The weather forecast for last weekend was glorious, but someone forgot to tell Inverness. In place of the promised 20C and sunshine we had cold winds and haar. The plan had been to chuck the tent in the car and head off west late in the afternoon, but we were stalling. Our track record of… Read more »
Posts Categorized: HNM Column
The royal wedding: duty, protocol and privilege.
It’s almost a week since the royal wedding and the dust is beginning to settle. Those who are offended by the idea of the monarchy (yet wasted their Saturday bleating about it on social media) will no doubt be returning to something approaching normality. Those who got the bunting out and were moved to tears… Read more »
Bank closures rip the heart out of communities.
Like many of us, I bank online. On Sunday afternoon, having recently switched accounts, I sat in the back garden, squinted into my tablet against the glare of the sun, and checked my statement against a mound of receipts. I then ordered a new credit card and set up a savings account. The whole lot… Read more »
Free InterRail passes – one chance only for 18-yo Brits
It’s a wee while since I celebrated my 18th birthday (to be honest, it’s a wee while since my daughters celebrated their 18th birthdays) but if I was turning 18 this year I’d be working right now on my application for one of 30,000 free month-long InterRail passes being given away this summer by the… Read more »
New alcohol pricing laws affect those who have the least
On Sunday evening I enjoyed a dram with my Mum. We sat in the garden after an afternoon spent waging war on the weeds and swirled the amber liquid in our glasses as we surveyed the fruits of our labour. The sun hadn’t quite gone down over our neighbour’s hedge, and as we talked I… Read more »
Homeless new ‘neighbour’ left me conflicted.
Neighbours. Good ones are a Godsend – they’ll water your plants when you’re away, keep a spare set of keys for when you lock yourself out, and, if you’re lucky, they’ll become friends. Bad neighbours, on the other hand, can ruin everything. From holding wild parties when you’re trying to sleep to blocking your drive… Read more »
I’m hungry. But what on earth should I eat??
I’m hungry, and its little wonder. Having recently become hooked on daily gym classes, it turns out I’m not eating enough to fuel my workouts. So, with apologies to all of you who are struggling to lose weight, I am having to eat more. But here’s the thing; it’s not as easy as you might… Read more »
Have we ever got it right with mental health care?
If you’ve seen any coverage of the art work on top of the ITV building in London, you can’t fail to have been moved. Project 84 is a disturbing representation of an even more disturbing statistic; 84 life-size human figures standing perilously close to the edge of the building’s rooftop represent the 84 men in… Read more »
Wedding planning, and an expensive mistake.
Next month’s nuptials of Harry and Meghan have got us talking. In as much as these things will impact on us here in the north of Scotland, I have decided that their union is a Good Thing. Just a generation ago, when Charles was marrying Harry’s mother, it was vital that the bride be ‘of… Read more »
Marrakech. Wonderful,dreadful, enchanting & exhausting.
Bracing ourselves to step out of our hotel isn’t anything we had ever expected to do on holiday, but then we’d never been to Marrakech before. Seduced by tales of treasure-laden souks, the aroma of the spice market and the colours and culture of this corner of north west Africa, we had booked a few… Read more »