In which we go in the footsteps of a polymath.

Rob Gibson was born in Glasgow and brought up in Dennistoun, and until very recently lived in Evanton, Easter Ross.

His early interest in Scottish history encompassed both Highland hillwalking and land reform. In 1972 he graduated from Dundee University with a degree in Modern History and, until 1995, pursued a teaching career in Easter Ross.

Through his love of traditional music he has convened the Dingwall- based Highland Traditional Music Festival for twenty years and he has sung in several groups. With the band Ceilidh Ménage, he has performed at festivals in Scotland and Brittany. He wrote the show 'Plaids and Bandanas' for performance at the Highland Festival of 1998.

Rob’s interest in land issues has led to an active political life including working for eight years from 1988 as an SNP District Councillor in Ross and Cromarty. In 2003 he was elected as an SNP MSP, first as a regional member for Highlands and Islands, then in 2011 as constituency member for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross. He convened the Rural Affairs Climate Change and Environment Committee from 2011 to 2016 when he retired from Parliament.

He has contributed to various journals over the years and has published several books including 'The Promised Land: Crofter Power in Easter Ross', 'Toppling the Duke: Outrage on Ben Bhraggie?', 'Highland Cowboys' and 'Reclaiming Our Land'.

You can find more information about Rob Gibson on Twitter https://x.com/RobGibsonSNP and also on his website: https://www.robgibson.scot/

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‘In the Footsteps of Politics’ was written, hosted and produced by me, Peter Newman and the music was Joyful Footsteps by Ukranian producer, Oleksii Holubiev aka Diamond Tunes, (https://pixabay.com/users/diamond_tun...)

You can find more details about me at www.pajnewman.com or on X at www.x.com/pajnewman

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