Very old tonight
As a wee boy I was taken by my Granny to a theatre in Edinburgh to see a production of ‘Peter Pan’. Since then I have been fascinated with shadows. … Continue reading Very old tonight
Tag: Drumdruils
BEWARE THE FLY!
This poster was issued by Stirling Burgh’s Sanitary Inspector in 1927 to local shops and businesses: The stern language now reads as dramatic, but at this time the antibacterial effects … Continue reading BEWARE THE FLY!
No.1 Shrub Place
From No.1 Shrub Place, Edinburgh, a dynasty of gardeners grew. No.1 Shrub Place was where Melville Christie and his wife Jane raised their family. Melville Christie was employed as a gardener … Continue reading No.1 Shrub Place
The Auld Gardener
John McGregor was Gardener for Dunblane. Today he would be called a “Council worker” but in his time his occupation was termed: “Statute Labourer”. John McGregor lived with his wife … Continue reading The Auld Gardener
Glassingall Gardener
Glassingall Mansion House, just North of Dunblane, was demolished in the months before my birth. I have seen photographs of it, and to my eyes, it looks to have been … Continue reading Glassingall Gardener
Keir Gardens
Keir estate is a most ancient one. For centuries it was owned by the Stirling family but is now in private ownership. If you have traveled on the M9 is … Continue reading Keir Gardens
Garden Cottage
For nearly half-a-century Nicol Cathie was gardener at Airthrey Castle. He and his wife lived in Garden Cottage by auld Logie Kirk. Garden Cottage has been abandoned for many years … Continue reading Garden Cottage
AYE
This film is a little bit mad. It features the village of Bridge of Allan in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. The voices that you here are of Grayson … Continue reading AYE
Sandy Islet
On Monday I took a walk along the Allan Water towards Stirling and it’s castle. Leaving Mossgrove, I passed the play-park where children are currently no longer free to play … Continue reading Sandy Islet
“Golden Nap”
It is not recorded when sap stopped rising in this ‘Veteran Pear Tree’. It grew in the orchard of our family, in the charming village of Blairlogie. The above description … Continue reading “Golden Nap”
‘Nature’s Fashionable Lounge’
Today, I was [again] humbled by [another] happenstance reminder of how little I really know about the world that surrounds me! This reminder happened in the natural course of the … Continue reading ‘Nature’s Fashionable Lounge’
‘A life revisited’
What follows are a few extracts from ‘A Life Revisited’ by Philip Eade, which is a marvellous account of the life of Evelyn Waugh: