December 2005

….sorted out for tomorrow, and the arrival of my dad, his wife, my sister and her family, my pals Stewart and Jo. They’re all on the boat tonight, so I hope they have a reasonable trip. We’ve had a three-month battle to sort out Gateside, home of The Radiocroft, as suitable accommodation for my sister…

Here we are, then.James Bond is on the telly.Watchnight service in the Hillswick kirk tonight.We appear to have enough to drink and eat.Various children are at home. The dogs are asleep downstairs.Granny’s at the care centre, but will be here tomorrow.I think there’s enough propane and heating oil. It’s been a gloriously mild Christmas Eve,…

This is my friend Duncan’s private aeroplane. It’s in North Roe, Shetland.It’s a little tricky to explain why Duncan has a four-engine, 16-seat passenger aircraft sitting next to his house. To be exact, it’s a French-made Potez 840, one of only three ever manufactured. And yes, he has the wings, the wheels and most of…

Here’s a thing: if in Aberdeen and looking for a taxi, be careful about using Comcab (353535) if you have to be somewhere on pain of death or flight check-in. I had a taxi booked for 8.00 am on Saturday to take me to the airport for the 9.30 flight home to Shetland. Admittedly, it…

Well, it is according to one of Scotland’s most experienced Curryistas, editor of a national newspaper and a man who in his youth used to import spices from the Indian subcontinent to satisfy his desire to create the perfect bhuna. And last night, in Dundee’s Perth road, I had what I can only describe as…

The Libertine will have Tea and Toast Take one whisky, it’s good for the heartNow here’s a reasonable place to start:A dead distillery in the central beltSmooth and silkyHardly felt Life is lush, life is junkI’ve been all at sea and I’ve been sunkLived like a libertine, lived like a monkCan’t live sober and I…

So, farewell to the Barn of Bannocks, which was handy for the hoose, but cold, damp ( despite desperate measures involving storage heaters and three convectors) and echoey. Having retrieved our old crofthouse from an unfortunate rental, we’re in the midst of converting it into a bookshop (of which more in due course) with a…