Bannock burn and brig
As I’m working through the life of John McLaren, and trying to understand him, little intriguing alleyways open up. I do my best not to wander down them because they lead away from the main...
Category: Writing
Digging into insults
You know you are really digging in to a topic when you buy a specialist dictionary for the task. And so I am now the proud owner of the second edition of the Concise Scots...
Uncle John website
I’ve started building a massive research database about John McLaren for my book – including typing up verbatim a bunch of newspaper articles from the 1890s and early 1900s that can only be found on...
A remarkable send-off
I’ve decided – at least in the first draft – to start my book on John McLaren with his death. That may seem a little odd but the thing I find most remarkable about him...
The view that started it all
I met up with the general manager of Golden Gate Park last week – a lovely man called Dave Iribarne – to get a sense of what it was like to run a 1,000-acre public...
A haul of documents
I love tracking down a good story. So I was excited to receive in the post this weekend a package of roughly 60 pages of old, yellowing paper: notes for a book that was never...
First trip back to the city
This morning I headed into San Francisco on what was my normal commuter routine for the first time in over a year. I am clearly one of the first. Buses are reduced. And for good...
Site is back. Book on way
Well, it took over a week of repeat efforts, including shifting hosting company, updating WordPress, deleting old plugins and old themes, installing new plugins and themes, upgrading my PHP, and manually scouring for malware –...
Prop8 strike-down rally
Yesterday, the news came through that Judge Walker in San Francisco had ruled that the controversial Proposition 8 – which bans gay marriage in California and had been approved by referendum two years ago –...
Updated software, new post
So I’ve finally updated the software that this blog uses – WordPress – from 2.0.1 to 2.8.4 – which will mean nothing to most of you but cause others to wonder what the hell I’ve...