A breath of fresh air from Scotland

Welcome to "Man with two dogs" - the family website for dog owners and dog walkers.

This is my countryside diary which appears each Saturday in the Courier & Advertiser newspaper.

Archive for February, 2010

Give him an inch and he’ll tak an ell

Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Weekly

A FISHER of fish was casting his flee on the waters of the River Tay at Dunkeld, just opposite a building dedicated to a Fisher of Men.  In all the times we’ve visited the ancient ecclesiastical capital of Scotland we’ve never taken the opportunity to look round Dunkeld Cathedral.  But that was remedied last Saturday.

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Written for Weekly |

Collective communities

Saturday, February 20th, 2010
Weekly

THE DOYENNE, it was, who noticed them, pointing out a flock of birds feeding in a field down near the mouth of the River North Esk – “Are they geese?”  I reversed back to get a better look and saw that it was a herd or head (yes, those are the accepted collective nouns) of curlews.  We counted thirteen.  It’s been a long time since I saw so many all together. (more…)

Written for Weekly |

Snip in haste, repent at leisure

Saturday, February 13th, 2010
Weekly

LADIES DAY, for me, was Thursday. It was time for a haircut and after decades of entrusting the now greying locks to him, I instinctively made my way to Dennis Burke’s hairdresser’s shop in Murray Street, in Montrose. I got my usual cheerful greeting from the barber shop trio of Susan, Fiona and Lynn. (more…)

Written for Weekly |

Fine words butter no parsnips – Sir Walter Scott

Saturday, February 6th, 2010
Weekly

WORDS ARE my seed corn and recently I was asked to explain the word ‘bonspiel’ which I used in reference to curling’s Grand Match. As ever I turned to Dr Jamieson’s Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, my refuge whenever I’m challenged on Scottish vocabulary.

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