburgh, but surely we could have done much better for £414 million? The quicker the present parliament building crumbles the better.




Can anyone really compare the top picture with the present Parliament? One is a master piece in Renaissance architecture, the other an ugly testament to the uncultured, barbarous times we live in.

The Good Life

The ancient philosophers were determined to find the Good Life, or more precisely, what made a life good. This should be the purpose, the goal of philosophy, art and science: to discover the Good Life. Everything else is trivial. In this blog I hope to share my journey in search of that elusive elixir. I may never find it, but I will continue to search until my dying day. As Nietzsche once wrote ‘The sum total of my happiness; a Yes, a No, a straight line, a goal...’ In this I agree with Nietzsche; a goal is what humanity craves, and it is in the journey that we grow as individuals and as communities; reaching the destination would be a happy coincidence, but even if I never reach my goal that is not to say my search was in vain.

In this blog I shall chart my musings on a host of topics including politics, philosophy, science, theology, culture and travel. Join me as I traverse the long, steep path up the mountain.