A proper winter morning for a change. I’m birdwatching by the window with a cooling coffee. There’s a cluster of blue tits on the birch tree feeder, chaffinches catching crumbs on the ground. One robin, two blackbirds, three red squirrels frisky in the snow. Sights for sore eyes and sad hearts this grim December when there’s precious little seasonal comfort and joy. But look, … [Read more...] about Look this way: the glass is half full
Cut to the bone. Is this what Scotland’s culture is worth?
Culture is our identity; it’s how we see ourselves, how we see our place in the world and how we relate to others. It’s the stories of life in Scotland, and it underpins mental well-being – both collectively and individually – in many different ways. The silences that echoed across 2020 as live music vanished from our lives serve as a firm reminder of this. Unless … [Read more...] about Cut to the bone. Is this what Scotland’s culture is worth?
A splash of sunshine
I’ve been walking round the garden through sunshine and showers. Mostly showers, it has to be said, some of them torrential. The sunshine blooms in borders at the top of tall stems. So tall you have to look up. Even when grey clouds are glowering, the sight of Inula helenium smiling down at you can make you smile right back. Better still on a bright day, that sunny splash of … [Read more...] about A splash of sunshine
Sunshine on Rachel House
It’s Thursday morning. Sunshine is bouncing off the walls and windows of Rachel House. Birds are singing. After a long, cold spring, flowers are bursting with pent up energy. “You chose a good day to visit,” a smiling Lyndsay Stobie opens the front door to the Kinross hospice for children. As welcomes go, it could hardly be warmer. Yet many people (including Lyndsay herself) … [Read more...] about Sunshine on Rachel House
For future generations from our here and now
Remember that ancient Chinese saying –And may you live in interesting times?It sounds like benediction, blessing,but no, it’s contrary, not what it seems.Alan Spence Interesting Times: 2021Alan Spence the fifth Makar of Edinburgh has written a poem to be buried in the ground. A time capsule poem for future generations. It was his last official commission at the end of … [Read more...] about For future generations from our here and now