and as the world goes into Christmas hyper-drive, Hamish and I just can't get worked up about it. I've got too much work on to even start thinking about Christmas and Hamish... well, let's just say I've put him in rather an awkward situation in this year's Christmas story and really he's already got enough on his plate trying to deal with that, with the inevitable 'Secret Santa' issues, the perennial 'What do I buy for Marmalade?' problem and the inevitable cranberry scones thrown in for good measure.
Yes: I am writing it. No, I haven't really got the time (redecorating kitchen so entire contents scattered from one end of the house to the other, a mountain of marking and planning threatening to engulf me and a university course I should be devoting much more time to!) but when has that ever stopped me? However, if the TUC decide to cancel strike action on Wednesday next, it may well be necessary to postpone Christmas
till January - I'm banking on that day to finish the story and lulu it! Hoping it will make it to Kindle this year as well... watch this space. (Only, not too intently!) ( Oh, and Marks and Spencer
Key Lime Pie : has to be tasted to be believed!!)
It could be worse of course: this time last year we had SNOOOOOOW!
When I was writing 'Scotch Pine' I used the MacNab burial ground at Inchbuie, Killin as a setting for the final scenes of the book. I'd never actually been on the island itself, although I'd taken photos of the entrance gates and had sourced some photos on the internet. However, this week I've finally been able to 'visit' Killin, through a BBC TV programme which was first aired in 2008 - Railway Walks. The episode starts in Callendar at the 'Dreadnought' hotel and travels through scenery very well known to Hamish as it is part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, before arriving at the Falls and venturing across to the island in the company of the Laird of Macnab. I was entranced! It's fabulous and just exactly the way I'd imagined it when I was writing. If you are in the UK, you can catch it on the BBCiplayer for the next week or so : see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fd1dd for more details.