My first novel was written over the course of one calendar year and serialised online in 12 parts, as I produced them. When it concluded I was struck by the enthusiasm of some readers for a sequel, or even a series, based on the same characters and places. When the book was published this summer,Continue reading “Thoughts on starting to write a second novel”
Category Archives: Creativity
Starting a local Writers’ Group
I’d never been a member of a Writers’ Group, though some of my writing friends are long term enthusiasts. So I’m not sure why in the autumn of 2024 I had the notion to get such a group started in my home parish. Kirkmahoe is a small, rural community in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, madeContinue reading “Starting a local Writers’ Group”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Zen influences
On a spring break this year at a well known family resort, I noticed that adjacent to the ‘spa’ and overlooked from the heated recliners was something called a ‘Zen garden’. I have to say I was quite taken by it and for some months pondered how something similar might be created in Dumfriesshire. Yes,Continue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Zen influences”
A great week for Cicely and David – the play
Since it was first released upon the world at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022, members of the ATLANTES palliative care group at the University of Navarra in northern Spain have been enthusiastic supporters of my play, Cicely and David. In one week this autumn however, their commitment went beyond anything I could have expected,Continue reading “A great week for Cicely and David – the play”
Music in the spirit of a novel
Last year I wrote my first novel, Epiphanies and Robberies. I was fortunate to have the encouragement of a loyal band of friends and enthusiasts, who got behind my serialised story as it appeared, chapter by chapter, one month at a time, on this blog. This year has seen the struggle to find an agentContinue reading “Music in the spirit of a novel”
Bedside vigil: from contemporary painting to palliative care
The painting is over two metres high, more than a metre wide, and from the end of the upper room, it’s radiating with bright colours and intriguing forms. I’m looking at a work by artist Gabriella Boyd, in Dumfriesshire’s Cample Line gallery. The image is unmissable, yet I seem drawn to it by contrary feelings.Continue reading “Bedside vigil: from contemporary painting to palliative care”
Emma Jane Pagan – a story that keeps blooming
I was organising a weekend festival in my local parish in 2014, when I first met Emma. The whole event was a celebration of autumn and she kindly provided the festival café with lovely seasonal arrangements to go on each table. When the programme ended, the displays were auctioned off and I found myself signingContinue reading “Emma Jane Pagan – a story that keeps blooming”
Denise Zygadlo: making art through lines, threads, prints and performance
I think I first spoke to Denise Zygadlo at a death cafe. An occasion where strangers meet together over coffee and cake, to talk about mortality in all its aspects. I was impressed by her clarity of thought and speech and her open-ness about her encounters with dying and death in her family. I alreadyContinue reading “Denise Zygadlo: making art through lines, threads, prints and performance”
Wintering through January
With the Christmas decorations packed away and the New Year holiday behind us, I found myself pondering on those moments in the depths of Winter when the darkness persists and the weather forecast hangs over our plans and commitments. Too early yet to think of Spring, despite the slender daffodils in the shops, but maybeContinue reading “Wintering through January”
Where the music takes me – an interview with Stuart Macpherson
Among the many pleasures of life in Dumfries and Galloway is its thriving music scene, the product of a rich and varied community of singers, players and composers. It’s a place that fosters collaboration and, with that, experimentation across styles and musical genres. In recent times it has also produced creative partnerships with poets andContinue reading “Where the music takes me – an interview with Stuart Macpherson”
Quotidian 