Lesley Riddoch - Blossom

Lochaber Chamber of Commerce will host Lesley Riddoch and her book Blossom – What Scotland Needs To Flourish in Fort William on 29th May 2014

In Blossom: What Scotland Needs To Flourish, Lesley Riddoch relates stories of Scots who’ve struggled against the odds to improve their communities – usually without help from any of the authorities.

She describes the tumultuous years leading to the pioneering community buyout on Eigg; the brave decision by housing coop pioneers in West Whitlawburn to take over their crumbling estate; the 20 year project by Perthshire ecologists to prove arid, sporting estates along the A9 could become verdant community woodland, the unconventional methods of obstetrician Mary Hepburn who manages to reach Scotland’s sickest, drug-using mothers, the story behind the Scotswoman paper and Harpies and Quines feminist magazine – and much more.

Weaving in comparisons with the Nordic nations, Riddoch contends that ordinary Scots have demonstrated their capacity to run Scotland time after time – yet continue to tolerate a remarkably elitist, top-down, centralised, “stand there till we fix you” society that will not change on its own whatever the vote on September 18th 2014.
Lesley Riddoch writes:
“Blossom is an account of Scotland at the grassroots through the stories of people I’ve had the good fortune to know – the most stubborn, talented and resilient people on the planet. They’ve had to be. Some have transformed their parts of Scotland. Some have tried and failed. But all have something in common – they know what it takes for Scotland to blossom. We should know too.