This week we are in Stromness on the ‘Blossom trail. In the light of the European election results, does this shed any light on Scottish politics? And you would have noticed that the Land Reform Review Group has reported and Lesley has blogged and written about it, but here she talks through some of the issues. Finally, there is a new proposal for a ‘national council’ – what is that all about?

Lots of questions and some answers in this week’s @lesleyriddoch podcast.

This week’s big themes are; relating to nature, energy companies mis-selling and the role of the ‘ethnic arguments’ in the constitutional debate.  

 We also manage to weave in seeing puffins and gannets at the Bass Rock, Carrying the Fire , St Johnstone, the language of Labour,  the new BBC referendum programmes, wrestling and the Atlas of Productivity.

This week’s podcast is framed and named by William McIlvanney , who “observed at the Ullapool Book Festival this weekend, the Scottish slogan is not ‘wha daur meddle wi me’ but ‘wait a minute, that’s no’ fair’.”

We talk through the week’s events; the Grove Community Garden opening in Fountainbridge Edinburgh, the rise of competitive gardening, the Radical Independence gathering in Inverness and the calls for ‘reconciliation’ and nearly everything else in between; including the role of 12 year olds to educate the world.

To keep up to date and interact with us; you can follow us both on Twitter ; @lesleyriddoch and @chrisg_smith …where we try and keep things moving right along.

Whilst the rest of the country enjoys the May Bank Holiday, we are hard at work tackling the issues. Lesley thinks David Cameron should try a ‘zero hours’ contract.The whole issue of land reform bubbles up again with news about the Coop sale  and a hard hitting Scotsman column from Lesley.  We discuss the question; land reform and a referendum campaign – how do they fit together?

We also discuss Fintry’s FRESh community awards and the Big Ref Debate… ideas and lessons from both, it would seem.