Upon viewing a documentary on TV about the medieval harp, master carver John Donaldson sprung off his seating when he heard narrator mention that in earlier historical periods, zero’s and one’s were utilized to form music descriptives. This fact would explain the particular pattern of one of the oak wooden medallion-shaped that he was commissioned to duplicate and which stroke … Continue reading →
A good festival should be an encounter : with ideas, people, cultures and the landscape. It should look outwards but rejoice at the best of what’s local. Above all, it should be festive. Adrian Turpin. Festival Director. The very interesting and colourful Wigtown Book Festival programme which Catherine, the Arts Administrator and Children’s Programmer of this famous Stena Line sponsored … Continue reading →
Mairiuna! I just received a package in the mail from our dear Scottish friends, Iain and Margaret, from Sanquhar, in which I discovered that the oldest post office in the world is located in their picturesque town on the river Nith, in the Dumfries and Galloway region. Wow.. I’m so glad to learn about this fact! The Crowns of England … Continue reading →
Don’t ask me to answer that question though I have more reasons to say YES than NO ! A black crow is cawing on the top of a pine-tree in front of my window as to agree with me… . . . . . . . . . . A few years ago, we rented an old rustic cottage, … Continue reading →
In the 19th century, it was not uncommon to see itinerant lecturers hopscotching across their countries. It was also a great opportunity for them to meet with people, mingle with them, and listen to local stories and folk tales. Is it during his itinerant lectures that John Mackay Wilson got the idea of writing and compiling the Tales of the Borders … Continue reading →
“The strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid….” (Virginia Woolf – The Common Reader) We’re not of the kind to discriminate against anybody, so let us share our readings with this old guy relaxing in his armchair, or… is it a “she” ? This venerable person must have a lot of thrilling stories to tell us … Indeed, … Continue reading →
Gosh…Mairiuna….we’ll miss the 2009 Edition of Wigtown Book Festival, but let us not forget to include this major event inside our 2010 itinerary. It’s a must! Very welcoming sign board indeed. Let’s see if I can guess which nationality lies behind each “Welcome”… Willkommen … gotta be German. Failte … for sure it is Gaelic. Bienvenue … can’t miss this … Continue reading →
The Wigtown Ploughman Hotel On our next Scottish itinerary, we’ll certainly not leave Scotland without spending a day or two in Wigtown. That’s really a nice little town and of course, as we’ve already mentioned it, a fabulous place to buy books, especially the old ones we are looking for desperately and which have been out of print since a … Continue reading →
The first Scottish fictional female detective, Valeria, created by Wilkie Collins, back in 1875, in his book titled The Law and the Lady was all about attacking the “Not Proven” verdict that still exists today in Scotland laws. It is quite surprising Mairiuna, that Wilkie Collins had a great success with this book, because, in those times, women were not … Continue reading →
How amazing! Our blog seems to possess a life of its own now, with its authors sometimes desperately trying to follow it ! There are so many roads opening everywhere that we sometimes feel as if lost in a labyrinth. Mind you ! That’s the kind of thing that may well happen to you if you visit some of the … Continue reading →
Okay Mairiuna! 🙂 It’s with great pleasure that I will try to shed some light on the prestigious 2006 to 2008 Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award honoring the very best in English crime and thriller writings. But before I disclose the names of the authors who received the ornamental dagger and a £20,000 prize tied to it, let me jot down … Continue reading →
Very hot summer day in Bordeaux, especially in my attic room which overlooks our neighbours’s blue swimming pool ! I feel like flopping down on a deck chair in the garden with a good book and fresh lemonade. Of course I would choose a detective novel or a thriller ! It’s quite topical on Scotiana presently and the Scottish crime … Continue reading →
The Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective? Sure Mairiuna, it is with great pleasure that I will talk more about it, especially that information on this very unique literary award is not easily gathered online. Furthermore, it is rather confusing as they are several categories. I first heard about it when blogging a few days ago about Christopher Brookmyre‘s novel, … Continue reading →
How are we going to cope with our Scottish reading list, that’s what I wonder Janice… we’re adding new authors and new books everyday, in all genres, from all times and not only Scottish books of course, though these ones do appear to be on the top of our list ! Not to mention our favourite Scottish magazines : Scots, … Continue reading →
There is so much to say and so much going on at The Mitchell Library in Glasgow that I will, Mairiuna, stay in the building for another blog post. Especially so, that there will be a Book Launch this month in the Mitchell Library Theatre, for Pandaemonium, the latest book written by Christopher Brookmyre, well known Scottish crime fiction novelist. … Continue reading →
