This article appears as part of the Lessons to Learn newsletter.

The year, dear readers, is 2024.

It has now been five years since Covid emerged, ten since the independence referendum, and a quarter of a century since the Scottish Parliament reopened.

It has been 45 years since Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, and nearly six decades have passed since Celtic won the European Cup and The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The Second World War ended 79 years ago, and it has now been more than a century since the guns of the First World War fell silent.

It is 200 years since the premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, 400 years since the founding of what would become New York City, and we’re getting on for 1000 years since the great historical reference point of the Battle of Hastings.

To recap: it is 2024.

Now, you may assume that all of this is entirely obvious.

James, you may be thinking, why on earth are you wasting your time writing about what year it is?

Of course it is 2024.

Everybody knows that it is 2024.

Nobody could possibly think it is anything other than 2024.

But you’d be wrong.

Some people, it seems, are entirely unaware that we’re living in 2024, and they made that very clear earlier this week.

The catalyst for this revelation was the publication of a Scottish Government consultation on changing the law around religious observance, and broader religious........

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