Writing
Writing Update In Part 196 I outlined what I expected to be doing over the next few months. It didn’t work out as I imagined, but that’s okay. To quote John Lennon, ‘Life is what happens to you, while you’re busy making other plans.’ The book market has certainly changed dramatically this year, notably with … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 213
Trieste Trieste is the capital city of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. It’s a port city, situated on a thin strip of land between the Adriatic coast and the border of Slovenia. It is where the Irish writer James Joyce lived and worked between the years 1904 to 1920. Having read his … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 203
Two Hundred I note from earlier in this blog, that my one hundredth post was entitled ‘One Hundred’ so I suppose calling this one ‘Two Hundred’ is appropriate. At the time of writing I now have a little over one hundred and twenty-one thousand words. My rationale for these posts was outlined in post one … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 200
Electronica Part 2 I recently visited the Modern Art Gallery in Edinburgh. This was long overdue as I hadn’t attended for a couple of years. I regularly visit the venues in the centre of town, but the Modern is about a half hour walk from the National Galleries so I could never go during my … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 197
New Novels It’s been awhile since I’ve provided an update. Circumstances have changed and I find myself retired from the frontline of cyber security, and attempting to adjust to life with the possibility of time to write on a regular basis. Many folk have noted before, that the reality once it comes around, is never … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 196
Still Glasgow I decided to to return to the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) to see what was new. I previously blogged about the gallery in May 2025, in Part 149 of this blog series. Some of the exhibits are still in place, notably John Akomfrah, Mimesis: African Soldier; the Sharon Hayes exhibit and … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 194
Are you a footballer? Playing catch-up here, but I did visit the Whisky Experience at the top of the Royal Mile recently. I’ve been before, but it has changed a bit and was a really enjoyable experience. Also tried the Bowmore 20 year old single malt in the bar later on which was a real … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 193
Robert Burns Portrait I took a trip to the National Gallery in Edinburgh to see what is described as the lost portrait of Robert Burns. As a fan of his work this was quite an occasion. I was fortunate to be able to find a space to see the painting as the lunchtime queue for … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 192
2025 I can’t believe it’s February already and I haven’t written my review of last year. So here it is. It was a good year. I had writing plans and didn’t manage to stick with them, though I did manage to produce some work. It happens. I suspect it’s the same every year. I blogged … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 190
Imperial Cathedral of Speyer Leaving Strasbourg, I returned to Kehl, and then back on the boat, with the next stop Speyer in Germany. The highlight here was a visit to see the Imperial Cathedral of Speyer, which is one of the world’s finest and largest Romanesque cathedrals and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 173
