about me

I was born in Antigua and Barbuda, a tiny twin-island nation in the Caribbean, where I lived until I was 11. From there, I went to boarding school in Scotland, where I have since settled after university. I live in a one-bedroom apartment with my beautiful girlfriend Dorothy and our dog Piper.

In June 2017 I graduated with an upper second class honours MA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Aberdeen. My dissertation, ‘An Examination of the Issues of Legality, Morality, and Efficacy of the United States’ Targeted Drone Strike Policy’ explored the US drone war in the Middle East. It was complemented by classes in so-called ‘Dirty wars’, Islamism, and Middle East politics.

While studying, I was the Deputy News Editor for The Gaudie, my university newspaper. With a print readership of around 2,000, I typically covered local interest stories and politics although I also wrote opinion and features. I was also an editor for Grounding Ancients, an undergraduate academic journal based in Scotland, as part of the Aberdeen editorial board. Additionally, in August 2016 I spent a week working the news desk at The Press and Journal (Aberdeen Journals Ltd.), my regional daily for experience.

In and around the journalism, I served my obligatory time in retail and as a barman.

Between graduating and my current role at a pension company, I wrote and edited for TalkPolitics, a political-blog-cum-think-tank aimed at combatting apathy and defending free expression. I worked on blog management and design before we migrated from WordPress and had the opportunity to interview several north-east Scotland candidates for the 2017 General Election.

Previously,  I also wrote news and video game reviews for APGNation, an independent website covering which also covered eSports and technology.

You can find most of my work on LinkedIn or Clippings.me.

I also have a life outside of work. Currently, I’m working on a novel under the working title The Lost Man and will occasionally post chapters from the book as I progress (they’ll be tagged, and criticism is greatly appreciated). I also run a Facebook community aimed at helping people with PC building – we recently passed 3,000 members and host regular multiplayer meet-ups on Discord. You can also catch me on Twitter for a chat or if you want to catch a game of Overwatch or Battlefield sometime.

I run a fair and ethical blog, which is open to criticism. Therefore, if you have a complaint, critique or suggestion, please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you wish to reproduce any of my work please email me at alasdairfraser8@gmail.com. Images and other copyrighted material will contain full attribution and is used under fair use. Anything not attributed is mine, and unless otherwise stated, all rights are reserved.

I shoot Canon on a 1300D with an 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS II kit lens and sometimes use my Samsung S7. I edit in Adobe Photoshop.

Thanks,

Alasdair