There was rather a funny moment at church this week when the man giving the sermon was talking about how his Bolton accent makes it hard to articulate the place-names Ur and Ayr, at least so that anyone can understand him. Ur was easy enough from the context (Abraham’s home) but he did have to specify that Ayr was on the west coast before we got it, because frankly both names just sounded like vocalisations of uncertainty – “er?”
Continue readingGnoc, gnoc, gnocchi on heaven’s plate
11 OctAnother installment of my very occasional series of adventures in not-really-cooking, and another dish I sometimes make when I can’t be bothered to cook properly. I recently had back-to-back recipe boxes with very faffy meals, so after two weeks of that, not really cooking is more appealing than ever.
Continue readingRobin Hood – the man, the myth, the legend
4 OctI am very sleepy today because last night I was up past my bedtime, appearing on the Monday Night Fan Club on Radio 5 Live.
Continue readingFive books to make you think
12 SepThere are a number of reasons for an author to have a website. So that people can get information about my books is the obvious one. So that I can share my impassioned or facetious opinions without inconveniencing my general acquaintance is another. But a third, which is quite fun, is that sometimes people contact you unexpectedly via the website.
Continue readingThe Sun Always Shines on my Top Five
23 Aug
Inspired by my last post, where I collaborated with a fellow A-ha fan, I thought I would give you a wee run down of my top five A-ha songs.
Continue readingLet’s play Edinburgh Fringe bingo!
15 Aug
This post was composed in collaboration with my old friend, fellow A-ha fan and English teacher extraordinaire, Susan Main. We recently took a wee trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as it used to be) and encountered many of these phenomena.
Continue readingThis is my story on UCB2
11 JulI talked to Ruth O’Reilly-Smith on her radio show, ‘This is My Story’, on Tuesday morning about my novel, Leda, why I went to Albania, and what I’m up to these days with Restore Glasgow.
Continue readingWhat’s that coming over the hill? Is it a heatwave? Is it a heatwave?
28 Jun
Sticking with my blog’s theme of failing to stick to a theme, I’m sharing a poem I wrote a few years back about the unpredictable, and usually disappointing, British summer.
Continue readingInterrail day twenty-five – Brussels to HOME!
22 May
The epic journey comes to an end. I’m trying not to be too sad about it because the last time I started thinking that way, my train was cancelled!
Continue readingInterrail day twenty-four – Brussels to Ghent and back
21 May
I set the alarm wrong and woke up very late, so that I had to scramble to make it to breakfast. It’s a good job I’m only going to Ghent today, and not London!
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K C Murdarasi 