I’ve had to give up on #Coldwater. It’s far too stressful for me. The cat-killing guy played by Ewan Bremner is the creepiest character I’ve ever seen in a tv series. It’s meant to be ‘comedy’ thriller but my heart rate was through the roof every time he appeared.

Me at least five times a day… (Art by @nessle.bsky.social)

The longlist for The Saltires: Scotland’s National Book Awards 2025 is out. www.publishingscotland.org/2025/09/long...

Currently reading The Place of Tides by James Rebanks. I’m also reading Night Neon and Other Stories of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates on an app in Norwegian but that’s going to take me about a year I think.

Having lunch with @penny-hands.bsky.social. I think she has an even better view of the Eildon Hills than I do.

I have pizza.

Today’s walk: along the Black Path. We got very wet.

Today’s walk: squirrels, the river and a pinky-orange sky. It’s getting dark quite early now - about 7:15pm.

RIP Robert Redford 😞. He was easily one of the most handsome men in Hollywood. He seemed a nice guy too esp in relation to his environmental activism.

I binge-watched Untamed on Netflix over the last two nights. Highly recommend it. It was filmed around British Columbia where I visited over the summer. m.imdb.com/title/tt3171...

Raspberries from the garden. 😋

I saw this leaf with eyes on the pavement. It needed a little smile.

Channel 4 to mark Trump's state visit by dissecting more than 100 of his lies, in what the channel describes as “the longest uninterrupted reel of untruths, falsehoods and distortions ever broadcast on television”.

The Virgina creeper on the garden fence definitely thinks Autumn is here. It also seems to be doubling in size every year and is now taking up more than half the length of the back fence.

In the 1840s the Galson estate on Lewis was cleared for sheep. Most people were put onto emigration ships to Canada. Finally in 2007 - a community buyout. This commemorative sculpture by Will Maclean & Marian Leven is shortlisted for Marsh Award. If it moves you pls vote. pssauk.org/2025-pssa-ma...

Scotland now looking at England the way Canada looks at the USA. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇦

Two very important graphs. Net migration reached record levels in 2023 - and has since halved. The vast majority of arrivals comprises students and workers. Arrivals in small boats and asylum seekers - less than 5%. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

I’ve been persuaded to start watching Squid Game 2. We watched Squid Game 1 together. The things I do to get some ‘quality’ time with my son…

I definitely should have taken more notice of those clouds on my dog walk… ☔️☔️

I had a day in Edinburgh today. Went to the Andy Goldsworthy exhibition with my daughter followed by Fiddler on the Roof with friends at the Festival Theatre.

The birds in my garden are making a lot of noise this afternoon.

Borders Railway was opened 10 years ago. The SNP delivered this railway, has taken ScotRail back into public ownership, scrapped peak rail fares, and is now investing a further £342 million to electrify sections of Scotland's rail network including the Borders line 👍 youtu.be/vkZKqosOwAI?...

Currently reading The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood.

"The moment I hear Middle East I become upset, because this is colonial language." - Dr. Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian writer & activist

Late-afternoon #dogwalk: Gattonside, Melrose, Newstead circular.

Good.

Was the usually lovely Amol Rajan in a bad mood when they filmed this episode on #UniversityCallenge?! (Nice to have a Leonard Cohen song played though. I’ll be singing it all night.)

Good luck to the teachers this morning teaching the pupils who got back from their Silver DofE last night. My son was like a walking zombie this morning.

😂🤣

My cat has decided to move into my daughter’s room now that she’s abandoned her and gone off to uni.

Dropped my daughter dropped off at Edinburgh University today. I managed to hold myself together until I got back in the car after settling her into her accommodation.

It’s a bit rich Morrissey calling anyone else “disagreeable and vexatious”.

Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus): These 12cm (4.7in) little European & Asian birds usually nest in holes in trees. Adults develop a blue crown, white cheeks and yellow breast. Brilliant Blue Tit photo taken by José Antonio Cucharo in Spain. #blue #tit #bluetit #bird #birds #nature #wildlife

It looks like there’s going to a good crop of apples in the Melrose orchard this year.

A nice rainbow over the fields next to the house this evening.

Currently reading A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter. I’m a bit obsessed with anywhere cold, snowy or frozen. I’ve been to the Finnish Arctic but would love to go again. The Norwegian Arctic would be perfect next time.

I had a walk along the Leader Water at the weekend. Ate a lot of brambles.

Something exciting is coming 🎉 Join us creating the Deep Time Trail at Siccar Point! Launching September 15th 2025.

Sobering to see names of all the media workers killed in Gaza

My daughter & I just watched Everything Everywhere All At Once. It’s absolutely bonkers.

It took a couple of months but my birthday book tokens were used today. #books

This a strange Scottish Borders story.

The book destroyed me. I’m likely to be quite a mess at the end of the film. #Hamnet

@helenbleck.bsky.social Remember this?: REM at T in the Park in 2008. I think we were pretty much front row & centre.

I can

Currently reading Panenka by @ronanhession.bsky.social

🚨A Gaza student is warning he faces losing his scholarship to study in Glasgow without urgent UK Government action. Ibrahim was one of 40 students left out of Home Office plans to bring people to study in the UK. Why? Please read his story ⬇️ www.thenational.scot/news/2542399...

3062 Deaths of horses in 6744 Days www.horsedeathwatch.com