April 2023

Want to know about the Free Kirk? Alex Macdonald’s brutal new thriller may open your theological eyes… Despite its many recent and continuing  travails, the Scottish National Party’s membership numbers have increased, apparently. Has the same been true for the Free Church of Scotland, its profile skyrocketing through the public visibility of member and (very…

As heard on 60 North Radio. The poem! the playlist! The sounds! The Dreichness Snow in April’s fine Above the tundra line Where Capercaillie dwell In an icy hell Pursued by hikers And mountain bikers The outdoor purists Very hardy tourists Seeking endorphin thrills Without the aid of pills Except for Ibuprofen Which they take…

Waiting for a better nation to arrive… Strange days indeed in Scotland, waiting as we do for Alasdair Gray’s better nation to arrive. I’m waking up early each morning, reaching for the phone and despairing at the latest revelation. Sure, there are the comedy camper vans, the titivating tents, the ill-advised First Minister one-liners, like…

Just music and music-related chat in this show. Playlist follows… The show goes out on 60 North Radio at 7.00pm on Fridays. You can stream it on Mixcloud here. Josienne Clarke — Anyone But Me Phil Cordell — Londonderry Lieutenant Pigeon — And the Fun Goes On Mungo Jerry — She Rowed Steely Dan —…

The continuing song-sequence known as The Camper Van Cantata Several conjunctions of notes found in this song may be familiar from the work of Mr Peter Nardini (Larkhall), Mr Martin Stephenson (Jemimaville) and the late Mr Michael Marra (Tannadice). Something to do with multisyllabic Scottish placenames. In Uddingston There used to be a zoo, you…

A song from the upcoming Motorhome concept album. Audio and text Please confiscate my campervan It’s been sitting there for years Tyres flatter than Conservative opinion polls It’s driven us nowhere except to tears The neighbours I must say are less than happy They think someone’s making crystal meth inside I parked it in that…

Read or listen. From the Bothy Band to the Undertones via passing places and annoying sheep You can read this or listen at your leisure (it’s an hour with music by everyone from Lowell George to Kylie Minogue) by clicking on the Mixcloud link here. Cut off! Well, not quite. I managed to squeeze the…

A new place to connect I just published my first note on Substack Notes, and would love for you to join me there! Notes is a new space on Substack for us to share links, short posts, quotes, photos, and more. I plan to use it for things that don’t fit in the newsletter, like…

The Swilchie – a single-swallow cocktail to calm the raging sea… As usual, you can read the story here (originally published in Discover Scotland Magazine) or listen to it with an hour or so of quite good music inserted by tuning into 60 North Radio on Friday at 7.00pm or streaming on Mixcloud by clicking…

Rough sketch of a new song In the last days of gasoline We drove down to the sea In a German convertible Someone gave away for free Noone would pay the prices They were charging for fuel But that day, on the motorway Nothing ever felt so cool   I loved that car Its lines…