Category: Uncategorized

• October 1, 2020

  Where Stories Come From: Caithness Lore and Legend

  If you were reading last week, you’ll know that I’m soon to publish my first novel, a Young Adult fantasy inspired by the folklore of my home county, Caithness. I’ll be sharing more details on the story soon, but for now, I wanted to share a little on why I was inspired to write the…
• September 24, 2020

  Stepping Out Of Fear Into Uncertainty – And Some News

  In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety. Abraham Maslow You may (or may not!) have noticed that I didn’t write my regular blog post last week – unusual for me, as I try to keep up a weekly practice of posting. I did…
• September 10, 2020

  The Case for Community-Minded Thought

  Back at the start of this era of Coronavirus, lockdown and social distancing I remember reading that the health crisis would bring out the best – and the worst – in people. Over the last few months that prediction certainly seems to have been accurate – I’m sure we can all think of examples of…
• September 2, 2020

  Summer Reading 2020 (includes gifted items)

  It’s been some time since I shared a reading update on here, between lockdown and taking a break for the school holidays. I’ve also found that (sob!) my bookish posts aren’t as popular as some of the other posts I write here – sadly there’s that effort-reward balance in terms of deciding how much time…
• August 27, 2020

  Slow Down, Sit Still

  Summer wanes, the end of a season in lockdown. It’s been weeks since I wrote on here properly, barring a piece I did on the NC 500, and the Summer of discontent in the far north. I spent the holidays wrapped up in the cocoon of family, not venturing far, taking small steps around Caithness.…
• August 14, 2020

  The North Coast 500 and the Summer of Discontent

  Since its inception in 2015, The North Coast 500 – the re-branding of an existing 516-mile loop around the North Highlands – has attracted visitors from all over the world, keen to experience the untamed beauty of this area of Scotland. Originally the brainchild of North Highland Initiative – a non-profit organisation set up by…
• June 28, 2020

  Thoughts on Four Years of Writing and Blogging – And a Summer Break

  In amongst this period of lockdown, it almost escaped my notice that Wellies on the School Run had reached its four-year anniversary on the blogosphere. Four years of writing, two hundred and twenty five articles, somewhere in the region of two hundred thousand words. I’m not sure what I expected when I started my own…
• June 21, 2020

  Social Media, The Solstice and The Sea

  These weeks in lockdown have seemed to slip away so quickly, each day passing to the next with a speed strangely at odds with the stretching hours of sunlight. Before we knew it, the summer solstice was upon us, a tipping point in the balance of light and dark, where the world gives the night a…
• June 14, 2020

  Mallaig, Memories and My Nana

  Growing up, two places dominated my experience of childhood. Caithness, because it was where we lived, and Mallaig, because it was where we took all our holidays. The latter also had a special attraction: it was where Nana and Iain lived (Nana being my paternal Grandmother and Iain my uncle, who lived with Nana due…
• June 7, 2020

  We’re Not Aloof, We’re Introverts

  Years ago, when I had a ‘proper’ job, I was a participant in a set of development centre activities for graduates. It was standard development centre stuff, including participation in group activities and receiving feedback on performance by an assigned observer who monitored the tasks. In one such exercise, I was observed in a team…