Mark's Journal

 And so we come to the end of January, the month that faces in opposite directions, the keeper of the door between the past and the future. There is hope in a new year with new beginnings, new phases of life to experience, but there is also the darkness that follows us from the old year, and one month of January is enough time for developments that flip our plans over and take the year in an unexpected direction. In Gàidhlig we call this month am Faoilleach, the month of the wolves. So beware and pass by these wolves in hope.

  It's Christmas, as the song goes. I hope my readers are managing to have a happy day and that you have someone to share it with. We're coming to the end of the feasting bit, which was delicious, and Simon and I had a great time last night, with Andy our drummer, as we lead the music at St John's Christingle service. Lovely to hear all those little voices singing along.   So, Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Math Ùr!

Bha mi 's Anna a' falbh gu Nirribhidh anns an t-Sultain agus lean Lochlannach beag sinne dhachaigh. Chunnaic sinn eun ùr anns an gàrradh. Bha brù-dhearg a' ruighinn gus do fuireach e don Geamhradh. Chuir e teicheadh air eòin eile gu luath. Bha e ag iarraidh uile biadh. An Dàmhair ràinig brù-dhearg eile agus thoisich spòrsail. Chuir fear teicheadh fear eile agus chuir iad teicheadh eòin eile. Bha e obair doirbh! À nis cha robh biadh ach aig an donnagan glas. Fhemaidh mi a' cuir an darna bord-eòin gus do bha biadh aig eòin eile. Ach bha feòragan air tilleadh ge-tà...

 I previously blogged about my son's band Sekoya. On Tuesday this week, they launched their new album Shuna ( you can hear it and get it here ). This time they were in the Rum Shack in the southside of Glasgow, a great wee venue, and they were promoted by Lay Low , the first time they've used a promoter.  A nice sized crowd came along and completely filled the venue and we were treated to some great music and a nice line in commentary and chat from the band. They also specialise in a unique merch table which has no music on it but it does feature tea, calligraphy and paper plates. They're an arty band.

 I'm catching up a bit with the blog today. This should have gone in last month. In September we managed to fit in our first holiday abroad in a few years. Aparently there is a little trace of viking in my DNA which has its origins in southwestern Norway. I'd never been there and Ann had last been there many many years ago, so we decided to fly Loganair to Bergen. Loganair use a small jet to take passengers from Edinburgh to Bergen and back and it was very comfortable and quite Scottish. The inflight catering was included in the ticket and consisted of tea or coffee with a Tunnocks Wafer or some Walkers shortbread. It felt like a flying version of CalMac. Bergen turned out to be a delight. We stayed in the Comfort Hotel which is right in the middle of the harbour district and so all the sights were within an easy walk or bus ride. It's a great place if you are interested in history, trolls or eating wonderful seafood. It also helps to be a Celt or a Viking as it can be cool...

This is the last day of the 2024 Worldcon, a gathering of science fiction fans from all around the world which happens to be meeting in Glasgow this year. I've been to a few cons over the years and this one has a special buzz about it. I suppose when people travel thousands of miles to be there they self-select for enthusiasm and there was bucket loads of it in Glasgow this weekend. I started the day with a couple of readings by Ken McLeod. These were delivered in Ken's trademark relaxed and friendly style, a nice gentle start to a Sunday morning. Later, I caught up with my Shoreline of Infinity colleagues at their stall which was doing a roaring trade and I was able to support Noel Chidwick and Pippa Goldschmidt who were launching a new project called SF Caledonia. This is an online showcase of all SF things Scottish and the presentation featured a recorded reading (as John Buchan) by actor Jonathan Whiteside and a live reading from Callum McSorley, 2023 McIlvanney Prize winn...