Visiting the Assynt area in the North West Highlands last week was a wonderfully refreshing experience after months of Covid travel restrictions. This area has become more popular in recent years, since the concept of the NC500 (a circular 500 mile route around the north coast of Scotland) was floated in 2015. However, for muchContinue reading “Loneliness, solitude and wilderness”
Category Archives: blog
Whirls and swirls – eddies in the smooth flow of time
There has been a lot to make the heart sing recently: sunny weather, the daffodils providing a wash of yellow in parks and gardens, birds busy nest building and the joy of Easter. It is time to balance the recent serious grey tone of my blogs on coronavirus with some life colour and an appreciationContinue reading “Whirls and swirls – eddies in the smooth flow of time”
Political earthquake in Washington shakes the world
The tremors of a major earthquake can be felt many miles away from the epicentre, when the actual core event is limited to a small area. The political and physical storm that hit Washington on January 6th was seen by millions of viewers on TV and has reverberated around the world with a massive responseContinue reading “Political earthquake in Washington shakes the world”
New Year’s resolutions and 2021 solutions
Making New years resolutions is almost an annual ritual. In the holiday time afforded between Christmas and New Year we have time to reflect on the past year and think about the upcoming one. Many of us rush to make new resolutions for the New Year, perhaps in the hope that somehow we will beContinue reading “New Year’s resolutions and 2021 solutions”
Seasons of sighs and mournful wistfulness
Autumn often arouses conflicting emotions. It affords pleasure in the wonderful colours of trees and hedgerows and the ripened fruits, nuts and berries of the growing season. Equally the decaying leaves, the shortening days and colder weather can dampen spirits. After months of living through the coronavirus pandemic I reflect on these feelings and touch on how Covid has affected the lives of 16-24 year olds.
Stones and the passage of time
Innate in our psyche and strengthened by experience is a strong association with stone: the houses we live in, castles, stately homes and churches we have visited and trips we have made abroad to see sights such as the Alhambra, the great Wall of China, the Coliseum, and the church of La Sagrada Familia inContinue reading “Stones and the passage of time”
Emergence
Visiting the caves at Lascaux is a memorable experience. From a sunny exterior you go into dark passageways dimly lit and then into the darker caves, where the prehistoric paintings are briefly lit up and the images of bison, deer and mammoths takes one back about 20,000 years to the age of prehistoric man inContinue reading “Emergence”
White swans and black birds
The situation in Scotland is changing rapidly as the first phase of lifting restrictions has started. The noise level in neighbour’s gardens and the amount of traffic in the streets around have both increased. There has been the smoke of barbecues in the air, laughter and singing from the nearby park and the occasional burstContinue reading “White swans and black birds”
The two faces of politics
The trouble with politics is that it all depends on your point of view. The current brouhaha over the recent behaviour of Dominic Cummings, the UK Prime Minister’s specialist adviser is a case in point. The facts are fairly simple and have been widely reported in the mainstream media. Mr Cummings drove his wife andContinue reading “The two faces of politics”
Ramblingthreads 