About

This is a repository for reports, opinions and selected bits of writing on labour, trade union and social work issues issues by a union activist and retired social worker.

I'm a retired social work manager from Edinburgh with 40 years experience mainly in children and families and child protection work. I was also long serving trade unionist with NALGO and UNISON. Prior to that I worked in restaurants, telecommunications, and the oil pipeline shipping industry among others. For a while I was a semi-pro magician.

I was chair of UNISON Scotland Communications & Campaigns Committee, editor of UNISON Scotland's activist newspaper for 25 years, and pioneered UNISON Scotland's website and social media presence. 

I co-wrote the first trade union guide to Scottish local government finance in the late 1980s with Chris Bartter, Jim Cochrane and helpful council senior managers. I co-wrote the UNISON Scotland and SASW guide to ethical practice with refugee and asylum seeker children with Kate Ramsden and Ruth Stark, and a guide to social work supervision and workload management with Colin Turbett. I have presented papers on social work supervision and Austerity and Social Work. 

In 2004/2005, on behalf of UNISON Edinburgh, I did a detailed examination of the O'Brien report into the death of Caleb Ness. https://unison-edinburgh.org.uk/updated-report-on-the-obrien-inquiry/

For over 25 years, I tutored trade union and labour movement courses in writing skills, basic design and layout, campaigning, organising for the media and, more recently, entry-level web design and social media.

I designed the logos for the UNISON Edinburgh 'Our City's Not For Sale' and 'Enough is Enough' campaigns, the Edinburgh branch banner and the UNISON newspaper advert supporting a 'Yes, Yes' vote on the Scottish devolution referendum in 1997.

In 1997 I created the first UNISON Edinburgh branch website and in 1998 the first UNISON Scotland website. I currently assist with both websites as required along with other tasks for the trade union.

As a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation, I created and manage the Foundation's website and social media. I also created and manage the Rodney Bickerstaffe - A Celebration website.

Occasionally, the Morning Star newspaper is kind enough to allow me to write in the 'Voices of Scotland' feature.

I recently resurrected a model railway I had in storage for over 20 years and have become a tad obsessive about modelling  (see on youtube).