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 Alastair McIntosh's Home Page

 

Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey is now out in paperback from Birlinn (UK/world) and Cascade (USA)

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

"Fascinating, provocative and, occasionally, very funny" - Joanna Kavenna, Times Literary Supplement

"I felt I had been led to holy ground" - Brian D McLaren, Foreword to the Cascade edition

Video clips: Opus Earth author interview (5 mins); BBC TV Adventure Show (12 mins) Royal Society Ed TEDx (12 mins)

 

Click picture for hi-res photo downloads

Shortcut links to Key Material

@alastairmci

[Contact information]

[Events itinerary & diary]

[Booking me & accountability]

 

[Published articles - chronological]

Published articles - classified index:

  1. Community

  2. Globalisation

  3. Nonviolence

  4. Sustainability & climate

  5. Land Reform

  6. Superquarries

  7. Epistemology

  8. Scottish constitutional

  9. Psychology & ethnology

  10. PNG & South Pacific

  11. Theology & philosophy

  12. Consciousness studies

  13. Mythology & poetics

  14. Spirituality

 

Other Key Links

[An Idea of Speaking Topics]

[Index of rare third party resources]

[Interviews, podcasts, videos, TEDx]

[BBC Thoughts for the Day]

[Letters to the Press]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New This Past Year:  [State of the Nation Lecture 2018 - St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh (link is to audio, text is here, Nov 2018)]  [Obituary of Tom Forsyth of Scoraig, pioneering land reformer] (The Herald, Aug 2018)]  ['High Profiles' in-depth interview on my work (Jul 2018)]  [Derrick Jensen interview on Resistance Radio (Jul 2018, 45 mins)]  [Keynote address for 25th Anniversary of the Assynt Crofters' Trust (halfway down page, July 2018)]  [BBC radio discussion on gun amnesty, arms trade and violence reduction (June 2018)]  [5 Year data set on our solar & heat pump combo system - 64% cut in domestic carbon emissions (Mar 2018)]  [The Manknell Doctrine - Oxfam and a half-century's political drivers of the Third Sector (Bella Caledonia, Feb 2018)]  [A Perilous Neglect - Quakers, Merton & torture (Friends Journal, Feb 2018)]  [The Iroquois Six Nations Address to the Western World of 40 years ago (The National, Jan 2018)]  [The Immortality of Robert Burns (Jan 2018)]  [Remembering Kenyon Wright: India's Swaraj and the Scottish Parliament (Cable Magazine, Jan 2018)]  [Promised Land: Why Ulva? Why Land Reform? (The National, Dec 2017)]  [The PsalmBoat Project - a Hebridean tradition (Lochs News, Nov 2017)]  [Some Contributions of Geopoetics to Modern Scottish Land Consciousness (SC Geopoetics, Oct 2017)]  [TEDx talk video: Donald Trump and the Second Sight (TEDx Findhorn, Sep 2017, 21 mins)]  [Interviews - press, radio, TV, podcast (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 my public itinerary. Also, the tabs above for main themes, and links to the left for a classified index of publications and some other ports of call.

Since 2004 I've live within the old parish boundary of Govan in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, where I am a founding trustee of the GalGael Trust. This works with multiple facets of urban poverty in seeking to release blocked flows within the human spirit. Since 1996, my work has been mainly freelance. I am a Fellow of the Centre for Human Ecology (CHE) of which I was previously director, an honorary senior research fellow (visiting professor) in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, and an honorary fellow at the School of Divinity (New College), University of Edinburgh.

I run this site to represent myself professionally. Its main purpose is to make my published work readily available. Forgive it being an amateur website that is self-maintained, using antique FrontPage software from the last century. If you've only landed here to get the retro experience, then make yourself at home.

Nearly all of what I've posted has been previously published or delivered as an address, usually involving peer review. It includes items from local newspapers, the national press, academic papers in refereed scholarly journals, magazine contributions, published letters and poetry, reports, speeches and some broadcasts. There are also sections with my interviews, podcasts and video, and of rare 3rd party resource material. The latter is where I've scanned important but hard-to-find documents that are essential to my work or that of folks with whom I work.

I live with my wife, Vérène Nicolas who I met in Ireland in 1996. I was running a study tour and she was working on a farm, having a background in agriculture, economics and rural development. These days her work is mainly with transformative learning and collaborative leadership in community-based organisations. Both of us are Quakers.

 

What I do and stand for (updated January 2018)

 

What is found here broadly 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 also integrates the psychological and spiritual backdrop to being a conscious human being in a living world. Much of my work is informed by the combination of practical action, study and reflection. In this, I am especially influenced by liberation theology - theology that liberates theology to do what it should do. In choosing what issues to work on, I therefore ask questions like:

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?" 

In recent years, it has been the last of these questions that most binds my work together. To do human ecology, like doing theology, is to pull on a tangled ball of string. You cannot unravel one loop until you've understood the network of connections. For me, such interconnection is the essence of reality and the basis of consciousness. It is about the spiritual, which is to say, life as love made manifest. It is the innermost structure that underpins the outer forms of things, including their psychology, ecology, politics, economics and forms of collective religious expression. That is why I believe that what the world most needs today is a deepening of spiritual vision. Science gives outer sight, but spirituality complements this with insight. Such understanding is the key to my work and ability to maintain hope, even where the grounds for optimism might be frayed.

 

My background, writing and activism

Born in 1955, all of my school education (1960-73) took place in the community where I was raised, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides or Western Isles. A traditional Scottish education allows for a generalist worldview. I hold 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 a CV and short bio see here.

My work is mainly represented through the books and articles linked from the tabs along the top of this page. The best known are Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power (2001) and Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition (2008). My books have variously been described as "world-changing" by George Monbiot, "inspirational" by Rowan Williams while Archbishop of Canterbury, "careful, sober reasoning" by the philosopher Mary Midgley, and "truly mental" by the singer Thom Yorke of Radiohead.

My two most recent books draw together much of my life's work. Spiritual Activism - Leadership as Service (Green Books, 2015) is co-authored with Matt Carmichael. It is a practical guide, based on a quarter century of postgraduate teaching, and was named Book of the Year by Sir Jonathan Porritt, formerly chair of the UK Government's Sustainable Development Commission.

Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey (Birlinn, 2016; Cascade 2018 in USA) has been described by the Rev Kathy Galloway of the Iona Community as "a quite wonderful book - a theology of justice and peace and love re-presented through human ecology." I use a twelve day walk through remote and rugged terrain on the island of my childhood to explore the roots of war and alienation in our times. It breaks through into an ecology of the imagination, and spiritual insights for the third millennium.

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 in Papua New Guinea and 2012 onwards in Indonesian West Papua), 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 in the cement industry with Lafarge (2004-13), NGO marketing, PR, finance & management (1980-1990), parapsychology and consciousness research (1973-1980), cultural psychotherapy, conflict and power analysis (1994 - present), the GalGael Trust, urban poverty and cultural renewal (1997 - present) and applied liberation theology (1977 - present).

 

Availability for Events, livelihood and travelling

Since 1996 I've made my living on an entirely self employed basis - writing, broadcasting with the BBC, keynote speaking at events, workshops, retreats, taught courses and consultancy. For availability see my public itinerary, and a rough idea of the kind of things I talk about at this list. My personal financial accountability, my suggesting scale of charging for events, and my approach to travel in the face of climate change is given here. We now have good broadband so I am able to connect for online talks and presentations if required.

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 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.

 

Where now?

Over the five years 2012 - 2016 I published a book every year. I hit the age of sixty during that time, so it was a period for pulling much together. Vérène has currently banned me from writing another book and, at the moment, I'm fully absorbed with living out of the container that's already been created.

People ask what major campaign I'm working on. Right now, I'm just letting some dust settle and working inwardly on spiritual vision. I find that I am spending about half of my time dealing with correspondence and visitors. It is a joy to get such feedback, though I often struggle to cope with it efficiently. I am, however, giving priority of time to young activists and scholars (masters and doctorate candidates) working with social, environmental or religious change.

I go out in the canoe whenever I can, hang out amongst our neighbours at the GalGael Trust about once a week, spend mellow time with Vérène, and the next major book I've got lined up for reading is Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain. A highlight of 2017 will be the celebrations in June of the 20th anniversary of the community land buy-out on the Isle of Eigg. It was a joy to be asked by the community to write the foreword for their commemorative brochure and to speak on the island during the week-long festivities. In short, life is good for this old-timer activist. I wonder what's next?

 

Back  to Top of Page

 

Contact Information:

 

Alastair McIntosh

26 Luss Road

Glasgow

G51 3YD

Scotland / Ecosse

 

 

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

 

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

 

Twitter: @alastairmci (I am not on other social media, I can be DM'd without requiring to follow)

 

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, Facetime and WhattsApp but unless it is a pressing matter please first arrange any call by email or text.

 

 

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 (Renfield St), you can get a McGills Route 26 bus to the second stop on Craigton Road, from where we're the next street up on the right. The fare is £3.60 from town as of the start of 2018). 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.

 

 

 

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. For information on booking me for events please click here. For an overview of my typical speaking topics click here. Gaps in the timetable do not necessarily signify availability, especially over weekends, as this is not my private diary. 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 be swapped with another presenter. Events marked "s.t.c." are "subject to consent/confirmation", and it is best to confirm events with the organisers' information before turning up.

2017 (last year)

This Year - 2018+

 

 

  1. Special guest to comment on the climate change film, The Island President, Andulus, 211 New City Rd, Glasgow, 1830 - 2030, Fri 13 Jan 2017.

  2. GalGael Trust board meeting Mon 16 Jan, 1700.

  3. A sharing with staff of Renfrewshire Council on their Paisley City of Culture bid, morning Tue 17 Jan.

  4. Short talk with artists at John Muir event, I Only Went Out For A Walk, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Pearce Institute, Glasgow, 6.30 pm, Mon 23 Jan.

  5. In conversation with Bernadette McAliskey on Climate Change, Nonviolence and a Spirituality for Our Times in Bloody Sunday Week, 1930, Thu 26 Jan, City Hotel, Derry/Londonderry.

  6. Giving seminar probably at Queens University Belfast, Fri 27 Jan, details t.b.c.

  7. Delivering the Immortal Memory to Robert Burns at Peace & Justice Centre ceilidh, King's Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 28 Jan.

  8. St Bride's Day lecture at Glasgow University on Poetic Activism: Invoking God, War and the Faeries, part of a seminar series on Ecotheologies and the Arts of the Literature, Theology, Arts Network, lunchtime, Wed 1 Feb, 1245 - 1415, Upper Seminar Room, 4 The Square.

  9. Lecture to Senior Command & Staff Course, Irish Defence Forces Military College, Curragh, Co. Kildare, on The Nonviolent Challenge to Conflict, 2nd  - Fri 3rd Feb.

  10. Keynote talk,Turn Back the Streams of War, at the Afri Justice & Peace Conference of the Féile Bríde Festival, Kildare, Ireland, Sat 4 Feb, 1145.

  11. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 9 Feb and preparation previous day.

  12. Skype talk with the townsfolk of Culemborg, Netherlands, on Bardic Tradition in the Poetry of Sorley Maclean, 1900, Mon 13 Feb.

  13. Speaking on Poacher's Pilgrimage at Pitlochry Winter Words book festival, 1130, Thu 16 Feb.

  14. Speaking at conference, Exploring the Renaissance of Pilgrimage in Scotland, on "Encountering the Atom of Delight" (an examination of empirical spiritual experience) - Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland, Edinburgh,  Sat 4 March.

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

  16. Leading GalGael group from Govan to Isle of Iona, Iona Hostel, Fri 10 - Sun 12 March, exploration of "spirituality".

  17. A sharing with Enedina Andrande and team of the Bela Vista agrarian reform settlement, Brazil with the GalGael Trust. A Brazilian agricultural magazine interview with me in Portuguese to aid discussion is available here (English translation at the end), morning of Mon 13 March.

  18. Speaking on Poacher's Pilgrimage at Aye Write! book festival, Glasgow, 1800, Fri 17 Mar.

  19. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 24 Mar and preparation previous day.

  20. Talk for the Kirkcaldy Food Bank A Poetry Toolbox for Local Activism, Fri 7 Apr, 1930, St Marie's RC Church, Kirkcaldy.

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

  22. Keynote annual meeting address of the Scottish Unitarian Association, St Mark's, Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, 1300 Sat 13 May. 

  23. GalGael Trust board meeting, Mon 15 May, 1700.

  24. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 17 May and preparation previous day.

  25. Presenting paper, What Makes Environmental Activism a Spiritual Issue? at University of Edinburgh's conference, Faith Communities and Environmental Activism, School of Divinity, Wed 18 - Sat 20 May.

  26. A celebration for readers at our house - Poacher's Pilgrimage: an evening "As We Get It" with Alastair McIntosh - 1900 Sat 20 May, free tickets and details, Eventbrite here.

  27. Talk to students and faculty from Hope College, Michigan, on Some Political Theology of Modern Scottish Land Reform: Donald Trump and the Hebridean Isles, 7 pm Sun 21 May, Glasgow.

  28. Receiving Timoti Karetu with a delegation of Maoris to discuss indigeniety, GalGael Trust, 1500, Fri 26 May, t.b.c..

  29. Giving a TEDx Findhorn talk (view here) on Spiritual Activism: Donald Trump and the second sight at the Findhorn Foundation, evening Fri 2 June.

  30. Leading a week on Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service, at the Findhorn Foundation, Thu 3 - Fri 9 June, bookings here.

  31. Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust 20th anniversary celebrations of community land reform. Sharing about the early days of Eigg's land reform (with Lesley Riddoch), evening Tue 13 June. Maggie Fyffe speaking following evening - all s.t.c.. (On Eigg with Verene 10 - 15 June).

  32. A Midsummer's Meet the Author event with book signing of Poacher's Pilgrimage, Wed 21 June, 1930 - 2100, Oban town library, chaired by local broadcaster Breege Smith. All welcome.

  33. Speaking on Some Contributions of Geopoetics to Modern Scottish Land Reform Consciousness, conference Expressing the Earth of the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics and University of the Highlands and Islands, Seil Island Hall, 1500 Fri 23 June.

  34. Filming with Adam Knight, The Scottish Myth, morning Tue 27 June.

  35. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 29 Jun and preparation previous day.

  36. Talk at banquet in EarthTalks series, Wild: An Ecology of the Imagination, at the Advaya Initiative, venue: 42 Acres, Shoreditch, London, evening of Wed 12 July. Tickets and details.

  37. Guest lecture on A Nonviolent Challenge to Conflict in "The Realities of Conflict" stage of the Advanced Command & Staff Course, UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, Thu 13th to Fri 14 July.

  38. Speaking on panel at Friends of the Earth Scotland's Summer Weekender on Brexit, Trump & the rise of the far right: achieving change in the face of new political challenges, morning of Sat 15 July, Wiston Lodge. Also, workshop same morning on Spiritual Activism.

  39. Speaking on GalGael: a Journey Down Life's River, at GalGael Trust 20th Anniversary celebrations, Mon 24 July, free tickets here.

  40. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 28 Jul and preparation previous day.

  41. Skype address to The World Indigenous People's Conference in Toronto, What makes a people 'A People'? Reconnecting people to the land, 1800 - 1845 BST, Fri 28 July.

  42. GalGael Trust board meeting, Wed 2 Aug, 1700.

  43. Receiving delegation from Historic Environment Scotland at GalGael Trust, Fri 4 Aug, time t.b.c.

  44. Edinburgh Festival Fringe in conversation with Jane Fowler, Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey, looking at how themes from the book tie in with current affairs, Wed 9 Aug, 1630, St Andrew's & St George's West, Edinburgh, booking info here.

  45. Leading the first 3 days of a tour to the Isle of Lewis and Harris by the New York Open Centre, Lews Castle, Stornoway, around 18 - 23 Aug. Island tour 21st, Retreat/reflection 22nd, opening conference address - Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey 23rd.

  46. Speaking on The Parish of Lochs and Poacher’s Pilgrimage to the Psalmboat-Bàta nan Salm residency at Old Soval Lodge, Lochs, Isle of Lewis, lunchtime Wed 23 Aug, invited local audience.

  47. Speaking at the Calanais/Callanish Visitor Centre, Isle of Lewis, Some Sacred Natural Sites of the Hebrides, Thu 24 Aug, 7 pm, ticket info here.

  48. Keynote address at Holyrood reception for Round Britain Voyage of the Sea Dragon, on 'Turning back the Tides of Consumerism', Edinburgh, Fri 25 Aug, 1230 -1430.

  49. Opening event at Skye Book Festival, Aros Centre near Portree, on Poacher's Pilgrimage; chaired by Donald S Murray and incorporating a reading of his Psalm-Boat poem, 12 noon, Thu 31 Aug, info & tickets here.

  50. Hour long telephone interview 5 Sept on land and community, listen again online at Greening the Apocalypse with Triple R Radio.

  51. Keynote address on The Role of Deep Imagination in Community Empowerment in conference of the North Atlantic Forum, Traditions and Transformations in the Sustainability of Rural Communities, University College of Southeast Norway, Bo, Telemark, Norway. Also, talks to local groups with Quaker hosts. Sat 9 - Sat 15 Sept.

  52. Speaking on social aspects of Authentic Leadership to environmental managers at Audencia School of Management, Nantes, France, Tue 19 to Wed 20 Sep.

  53. Leading full week at Iona Abbey on The Pilgrimage of Life, Sat 23 - Fri 29 Sept. FULL - but see below for additional Iona week and weekend at the Glenthorne Centre.

  54. On Isle of Lewis for family matters, 2 - 7 Oct.

  55. Address to Assemblé Annuelle of the French Quakers, Carcassonne, France, 21 - 23 Oct, with holiday so away 16 - 25 Oct.

  56. Speaking on The Undeconstructability of Justice (Derrida) at University of Stirling Dept of Criminology and GalGael Trust conference, "Conversations About Justice", Peace Institute, Govan, Fri 27 Oct.

  57. Private function on Celtic mythology, evening Fri 3 Nov, Taynuilt.

  58. Talk to the Mull & Iona Quakers, Craignure, Isle of Mull, Sat 4 Nov, 1100, s.t.c..

  59. Leading a week retreat, Cycles of Grace: Exploring the Ten Beatitudes, at the St Columba Hotel, Isle of Iona, in conjunction with the Abbey & Iona Community, 4 - 10 November, info and bookings here.

  60. Skype lecture - Flood Narratives of the Hebrides: Some Spiritual Considerations of Climate Change to the Centre for the Anthropology of Sustainability, University College London, Tue 14 Nov, 1600 - 1800. There may be a public web link to this, in which case I'll paste it here.

  61. In conversation with UN IPCC climate change scientist Katharine Hayhoe - on Facing the Reality of a Changing Climate - chaired by John Sturrock QC, CCE King's Hall, 41a South Clerk Street, Edinburgh, 1900 - 2030, Sun 19 Nov, free.

  62. Leading weekend retreat, The Pilgrimage of Life, Glenthorne Quaker Centre, Lake District, Fri 24 to Sun 26 Nov 2017. For outline, see here.

  63. Speaking on Poacher's Pilgrimage in Book Week Scotland, 28 Nov to 1 Dec. 1) Linaclate Library, Isle of Benbecula, 1900 Tue 28 Nov.

  64. Speaking on Poacher's Pilgrimage in Book Week Scotland: 2) Tarbert Library, Isle of Harris, 1430, and 3) Stornoway Library, Isle of Lewis, 1930 (book here, free), both on Wed 29 Nov.

  65. Lecture/seminar for Human Relations Scotland, Cultural Psychotherapy: a Depth Approach to Activism in Our Times. 1000 - 1300, Sat 9 Dec, 4th Floor, 142 W. Nile St, Glasgow, £15 members, £30 non-members, download info and booking form here. 2017.

  66. GalGael Trust AGM, evening Thu 14 Dec, Glasgow.

 

  1. Seminar on Land Reform, Theology and the Rekindling of Community for Neopolis (Manchester University accredited masters' programme), Glasgow, 1400 - 1800 Sunday 7 Jan, 2018. Bookings here.

  2. Delivering The Immortal Memory at the GalGael Trust's Burns' Supper - on the theme of Immortality. Thu 25 Jan.

  3. Talk at Glasgow School of Art (themed with "Celtic Connections"), on An Ecology of the Imagination: Suffering, Faerie and Some Farther Reaches of Human Being, Sat 27 Jan 2018, details t.b.a..

  4. GalGael Trust Board Meeting, Mon 29 Jan, Glasgow.

  5. Receiving Scotland's Children's Commissioner at the GalGael Trust, 1330 Tue 30 Jan.

  6. Short course to Senior Command & Staff Course, Irish Defence Forces Military College, Curragh, Co. Kildare, based on St-Cyr material on the themes, The Nonviolent Challenge to Conflict and The Depth Psychology of Conflict, Wed 14 - Thu 15 Feb.

  7. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Thu 22 Feb (preparation previous day).

  8. Leading GalGael Trust weekend to Iona Hostel, Fri 9 - Sun 11 Mar.

  9. Public talk on the bardic function, with readings from Poacher's Pilgrimage, organised by Fife Writes, 1930 Thu 22 Mar, (changed venue) PJ Molloys, 7 Canmore St, Dunfermline.

  10. GalGael Trust board meeting, Fri 23 March, 1200.

  11. Public lecture, Towards Third Millennium Christianity: Activism, Nonviolence and the Mystical Imperative, Sanctuary of the Augustine Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality & Peace, chaired by Prof Jolyon Mitchell, director of the Centre for Theology & Public issues, Uni of Edinburgh, Sat 24 March. Bookings.

  12. Lenten talk: Walking with Nonviolence in the Third Millennium, in the home of Sir Steven Runciman of Eigg & The Crusades. Hosted by his descendent, Rev Ann Shukman, 3 - 5 pm Sun 25 March, Elshieshields Tower, Lochmaben, nr Lockerbie, DG11 1LY. By donation, bookings.

  13. Edinburgh launch of the paperback of Poacher's Pilgrimage The Lighthouse bookshop, 8pm Thu 29 March, ticketed.

  14. Waterstones in Oban, launch of the paperback of Poacher's Pilgrimage jointly with Matt Hopwood launching A Human Love Story, 1830, Tue 3 Apr.

  15. Ashville Wordfest, North Carolina, special guest 12 - 15 April (and out of Scotland 10 - 21 April). Other events around those dates in North and South Carolina as listed below (t.b.c. = to be confirmed).

  16. Interview with WETS-FM radio, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, morning 11 April.

  17. Launch of the USA edition of Poacher's Pilgrimage (Cascade, Wipf & Stock), Malaprops Bookstore, Ashville, NC, 6 pm Fri 13 Apr, t.b.c.

  18. Ashville Wordfest, NC, conference keynote address jointly with Norman Bissell: Geopoetics, Land & Cultural Renewal, 11 am Sat 14 Apr.

  19. Ashville Wordfest, talk on Scotland, Slavery and the Isle of Donald Trump, Sat 14 Apr, afternoon, t.b.c.

  20. Wake Forest University, North Carolina, speaking to Luke Johnstone's & Fred Bahnson's classes and evening public lecture on Working With Intergenerational Trauma: Scottish Land Clearance and Donald Trump, Tue 17 Apr.

  21. Duke Divinity School, North Carolina speaking to Norman Wizbra's class, on themes related to the land, power, community empowerment and Trump in Poacher's Pilgrimage, Wed 18 Apr, deatials t.b.c..

  22. College of Charleston, South Carolina, Dept of Religious Studies speaking to Todd LeVasseur's class and public lecture, Thu 19 Apr, details t.b.c. (back to Scotland 21 Apr).

  23. Speaking in the Scottish Storytelling Centre's Folk Film Gathering, A Sense of Place: Film Ceilidh, 1750, Sun 29 Apr, Edinburgh Filmhouse.

  24. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 4 May (preparation previous day).

  25. Bothy conversation on Donald Trump's maternal Hebridean psychohistory at a John Sturrock mediation conference, Edinburgh, evening 9 May.

  26. Keynote address, Nurturing Seedlings, to the Belgium and Luxembourg Yearly Meeting of the Quakers, Maldeghem, Belgium, 10 - 11 May.

  27. Talk at National Library for Scotland on Poacher's Pilgrimage with emphasis on old maps and mapping, 1400 Tue 15 May, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, book free tickets.

  28. Talk on A Pilgrimage of Homecoming - exploring themes from Poacher's Pilgrimage with homeless people and other friends - at The Grassmarket Community Project, Edinbugh, 1630, Tue 15 May, details t.b.a..

  29. Helping to host Native American singer and teacher Wade Fernandez (Wiciwen Apis-Mahwaew) at the GalGael Trust, tickets £2.50 - £10.00.

  30. Lecture on Doing Radical Human Ecology: Reconciling Academia and Activism, to Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, University of Coventry, morning of Fri 25 May, details t.b.c..

  31. Speaking on Spiritual Activism to Young Friends General Meeting, Manchester gathering, 1415 Sat 26 May.

  32. Address on "Geopoetics, the Auld Alliance and the Harris Superquarry Campaign" at the Kenneth White (geopoetics) colloquium, Franco-Scottish Literary Exchanges: Translation, Diaspora and Nomad Thought, University of Glasgow, Tue 29 May (with Kenneth White present), bookings here.

  33. Leading a local excursion for the Franco-Scottish Literary Exchanges geopoetics conference, 1015 at GalGael Trust and 1330 at The Govan Stones, Wed 30 May. For the programme that follows at 1500 at the Alliance Francaise de Glasgow, book here.

  34. Public talk - Activism from a State of Grace (scroll down) - Upper Community Centre, Findhorn Foundation, 1930 Fri 1 June.

  35. Leading a week on Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service, at the Findhorn Foundation, Sat 2 - Fri 8 June, bookings here.

  36. Speaking on "The Ten Beatitudes" at Columba Fest, Iona Community, Glasgow, Sun 10 June

  37. Keynote address on "Growing Up and Growing Back a Maritime Community” at the Sea Scotland conference on Empowerment in marine stewardship: Emerging opportunities for citizens and communities in Scotland, Bay Hotel, Kinghorn, Wed 20 June.

  38. Presentation to the National Museum of Scotland and filming of key items associated with my work on Scottish and international land reform, GalGael Trust, Glasgow, 1800, Thu 21 June.

  39. Speaking on the divine feminine at the Soul of WoMen conference, Allanton World Peace Sanctuary, near Dumfries, Sat 23 June.

  40. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Wed 27June (preparation previous day).

  41. Giving the keynote address on land reform and community empowerment for The Assynt Crofters' Trust 25th Anniversary Celebration, North Assynt Estate, 1100 Sun 1 - Mon 2 July.

  42. Holiday on Isle of Lewis Mon 2 Jul - Mon 9 Jul.

  43. Guest lecture on Nonviolence in The Realities of Conflict module of the Advanced Command & Staff Course, UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham, Thu 12 July.

  44. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Wed 18 Jul (preparation previous day).

  45. Running a training for the Global Environments Summer Academy at St Hugh's College, University of Oxford, Tue 31 Jul - Wed 1 Aug.

  46. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Wed 15 Aug (preparation previous day).

  47. Speaking on Poacher's Pilgrimage at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, 1730 on Sun 19 Aug.

  48. On Lewis, touching base, Wed 22 - Sat 25 Aug.

  49. Visiting Verene's family & holiday, Wed 29 Aug - Wed 12 Sep.

  50. Addressing Quaker General Meeting Scotland on land reform and tax justice, Glasgow, 1100, Sat 15 Sep.

  51. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Wed 19 Sep (preparation previous day).

  52. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Tue 25 Sep (preparation previous day).

  53. On Scoraig & Lewis Wed 3 - Sun 7 Oct, meetings and family.

  54. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Fri 12 Oct (preparation previous day).

  55. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Fri 26 Oct (preparation previous day).

  56. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 7 Nov (preparation previous day).

  57. Keynote address at Small Earth Conference on ecopsychology - 9 Nov lecture Reclaiming What Gives Life followed by workshop Towards Cultural Psychotherapy using land reform as a case study. Snape Maltings, Suffolk, Thu 8 - Sat 10 Nov.

  58. Lecture to the Garnethill Councilling Association, Exploring Cultural Psychotherapy, at the Garnethill Multi-Cultural Centre, Glasgow, 1030-1230, Sat 3 November (note change of original date).

  59. GalGael Trust board meeting, evening Tue 13 Nov.

  60. Book Week Scotland talk on Poacher's Pilgrimage, Blackness Library, Dundee, 3pm, Tue 20 Nov, free but book here.

  61.  Book Week Scotland talk for the Isle of Luing Community Trust - Rebels with a Cause: Land, Power & Community - Atlantic Islands Centre, 4 - 6 pm, Sat 24 Nov (note change of time).

  62. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish,Wed 28 Nov (preparation previous day).

  63. GalGael Trust AGM, evening Thu 29 Nov in Clydehall (because our workshop is too cold at that later-than-usual time of year).

  64. Delivering the St Andrew's Day Lecture, a state of the nation address, St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, 1900, Fri 30 Nov 2018.

  65. Speaking at a private Open Seas meeting of divers, fishers and marine conservators in Oban the seabed impact of scallop dredging, 1900, Wed 5 Dec.

  66. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Mon 10 Dec 2018 (preparation previous day).

  67. Dundee Writers' Read event, an exploration with Kirsty Gunn, professor of Writing Practice & Study, on The Writing of Poacher's Pilgrimage. University of Dundee, 1500 - 1700 Wed 23 Jan 2019, details t.b.a..

  68. A sharing, an exploration of differing ideas, with "The Wee Flea", the Rev David Robertson, at Free Church of Scotland, St Peter's, Dundee. Evening of evening Wed 27 Jan 2019, but date not yet confirmed.

  69. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 29 Jan 2019 (preparation previous day).

  70. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 19 Feb 2019 (preparation previous day).

  71. Keynote address at the Malvern Festival of Ideas (on the theme of Crisis), Sun 3 March 2019, afternoon, details t.b.a.

  72. Taking GalGael Trust trainees to Iona for a weekend of reflection, Fri 8 - Sun 10 Mar 2019.

  73. Possible event to be organised with my co-author Matt Carmichael in Leeds on Spiritual Activism, evening of Fri 22 March 2019.

  74. PCN (Progressive Christian Network) public lecture in The Future of Faith series, ‘Towards Third Millennium Christianity:  Activism, Nonviolence and the Mystical Imperative’, day event starting 1100, Sat 23 March 2019, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire.

  75. Seminar to Dept of Religion and Theology, University of Bristol, 1630 Tue 2 April 2019.

  76. Leading a Pilgrimage of Life week on the Isle of Skye, 8 - 13 April 2019, info and bookings.

  77. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 23 Apr 2019 (preparation previous day) - s.t.c. given event below.

  78. Verene and I leading a community study tour from West Papua Province, Indonesia, to Lewis & Harris, approx Sat 20 Apr - Tue 30 Apr 2019, t.b.c..

  79. Lecture to Senior Command & Staff Course, Irish Defence Forces Military College, Curragh, Co. Kildare, on The Nonviolent Challenge to Conflict, Tue 7 May 2019.

  80. Keynote address at symposium on peace in context of world violence, Bahamas, 21-27 May 2019, and prior to that, probable events at the New York Open Centre, The Quaker Institute for the Future and Hawthorne Valley Association, details t.b.c..

  81. "Ministering" at a private wedding in Co Clare, Ireland, weekend 31 May - 1 June 2019, probably in Ireland shortly before and after.

  82. Running a weekend on "Spiritual Activism" with Matt Carmichael at Woodbrooke Quaker Centre, Birmingham, Fri 7 - Sun 9 June 2019.

  83.  BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 19 Jun 2019 (preparation previous day).

  84. Guest lecture on Nonviolence in The Realities of Conflict module of the Advanced Command & Staff Course, UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham, probably around 11 July 2019, t.b.c..

  85. Keynote address at The Art of Mentoring, Falkland, afternoon Thu 1 Aug 2019, s.t.c..

  86. Public talk at Findhorn Foundation, Universal Hall, Grounding in the Godspace, evening Fri 2 Aug 2019, details t.b.c.

  87. Week long course on Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service at the Findhorn Foundation, Sat 3 Aug - Fri 9 Aug 2019, info and bookings here.

  88. Lecture to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, Edinburgh, on aspects of the second sight in Hebridean culture, evening Tue 5 March 2019, t.b.c.

  89. Address to the Nordic Gathering of Yearly Meetings of Quakers, near Gothenburg, Sweden, 25-28 June 2020.

  90. Teaching a full week course at the Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, Manitoba, probably sometime in June 2021, t.b.c.. Available for other events in N. America around that time.

 

 

 

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Last Updated: 11-Dec-2018

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