Tag Essays

Any longform essay, or anything I think warrants the name. The topics are likely to be personal and widespread.

I am Involved in Mankind.

I suspect I am not alone this week in sitting down, tapping away and somehow channelling frayed emotion into words. I had no intention of commenting on the result of the EU referendum. I had been tempted before the vote,…

Anger, Feeling a Little Helpless

If we did not look closely, we would be forgiven for thinking that this world is fuelled by anger, hate and rage. These are the things that garner column inches, headlines, ticker tape and Breaking News!, these outlets rarely seem to want…

Edinburgh, Spring, Paths, and Empathy

I am in Edinburgh for a day more before I retreat back into the north once again. One of the beautiful things about currently living at the top tip of Scotland is that spring is later there – the trees were only just…

Trees, a Brief Personal History

I recently read this piece, Relict Tree, by Sally Huband. I try and keep up with everything posted on The Island Review (weirdly I still see myself as an islander). It is a go-to site for interesting comment and well-worded…

Comfort Circles

Over the last few months I have started several (dozens) pieces detailing my own personal opinions on the upcoming independence referendum here in Scotland. Dozens.  Honestly. (37 – I just counted. This makes 38). (EDIT: Now 39). Each has failed…

Carlessness

I recently created and posted a flickr album of photos I had snapped from the window of moving vehicles, be they trains or cars. I realised that by linking to the slide-show viewer directly, here, those who look at the…

Liminality

I believe the edges of things are far more interesting than their faces. Give me an edge and I’m interested, a corner? Even more so. It is in these intersections where the magic happens, where boundaries are weakened and one…

Social Media and Cruelty

I suppose this is a good time to discuss Twitter and other social media. I, like many others, followed the recent debacle regarding the announcement Jonathan Ross would be hosting the Hugo awards this summer. I watched as people took…