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Tomorrow marks the one hundredth anniversary of the end of World War One.  The Doyenne and I shall attend our church Armistice service to commemorate the stark events of the Great War – a hideous euphemism for those four years of conflict and their bitter harvest of senseless death. read more

On Monday morning I drove up Glenesk hoping to get the best of a sun which was competing with some wintery-looking clouds.  I was just too late to get a cup of coffee and a scone at The Retreat Museum for it had closed for the winter the previous evening read more

With the threat of the first winter snows this weekend – earlier than I would normally expect – it’s certainly time to start feeding your garden song birds if you haven’t already done so. read more

I wonder how many visitors to Edzell drive through the high Gothic arch with its crowstepped gables at the entrance to the village and assume it was erected to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. read more

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I know when Inka trots by my side without panting he has picked up something particularly foul that he is holding in his mouth to present to me later.  His most recent offering was a a dead pigeon chick, or squab, which was more interesting and less revolting than usual. An ugly looking baby, mostly still bald but with its primary wing feathers starting to grow.  It can’t have been much more than a week old as they fledge and are ready to leave the nest after about a month. read more

Regular readers of this column know of my inclination to quote poetry, especially from the abundance of our Scottish vernacular poetry which I increasingly believe is a neglected tradition, a forgotten strand of our cultural emotional output. read more

A small feathered body, looking for all the world like a withered leaf, lay in the grass below our sitting room window.  It was a chiff chaff which had flown headlong into the glass and killed itself.  Probably the way the light was reflecting off the glass at the time confused the bird into thinking that the window space was safe to fly through. read more

Tales of the salmon fishing at Kinnaber in last week’s column brought back memories of his own youth for a Montrose reader.  He remembers the days when commercial salmon fishers Joseph Johnston & Sons Ltd were one of the major employers in Montrose, providing seasonal work to a small army of local men, as well as year-round employment for office staff, boat builders and other support staff. read more

At 6 p.m. on Friday 31st August 2018, as laid down by statute, a small bit of our Scottish cultural heritage ceased, probably never to be revived.  The sweep nets on the Kinnaber beat, at the mouth of the River North Esk, were taken off the water – for the last time. read more