Anxiety and The Accidental Death Wish
When I was around nine years old I read Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass. In one of these books, I can’t remember which, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice she should pick an age and stick to it. What a great idea, I thought! I’d choose to be twelve as...
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A Dark and Stormy Night: The Weather In Fiction
I’m typing this in my armchair, looking out at the snow – it’s a blizzard out there! – and listening to a classical music playlist I have on Spotify. It’s my go-to music for almost everything I write that isn’t novel specific. It also seems apt for the winter weather...
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A new start
How fab does my new site look? I liked my old site but it was a bit…serious. I don’t think people who knew me would be look at it and say, “That’s so Nettie!” I wanted something light and fun and colourful, something that reflected me and what I write about. I...
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Sauchihall Street Cash Converters
Good afternoon, Sir. How are you today? Such frightful weather for this time of year. I guess you're wondering what someone like me Is doing in your shop? Let me be clear It's not that times are hard, at least not yet. But everyone could use a...
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Poakits
A poem. About pockets. Poakits Ah’m at thone age when a trip tae Brentford Nylons seems a guid idea. No fur purple, brushed nylon sheets that sparked when you and yer man gied it laldy; No fur curtains, two pair wan tae pit up and wan tae chainge wi when they others...
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Happy New Year! During the last few of weeks of 2017 I had so many plans for 2018. I had a more frequent blog schedule worked out, a local bar has a poetry night once a month I thought about going to and maybe even reading at it, I was going to the cinema at least...
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Going Home
We moved from our seaside cottage in Machrihanish to a flat on the fringes of Glasgow’s west end just two weeks before Christmas. It’s been a fraught couple of weeks. We still have boxes everywhere, at least 1/3 of our pictures have still to be hung and I have no idea...
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Judging a book
I love to read and I also enjoy reviewing what I read. I've been an active Netgalley user for several years and have discovered many wonderful new authors. I've also tried to read a lot of trash, but they always seemed a good idea at the time. Recently, there has been...
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Moving on. Again.
We moved to our little seaside cottage three years ago. I love it here in Machrihanish. At night I can lie in bed and listen to the waves crash on the shore, a two minute walk fro the house. We are blessed with a rich variety of wildlife on our doorstep. So why do we...
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RAWRR!
In the 1970s I remember watching game shows where the (always) male host would ask female contestants what their husbands did for a living. You know, the half of the marriage who wasn't on the TV trying to win £50 and a radio. Last night on the BBC TV news, the highly...
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Flashes of Creativity
Last night I spoke to my husband about my recent burst of creativity. I suggested that now I've lost the physical ability to create life, my need to create has found new outlets. I mentioned this to my lovely, creative friend Mairi and she said that she, too, had...
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I’m Still Here
2016 has been a dreadful year for many of us. It seems that everyone has lost an idol: so many stars of the entertainment world have left us with naught but their ghosts on screen and whispered songs on our radios. Many of us have lost someone in real life. Several of...
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A Christmas Ghost Story
‘Know whit’s traditional at Christmas?’ he said. ‘Ghost stories. Everybiddy loves a Ghost story’ I swirled the beer at the bottom of my glass and smiled. ‘Load a shite, in’t it?’ ‘Naw, naw. Look at Dickens and A Christmas Carol. Classic ghost story that.’ I raised an...
read moreWe need to talk about Collin*
I was recently talking to a friend about depression – we have both suffered with it off and on and they are one of the first people I go to when I'm 'having a sad'. Talking to them made me think about my own history. I have always tried to be open about my mental...
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