Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 213
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…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 212
Split Visiting historic sites when the temperature is above thirty Celsius has its cons, but the pros outweigh them. The weather maybe glorious, but when entering walled towns, it can feel like an oven, even early in the morning. But viewing Roman Architecture against a brilliant blue sky, is worth the effort. This visit was…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 211
Positano During the summer I spent a couple of days in the Italian town of Positano. Although I had seen photographs of the place, there is nothing that prepares you for the magnificence that is the Amalfi Coast. Built into the cliffside, the town is like a stadium, with houses akin to seating, each row…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 210
Kotor Describing the scenery of Kotor – a UNESCO-listed medieval city – as stunning is an understatement. The approach into the bay as the sun starts to rise is one of those unforgettable moments. The water is like glass and the reflection of the towering mountains makes for a scene that defies reality. The country…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 209
Sorrento While staying for a few days in Sorrento this summer, I took time to visit the Museo Correale di Terranova. This opened in 1924, the result of Count Alfredo Correale and his brother Pompeo, donating their works of art, housed in the Villa alla Rota, an impressive eighteenth-century residence. The museum collection is on…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 208
Pompeii During the trip to Italy this summer, I managed to take in Pompeii, a place I had always wanted to visit. I was aware of the basic history of the site and the tragedy that took place during the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, burying the city in ash, but that…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 207
Phoenician Steps During a trip to Italy in the summer, initially staying in Positano and then moving onto Sorrento, it was a short hop from there to Capri, an island situated in the bay of Naples. Fortunately I wasn’t going for the shopping, as it is very expensive. However, it does have the Scala Fenicia…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 206
Dali Revisited In part 139 of this blog I wrote about the Salvador Dali painting, Christ of St John of the Cross, on display at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. It’s a painting I’ve viewed many times and never tire of it. I was excited to hear that the painting had been…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 205
Postojna Cave After leaving the city of Trieste, next stop was the country of Slovenia and a town called Koper. Before exploring there however, a bus trip to the Postojna Cave, to see one of nature’s most wonderful sights had been planned. The Postojna Cave is like being in another world, another planet. To my…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 204
Ancona The highlight of visiting the city of Ancona – a main seaport in Italy on the Adriatic Sea – was to view the Arch of Trajan. Erected by the Romans in 115 AD, it is a magnificent structure. To get out of the port is a fair walk and then the road along to…
Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 203
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…
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…