Blog
Find it all here
He’s not the Messiah!
But, by God, he was funny. I came to Monty Python relatively late. The original TV series were first shown when I was still pretty young, so I only really became aware of it thanks to later repeats. However, once I knew about it, I loved it. Still do. So today is a...
The Curse of Dr Who
(The Daleks - wondering whether it's time to call the whole thing off. Image ©BBC) Those of a certain age, will remember the first time that Dr Who came around, running from the 1960s through to the end of the 1980s. For those who don't recall, our friendly,...
The Wigtown Trilogy (unofficial)
A while ago, I put a little posting up on here about Wigtown - Scotland's national book town which is only a mere 30-odd miles or so from my home. I mentioned that it is a wonderful, bookish sort of place and that it has a rather fine book festival each year. Although...
That was the decade that was…
Well, here we are at the end of 2019 and about to embark on a new decade. Well, unless you're one of the pedantic types who says that the next decade doesn't actually start until 2021 'cos there wasn't a year zero. Which sounds mathematically reasonable, but is pretty...
Sea Fever
The other day, I was sitting around doing something or other (as you do) when Glenda sent me a link to a video. At first, I didn't pay it much attention but when I got around to watching it, I was absolutely entranced. It isn't very long - only about 8 minutes or so -...
Forging ahead…
No, no, it's OK - don't all groan at once. I bet you all thought that I was getting back into my bad old habits didn't you? Nothing new on here for over three weeks, but there are good reasons for that - we've been a tad busy round these parts. There have been...
And slowly and surely…
...they drew their plans against us! No, Drummore has not been invaded by Martians! It is, however, inching closer to having a working smithy in the village once more. Thanks to Glenda, the old Drummore Smiddy now contains an anvil again. It's a bit of a baby one...
A good photograph…
...is knowing where to stand. Or so Ansel Adams is supposed to have said. And I don't think I can imagine any more apt turn of phrase to introduce another absolutely brilliant photographer whom I have been fortunate enough to meet since moving to Scotland. Ladies and...
Well…that’s embarrassing…
I think I've just discovered a wonderful way to give the old ego a bit of a reality check. If you happen to have a blog (or other online vehicle where you discuss your daily life, thoughts, doings and wotnots) and you ever find yourself thinking that you might be...
Between the sea and the sky…
Very occasionally, people ask me why I chose to move to Scotland (generally) and why I chose to move to the rather remote end of Galloway (specifically). Well, a full discussion of the various personal, political, social, economic and other assorted reasons could take...
Let there be books…
South-West Scotland has much to recommend it. First off, it's part of Scotland which is, itself, no bad thing at all. Second, it has some beautiful countryside, both along the coast (of which there is quite a lot) and inland. Third? Well, there are countless other...
The Water Margin
Those of you of a certain age may remember a TV series shown on the BBC back in the 70s called "The Water Margin". This was a Japanese production of a Chinese tale about bandits living in the marsh regions around Mount Liang (or Liang Shan Po as it was usually named...