Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 202
Blackness Castle Situated on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, looking towards the Forth Bridges and Queensferry Crossing, Blackness is a castle I visited prior to writing this blog. I returned this summer having applied for a volunteering role as a visitor connector with Historic Scotland at Blackness Castle and I’m thrilled to…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 201
Greyfriars Although having visited countless times, the opportunity of joining a free tour of Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh came into my inbox, so I joined up and went along on what turned out to be a cracking day weather wise. As the tour was scheduled for mid-afternoon, I travelled in early and spent time reading…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 200
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…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 199
City Art Centre After my visit to the Edinburgh Modern Art Gallery, then stopping off to view St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, I headed for the City Art Centre in Market Street just off Waverley Station. This site is dedicated to Scottish visual and applied arts, past and present. Pieces from the Scottish art collection are…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 198
St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral ‘Stopped into a church I passed along the way’ is an apt line from a song that came to mind while on the way back from my visit to the Edinburgh Modern Art Gallery (see Part 197 of this blog). The song is California Dreamin’ by The Mamas & The Papas…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 197
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…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 196
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…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 195
Giants I was excited to visit the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh to see a new exhibition called Giants. This features ten extinct mammals which existed tens of millions of years ago and are described as giants on account of their colossal size. These examples are the largest ever to have walked on the…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 194
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…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 193
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…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 192
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…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 191
Stirling Castle I’m currently a member of Historic Scotland and my membership gives me free entry to Stirling Castle. The last time I visited was in between lockdowns during the pandemic, with masks and social distancing still in place, so I was overdue another visit. I’ve often mentioned in this blog about following in the…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 190
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…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 189
The Wallace Monument Revisited In blog post number 91, I featured the Wallace monument. I recently made a return visit and this time took to the stairs to the top. I don’t make the climb every time I go – it’s not free – but recently I chose to go early morning, but unsurprisingly I…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 188
Whisky Revisited In Part 154 of this blog series, I wrote about my first visit to 28 Queen Street, a four-storey Georgian building, home of the Edinburgh branch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. I was fortunate to be invited back for another networking dinner, consisting of a five-course taster menu accompanied by five whiskies,…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 187
Kelburn Castle Having visited four castles in twenty-four hours, on the way back there was time to take in a fifth. Heading north up the west coast towards Largs – see blog post 151 in this series for a previous visit – there is Kelburn Castle and Estate. The castle is quite spectacular, due to…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 186
Portencross Castle Having had decent weather while on the Isle of Bute, on reaching Portencross Castle it was cold, wet and windy, but that didn’t dampen my excitement on seeing this impressive structure perched right on the coast. It was closed for the season now and won’t be open again to visitors until next year,…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 185
Rothesay Castle Next castle on the list involved catching a boat from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. I had visited Wemyss Bay earlier this year and had noted in part 153 of this blog that I had this trip on my list of things to do. The crossing took around thirty-five…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 184
Ardrossan Castle In complete contrast to the beautifully restored Dean Castle, the next one to visit on my list was Ardrossan Castle. To get there, you have to drive into town, and then take a side road and it’s situated on the outskirts on a hill, overlooking the Firth of Clyde. There is a small…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 183
Dean Castle Took a trip down the West Coast and managed to visit four castles in twenty-four hours, with a fifth on the way back the following day. I will blog about each one in turn, starting with the first on route, Dean Castle. Set in a country park in Kilmarnock, this 14th century castle…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 182
Kinderdijk Windmills Last leg of the Rhine journey on way to Amsterdam and a flight back, allowed for a stop in Kinderdijk in the Netherlands. In previous posts I have mentioned some of the windmills I’ve visited in Scotland and noted these in Part 110 and Part 135 of this blog series. This time I…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 181
Wish You Were Here In Part 76 of this blog, I wrote about seeing the Australian Pink Floyd during the 50th anniversary of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ album. I noted I hoped to see them again, and I did just that the other week. 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the ‘Wish You…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 180
Museum Wallraf Having visited the Ludwig, I managed to fit in the Wallraf on the same day. This had a different vibe and was so worthwhile. Again, I’m only scratching the surface here. As with all the galleries and museums I’ve visited, there is so much to take in. So, in keeping with earlier posts,…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 179
Museum Ludwig While in Cologne, I discovered two art museums in close proximity to each other and with limited time, these were the obvious ones to visit. The first of these was the Museum Ludwig, which was perfect given my love of modern art and the collection it houses. The second was the Wallraf, which…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 178
Cologne Cathedral If there is one thing you need to see when visiting Cologne, it is Cologne Cathedral. At 157 m (515 ft), it is the tallest twin-spired cathedral in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster in Germany, and it is the third tallest church building of any type in the world.…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 177
Koblenz The weather had been very hot on this trip, but on arriving in Koblenz, the rain came down in an absolute deluge. With limited time, there were a couple of things to see, so despite a little flooding here and there, it was a matter of getting on with it. The town is a…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 176
The Clydeside Distillery Took a trip through to Glasgow on Friday last week to visit the Clydeside Distillery. I started the day by taking some time to wander around Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. I saw the Dali again as usual – see Part 139 of this blog – along with Van Gogh’s Portrait of…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 175
Lake Windermere This summer I made my first trip to the Lake District. Staying in Windermere, England, it was a short walk to the town centre and then down towards the lake itself. I was really taken with the area. It wasn’t too busy, though clearly most folk there were tourists. It has a real…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 174
Castles of the Middle Rhine The Upper Middle Rhine Valley, between Rudesheim and Koblenz, is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its castles, fortresses, and vineyards. As a huge fan of castles this was the highlight of highlights. I’m not going to list the castles here, as apparently there is more than twenty-eight according to…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 173
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…