fourth edition

Wall behind the Hunterian Art Gallery and most likely part of the Glasgow University Campus
I have a real weakness for old bricks. They come in all sorts of colours depending upon where they were made; they can be handmade or marked with the manufacturer’s insignia; and they tell stories. We have too many brick photos [...]

Sitting comfortably? Good.
Just before Christmas our computer finally died on us. This was not totally unexpected after some emergency surgery earlier this year, but still came as a surprise as the computer had been really fine and well until we left it for a few days in order to travel to Aberdeenshire (a journey [...]

Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself—as it will seem todo—
With “I have saved this afternoon for you”;
And four wax candles in the darkened room
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet’s tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid.
We have been, [...]

Being ill has its benefits. Last time I was stuck in bed for more than two days in a row, I ploughed through Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell which I had previously failed to get into (the plot starts unfolding one-third through the novel). This time around I am knitting whilst listening to podcasts on [...]

A view from my daily walk..

..can be very inspirational..

.. don’t you think?
(don’t judge ‘em – the gloves are unblocked and one needs ends woven in)

Alexander Trocchi’s novel, Young Adam, is an interesting little piece of Scottish beat literature, if rather uneven. It tells the story of Joe, a young disaffected man working and living on a barge boat travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The film adaptation, which stars Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton and Peter Mullan, is excellent and well-worth [...]

We went on a mini-break to the North-East coast of Scotland. I love visiting this particular part of Scotland – it reminds me of the landscape where I grew up (agricultural, close to the sea, small villages, cows) and yet this place is so startlingly different and dramatic (dangerous cliffs! fishing huts! waterfalls! lobsters!). We [...]

You take approximately 750g of ripe elderberries (rinsed and de-stalked, natch), 200g of granulated sugar, two table spoons of lemon juice, two diced cooking apples and about 2 pints of water. Stick ‘em in a pan and boil until you’ve squeezed every last drop of goodness from the elderberries. This should take about ten minutes.
(Remember [...]

I haven’t done one of these in ages. Also: insomnia has struck.

This is my new favourite cartoon. Strong words lurk within, beware.
Robert Barclay Allardice – The Celebrated Pedestrian: “His most famous feat was the walking of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) in 1000 hours for 1000 guineas in 1809.”
Fancy Fast Food: “Yeah, it’s still bad for you, but [...]