Little Jottings
A panda walks into a cafe....
The wealth of berries, which I mentioned in last week’s jottings were providing pre-winter food for the birds, has been attracting feathered visitors from further afield, according to a resident of Whitaside.
Last updated 27 November 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Fieldfares filled the sky at Whita
WHENEVER I leave behind my binoculars as I go out hiking, I’m guaranteed to see something of interest; in which case I curse my laziness in not carrying them.
Last updated 19 November 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Composer was Scotland’s best
YESTERDAY was the 50th anniversary of the death in a Glasgow hospital of a former Langholm Academy teacher and organist at North UF church.
Last updated 12 November 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Ups and downs of place names
YOU might have been forgiven for thinking last week that you were in the middle of December and not the last week in October, what with the persistent icy blasts from the north, the sight of a snow plough coming down Langholm High Street and the presence of the Christmas lights.
Last updated 6 November 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Truly delightful visit to Turkey
I’M OFTEN asked why I don’t take a holiday in my own country. Why am I always travelling abroad? Well, that question was well and truly answered last week when I exchanged the torrential rain of Langholm for the warm sunshine of Turkey.
Last updated 30 October 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Why don’t we say a grocer groces?
THEY do say English is a very difficult language to learn if you’re starting it from scratch.
Last updated 22 October 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Does poem sound better in Scots?
THE Christmas catalogues have already started to come in and I’m faced with thoughts of winter while still waiting for the summer.
Last updated 15 October 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Get it’s right!
A NEW series of programmes about Scotland’s clans kicked off this week with a look at the Armstrongs.
Last updated 8 October 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Border Scots not returning here...
AND it’s back to our normal summer weather of wind and rain but at least we’d last week’s spell of dry and at times sunny weather to remind us of what summer can be like.
Last updated 1 October 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
We’re ready for the big screen
I COULDN’T believe what I was hearing last Thursday when I was at Hawick to hear the musicians on The Young Trad Tour ’08.
Last updated 24 September 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Walk the waulk
THIS week I start with an apology. I stand corrected on two points. Firstly, I wrote to say that the painting of Langholm Common Riding by Trinidad-born artist John Stone was “hidden away in the attic” of Langholm library.
Last updated 17 September 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Mystery of the painting solved
THE mystery of the painting I wrote about last week has been solved after a phone call from Margaret Hall, one of a small band of volunteers who man the Langholm Library during its opening hours.
Last updated 11 September 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Right restaurant wrong country
SEVERAL national newspapers have latched onto a story which appeared in the E&L last week.
Last updated 3 September 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Scots top the table for smiles
A FEW months ago in the E&L Stuart Tedham wrote a history of the silent films in Langholm.
Last updated 27 August 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Right guid apart from the herrin’
LAST week Hawick’s local paper had an article on this year’s Langholm Common Riding.
Last updated 13 August 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Drinkers go full steam to the bar
I’VE often wondered how the term “steamin” came to mean “drunk”. I certainly didn’t envisage finding out through visiting an art gallery in Edinburgh at the weekend.
Last updated 6 August 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Common Riding one of the best
STARTING off the jottings after the Common Riding of 1948 were these words: “Appropriately enough the first jotting should be a vote of thanks to the clerk of the weather for such a marvellous day.”
Last updated 30 July 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
How would you like your jottings?
WHERE does he find them? This was the question echoing round the British Legion clubrooms last Friday night as everyone listened in disbelief as chairman Dave McVittie fired what seemed like a limitless fund of jokes at his audience.
Last updated 23 July 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Credit crunch? Go on, rub it in
SEVERAL times I have been asked who is giving the MacDiarmid lecture next month.
Last updated 9 July 2008
Published by http://beta.eladvertiser.co.uk
Old letters reveal slave trade shame
LETTERS, which have been in the possession of a Langholm family for more than 200 years, are now providing a unique insight into part of Scotland’s history and even wider British history.
Last updated 3 July 2008
Published by http://www.eladvertiser.co.uk
