February 2009

…Festival Theatre, 9th and 10th July, which is right on the edge of (and indeed into) T in the Park territory. Evening News story here. Tickets available from Monday, and it’s only an 1800-seater so be ready. And be ready for vast prices, too.

It was going to be thousands and THOUSANDS of pounds for a new Rayburn, and thousands more to have it connected to the (oil-fired) central heating system. After long and anguished conversations with plumbers and various other mystics, we settled on replacing the old,worn-out (rusted out) Rayburn with a stand-alone solid fuel cooker/stove. Still looked…

I’ve been aware for some time of the existence of several other Tom Mortons working in what might generalise as ‘the media.’ This one broke cover the other night in Channel Four News. He appears to be some kind of advertising guru. There’s another TM in Australia, a broadcaster and writer, oddly enough, and I…

I always knew that removing the old Rayburn Supreme range from our kitchen was going to be a serious piece of heavy metal motion. Had to be done, though. The thing is over 40 years old, the seals have gone, it's lately been refusing to burn properly  (solid fuel; peat, natch) and sometime this week…

The big Lerwick Up Helly Aa is past, but our own not-so-wee local one happens tonight, with vikings, guizers, the burning of a galley and partying until half past dawn. Or,in my case, bedtime. Time for a few snifters and my annual venture into the abstruse world of the St Bernards Waltz and the Boston…

Come on, it was only a quarter of a century ago…thanks to Stewart Cunningham for digging out the photies. And to Phil Blakeman, David MacLachlan and Alex Smith for the memories.

This video most certainly does not show me abusing the car I’ve had on rental for the past three days. However,I can unreservedly recommend the Skoda Octavia 4×4 Tdi. It was absolutely brilliant in all the snow conditions I encountered, from two-foot deep drifts to packed, icy surfaces. Why has nobody told me about this…

…you phone Bolts car hire. Actually, all the car hire companies in Shetland have always, in my experience, been excellent to deal with. But I have a soft spot for Bolts because they supplied the first car I ever drove in the islands, more than 30 years ago. It was an old-style Mini 1000, I…

So, it’s the Landcruiser or the public pantechnicon for the trip to Lerwick! All will depend on whether Susan has to go in to Lerwick or not. The Citroen ain’t built for these conditions. Radios Ian (SIBC) and BBC Orkney both carried the school closure announcement – a perfect example, as Susan pointed out, of…