Blogs

Englandshire, and Europe, are suffering under severe heat, forked lightning and flash floods. Most distressingly, folk are drowning in open water the length and breadth of the Continent, underestimating their strength or the effects of cold water on too hot heads. A day to open the windows and keep the blinds closed. Once upon a time, I’d have packed a picnic, and skipped off to the beach with a book. Even though it’s a good 15 degrees cooler up...

A not very good Scotland team play a not very good Brazil team in the hope of qualification for the next round of the World Cup. The first time I remember this happening was the World Cup in 1974. We’d beaten Zaire 2—0 and we drew 0—0 with Brazil. Billy Bremmer had a great chance to snatch it late at the back post. We went home undefeated and with a certain glow. Scotland have already been defeated. Morroco won on merit. Quite simply, they were...

One of the many bonuses of being 65 is a £1 reduction on cinema tickets. It ain’t all liver spots and boycotts. Celebrated this windfall by going to see Steven Spielberg’s film ‘Disclosure Day’ - sans caramel Freddo, but coped marvellously with two cherry brandy choccies instead. (Most likely medicinal for the heart). Don’t read much about movies prior to seeing them anymore. Either fancy them or don’t, so go and see them or don’t. The pile on...

On waking up and jumping back into Life, capital ‘L’ life, not just inhaling and exhaling and worrying about THE OMEGA, I notice that my equipment could do with a refresh. This is not a euphemism. I have an iPhone7. The current model is 17. The only issue this actually causes is that apps like 'Vinted' (compulsory for selling stuff when you reach ‘Swedish-death-cleaning’ age) won’t work on iPhone7’s operating system. Who cares. I'm keeping my...

I watched an interview with Chris Packham in Edinburgh, promoting his book, after I’d read almost 400 pages of his memoir. He’s around the same age as me, but looks at least ten years younger. Most of us know him from the telly. For example, Springwatch with around four million viewers. Packham is erudite about birds and biology and you know you’re listening to an expert. I read lots of books. But, at first, I couldn’t really find a way into...

I turned 65 yesterday. I’d have preferred to have turned back time. Until what age though, and would I know what I know now? That’s as bamboozling as one of those super-power questions – would you rather be invisible or be able to fly? It’s obvious that invisibility is the option, sneaking onto private planes and such you could fly anyway. BUT, once invisible would you be able to switch back at will, or would you be stuck being invisible until...

Filed by Fletcher Moody — Literary Correspondent This is the only dispatch I have ever filed in which I am the villain. In the early 1970s I was acquainted with a journalist named George Feifer, an American who had spent time in the Soviet Union and written a novel out of it called The Girl from Petrovka — the story of an American reporter and a Russian girl, and the machinery of the state that ground down everything between them. It was a good...

Hey everyone. This is a great review of my new book 'Family Man' from Into Creative. If you fancy checking out 'Family Man' I have attached a link to the book on Amazon. Plus a link to the 99p kindle offer currently running on my second book Who's Aldo. Having thoroughly enjoyed Colin Burnett’s first two books – A Working Class State of Mind (Pierpoint Press, 2021), and Who’s Aldo?, (Tippermuir Books, 2023) – I was very keen to begin on the last...

Doug Johnstone keeps things simple. Two word titles his specialities. Hurting and fucked up families, his mainstay And a protagonist that’s so fully formed her or him steps out of the pages and into your life. Here it’s Finn Sullivan. He’s idling a few hours at Kirkwald Airport in Orkney, which is small as a bedsit. Johnstone’s novels usually take place in Edinburgh or that nook of the world. But ‘Orkney was so stunningly beautiful, like God...