Landscape Painter, Life Writer, occasional Nomad in perpetual pursuit of a dream
I thought I was going mad. I was in the small, walk-in storage area which houses my hot water tank and freezer, where I keep excess food supplies: big bags of rice; tins of tomatoes; cartons of oat milk; tea bags – and treats, away from everyday temptation. I reached into the large carrier bag …
I have just submitted my final assignment for year 1 of my Creative Writing Masters after a rather intensive few weeks redrafting and editing. The task was made somewhat easier by an enforced ten days incarceration having finally succumbed to Covid, just days before the rules changed and I would not be obliged to stay …
Looking out of the window at the freezing rain you could be forgiven for thinking you’d dropped off to sleep in March and woken up in November; it’s difficult to believe that just two weeks ago it was like summer. On Saturday, it was spring; now I’m not sure what it is but that’s the …
At the end of a dark tunnel, just like that, the sun appears and makes everything feel alright. Just after New Year I remember thinking to myself: We haven’t had any hoolies yet this winter! Rain, oh yes, so much of that; more than in (my) living memory. Yet the wind was largely absent – …
It’s a grey day. I suppose it’s been a bit of a grey month. In fact, we have had precious few nice days since the end of September, as I recall, and I’m sure it’s not just my mindset. They have occurred, of course, and it’s not very cold, just a bit miserable and very, …
‘What did you do on Christmas Day?’ they might ask. ‘I sat and wrote about it!’ Sad? Not really. Well, perhaps, if that’s your standpoint. Another deep, dark December has nearly passed and here I am, several days after the solstice, at home in Lochinver (not necessarily by choice, but not too unhappy about it) …
What do you do when you’ve got a significant date coming up that you don’t want to acknowledge, never mind participate in? When well-meaning (but deaf) friends refuse to keep quiet about it and find your squirming discomfort a source of amusement? You disappear, of course. You do something just for you. I think of …
This month my head is filled with words…but not the ones I’m going to share with you here.As the evenings begin to draw in and autumn is well and truly upon us there is a distinct ‘back to school’ feeling in the air, and I have gone back to university. Three weeks ago I began …
The Highlands are suffering from overtourism and destructive behaviours and we have had enough.
Have you ever looked into the water on a cold winter’s morning and shivered at the thought of being a seal, an otter or a duck? Just looking at them amid the steel-grey waves is enough to send me running back inside for a steaming mug of cocoa, with an irrational feeling of guilt that …