Some recent reads

Both of these reads are from way back in August but I thought I should mention them as I enjoyed both of them for very different reasons. Val McDermid is one of my favourite authors and 1979 is her most recent book. 1979 is the story of Allie Burns, an investigative journalist whose stories lead…

A word popped up from my past.

I can’t remember what prompted the memory of this word but it certainly brought back memories of my childhood in Scotland.  I must have been a particularly sulky teenager as I remember my father saying to me on more than one occasion, “What’s that boosach for?” or “What’s that boosach about?” I can’t remember having…

Some Scottish places worth a visit for when you can, sometime in the future.

On catching up on the blogs I follow, I came across a post that sparked my enthusiasm for travel again.  Unfortunately I think it will be a while before it will be a sensible option to travel overseas.  Maybe another trip to New Zealand might be the first on our list that we are able…

A Scottish term of endearment?

Teenie trauchle drawers. I am not sure if this is a term of endearment but I certainly thought of it as such.  My dad used to say Teenie trauchle drawers when I was a youngster.  I came across the saying Teenie from Troon yesterday and it made me think of the expression my dad had…

Elie, St Monans, Anstruther, Kirkcaldy, Fife. . . . .

I have just finished the latest Val McDermid book, Still Life. Again she has produced a terrific crime fiction novel and the bonus is that it is set in Fife, the county in which I was born.  The many place names mentioned in the book brought back memories of my years in Scotland. “Val McDermid…

An old cookbook in our collection

The Presbyterian Cookery Book of Good and Tried Recipes was bought in 1975, the year we were married. I am not sure if it was the tartan on the cover that prompted the purchase or the fact that it was Presbyterian based or maybe even the recommendations on the back of the book? Anyway the…