It’s not often that archaeologists have proved that proudly English writer Dr Samuel Johnson wrong. Back in early autumn 1773, Johnson was exploring the Highlands and Islands with his friend and later biographer James Boswell. While on Skye, their attention was drawn to “a circular inclosure, about forty-two feet in diameter, walled round with loose […]
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Rob Roy of the Reivers
The Scots Magazine has long prided itself in being at the forefront of everything “Scottish”, so it’s surely no surprise that, in June 1817, the writer of the magazine’s then-regular “Literary Intelligence” column was pleased to report: “A new Novel, entitled Rob Roy, is announced from the pen of the Author of Waverley. “The exploits […]
Just Mind-Blowingly Weird…
He wouldn’t describe it as an epiphany, but it was nevertheless the moment that helped shape the life of Glasgow-born and Edinburgh-raised Professor George McGavin. “It was in the second year of my degree in zoology at Edinburgh University, when we were on a field trip to the west coast of Scotland,” he explains. “All […]
One Protagonist, One Setting, Many Genres
“I don’t think you can travel 50 miles in Scotland without bumping into a fictional detective somewhere,” insists author Denzil Meyrick. This is the case even in Argyll and Bute where Denzil’s own literary creation, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Daley, operates in and around the small town of Kinloch, a fictionalised Campbeltown. This particular location has […]
Jo Lewis on #sugarwater
In 2016 Graeae Theatre Company took their production of The Solid Life of Sugar Water to the National Theatre. Paul F Cockburn speaks with the filmmaker Jo Lewis who documented what happened. #sugarwater, a film documentary following Graeae’s arrival at the National Theatre, was a very personal project for the award-winning writer, director and producer […]
The Influencers
LGBT people have an increasingly visible influence on all our lives, as Paul F Cockburn reports. IT: Tim Cook (CEO Apple Inc.)Steve Jobs is credited with dragging Apple from near bankruptcy in 1997 to being (according to Forbes in 2016) the eighth biggest public company in the world. Yet a significant player was Timothy Donald […]
Kill The Father (Review)
KILL THE FATHER BY SANDRONE DAZIERI • (Simon & Schuster) Out now When a woman is beheaded in a park outside Rome and her six-year-old son vanishes, police assigned to the case assume an abusive husband is the culprit. However, the Chief of Rome’s Major Crimes Unit has his doubts, and lures Deputy Captain Colomba Caselli—on […]
