Orcadian Column, 21 August 2025
George Reid, who died last week, was an internationalist to his core. His political achievements included forming part of the SNP’s electoral breakthrough at Westminster in 1974, while as Holyrood’s Presiding Officer from 2003 to 2007, he provided the steady hand necessary to get the parliament building completed, after years of delay and cost overruns. As well as guiding the parliament to calmer waters, he helped lay the foundations for a more confident institution at the centre of public life in Scotland and firmly on the map at home and abroad.
Talking to George, however, it was clear that he derived most satisfaction from his work on the international stage. During a journalistic career, he produced the BBC reports by Michael Buerk, which brought the horrific scenes of famine in Ethiopia to TV screens in the UK and around the world. This work continued during his time with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, a period for which his passion and pride shone through in any conversation later in life.
Our careers as parliamentarians never overlapped as he stood down as an MSP in 2007, but George was a regular attendee at events in parliament and always generous with his time and advice. Indeed, after my election as Deputy Presiding Officer at the start of this session, he showed real kindness in offering tips and feedback with his customary insight and good humour.
Having previously fought off bladder cancer, George was diagnosed with late-stage kidney cancer in June and sadly died last week. Our public life was certainly richer for the life of George Reid and poorer for his passing.
Battling cancer is something Karen Scott knows a thing or two about. Over 17 years, Karen has spearheaded CLAN’s operations in Orkney, supporting those in the islands affected by cancer. It was a privilege to be invited along to a surprise gathering last Friday to mark her retirement, although how Karen’s colleagues managed to keep it a secret from her is a mystery and one that would have drawn nods of admiration from the spooks at GCHQ.
Karen is always quick to point out that it’s a team effort, and so it is, but without her leadership; her ability to coax, cajole and gently arm twist, CLAN would not have delivered so much invaluable support to so many Orkney patients and their families over the years.
I’ve had personal experience of this when my dad had his own cancer diagnosis a decade ago. CLAN was there for him with advice, therapies, accommodation as well as a listening ear. It is this sort of wraparound care for patients and their families at the most difficult of times that in turn ensures CLAN is well supported by the local community. No-one exemplifies this better than Marty Flett, who was on hand to offer a vote of thanks to Karen, having recently returned from Edinburgh where he received an MBE from King Charles at Holyrood Palace in large part for his fundraising efforts on behalf of CLAN.
The sign on the wall at CLAN’s offices on Friday declared, “The Legend Has Retired”. That may very well be true, but anyone who thinks Karen won’t be busy hatching new plans and looking at ways to continue contributing to our community clearly hasn’t been paying attention. For now, thanks a million to Karen and everyone at CLAN for the outstanding work they do.
I’m not sure if Clive Myrie has yet achieved ‘legend’ status, but I’m certainly looking forward to holding an ‘in conversation’ with him as part of the Festival of Politics this week. The veteran BBC news presenter and foreign correspondent is someone I admire enormously and his perspective on what is happening internationally right know will be fascinating.
As luck would have it, I’m also due to host an ‘in conversation’ with Maria ‘Masha’ Alyokhina, a member of the Russian protest art collective, Pussy Riot. After recent events in Alaska and Washington DC, what better time to get the thoughts of the BBC’s former Ukraine correspondent and a former Russian political prisoner. You never know, it may even knock Nicola Sturgeon’s autobiography out of the headlines for a while.