Scotland, Rod Fleming's World

29/08/2023

Tryst on Februar Fowerteen – A Scots Allegory

Originally posted 2014-02-14 20:16:57.

A fell cauld wind wis sauchin ower the muir as the bonny wumman gart her wey tae tryst her jo. For the necht wis Februar the fowerteen, an aabody kens at’s the necht for luve.

She wis winsome eneuch, tho the first blush o youth, it maun be said, was left ahent her a lang while syne. A body mecht hae speirit at himsel how comes a lass o sic natral attractions hidnae been wad this mony a lang year.

At last she reached the spot ablow an auld aik whaur she an her jo hiv met this necht mony mair years nor either of them wad care tae hink on. Her jo wis aaready there, a puckle fashit, ye mecht hink, wi the wye he wis stridin up an doon, his een flashin faniver he luikit up.

“Ah, here you are, at last,” he intoned, as the lass presented hersel.

Featured Image: Restenneth Priory, Forfar, Angus, Scotland. Pic by Rod Fleming

Continue reading “Tryst on Februar Fowerteen – A Scots Allegory”

29/08/2023

Poaching the River

Originally posted 2021-03-02 13:15:20.

An action-packed tale of love and life, humour and romance, played out by an unforgettable cast of characters with genuine Scots voices, Poaching the River will make you laugh and cry out loud.

It’s a quiet afternoon in Auchpinkie, a tiny fishing village on the east coast of Scotland, and in her Corner Shop, Mae and her cronies are setting the world to rights.

Suddenly a furniture van draws up outside one of the houses along the street. A beautiful young woman is moving into Etta Swankie’s old house. But no-it can’t be-that’s Rae, Etta’s daughter, and Etta always swore she’d disinherit her!

Over the next few days the action races to its riotous climax, as Big Sye, Rae’s cousin, poaches the River Pinkie in a daring adventure, the village public convenience is destroyed by a freak explosion, and the parish minister is baffled by the sudden religious conversion of two formerly heathenish young lads.

Behind it all a spider’s web of intrigue is woven, as the villagers conspire to get Big Sye and Rae together. But there are things going on that none of them ken, and secrets that only Rae’s old friend Izzie knows…

Print ISBN: 978-0-9554535-0-2

Buy the eBook

Buy the Kindle version using the following direct links below:

For Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.de
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.fr
http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.es
http://www.amazon.es/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.it
http://www.amazon.it/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.co.jp
http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.com.br
http://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.in
http://www.amazon.in/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.com.au
http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.com.mx
http://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00CPESW9U

For Amazon.nl
http://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00CPESW9U

Note that Amazon does not use ISBN for Kindle books.

29/08/2023

Maryhill, Glasgow, May 1974

Originally posted 2018-09-18 07:57:20.

Maryhill, the poor part of Glasgow’s West End, in 1974, was a different world. Looking back on these pictures, forty-five years later, I am still moved.

When I came to the Philippines first, a kind but unaware French friend told me that I would see poverty such as I had never seen before. I had not the heart to tell him; I had seen worse — in Maryhill, Glasgow, for one.

Yet on the other hand I have so many memories of Maryhill, Glasgow and most of them are good. I was never robbed, beaten up or threatened there. Nobody ever asked if I was a Catholic or a Protestant — a question I would get used to later. People were poor, yes, many had no shoes; but they had community and mutual respect. I see that today in the Philippines. We lost a great deal when we lost that.

Click the link below to continue to more pictures

Continue reading “Maryhill, Glasgow, May 1974”

29/08/2023

Arbroath January 1972

Originally posted 2018-09-19 09:00:47.

Arbroath January 1972 . I was living in the house at 9 East Grimsby. My Dad had died the previous year and I was still struggling with it. But I had a few things going for me: music, a camera and my books. It wasn’t a lot but it helped.

Russ Black, the art teacher at school encouraged me to use its darkroom. I had lost my own a couple of years before when we moved house. This is one of the earliest rolls I still have from then.

The camera was a Leica Model III fitted with a Ross Xtralux 50mm f2, an excellent lens. I used the name ‘Xtralux’ for a band some years later, in Exeter. Film was Ilford FP3.

(Pictures after the Read More link)

Continue reading “Arbroath January 1972”

29/08/2023

West Coast Road trip with Charis

Originally posted 2017-07-23 15:55:47.

This was a crazy trip in which the weather did all but defeat us. But we still had fun.

Please feel free to download and use these images , for your personal purposes, including for non-commercial websites. Larger sizes are available, along with reproduction and commercial licences. Please contact me using the form below.

If you enjoy the pictures, please remember to leave a tip! Just click on the yellow button!

[paypal-donation]

2010 West Coast with Charis

[paypal-donation]

29/08/2023

2009-08-14 Saint Andrews, Scotland

Originally posted 2017-07-22 21:46:30.

The botanical gardens in Saint Andrews, Scotland

[paypal-donation]

To view the gallery, please click the ‘Read More’ link below.

Continue reading “2009-08-14 Saint Andrews, Scotland”

14/07/2023

Grip: How to hold the fiddle and bow

Originally posted 2013-07-03 19:59:34.

Grip the fiddle and bow photo — Grip the fiddle and bow so that the bow crosses the strings at a right angle

Once you have the grip of the instrument under the chin sorted out, the next thing to address is the right hand’s grip on the bow. This can cause a great deal of trouble though in my opinion is not as tricky as the left hand. Again, the secret is to avoid tension; the hand must be relaxed. To do this, all four fingers and the thumb must be in contact with the stick, and all must be curved. This is hugely important. The most common grip errors are for the little or pinkie finger to lock and become straight and rigid. Do not allow this to happen. Another is for the pinkie to lift off the stick, which is also wrong. More subtle and harder to see but just as damaging is for the thumb to become stiff.
[paypal-donation]
Continue reading “Grip: How to hold the fiddle and bow”

14/06/2023

Schadenfreude

Originally posted 2014-10-25 10:50:35.

My my my, wonders will never cease. The devastatingly lacklustre leader of ‘Scottish’ Labour, Johann Lamont – she of the genetic ‘lack of programming’ to make important decisions – has resigned.

Not before time, one might well respond, and that would seem, on the face of it, fair. Yet it appears from her resignation statement that some of her lack of visibility during Independence Referendum One (oh, there will be more, do not fret) was not due to incompetence but to the fact that she was being told what to say by London and resented it. That she waited this long to act on her resentment makes her parting words seem rather like crocodile tears; but those are the only ones that will be shed over her doffing the Poisoned Crown, so we ought not to be too harsh.

Continue reading “Schadenfreude”

13/06/2023

Seumus the dog: a tale of three pies and a pint

Originally posted 2017-02-16 08:26:46.

A long time ago, when I was a young lad, I had the acquaintance of a dog called Seumus.

Now Seumus was of, shall we say, indeterminate lineage. There seemed to be a fair bit of black Labrador in there, but it was mixed with some distinctly non-pedigree characteristics, including a tail that curled over his back. When Seumus was feeling full of himself, he carried this high and showed to the world his anal sphincter. I’m sure that’s not in the Labrador breed book.

Continue reading “Seumus the dog: a tale of three pies and a pint”

14/04/2023

Arbroath January 1972

Originally posted 2016-08-16 17:43:12.

Russ Black, the art teacher at school encouraged me to use its darkroom. I had lost my own a couple of years before when we moved house. This is one of the earliest rolls I still have from then.

The camera was a Leica Model III fitted with a Ross Xtralux 50mm f2, an excellent lens. I used the name ‘Xtralux’ for a band some years later, in Exeter. Film was Ilford FP3.

Continue reading “Arbroath January 1972”