Holmhill House, Dunblane, where extraordinary charity began. Grace Donaldson raised thousands of pounds for charities and alongside financial legacies, left on her death, the park of Holmehill to the children … Continue reading Notes from HERE and THERE
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 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
In front of Dunblane cathedral there is a dark marble grave with a fallen cross. The design is very stark and the fallen cross long and thin. It looked manly. … Continue reading ‘Wife of Otto’
I rise very early, and on Monday I went for a local walk along the Allan Water to Dunblane. It was a little drizzly and the river was in good … Continue reading 27 High Street, Dunblane
My Granny, Constance Gibson, was born in Dunblane in 1908. It is likely that she would have remembered this Chemist shop. I cannot ask my Granny about her childhood as … Continue reading a garden above High Street
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
The Keir roundabout on the A9, a few miles south of Dunblane, will be familiar to many travelling North. In slowing for the roundabout the eye is drawn to a … Continue reading The Captain of Wanderwrang
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’
On Sunday, Andy Murray won the European Cup, 9 months after having hip resurfacing. Well done Andy! Here are a few of my previous short-films on Andy’s successes:
My mother recently gave me her grandfather’s letter opener. It was made from the wood of an ancient Birnam oak. Wilfrid Lawson Gibson, my mother’s grandfather, was a Major in … Continue reading The Birnam Oak
Throughout his career, Andy Murray has often shouted out “Let’s Go!” as he challenges himself to do even better. None of us is ever to likely reach anywhere near his … Continue reading ‘Let’s Go!’