At Memphis Scottish Festival, a large, boisterous man hustles me into a front row seat in what he tell me is “The History Tent.” I am alarmed to find myself equipped with a sheaf of lyrics to Jacobite love songs. I manage a tuneless drone along to “Over the Sea to Skye” and then start […]
Tag Archives | Travel Writing
Mosey on down to Kittrell, TN
At Memphis’ Scottish Festival, I get talking to a blonde woman in an olde stylee milkmaid type get up. She has the most Dukes of Hazzard accent I have yet heard in my time in Tennessee. I am delighted. I didn’t think accents like this were real. She asks me where I’m from. “Glasgow,” I […]
Eavesdropping in Memphis
Downtown Memphis is a half and half kind of place. Actually, three quarters and a quarter is more accurate. The majority of buildings is run down and ramshackle, while a select few are all slicked up for the tourists. A sign outside the Flying Fish instructs passers by to “Get Your Tails in Here” for […]
Hielan Calf picture of the week
For the second captivating installment of this thrilling series, here’s a wee Hielan’ calf with her maw, also in a field in Tennessee. It was a very damp and muddy field, full of retired US army guys who were a bit too enthusiastic about drunkenly waving round broadswords for my liking. Despite the damp and […]
Hielan Coo picture of the week
I probably won’t actually get around to posting one coo picture every week, but I don’t have a whole lot else to do with myself over here in Berlin (other than puzzling over the numbers of bear-shaped meat products on sale and finishing the Scottish Ambassador book), so maybe I will. Anyway, this is a […]
A visit to the Luftfracht
Berlin, Day 6 Excitingly, today was the day we got to trek out to the northwest of the city to Tegel airport to retrieve the boxes we’d shipped. I was sure the message had said we were to collect them from the “Luftwaffe”, but Adrian thought this was unlikely. After a friendly German in a […]
Plumbing in German
Berlin, Day 5 Some things are definitely harder in German. Such as simple domestic tasks. I discovered this today. After my attempts to assist with working the coffee machine resulted in both Adrian and I (and all surrounding walls, floors and kitchen appliances for 15 feet) being pelted with generous servings of boiling coffee grounds, […]
Kinderbeasts
Berlin, Day 3 Our new abode is gargantuan! If we crammed my last three apartments and one of the more compact Getrankeshops from Frankfurter Allee in here (and made them wear lederhosen), there would still be enough room for a currywurst stand. I am getting a lot of exercise loping between my desk and the […]
The Scottish Ambassador to Germany
Day 1 We’re on an EasyJet flight from Glasgow to Berlin. So are a number of exceptionally inebriated Scottish stag party loads. The seats all around us are filled with the distinctly boisterous stag crew for an Aberdonian called Flumpy. His shiny red face beams out from all of 15 matching t-shirts his friends wear. […]
Portland Oregon and Sloe Gin Fizz
“Well Portland Oregon and sloe gin fizz, if that ain’t love then tell me what is. Well I lost my heart it didn’t take no time, but that ain’t all. I lost my mind in Oregon.” So warble Loretta Lynn and Jack White on the track, “Portland, Oregon.” It seems that Loretta and Jack are […]
