“We waved, we shouted, we cheered, and all their brave boots clattered on the cobbles. We heard their songs and smiled, though where they were going was a longer way than Tipperary. Longer than miles to go. Longer even than now to then."

I must have take this photo at least a hundred times, and every time it's different. It's the view from the front door of a cottage perched on a Galloway hill, where I head when the world gets too loud.

A piece I'd written for It Never Was Worthwhile was challenged last week at a Renegade Writers meeting. There's nothing unusual about having your writing criticised by the Renegades - they're a pretty forthright bunch - but on this occasion the challenge was one of racism, which gave me pause.

Terry Pratchett holds that the correct collective noun for a group of witches is “an argument”. Authors, I’m convinced, view cooperation purely as a word whose hyphenation is to be discussed at length until a third faction arises to insist that its use in the context in point is incorrect anyway.

Never having been accused of punctuality, I gain a certain satisfaction from approaching this latest task two days late. I learned that I'd been nominated by Misha Herwin and Jan Edwards, two conspicuously talented authors, to take part in the #MyWritingProcess international blog tour.

Message from the Editor

Classic Air Force has just let me loose on their magazine, The Meteor. By that I mean designing, editing, writing the stories, the lot. I'm really feeling as if I've just been handed the keys to the chocolate factory.

Just back from a highly therapeutic trip to Scotland I realise I've left the blog alone again.

Dammit! So what's been happening?

It's a living

Had a great meeting with Una Watts at Shuttleworth on Friday - what a lovely lady.  Then a quiet browse around the collection, berating myself for leaving my camera at home.  Good job we have these telephone things nowadays. The picture is of their Bristol Scout, the type that Colin first flies in The Larks.

On days like this I'm forced to admit that my job really doesn't suck that badly.