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Indelible Ink: Sophie Cooke’s ‘The Glass House’
Sophie Cooke’s 2004 debut novel, ‘The Glass House’, fits comfortably into the fine Scottish literary tradition of portraying dysfunctional families, and uncovering the accompanying secrets and lies. It’s a painful coming of age novel juxtaposed against the beautiful Perthshire countryside, and it’s the terrible reality set against an apparent idyllic life that makes the novel […]
Alistair Braidwood
October 10, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Muriel Spark’s ‘The Driver’s Seat’
It could be argued that Muriel Spark was the greatest Scottish writer of the 20th century, and it’s an argument I would have sympathy for. Even if you only know her for the 1961 novel ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ you’ll be aware that her writing is dark, playful and often wilfully obtuse. More […]
Alistair Braidwood
September 4, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Des Dillon’s ‘Me and Ma Gal’
Some people have said to me that they just don’t have time to read books these days. Personally, I would say that their priorities are a tad askew, but I do understand that there are many things vying for everyone’s time, and the thought of tackling a 600 page novel can seem like too much […]
Alistair Braidwood
August 7, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Karin Altenberg’s ‘Island of Wings’
Recently Scotland’s Highlands and Islands have been the setting for all sorts of interesting and diverse books, from Kevin MacNeil’s ‘The Stornoway Way’ and the fabulous collection of poetry which he edited, ‘These Islands We Sing’, through Robert Alan Jamieson’s ‘Da Happie Laand’ and Neil Butler’s ‘The Roost’ to the recently published ‘Orkney’ by Amy […]
Alistair Braidwood
July 9, 2013
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NYC Scotland “Ready to take on the World” in Cosmos Copa Soccer Tournament
New York’s best Scottish soccer talent is set to make its debut appearance in the Cosmos Copa tournament this Sunday, 23 June, where they will face teams representing Gambia, England, and Paraguay. The Copa tournament, run by the famous New York Cosmos soccer club, is now in its fifth year and has established itself as […]
Pete Reid
June 21, 2013
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NYC Scotland 4-4 NYC England
NYC Scotland President Colin Reid blasted his English counterpart over comments the NYC England man made after Sunday’s 4-4 tie between the teams in a pre-Cosmos Copa friendly in Brooklyn on Sunday, taking offence at accusations that the Scots were deceptive, deceitful, and dastardly. NYC England President Yuval Lion, 42, had earlier said, “Those wily […]
Pete Reid
May 30, 2013
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NYC Scotland Look For Revenge in Cosmos Copa
Back in 2006 when I lived in New York, I was part of the first annual Tartan Army Tartan Day football match between the NY Tartan Army and Tartan Army visitors. I know that there is too much ‘tartan’ in that sentence but there you go. Anyway we (the NY Tartan Army) won 4-2 that […]
Pete Reid
May 29, 2013
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Indelible Ink: Archie Hind’s ‘The Dear Green Place’
There have been a few great Glasgow novels discussed on these pages; Alasdair Gray’s ‘Lanark’, Jeff Torrington’s ‘Swing Hammer Swing’ and James Kelman’s ‘Kieron Smith, boy’ are just three examples, but perhaps the most recognisable literary depictions of the city can be found in Archie Hind’s ‘The Dear Green Place’. Hind didn’t opt for the […]
Alistair Braidwood
May 7, 2013
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Indelible Ink: George Friel’s ‘Mr Alfred MA’
Nothing is completely original, but sometimes it is harder to discover some influences than it is others. This is partly because history, cultural or otherwise, is often sold to us in convenient packages of dates, people and places. If you were to read many an overview of Scottish writing in the 20th century you could […]
Alistair Braidwood
April 1, 2013