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Thrilled to hear last night that our neighbour and friend Hazel Minn will not be deported to Burma…she and her adopted sons Simon and Vincent have been given permission for permanent residence in this country. It has been a five year battle, and all tribute to Shetland and Orkney MP Alistair Carmichael for his unstinting…

Well, Susan and Martha flew home yesterday without difficulty, but transport to, from and within the Shetland Isles is in disarray this evening, thanks to easterly gales. No boats north or south last night or tonight, no freight, no ‘sooth bread’ in the shops and the wind is still howling, so the possibility of power…

There we were, permabulating through Kelvingrove Park along with many other groggy ne’erday humans, when I was approached by a squirrel. A grey squirrel, the nasty interloping diseased creature which is in the process of wiping out our wondrous native red squirrel. Well, there’s more than one, obviously. I’m talking species here. Or specieses. Anyway,…

…and a very happy 2008!A trip on the 30th to my old stamping grounds in Troon for a highly unusual event – curry with my two sisters, father and nearly all associated family. Fifteen of us at the Maharani in Troon. Dad’s normally in Ayr, Shiona’s in Brixham, Ruthie’s in Strasbourg and we’re in Shetland.…

Off the boat and at the BBC in Aberdeen by 7.05 am. groggily aware that two people seem to be wandering about the car park with microphones. Good grief, it’s Ewen and Mark from Out of Doors. Heavens, they actually broadcast the show out…of doors! Next minute I’m sort of on the show, which is…

There’s turkey in the fridge, still…but it’s time to move on!And to look back. History Day today on BBC Radio Scotland, but also: In the course of transferring most of my ‘working’ CDs and LPs to The Radiocroft, I had a chance to review some mislaid demos and records I should have made a great…

Just getting ready for the Christmas Eve Tom Morton Show, and looking forward to a two-day break before the programme returns on the 27th. That’s BBC Radio Scotland’s History Day, and we’re going to be working our way through four (and a bit) decades of music, with special guests Donovan, Alan Mair (Beatstalkers and The…

….as I believe James Joyce said.What was life like in culinary Scotland before the advent of Ian Mellis? I was reared on Dairylea and later (the height of sophistication) La Vache Qui Rit. But that, on our first French holiday back in 1968 (the guns, the gendarmes, the revolutionaries!) paled into insignificance compared to the…

I uploaded this picture during the show using my mobile, as I got a text from ‘Tam’ querying the ‘liveness’ of the show, suggesting it was all recorded and that I was actually on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean. Which is next week.