Being married to a skilled Dog Listener has its advantages. While he worked his magic on stressed owners (the dogs knowing what they were doing all along), I whiled away the hours on a Fife beach, walking, watching, delighting in the whip of the wind and people at their Saturday play. The opening of Alastair… Continue reading A Day Oot
Brambles is the word I would call them, especially as we gathered these beauties locally, but will allow the late and great Seamus to call them as he wished. Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green,… Continue reading A gift
'[Rain] came off the grey vastness of an Atlantic that threw itself against the land like a lover once spurned and resolved not to be so again. It came accompanied by seagulls and smells of salt and seaweed. It came with cold air and curtained light. It came like a judgement, or, in benign version,… Continue reading Drookit
On return from a short break up to the wilds of Ardnamurchan, we found this beautiful hand-drawn image on our kitchen chalkboard. A gift from our lovely dog-sitter, the talented Diana Notman. All the more lovely as it is fleeting.
As, possibly, the only person on the planet who cannot seem to grow the simple potato, I am delighting in my flowering plants. This, allegedly, is some kind of celeriac. It may be edible but, for now, I think it I will just look at it. It surely deserves that.
'Within our darkest night, You kindle a fire that never dies away, never dies away, within our darkest night.' (Communauté de Taizé, 1991)
While we cannot travel physically very far, we may yet travel in our minds. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim -- the book I give as a gift -- has the power to transport us to a beautiful, tranquil, soul-healing place. It also carries one of the loveliest adverts of all time on its… Continue reading Perfection
Published this week, a lovely wee collection of stories and poems in aid of The Ambulance Staff Charity -- a worthy cause if there every was one. Our lovely friend, LRS Genevieve, is amongst the talented contributors. The anthology is the perfect choice for dipping into, while sipping a chilled refreshment in a shady nook,… Continue reading Stories from Home
Just giving a big shout-out to the lesser recognised brave ones. Delivering smoking hot food to your doorstep, pedalling through whatever the weather throws at them, hanging about the deserted city waiting for the next ‘drop’, paid a pittance, chalking up crazy miles each shift, and smiling through it all. Fantastic gang. Give them a… Continue reading Heroic Riders
Wild Garlic Transgressive plant slipping definition. Lily-of-the-Valley dainty yet bitingly assertive adding piquancy to our meal as we talk of how it is for us this mid May evening. Constellations of miniature stars cut from a mass of edible foliage hefted from a cool corner of a manse garden where Stevenson played, now perfume and… Continue reading Wild Garlic
