Home Work & Campaigns My Books Published Articles En d'Autres Langues CV/Kids/Photos Search this Website

Alastair McIntosh's Home Page

 

Major new book: Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey

 

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

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

Watch the Opus Earth video interview (5 mins)

Click picture for hi-res photo downloads

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. Scottish constitutional

  9. Psychology & ethnology

  10. PNG & South Pacific

  11. Theology & philosophy

  12. Consciousness studies

  13. Mythology & poetics

  14. Spirituality

 

Other Key Links

 

[Booking me for events & accountability]

[An Idea of Speaking Topics]

[Index of rare third party resources]

[Press and Broadcast interviews]

[BBC Thoughts for the Day]

[Letters to the Press]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New This Past Year: [TEDx talk video: Donald Trump and the Second Sight (Sep 2017, 21 mins)]  [4 Year data set on our solar & heat pump combo system - 63% cut in domestic carbon emissions (Aug 2017)]  [Foreword to Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust land reform 20th anniversary brochure (June 2017)]  [Essay - The Apocalypse of Three Great Floods - on mythology and climate change, Dark Mountain Journal ((May 2017)]  [What is the Sound of an Empty Belfry Chiming? The empty belfries of the Hebrides (posted May 2017)]  [The Ten Beatitudes (Apr 2017)]  [Essay - The Useful Bag - on technology & conviviality, DMJ (posted Apr 2017)]  [Video interview with Queens University Law School on my work and books (Apr 2017, 28 mins)]  [Report on GalGael trip to Iona (Apr 2017)]  [Latest Nomad Podcasts (March on pilgrimage, January on neoconservative politics)] [Author interview in Life and Work, Church of Scotland (Feb 2017, 4 pp, 12 MB)]  [TEDx Talk on Poacher's Pilgrimage at the Royal Society of Edinburgh] (Dec 2016)]  [Compilation of Poacher's Pilgrimage video clips from BBC's Adventure Show (12 mins, Dec 2016)]  [Evangelicalism and the Trump Vote - Bella Caledonia (Nov 2016)]  [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 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 be my guest, and make yourself at home.

Nearly all of what I've posted has been previously published or delivered as an address, often 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 is also a section of 3rd party resource material. This 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. We met in Ireland in 1996 when 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 May 2017)

 

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) 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." Here 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: +44 (0) 7444 580 380 (preferred second point of contact)

 

Landline Tel: +44 (0) 141 445 8750 (only if all else fails, as my wife takes these calls)

 

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 (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. 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 (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". 

2016 (last year)

This Year - 2017+

 

 

  1. Presentation/discussion with West of Scotland Area Meeting of the Quakers, Glasgow, on my Ireland  Yearly Meeting lecture,1400 Sat 16 Jan 2016.

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

  39. Speaking on Authentic Leadership to environmental managers at Audencia School of Management, Nantes, France, Thu 20 to Fri 21 Oct.

  40. Speaking at An Dà Shealladh / The Second Sight, fundraiser for Bella Caledonia, Glad Cafe, Glasgow, Sun 23 Oct, 1930.

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

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

  43. GalGael Trust board away day, Mon 7 Nov.

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

  45. Iona Community Board, 1100 Thu 17 Nov, and other Edinburgh meetings 16-17 Nov.

  46. Teaching a course on Religious Intelligence at École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (French Military Academy), Brittany, France, 20-25 Nov. (All my military teaching is predicated on nonviolence).

  47. Hosting visit of David Strang, Chief Inspector of Scottish Prisons, at the GalGael Trust, Wed 30 Nov, 1400.

  48. Introducing conversation on future of the church in Scotland, private event, Edinburgh, Fri 9 Dec 1800.

  49. In discussion with John Sturrock QC on Poacher's Pilgrimage at a Claverhouse Conversations breakfast, Liberton Northfield Parish Church, Edinburgh, Sat 10 Dec, 0900 - 1100, all welcome but please book.

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

 

  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. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 31 Aug and preparation previous day.

  50. 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.

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

  52. 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.

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

  54. 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.

  55. Probably on Isle of Lewis for family things around 2 - 8 Oct.

  56. Address to Assemblé Annuelle of the French Quakers, Carcassonne, France, 21 - 23 Oct, with holiday 16 - 26 Oct.

  57. 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.

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

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

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

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

  62. 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.

  63. Leading GalGael Trust weekend to Iona Hostel, Fri 9 - Sun 11 Mar 2018.

  64. Leading a week on Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service, at the Findhorn Foundation, Sat 2 - Fri 8 June 2018, bookings not yet open, background blog here.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Material published on this site is my sole responsibility and is not necessarily endorsed by any other person or organisation that might be associated with it, including funders, colleagues and my internet service provider. A considerable portion of my work is unpaid and should, therefore, not necessarily be assumed to be funded by charitable organisations that support elements of what I do. Details of how my work is resourced is public information and may be found by clicking here. Any third party whose material might be placed or cited here, and who considers that it should be taken down, should contact me through the channels given on this page. Any errors of fact in these pages will be speedily and gratefully corrected if I am notified of a problem. As for perceived errors of opinion ... that is what debate is for.

 

 

Back to Top of Page

 

 

 

Last Updated: 20-Sep-2017

www.AlastairMcIntosh.com

 

Sept 2000:  Hit Counter