Alastair McIntosh's Home Page

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Shortcut links to Key Material

@alastairmci

[Contact information]

[Events itinerary & diary]

[Short CV and Academic CV]

[Published articles - chronological]

Published articles - classified index:

  1. Community

  2. Globalisation

  3. Nonviolence

  4. Sustainability & Climate

  5. Land Reform

  6. Superquarries

  7. Epistemology

  8. Psychology

  9. PNG & Pacific

  10. Spirituality

  11. Consciousness

  12. Mythology

  13. Scottish Constitutional

 

Other Key Links

[Press and Broadcast interviews]

[An Idea of Speaking Topics]

[Bookings and accountability ethos]

[Index of rare third party resources]

[Links to other websites]

[Letters to the Press]

[BBC Thoughts for the Day]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Major new book just published: Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey -

 

"A book of beautifully compacted writing – a fortnight’s walk that contains a universe" - Dark Mountain

"This is the book I've been waiting to read all my life" - Cameron McNeish, mountaineer

Watch Opus Earth video interview (5 mins)

New This Past Year: [BBC Radio 4 radio piece with Verene (3 mins) on spirituality of stillbirth (see also older article) [Sept 2016]  [Comment in The Herald on Chilcot & International Humanitarian Law (Jul 2016)]  [Interview in Brazilian Jesuit agricultural magazine, Portuguese/English (May 2016)]  [Decolonising Land & Soul - Canada Quaker YM Lecture (posted Mar 2016)]  [Frenchgate, Rowntree, and the Quakers (Mar 2016)]  [Spiritual Activism named "Book of the Year" by Jonathon Porritt (Jan 2016)]  [Spiritual Activism - sample chapter on Nonviolence (Jan 2016)]  [Back page interview in Church Times - activism & nonviolence (Dec 2015)]  [Podcast of my talk to GreenSpirit on Fierce Love (Dec 2015, 1 hr MP3)]  [BBC interview on GalGael Trust & reclaiming humanity (Dec 2015]  [Opus Earth video interview on Spiritual Activism book (4 mins, Oct 2015]  [Intergenerational Transmission - the Carrying Stream] (Sep 2015)]  [Canoe Pilgrimage to Boreray - Celtic monks & Neil Armstrong (Sep 2015, photo essay)]   [Multiparty Dialogue video presentation on Climate Change (Jul 2015, 17 mins)]  [Interviews - press, radio, TV (to date)]  [BBC Thoughts for the Day (to date)]  [Twitter feed] 

 

Hello, and a warm welcome to the website of Alastair McIntosh. Thank you for visiting my home page. See below for contact details and public itinerary, the tabs above for main themes, and links to the left for a classified index of publications and other ports of call.

I live within the old parish boundary of Govan in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, am an independent scholar, activist, writer, speaker and broadcaster from the Isle of Lewis and work freelance but with academic links that include being an Honorary Senior Research Fellow (visiting professor) in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow and a Research Fellow at the School of Divinity (New College) in the University of Edinburgh. Locally in Govan I am a founding director of the GalGael Trust; also a Fellow and special advisor to the Centre for Human Ecology (CHE) of which I was previously director.

 

What I Do and Why this Website (updated July 2015)

The purpose of this site is to represent myself professionally - see above links about my work - and to share with others the material that I unearth in a life of action and reflection. It is a self-maintained amateur website, created with antique software that is devoid of glitzy bells and smells. Functionally it does the job and - who knows? - one day it might win an award for being so "retro".

The constantly growing material posted here represents my work in human ecology - the study of and participation in relationships between the natural environment and the social environment. Some define human ecology in terms of population, environment, resources and development (PRED). My approach additionally integrates the psychological and spiritual backdrop to being human. In evaluating what matters I therefore ask such questions as:

bullet"Does what I do feed the hungry?"
bullet"Is it relevant to the poor or to the broken in nature?"
bullet"Does it contribute to understanding and meaningfulness?"
bullet"Does it give life?" 

More and more over recent years it's been the last of these questions that most binds my work together. Doing human ecology is like pulling on a tangled ball of string. You can't unravel one loop until you've understood the interconnections with all the rest. For me, these connections are about life itself, about love and consciousness, and how they can be better integrated with such practical concerns as ecology and economics.

The backbone of this website is my published work. At the top of most pages you'll find a "Published Articles" tab with material listed in chronological order. On the left hand side of this home page is an index of the same classified by subject area. Beneath that are a few other key links.

This site is not a blog. Nearly all of its material has been previously published or delivered (as an address) elsewhere. It has therefore been through varying degrees of third party peer review or editing. It includes items that appeared in small local newspapers, national press features, academic papers in refereed scholarly journals, magazine contributions, published letters, reports, speeches, poetry and broadcasts. There is also a section of 3rd party resource material where I've scanned or digitised important documents, mostly out of print, that are essential to my work or that of colleagues and students. I regret that I cannot accept advertising, unsolicited third party material or requests for reciprocal web links.

 

Education, Writing, Campaigns & Activities

My school education was all on the Isle of Lewis (1960-73), I have a BSc in geography from the University of Aberdeen (1973-77) submajoring in psychology and moral philosophy, a financial MBA from the University of Edinburgh (1980-81) and a PhD by published works in liberation theology, land reform and community empowerment from the Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages, University of Ulster (2008). For CV and short bio click here.

My work is best known through my books - in order of precedence, Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power (2001), Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition (2008), Rekindling Community: Connecting People, Environment and Spirituality (2008) and others, including an Ashgate edited academic collection on Radical Human Ecology (2012). These have variously been described as "world-changing" (George Monbiot), "inspirational" (Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury), and "truly mental" by Thom Yorke of Radiohead - but for a more accurate assessment than any of these, ask my wife. September 2015 (October in North America) sees the hardback publication of Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service.

My best-known work includes Scottish land reform as commenced with the Isle of Eigg (1990 - present), the Harris superquarry battle (1992 - 2004), the spirituality of community, identity, belonging and place (1986 - present), nonviolence and understanding war (1976 - present), the psychospirituality of climate change (2006 to present), and radical human ecology (1990 - present). For further information on my current work and campaigns click here.

Less well-known is my work with South Pacific education, development and ethnography (1980-91 and 2012 onwards in Indonesia), sustainable tropical forestry (1984-95), micro-hydro electric and alternative energy (1978-86 and 2012 onwards), the depth psychology of cigarette advertising (1995-96), corporate social responsibility (with Lafarge) in the cement industry (2004-13), NGO marketing, PR, finance & management (1980-1990), parapsychology and the psychology of consciousness (1973-1980), cultural psychotherapy, conflict and power analysis (1994 - present), the GalGael Trust, urban poverty and cultural renewal (1997 - present) and liberation theology (1977 - present).

 

Livelihood, Availability for Events and Travel Questions

Since 1996 I've made my living on an entirely self employed basis - writing, teaching courses and guest lecturing, keynote talks at events, broadcasting and consultancy.

For a rough idea of when I might be available, see my public itinerary. For information on how I suggest charging and my approach to travel in the face of climate change click here.

Sometimes I work with unlikely bedfellows. As transparent financial accountability is important for an activist under such circumstances I annually state who pays me, and how much, at this link, which also declares my gross and net taxable income.

Places at which I have spoken or taught in recent years include the universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Exeter, Bath, Cape Breton, Saskatchewan and Florida, the Russian Academy of Sciences (Economics Dept), INSEAD European Management School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Glasgow School of Art, the British Council, the Irish School of Ecumenics at the University of Ireland, the World Council of Churches, Groupe Credit Mutuel, Shell plc, Nokia Research Centre, Lafarge SA (where I sat (until March 2013 on their Sustainability Stakeholders' Panel), the Edinburgh International Festival, the Schumacher Lectures and Schumacher College, Greenbelt Festival, the Society for Ecological Regeneration, Friends of the Earth, WWF International and UK, Australia's Rainforest Information Centre, Transition Towns, the Diocese of Liverpool, the Iona Community, the Scottish Crofting Foundation, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Learning and Skills Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Scottish Government, the Jakarta Institute of Theology, the Defence Academy's Joint Services Command & Staff College (JSCSC, on nonviolence), the Royal College of Defence Studies, École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, the Irish Military College and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

 

Life and Work as of 2015

I live with my wife, Vérène Nicolas. We met in Ireland in 1996 where she was working on a farm, having a background in agriculture, economics and rural development. Her present freelance work is with transformative learning and collaborative leadership in community contexts.

My main work is writing, campaigning and research which is mostly funded by the public events to which I am invited. In 2014 major areas are:

bulletLand Reform and Community: This area of my work took off in 1991 with the creation of the original Isle of Eigg Trust for land reform, it resurged again in 2001 with the publication of Soil and Soul and the run-up to the Land Reform (Scotland) Act of 2003, and it has fired up again in 2015 with the Scottish Parliament having introduced a new Land Reform Bill. See links at the top of this page for BBC TV debates in which I have engaged with Scottish Land & Estates, the erstwhile Scottish Landowners' Federation.
bulletClimate Change & the Psychospirituality of Consumerism: This builds on my early work on cigarette advertising as an insight into consumerism, developed especially in my book, Hell & High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition. I frequently take part in debates about climate change where I tackle consumerism as the driving edge. I should stress that while I have a background in earth sciences, I am not a climate change scientist. I therefore take as my baseline for discussion the mainstream scientific consensus about the matter, and as my book's subtitle suggests, my interest is in implications for the human condition.
bulletClimate Change and Community in Papua, Indonesia: Since February 2012 Vérène and I have been contributing to a training programme that addresses climate change and community empowerment in Papua Province, Indonesia. This has been variously sponsored both by BAPPEDA - the Papua provincial Planning Department - and by the British Embassy's UK Climate Change Unit. The most recent report on the part that Verene and I play in this programme, also involving colleagues from the Centre for Human Ecology, can be viewed at this link.
bulletA Functional Spirituality for Our Times: While the implications of a spiritual underpinning to life runs through all my work, I also work with faith communities on the spiritual questions of our time. Recently this has been finding expression through my own denomination, the Quakers, with giving the Yearly Meeting lectures in both Ireland and Canada during 2015. It also finds expression in my home area, the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, through talks and addresses I have been invited to give at local events. I am concerned about ways in which time-conditioned approaches to religion have sometimes blocked spiritual expression, and how these wellsprings can be freed up in ways that try to understand the past sympathetically, but not being locked to it. The Ireland lecture and the programme of events in Canada have taken considerable energy, not least because, as The Friend said of the Irish lecture, it has involved thought and discernment that many people have found "challenging at many levels."
bulletUrban Poverty - Govan and GalGael Trust: I am actively involved in the local community in Govan, especially as a founding director of the GalGael Trust and as a Fellow of the Centre for Human Ecology. At GalGael we use the building of boats and other engagement with the beauty of natural materials and human creativity to address deep-ranging aspects of social violence and other symptoms of poverty. I'm always on the look-out for people who might be able to help with the funding of this inspirational work. Folks who would like to see this work are always welcome to come along to the GalGael's community meal, that starts around 6 pm most Thursday nights. Just turn up and somebody will show you around the workshop. Email me in advance if you want to check if I'll be there to have a chat.
bulletNonviolence and Military Guest Lecturing: Much of my work involves cultural psychotherapy in the context of violence. I work specifically with non-violence, and guest lecture on this to military staff colleges. For nearly 2 decades now, I have been asked each year to teach on the Advanced Command & Staff Course at the Joint Services Command & Staff College (UK Defence Academy), and more recently, also on the Higher Command & Staff Course (which trains the next generation of generals and equivalent ranks). I have also guest lectured on a NATO Partnership for Peace programme in Geneva, to the Royal College of Defence Studies, to the Irish Defence Force's Senior Command & Staff Course, and at the French military college at Saint-Cyr where I will be teaching for a week in December 2015. As this work requires wider accountability within the peace movement, an idea of what I say can be gleaned from A Nonviolent Challenge to Conflict. This is my chapter in a textbook of military ethics from staff at the UK Defence Academy. Online there is also a video that rehearses the Remembrance Day Lecture that I gave at the Imperial War Museum in November 2013.
bulletSpeaking at Public Events: Event speaking, broadcasting, teaching, study tours, pilgrimages and consultancy - programme in the itinerary below and here for the main themes on which I currently speak and teach. Mostly I do keynote presentations. My hearing is not good, so a functioning loop induction system is helpful for panel events.
bulletWriting - Spiritual Activism - Leadership as Service: This was the title of a course that I previously taught at the universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and the Open University. My own time-tested material has been brought bang up to date by co-authoring with a younger activist, Matt Carmichael of Leeds. This is being published in hardback by Green Books, 24 Sept 2015 (1 Oct in N. America). The remarkable cover, depicting the jewel of the mind resting in the lotus of the heart is by Vic Brown, one of our workers at the GalGael Trust in Govan. It's webpage with details of forthcoming events is here.
bulletWriting - Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey: Since 2009 I've been working on a major book, Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey, to be published in June 2016 by Birlinn, Edinburgh. It recounts a journey on foot through the Isles of Harris and Lewis where I grew up, exploring an ecology of the imagination. Info here.
bulletBroadcasting and General Writing - I regularly take part in current affairs debates on BBC TV, and religious broadcasting including Prayer for the Day on BBC Radio 4 and Thought for the Day on BBC Radio Scotland. An anthology of the latter was published by the Iona Community in 2014 as Parables of Northern Seed. I also get asked to do a range of interviews, podcasts, etc. and these are normally linked where it says "New This Past Year" at the top of this home page, along with writing such as academic papers, newspaper articles and book reviews.
bulletAcademic Collaborations - Edinburgh University Divinity School: In 2013 Edinburgh University made me an Honorary Fellow of New College. This has now been changed to a 10% paid position in which I am listed on the staff as a research fellow. Funding is from an Arts & Humanities Research Council grant on climate change and "ancestral time" headed by the ecotheologian and professor of Christian ethics, Michael Northcott. I also have a visiting professorship in the College of Social Sciences at Glasgow University where my engagement is mostly informal, directly with staff.

 

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Contact Information:

 

Alastair McIntosh

26 Luss Road

Glasgow

G51 3YD

Scotland / Ecosse

 

 

Email - mail@AlastairMcIntosh.com (preferred first point of contact)

 

Mobile: +44 (0) 7444 580 380 (preferred second point of contact)

 

Landline Tel: +44 (0) 141 445 8750 (least preferred)

 

For work issues please try to avoid phoning outside weekday working hours. Remember time zones - we're in GMT or BST in summer (i.e. GMT+1). If you need to discuss something that requires much thought I prefer an email first if possible to arrange a mutually convenient calling time. I am on Skype but keep my profile hidden to minimise interruptions to my writing work.

 

Twitter: I am not on most social media, but as of July 2015 I have reluctantly ventured on to Twitter to promote forthcoming events and books, plus perhaps occasional reflections and retweats - @alastairmci - I say, reluctantly, owing to the imperative in today's noisy world of conserving space for the inner life from which to try and share with others from a deeper level. Hopefully it's about striking a balance, though I'm all too aware that addictions take many hidden forms.

 

Directions to our home/office:

 

Public Transport: For public transport in Scotland, it is worthwhile downloading the Traveline Scotland app. If coming from central Glasgow, take the subway (underground train) to either Govan or Ibrox. They're each one mile from our house. From Govan is a more interesting walk, but Ibrox is a simpler route and less congested if we're picking you up by car (see below if walking). From either Govan subway station or the city centre, you can get a McGills Route 26 bus to the second stop on Craigton Road (officially the Arthulie St stop, but as that street is no longer signed, the sign for Luss Road is just beyond it on the right). They're every 10 or 16 minutes during the day, but the timetable is unreliable. Our house is no. 26, half way along Luss Rd on the right. If coming from city centre's Queen St or Central stations, the stops for the 26 bus are on Renfield Street (extending onto Union Street). Taxis up from Govan are about £4, from city centre about £12, and from the airport about £20.

 

If walking from the subway exit at Ibrox, turn right onto Copland Road. Up to the lights and turn right. Pass alongside the Rangers football stadium, go straight on over the first roundabout, straight over the second roundabout, on to the lights, turn right down Craigton Road, and Luss Road is the 5th exit on the left (depending on what you count as an exit).

 

By Car: If coming on the M8 from east or west, exit at junction 24 (Helen Street), signposted for Govan. Head downhill and over the lights to a roundabout, as if heading to the Clyde Tunnel. Turn left at the roundabout then right at the lights into a residential area, Craigton Road (signposted to "Elderpark Workspace"). Luss Road is the 3rd on the left (or 4th depending on what you count). 

 

If coming by car from the North via the Clyde Tunnel, as you exit the tunnel prepare to take the first left just at the tunnel's end. Be careful - it comes on you very quickly and it's easy to overshoot. This brings you out onto Govan Road with a very large roundabout. Turn right at this, onto Drive Road, passing a Elder Park on your left. At the end of Drive road, keep the park on your left by turning left onto Langlands Road. Take the 3rd right, just before you lose the park, onto Arklett Road, then 2nd right is Luss Road.

 

Avoid the M8 approaches if you can when there's a football match on at Ibrox. There may also be parking congestion at such times. Taxi drivers from outwith this area do not know it well. Tell them that you want Luss Road which is off Craigton Road, and to take the Helen Street exit if coming from the M8.

 

Web flags: Donald

 

Alastair McIntosh's Itinerary of Main Events

This table shows roughly which dates I'm booked up for. It also shows what sorts of events I take on (and doubles as a diary back-up). For an overview of my typical speaking topics click here. Gaps in the timetable do not necessarily signify availability, especially over weekends. Dates marked for delivery of Thought for the Day mean that I have to be near a BBC studio early that morning and have time on the previous day for preparation - though these dates can sometimes be swapped with another presenter. Information shown here on public events may be subject to change, so please check if you're thinking of turning up. For information on booking me for events please click here. Events marked "s.t.c." are "subject to consent/confirmation". 

2015 (last year)

This Year - 2016+

 

 

  1. Two events at the Glasgow School of Art on Wed 14 Jan, 2015. Public lecture Awakening an Ecology of the Imagination, 3 - 5 pm, Reid Auditorium, free but book ticket here.  Followed by workshop 5 - 7 pm with student artists, The Artist's Response to Climate Change, limited places, enquire here, supported by the Scottish Government's Climate Challenge Fund.

  2. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thur 22 Jan.

  3. Opening reflection to the ecumenical  Roundtable on Land Reform in Scotland, Church of Scotland offices, Edinburgh (by video link), 11 am, Fri 23 Jan.

  4. GalGael Trust board meeting, Govan, 1700, Wed 4 Feb s.t.c.

  5. Leading conference on Climate Change & the Well-Being of the Community, with the Sisters of the Cross & Passion at Drumalis, Larne, Northern Ireland, 6 - 8 Feb.

  6. Lecture to Senior Command & Staff Course, Irish Defence Forces Military College, Curragh, Co. Kildare, on The Nonviolent Challenge to Conflict, Mon 9 Feb.

  7. Iona Community Board, morning Thu 19 Feb.

  8. GalGael Trust board "away day", Tue 24 Feb.

  9. Closing reflection on Why the Land Matters at the conference of the Scottish Land Revenue Group,  Glasgow, Wed 25 Feb.

  10. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thur 26 Feb.

  11. A sharing on Scottish Land Reform as a Spiritual Imperative of Economic Justice, with the S.E. Scotland Quakers, Edinburgh, Sat 28 Feb.

  12. Training course in climate change, leadership, theology and community empowerment for Papua (Indonesia) Provincial Government planning department officials (previous visit link), Glasgow and Isle of Harris, 16 - 25 March, and probably on isles until 28 March.

  13. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thur 7 Apr s.t.c.

  14. Public lecture at Ireland Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Dromantine Retreat and Conference Centre, Newry, Co Down, evening Fri 10 April: To become ‘the People of the Cross’ - Climate Change, Violence and some Meanings of Creation in Our Times.

  15. Lecture on The Challenges of Nonviolence, to the Higher Command & Staff Course, UK Defence Academy, Joint Services Command & Staff College, Shrivenham, Thur 16 April.

  16. Delivering the annual public lecture at the (Episcopalian) Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Bridge of Weir - The Saint Mary's Lecture: A Virginity Most Subversive for Our Times - 7 pm Tue 21 April.

  17. Interview with Nomad podcast, morning, Wed 22 Apr.

  18. GalGael Trust board meeting, evening of Wed 6 May.

  19. Leading Edinburgh University visit on low carbon living, Isle of Eigg, 9-11 May, with Michael Northcott.

  20. Hosting visit of John Chalmers, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to the GalGael Trust, morning of Wed 13 May.

  21. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 27 May s.t.c.

  22. Engaged with climate change events with John Ashton and ECCI Edinburgh University, Wed 27 - Fri 29 May.

  23. Edinburgh University Ancestral Time & Climate Change seminar at the Bield, Wed 3 - morning Thu 4 June.

  24. West End Philosophy Cafe, The Tryst, Glasgow: talk on The Land, Justice & the Soul, 1300 (food from 1230), Sunday 7 June. 

  25. Recording British Library & BBC Radio 4 Listening Project programme, Fri 19 June.

  26. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thur 2 Jul s.t.c.

  27. Speaking on climate change at Camp Breakdown, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Wed 8 - Thu 9 July. Public talk at 8 pm on the Wed: Climate Change as Spiritual Emergency, followed by a workshop on the Thu morning.

  28. Performance on Awakening an Ecology of the Imagination with Butoh Dancers and a short reading (with Ralph Metzner's blessing) from the Leary/Metzner/Alpert edition of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, at the UNFIX Festival, CCA theatre Glasgow, 2100, Fri 10 July, full information here.

  29. On holiday, Hebrides, Sat 11 Jul - Wed 22 Jul.

  30. Guest lecture in "The Realities of Conflict" stage of the Advanced Command & Staff Course, UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham, arrive 23rd for Fri 24th July.

  31. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 30 Jul.

  32. Teaching on the Global Environments Summer Academy course, Global Diversity Foundation, Bern, Switzerland, 2 - 5 Aug.

  33. In discussion with Mhairi Killin and Hugh Watt about bells, the marking out of time and Scotland's religious history, Re-Soundings at An Lanntair, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, 6 Aug 1700 - 1900.

  34. Delivering the 2015 Sunderland P. Gardner lecture (and follow-through workshops) at Canada Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Decolonising Land and Soul - a Quaker Testimony, Prince Edward Island, Fri 14 - Fri 21 Aug. The lecture is at 7pm Sun 16th at the University of PEI, MacDougall Hall, and open to the public. Additional 4 special interest afternoon sessions, also open to public, info here.

  35. A talk and workshop at festival - Festamagouche 2015 - on Rekindling the Spirit of Community, Main Stage, 7 pm, Sat 22 Aug, Tatamagouche Centre, Nova Scotia.

  36. Talk at Social Justice Youth Camp, Tatamagouche Centre, Nova Scotia, Mon 24 - Tue 25 Aug (returning to Scotland overnight on Wed 26th).

  37. Edinburgh Festival Fringe event, Carbon Dependence: Can we wean ourselves off fossil fuels quickly enough to survive?, on panel with John Sturrock, John Ashton and George Marshall, 1830, Thu 27th Aug, St Paul's & St George's Church venue, Edinburgh. Tickets here.

  38. Talk with slides, The Nonviolent Challenge of our Times hosted by Glasgow Catholic Worker, Garnethill Multicultural Centre, Rose Street, Glasgow (map), 7 pm, Tue 1 Sept. Open to all but not suitable for children.

  39. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 3 Sep.

  40. In France, Fri 11 Sept - Mon 21 Sept.

  41. New book from Green Books, UIT Cambridge - Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service - Thur 24 Sept launch date UK (1 Oct USA/Canada), hardback. Book related events listed here.

  42. Glasgow launch of Spiritual Activism book at GalGael Trust, 15 Fairley St, Glasgow, 1700, Thu 24 Sept, all welcome (dry event with special prices for GalGael regulars), followed at 1800 by GalGael's AGM (not intended for book launch invitees).

  43. BBC Radio Scotland religion programme recording morning Fri 25 Sept for Sunday morning broadcast with Ricky Ross on Sunday on Spiritual Activism.

  44. Skype seminar, late morningFri 25 Sept, student group.

  45. Notice: due to an impending book deadline with Birlinn, I will be more limited than usual in what additional invitations I can accept between October 2015 and January 2016.

  46. Leeds launch of Spiritual Activism, 1900 Quaker Meeting House, me with Matt Carmichael, book here.

  47. Newcastle launch of Spiritual Activism 1900 Broadacre House, me with Matt Carmichael, book here.

  48. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 2 Oct.

  49. On land reform panel in 70th anniversary conference of Christian Aid Scotland, Edinburgh, 2.20 pm, Sat 3 Oct, Edinburgh.

  50. On Lewis & Harris, family events, Tue 6 Oct - Fri 9 Oct.

  51. Climate Change & Ancestral Time meeting, Edinburgh Uni, The Bied, Wed 14 - Thu 15 Oct.

  52. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 27 Oct.

  53. Speaking at Wordpower's Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair 2015, 1830 Thu 29 October on new book, Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service.

  54. Keynote address on Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service and workshop, GreenSpirit Annual Conference, Pershore, Worcester, Fri 30 Oct - Sun 1 Nov.

  55. GalGael Trust board meeting, Govan, 1700, Wed 4 Nov s.t.c.

  56. An Evening with Verene Nicolas & Alastair McIntosh, Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality & Peace, Augustine Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, 1900, Thur 5 Nov, all welcome, ticket booking here.

  57. Giving reflection at Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, St Albert's Catholic Chaplaincy, Edinburgh, 1100 Sat 28 Nov, followed by march at 1200.

  58. Speaking with artists and cultural geographers at seminar on Mineral Intimacy at House of an Art Lover, Glasgow, afternoon of Mon 30 Nov, book via link.

  59. Leading a study tour of planners and parliamentarians from Papua, Indonesia, s.t.c. 1 - 6 December.

  60. GalGael Trust board meeting, 5pm Wed 16 Dec.

 

  1. Presentation/discussion with West of Scotland Area Meeting of the Quakers, Glasgow, on my Ireland  Yearly Meeting lecture,1400 Sat 16 Jan.

  2. GalGael Trust board meeting 5pm 3 Feb, Govan.

  3. Lecture series on spiritual activism, climate change & liberation theology, Wed 3 - Thu 11 Feb, University Congregation United Church of Christ, Seattle, USA. Open to other events in immediate area while there. Many other events including Trident submarines at Ground Zero, and Earth Ministries.

  4. GalGael Trust Board planning day 22 Feb.

  5. Keynote speaker on Climate Change, Land Reform and Community Empowerment at Greener Kirkcaldy's Powering Up Communities event, Kirkcaldy, morning Sat 27 Feb.

  6. Leading group from Govan to Iona, weekend exploring spirituality, Fri 11 - Sun 13 March.

  7. Speaking at Re:Soundings & An Lanntair workshop and performance, From Shells to Bells at Ness Heritage Centre & St Moluag's Chapel, Isle of Lewis, Sat 19 Mar. On the island possibly 18 - 22 March.

  8. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Thu 7 Apr.

  9. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Tue 3 May.

  10. GalGael board meeting 1700 4 May

  11. Meetings on Isle of Lewis 9 - 12 May, launch of Re-Soundings exhibition at An Lanntair with catalogue contribution on bells and artillery shells, 1700 Thu 12th, time s.t.c.

  12. In Ireland, 13 - 21 May, marking 20 years of meeting Verene there. Probably not on email. If urgent, text.

  13. Speaking 26 - 28 May at How-the-light-gets-in Festival, Hay-on-Wye. Thu 26th 1900, panel on The Weird and the Wonderful; Saturday 28th, 0900, Philosophy Breakfast and at 1400, talk on Rethinking Spirituality based on recent book, Spiritual Activism.

  14. Speaking at Climate Change & Ancestral Time conference, Edinburgh University, Wed 8 - Fri 10 June.

  15. With Verene, a sharing with the Bert Community, Glasgow, about spiritual resources that sustain us, 8pm, Mon 13 June, private event.

  16. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 15 Jun.

  17. Speaking at Solas Festival, Perthshire, 17 - 19 June with Radio Scotland Sunday morning tie-in. Talks on What is Land Reform For? (with Andy Wightman MSP) and Just War Theory, or Full-on Nonviolence? (with Rev Doug Gay). Celebration event for new book Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey.

  18. Giving TEDx talk in salon on Compassion & Courage, University of Edinburgh at the Royal Society of Edinburgh,1800, Tue 28 June - [sold out].

  19. Book launch of Poacher's Pilgrimage in opening plenary of the annual conference of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies (theme: Literature and Religion in Scotland),  University of Glasgow,1 July.

  20. Guest lecture on Nonviolence in "The Realities of Conflict" stage of the Advanced Command & Staff Course, UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, 14th to Fri 15 July.

  21. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 29 Jul.

  22. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 4 Aug.

  23. Claverhouse Conversation on Poacher's Pilgrimage, eve Wed 17 Aug (private event).

  24. Speaking at Edinburgh International Book Festival on Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey, 1030 Thu 18 Aug, Studio Theatre [sold out, but see event below].

  25. Speaking at the Edinburgh Book Fringe, WordPower Books, on Poacher's Pilgrimage, Chilcot & the Neoconservative Corruption of Religion, 1300 Sun 21 Aug, details t.b.a.

  26. Speaking Core Solutions' Flagship Mediation summer school, Ayrshire, evening Mon 29 Aug.

  27. With Verene on holiday in France, Thu 31 Aug to Fri 9 Sep.

  28. Keynote speaker at the Wirral Earth Festival, West Kirby, By Liverpool, Fri 9 Sept.

  29. Speaking on Land Reform at the Our Land event, GalGael Trust, 1100 - 1500 Saturday 10 Sept.

  30. Speaking on Contemporary Spirituality at St Agnes' Church, North Reddish, Manchester Mon 12 - Tue 13 Sept, s.t.c.

  31. Possibly filming on Harris/Lewis around 17-21 Sep.

  32. AGM of GalGael Trust, Glasgow, 1800 Thu 22 Sept.

  33. Speaking at the Wigtown Book Festival on Poacher's Pilgrimage, Fri 23 Sept, 6 pm, chaired by Polly Pullar.

  34. Leading a week on The Pilgrimage of Life at Iona Abbey & Macleod Centre of the Iona Community, Sat 24th - Fri 30th Sept. Programme info here. Assisted by folk musician Mairi Campbell (Virtually fully booked).

  35. Sunday 25th Sept, preaching morning service sermon jointly with folk musician Mairi Campbell, 1030, Iona Abbey, all welcome.

  36. The Poaching of the Bells - a discussion with Mhairi Killin of Iona about her Re-Soundings bells project and its links to Poacher's Pilgrimage, Iona Village Library, Mon 26 Sept, 1900.

  37. My son Adam's and Roberta's wedding, Kinghorn, Sat 1st - Sun 2nd Oct.

  38. GalGael Trust board away day, Mon 10 Oct.

  39. Seminar (by Skype) with Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design,  Stockholm, on Poetic Activism: Strategies for Change, 1345-1425 Tue 11 Oct.

  40. Speaking on Authentic Leadership to environmental managers at Audencia School of Management, Nantes, 20 -21 Oct.

  41. Board Meeting GalGael Trust, 1700 Wed 26 Oct.

  42. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 27 Oct.

  43. Leading day seminar on "The Land" with ministry candidates, United Reformed Church Scottish College, Edinburgh, 2 Nov.

  44. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 15 Nov.

  45. Iona Community Board, 1100 Thu 17 Nov, (Glasgow?).

  46. Teaching a week long course on Religious Intelligence at École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (French Military Academy), Brittany, 21-25 France (and prob surrounding days for travel), s.t.c.. (NB. all my military teaching is predicated on nonviolence).

  47. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 13 Dec.

  48. Talk on The Spiritual Journey in Poacher's Pilgrimage, EICSP, Augustine Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, 1900 Thu 9 Mar 2017.

  49. Plenary address and workshop at annual conference of Eco-Congregation Scotland on Poacher's Pilgrimage, Glasgow, Sat 22 Apr 2017, details t.b.a..

  50. Teaching in New York, s.t.c., 23 - 27 June 2017.

  51. Leading full week at the MacLeod Centre (Iona Abbey), Pilgrimage of Life, 23-29 Sept 2017.

  52. Leading weekend retreat, The Pilgrimage of Life, Glenthorne Quaker Centre, Lake District, Fri 24 to Sun 26 Nov 2017.

 

 

 

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Last Updated: 28-Sep-2016

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