Recently I’ve been going through a lifetime of photos. I came across this one from my first stint as an English teacher in Cairo in the 1970s, and looked up the diary I kept then to find the story. This is pretty much word for word what it says: From ‘Here be Dragons’ a Readers … Read more
One of the things about making a lockdown project of clearing and cataloguing a lifetime of photos – four lifetimes if you count my wife and our children – is that memories get triggered. Daily. Nightly even, when you’re trying to sleep. One thing that’s come to mind recently is the fascination with death that … Read more
For the third year running I attended the Glasgow Songwriting Festival last weekend. It followed the same format as previous years – you stay in a group of about eight and spend a two hour session with each of the four tutors over the Saturday and Sunday – but unlike previous years in the unique … Read more
If you follow us on Facebook you might have seen this, but here’s a quick look at the end of our set at the Cowshed in Edinburgh last week where we were blessed by some pretty snappy dancers. I think it may be the first time we’ve had dancers! We’re back at the Cowshed tomorrow … Read more
Last week I had a gig on the Isle of Coll. Or rather I didn’t. But it was OK. Here’s the story … Aspiration A bit of background. For the last year or two I’ve been trying to build towards a tour of small venues in the Scottish Highlands. The appeal was pretty romantic – … Read more
It must have been well over two years ago when James Whyte and I first discussed doing an acoustics & harmonies cover act. We haven’t exactly rushed into action, but here’s our first video, of Simon & Garfunkel’s Cecilia from The Village this month. Paul Simon is a great comedy writer – as well as … Read more