When I was commuting into Edinburgh each weekday — how strange it feels saying that in past tense — I kept a small notebook in which I’d scribble ideas as the train rattled towards the city. It feels like a lifetime ago when I wrote the words, Where does Hashtag Scotland go next? You may remember this project, which made many appearances on this blog … Continue reading Hashtag Scotland: What’s next for our slow travel project
All of this series, words from life under lockdown, can be found via this link. After a week of work — which involves creating content about the coronavirus for about 7 hours a day, which as you’ve guessed doesn’t provide much opportunity from switching off from the situation we currently find ourselves in — one of the weekend’s simplest pleasures is sitting in the kitchen … Continue reading Distancing #5: More links for weekend reading
Notes from journal entries penned at the end of March, edited and shared as part of a new series called Distancing. Read them all via this link. How has life changed for you in the last month? I barely recognise mine. Rewind and it’s the end of February, moving into March. I’m tallying up almost a dozen train journeys a week around Scotland’s central belt, having … Continue reading Distancing #4: When change is not a choice
Most weekends, even now, my mornings look like this: I get up, incredibly slowly, and get excited if there’s even the smallest sliver of sunshine sneaking through the blind. I set up my laptop, book, journal and pens on the kitchen table. I make toast and a coffee (which is always in my favourite white-and-beige Crail Pottery cup. Making sure I take the time to … Continue reading Distancing #3: Little links for morning reading
This is part of a new series called Distancing, short blogs mostly taken from journal entries. I hope you’re all staying safe. A few days ago we went on a ten-mile walk somewhere in Scotland. The last time we were here, it was a glorious January day and the thought of a global pandemic was very far from our minds. Back then, we passed just a … Continue reading Distancing #2: Indoors is the new outdoors
We are all navigating a ‘new normal’. Like many, I don’t know how to process it — I can only write. Writing has always been cathartic for me, and so I am going to share a new series called Distancing. These blogs will be short notes, mostly taken from journal entries, and shared here. I hope you’re all taking care and following government guidelines. The last time I blogged … Continue reading Distancing #1: Losing my job and abandoning anxiety
Today we drove a short distance along the coast, deciding to walk a tree-lined stretch of gravel track beside a golf course. Every weather app and news outlet had forecasted an incoming storm; the breeze was powerful, the air so fresh we gulped it into our stagnant office bodies, and the waves turned white in the Forth. It was a beautiful winter’s day. I had … Continue reading Short and sweet: The temptation to take photos
It’s been a long time since I’ve typed anything for this little space of mine on the ever-expanding internet. The thought of writing solely for sharing online is something I seem to be stepping back from, little by little, as the years go by, so instead below are some notes from my journal. I think editing words that were originally written just for me in … Continue reading Welcoming 2020 with a few favourite walks — plus thoughts on the last year
AD: This trip was sponsored by West Coast Waters, a campaign to celebrate Scotland’s diverse west coast ahead of VisitScotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters (#YCW2020). Having grown up and spent almost all of my childhood holidays on the west coast, I’m excited to share more of this part of Scotland with you. After disembarking from the short ferry journey from Colintraive on the Cowal … Continue reading Five Ferries: 24 hours on the Isle of Bute
AD: This trip was sponsored by West Coast Waters, a campaign to celebrate Scotland’s diverse west coast ahead of VisitScotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters (#YCW2020). Having grown up and spent almost all of my childhood holidays on the west coast, sharing my love for this part of Scotland was a blogging project dream-come-true. We first went to Kintyre over three years ago at the … Continue reading Five Ferries: Off the beaten track in Kintyre and Cowal
