Living in a land of trust: a reflection.
At times during this pandemic a word, phrase or concept just seems to appear from nowhere to occupy a position of dominance in debate and discourse. This last week everywhere […]
Time for respect: the critical importance of valuing social care nursing.
One of the first tasks I undertook when I started in my role as CEO of Scottish Care nearly 6 years ago was to go around the country and take […]
Teaching with care: a reflection for the International Day of Education.
Miss Duncan, Miss Allan, Mrs Randall and Mr Hollywood. Names etched on my memory – they were four of my primary school teachers. There are others too especially in secondary […]
Coronavirus and social care: what does ‘learning to live’ and the ‘endemic’ stage really mean?
It has been another significant week in the Covid pandemic. I will leave it to others to comment on the shameful goings on at Number 10 Downing Street, but alongside […]
Writing a new story in the Year of Stories: a reflection.
I discovered this week whilst listening to the radio that our national tourism agency Visit Scotland had launched the Year of Stories 2022 – a year which they describe as […]
On the lip of tomorrow: a new year dawns.
It was just under a year ago that I first became, along with many others I suspect, aware of the amazing poetry and insights of Amanda Gorman who you might […]
Waiting for hope: a Christmas reflection
I am sitting here in the semi darkness tapping these words into a laptop trying not to wake a house of children and family, a house in waiting. There is […]
The hospitality of welcome: the benefits of migration.
The BBC programme ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ is one of my all-time personal favourites. For those of you who do not know it – it is a TV […]
Covid and the Selfish Gene: a reflection.
I have been spending a lot of time chatting to people in the last week, both virtually and in person. As I have travelled and met folks, held discussions and […]
Supporting grief as a human right: an invitation to explore
These last four days I’ve taken some time off and as illustrative of what I am told is an inability to sit still I have been doing some badly needed […]
The best leaders dream: a reflection
Leadership has been much in the news this past week perhaps not surprisingly because it has been International Leadership Week up until yesterday. There’s also been a bit of a […]
Covid’s Shadow Pandemic: freedom is orange.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had many negative impacts and predictably it has affected some people and communities more than others. It has affected those who are older, those with disabilities, […]
Kindness changes our world: a reflection for World Kindness Day
Today is World Kindness Day. When I read this the words of my late mother come flooding back. ‘If you cannot say a kind word then it’s best to say […]
Remembrance as inheritance: a reflection
Over the last few days I have been thinking a lot about the idea of ‘inheritance’. In part this turn of thought has been spurred on by reflections on the […]
A climate fight without age: older people and COP26
The whole world – at least metaphorically speaking if not physically – seems to be descending on Glasgow as COP26 is due to start this coming week. This is an […]
We carry a future: the potential of immigration for social care in Scotland.
On Tuesday past I met some of the UK Government ministers along with three Scottish Government ministers to explore the issues of immigration as they relate to the recruitment challenges […]
Older age and the human right to food: an opportunity for Scotland.
Today is World Food Day which is an international day celebrated every year worldwide on 16 October to commemorate the date of the founding of the United Nations Food and […]
Valuing social care: mental wellbeing and status. A blog for Mental Health Day
Tomorrow is Mental Health Day which provides us all with an opportunity to reflect on issues of mental health and ill health. On Monday last I read of the launch […]
Access gives control: digital empowerment for older people – a blog for the UN Older Persons Day
A few years ago, when I was attending a conference on technology one of the speakers made the comment that access to the internet and WIFI should be considered as […]