Par Avion take flight
I have to come clean. I’ve been harbouring a secret. And in the world of full-frontal bloggery, that’s tantamount to sin. I mean, what is a blog if not a license to read and judge a total stranger’s faceless life? So I’ll start at the beginning. * A million years ago, I resolved to do … Continue reading
Burns and other legends
If I were to describe the delicious, wonderful, humble sausage — all juicy and tender and flavoursome — as a pig’s grissle-bits stuffed in its own intestine, you would probably curl your lip and shudder slightly. Likewise, if you ever give serious thought to deep-fried chicken livers or steak and kidney pie, noses would wrinkle … Continue reading
Darkness & Light
Today, 21 December 2012, in Edinburgh the sun will come up at 8:42am. It will go down at 3:40pm. According to people who know such things, I will have 6 hours, 54 minutes and 33 seconds of day. It is easy to feel panicky this time of year. With shopping and parties and frantic getting-ready-ness. … Continue reading
GiftED – paper sculptures on the road
If you troll about the literary world, you may have heard of Edinburgh’s mysterious sculptures, their delicate carvings found anonymously gifted to libraries and museums. (I briefly mused on the escapades at the time) The beauties were found stashed around cultural venues last year, leaving the city and the literatti abuzz with speculation. Who could … Continue reading
Independence.
As Scotland debates its independence, everyone and their mother is chiming in. A staggering array of eloquence, passion, and style whirl in amongst predictable bouts of petty, political jostling and stereotyping. I continue to debate my place here, too, though for unrelated related reasons. These Edinburgh days are numbered, and nostalgia and excitement vie for … Continue reading
Culzean Castle
When Bean moved jobs last summer, his colleagues gave him membership to the National Trust for Scotland as a parting gift. Every property in their care from castles and gardens to ruins and abbeys is now free for us to visit as often as we like for a whole year. We’ve explored the properties close … Continue reading
Starry : A Tale of Two Nights
One night, I walked the dry river bed out across the desert and to the water’s edge. During the day it is a popular draw in the region, full of locals and tourists; now it is completely empty. The flicker of a bonfire miles away is the only sign of human habitation. I slip into … Continue reading
Walking the Dalmeny Estate
Once upon a time I came up with Thirty Things to do when I’m Thirty. And despite the fact these thirty things never make an appearance on this here blog, I have in all actuality completed a good number of them. Well, like half. So it’s time I play a little catch up. Today: Walk … Continue reading
A land far, far away…
I know, I know. I came back from holiday and got you all excited with a whole week of daily posts. And then I dropped back into the vortex of virtual silence from whence I came, but without the excuse of Asian deserts and pre-industrial landscapes. The thing is, I came back brimming with stories … Continue reading
Kids are the same everywhere
So I’m back in the land of the living. And I figure it’s fitting to pay homage to a kid who really knows how to live. This kid? He lives on the side of a dusty highway. His mom boils corn on the cob in old steel barrels to sell to passing cars (like the … Continue reading
Que Sera Sara? 