It’s absolutely ages since I linked to some Guardian articles, so here goes!

I was sad to see Joan Lingard’s obituary in The Guardian last week, mind you she was 90. You can read it here. I don’t know if it can be said to be apt that she actually died on July the 12th, but it’s certainly quite spooky as she wrote a book with the title The Twelth Day of July, which is of course the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. Joan Lingard was born in a taxi in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile/High Street!

With all that’s going on in America at the moment re Roe v Wade and abortion rights/women’s rights, I thought you might be interested in reading a very informative article on how things were done in the past. I often wondered how so many families in the past managed to be so small with no real contraception available! You can read about it here. Abortion in the 19th-century US was widely accepted as a means of avoiding the risks of pregnancy, and many women routinely got rid of the problem, it was acceptable right up until ‘quickening’ when you can first feel movement, usually around the fourth month. The idea of banning or punishing it came later. The article is written by Tamara Dean.

There’s a book review: Scotland The Global History – 1603 to the Present by Murray Pittock which you can read here. I think I’ll probably try to get a copy of the book, or borrow it. There’s no doubt that Scotland and Scots have contributed a lot to the world over the centuries, especially considering we’re such a wee country. But it’s time to look to the future and not dwell on the past glories!