The Antiquary: “is preoccupied on every level by the relation between past and present.” Mary Midgley: “These doctrines are often bizarrely over-confident and over-simple” George Orwell in Why I Write: … Continue reading Silent as light
The author Adam Nicolson in “Sea Room”: The poet and doctor William Carlos Williams talked of an adventure: Mukul Kesavan in “Looking through glass” Captain Charles Ryder in Brideshead Revisited about … Continue reading Sapere Aude
Hale Bopp teddy has travelled wide. Occasionally he sees his reflection in Brass plates. In this case the Royal College of Physicians, Queen Street Edinburgh. The first series of quotes … Continue reading ‘And in his needy shop a tortoise hung’
Glared like an irritated owl from omphalos This is a film about lost Argaty. This film attempts to ask: (1) How old is old, and how new is new? (2) … Continue reading Glared like an irritated owl
This is a film about historic Bannockburn House. It may leave you in tears. I dedicate this film to Mick Collinson and feel fortunate that I was one of the … Continue reading Sometimes history takes things into its own hands
This is a post about the mental health debate held at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 6th January 2015. Alexander McCall Smith wrote to me recently recommending this book (appreciating … Continue reading Not fitting the pattern