It’s been a while since I did any talks related to Hugh Macdonald, the Victorian Glasgow journalist whose book I annotated in 2022. Last year seemed full of them, when the new edition had just come out, but this Saturday was the first in a long time, and possibly the last (although I’m still open to invitations).
Just a quick one to say that I’m giving a talk to the Old Glasgow Club this Thursday, 9th November, at the Renfield Centre, 260 Bath Street, G2 4JP. The talk is called Rambling Round Victorian Glasgow with Hugh MacDonald (although he will not be making an appearance in person).
My recent book talks and book trails went very well, and thank you to everyone who has asked about them. It didn’t even rain on the book trails, which was nothing short of a miracle!
Apologies for the lifeless nature of my blog recently. I could blame it on the weather, since the various storms seem to have disrupted everything else, but you probably wouldn’t believe that. The truth is I’ve just been too busy to even think up any pearls of wisdom, let alone write them down. I hope you are coping without them 😉
Anyway, there are a couple of pieces of news I ought to share:
My article on John Calvin is out now in (Premier) Christianity magazine. Find out why it was a crime to call your child Claude in Calvin’s Geneva, and what predestination has to do with the birth of western capitalism, and all in under ten minutes. You can get Christianity magazine in Christian bookshops, online, and probably in larger newsagents. There’s also a readers’ survey in this edition, so if you’ve been enjoying the Ten-Minute Guide series (which I have written a few of), please vote for it as one of your favourites!
I’ll be appearing at the Glasgow St Patrick’s Festival (yes, we do have one) on Friday 18th March at 7pm in the Govanhill Neighbourhood Centre. I’m talking about who St Patrick actually was, what he did, and how we know. Very ancient historian-y. Perhaps I should dig out my old university gown…? The talk is free, so just turn up on the night.
Hopefully I’ll find the time to write a new blog post at some point in the next month, but if not, you could try reading something I prepared earlier. With two biographies, one novel and several short stories, you should manage to find something to keep you going!
K C Murdarasi 