Books Books Books
Christmas came and went … then along came an extra present. All the way from Australia, a copy of a book published there which used one of my photographs for the cover. The cover looks great.
Here is the original photograph. It gets a lot of hits for people looking for 30th birthday card/party images.
As well as The Indignities, the publisher sent a couple of other books (perhaps more typical of my reading taste!). I’ll look forward to reading them alongside my other recent acquisitions.
Conic Hill
I’ve lived in the area for a few years now, but it took me a long time to get round to climbing Conic Hill. When I did, I was blown away by the beauty, and I wondered why I hadn’t been climbing it every week. Admittedly I was lucky to climb on a quiet weekday with wall to wall blue sky, but living so near means that I can keep it as a crystal-clear day treat.
I’ve since climbed the hill again (blue sky again) which is when this picture was taken.
The first time I climbed it, I was testing an app on my phone to record the track – it worked really well and integrates with Google Maps: Conic Hill Track
Autumn again
Time flies. After a rain-soaked few days of commuting, it was nice to have a sunny run into town this morning – with mist over Glasgow as I came over the brow of the hill above Bearsden. Must try and stop for a picture one morning.
Half a world away
So – a blog about living in the Loch Lomond National Park gets its first post in almost a year from a hotel room halfway round the world. Why?
Well, absence makes the heart grow fonder. As we took off from Glasgow Airport yesterday, the views north to Loch Lomond were spectacular, and it was lovely to see the village bathed in sunshine. Shame my work commitments meant I had to miss the Gala day.
Downtown Edmonton is certainly a long way from rural Stirlingshire. Lots of concrete and glass but first impressions of Canada are good.
Empty Roads
Summer seems to have arrived, with the rain. Whilst I don’t exactly sit in traffic jams every morning, I do normally see some other cars snaking their way into Glasgow – this morning I didn’t see a single car going in the same direction as me between home and the city limits. Can this be due just to the fact that it is the start of the Summer holidays – or is there something else I missed. Long may it continue.
Nature Cure, by Richard Mabey
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Richard Mabey is an important nature writer and he is on top form here. Written as he recovered form a period of depression it chronicles the changing seasons and natural rhythms of his adopted corner of Norfolk.
Much of the book concentrates on the landscape but Mabey is at his best when he writes about the animals, plants birds and insects of the broads. His writing on swifts and martens in particular is beautiful, demonstrating his almost sporitual link to his subject.
Mabey draws inspiration from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard”>Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dilliard, a book I enjoyed 20 years ago. I can see the similarities, an individual at one in his/her natural environment.
I’ve actually owned this book for a few years, and only just got round to reading it. It has encouraged me to pause a while as I race through the countryside, and has therefore been a timely and worthwhile read.
Orchids at Garabdhan
Just a mile up the road from the house and the orchids are in full bloom:
According to Natural Connections, this is a Spotted Marsh Orchid (see the spots on the leaves).
Bad Science, by Ben Goldacre
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After a few years away from pop science books a new commute has given me time to catch up on a new crop of books. At present I’m reading (and laughing) at this clear analysis of how science (primarily medical research) is presented in the media focusing specifically on scientific method and how it is abused either by unscrupulous stakeholders or journalists in need of a headline. The litany of sins against science is told with great humour – and never fails to lighten my journey on the 1713 to milngavie.
Unstrange Minds, by R.R Grinker
Rating:
A really fascinating book which takes a high level view of Autism offering a fine historical perspective and unsentimental account of raising an autistic child.
One interesting thing about the book is the personal aspect – not the fact that his daughter is Autistic, but rather that his father was a ?psychiatrist, practicising at a time before there was an agreed understanding of the condition and a prevailing influence of Psychotherapy on the profession. The result being that children with Autism were routinely mis-diagnosed as childhood schizophrenics and given innappropriate treatment as a result.
The book was slightly let down by poor editing – he first few Chapters seemed to flit around between topics – giving way to a very well written central section. The last section also seemed to lose its way.
As an aside, it was good to read a book about Autism which was happy to dismiss the MMR hoax in a single page, though recent news stories show that even now we are suffering the consequences of unfounded resistance to this vaccine programme.
I'm a learning researcher based in Scotland, living outside Glasgow and working on informal learning in the workplace. 
