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Richard Clubley once again shows his love for the Scottish island of Orkney through this new book, recording the special way of life that exists only on Orkney. With full colour images and illustrations, his ode to the island is formed of articles from Living Orkney magazine and the students of Kirkwall Grammar School.
This is not a guide to the islands of Scotland. This is not a tour to be followed, nor is it travel advice. This is a richly anecdotal and personal exploration. Richard Clubley shares the sense of freedom he finds in the Scottish islands as he discovers their individual character, beauty and diversity. He meets locals and learns a few realities of island life. He almost perished on Ailsa Craig, before finding fresh water dripping from the roof of a cave, but spends two idyllic nights alone on Mingulay, with a fabulous coal fire in a bothy. His passion for Scottish islands shines through every chapter. Curl up by the fire, pull the blanket close and sip on your dram. You're about to escape to the islands. Prepare for addiction. A book for islomanes to savour in sips. Night caps are suggested; that way the addiction can be controlled. MAIRI HEDDERWICK
I'm not the only one with islomania – lots of people have the same affliction, for which there is no known cure, thank goodness. I have a similar affinity for boats and I think the similarity is that they are both tiny worlds, bounded by water. Richard Clubley makes no secret of his love of Scottish islands. In fact, it's his mission to spread the love through writing about all the islands he has visited. The Sea All Around is a very personal appreciation of these places – 'remote' to some, but the centre of the world for those who live there. Richard gets to the heart of island life, picking up on the particular character of each island he visits by making friends and learning about local history and lore, such as the story of the exploding float on Lunga, the ingenious defence of the garrison at Cairn-na-Burgh on the Treshnish Isles and the Battle of Bloody Bay on Mull. I still love a blank sheet of paper and the first sentence of a new island story.
Riddoch on the Outer Hebrides is a thought-provoking commentary based on broadcaster Lesley Riddoch's cycle journey through a beautiful island chain facing seismic cultural and economic change. Her experience is described in a typically affectionate but hard-hitting style; with humour, anecdote and a growing sympathy for islanders tired of living at the margins but fearful of closer contact with mainland Scotland.
This book is the story of a changing Scotland as it was heard and seen by the people of Scotland. We all may have our ideas about where we are headed as nation and a society, but none of us knows. That makes what lies ahead so fascinating. Just like what's gone before. JOHN MacKAY John MacKay is one of Scotland's best known broadcasters. His career as a reporter, anchor and presenter has spanned from the Thatcher Years to the Independence Referendum and beyond. MacKay has been witness to the major stories in the country's recent past. There have been the tragedies of Lockerbie, Dunblane and Clutha; sporting triumphs and tears; the opening of the new Scottish Parliament; the drama of parliamentary elections and referendums; interviews with Prime Ministers and First Ministers; and the death of Donald Dewar. From being in a room with a grizzly bear to trying to calm an irate – and topless – Alex Salmond, MacKay's career has been nothing if not varied. Using archive scripts, interview transcripts, recollections and personal diaries, he tells the story of one of the most tumultuous periods in Scotland's peacetime history.
Spending seven months in Orkney during 2015 and 2016 in order to delve into the secrets of the islands, Richard Clubley was keen to get as many local views as possible. He gathered interviews with lighthouse keepers, farmers, archaeologists and climbers – and many others! On dreich afternoons during the short days of winter, Richard ate home bakes with locals and recorded their memories. It was at one such hearth that someone said, 'You know about so-and-so of course, you come to Orkney all the time, so how could you not know?'. Richard didn't know. While there are still a lot of unearthed stories hidden in Orkney, Richard has collected a fair few in this beautifully illustrated book. Richard Clubley loves Scotland's islands, but it is Orkney that has stolen his heart. In this book, he portrays the northern Scottish islands fairly and honestly, with stories that even Orkney locals may not have heard before. Travellers from elsewhere will be charmed by Richard's descriptions of the Orkney landscape and way of life.
Illustrated with 167 full colour images, this landmark book charts Alexander Moffat's career from student days at Edinburgh College of Art in the 1960s to the recent Scotland's Voices. Iconic portraits of major figures in literature and the other arts are represented. The cultural significance of the visual chronicle Moffat has created lies in his approach to portraiture. He aims not only to capture a sitter's appearance but also to convey something of their inner character, reaching 'a balance between emotional expression and compositional order'.
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