I’m building a newish website here with much brow-clenching and uttering of oaths. It’s so outside my wheelhouse that I have to keep checking if I’m really me or if I’ve recently died and been uploaded into the Web. Or something…. Anyhoo. Should you drop in on Home or About in the site’s menu hamburger…

I’ve been unfaithful. I fell for the siren-like allure of Substack and…well…one thing led to another and before I could say I’ve got a headache- I didn’t mean for this to get so serious- Actually, I’m already in a longtime relationship with- Before I could bleat out any number of excuses, I found I’d committed…

With everything else going on, I have a profound desire to walk into this picture and sink my face into the soft, cool, damp moss. To lie down in this forest and let go of the deep fears that rock up in the wee small hours and are rekindled with every doom-laden post or news…

At times, I manage to forget the wider world and focus on what I’m supposed to be doing – be it painting or writing or faffing around on the internet. Then, with a feeling like an infant’s startle reflex, I remember. And the world comes crashing in. That would be the World v.2.0 Our new,…

In the midst of all the weirdness currently afflicting our island, it was a choice between posting soothing pictures of guinea pigs or this one of some clouds. Normally, I’d post guinea pigs but… It’s a long story and normally I’d say pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of tea and let the…

In truth, I would have happily bought every single one of these shoes, being something of a shoe-a-holic, but fiscal constraints held me back. And besides, in the Scottish climate, how many opportunities would I have to wear any of these more than once in my remaining lifetime? The shoes and I were in Jaipur,…

So. Today was another day of waiting for progress on the book front and rather than waste time trying to write something else when I already have several irons in the fire or hanging in the wind or whatever metaphor you might prefer to describe projects stalled in the ‘your call is valuable to us but…

World, meet Rebecca Eilidh, born yesterday. Approximately seven hours old here, and determinedly sleeping, less she wakes up and discovers she’s not inside the safe warmth of her mummy. So small and so perfect. Her daddy suggested that she’s concentrating on her next bit of magic after setting the Trump Tower alight. I must have…

In truth, I travelled fearfully, not being even remotely adventurous. Back last summer when I was asked by my lovely editor at Hot Key Books if I’d like to attend a book festival in India, I jumped at the chance. Come November, two weeks before departure, I was a migraine-ridden wreck, unable to sleep, catastrophising…