Radio note

The opening interview in "The Ticket" (BBC World Service) is with James Kelman. It's very interesting. Kelman reads a bit from his latest novel. It's especially worth listening to if, like us, you've heard Kelman bracketed with Irvine Welsh and a younger generation of Scottish writers. When in fact he sees himself -- and Scotland -- more in the global sweep of Empire and post-Empire. His comments about sectarianism seem relevant in a year when Bertie Ahern confidently proclaimed to the US Congress that "Ireland is at peace".