Essays

ESSAY

John Purser explores how he took his first steps climbing Scotland’s mountains under the wing of the revered WH ‘Bill’ Murray

John Purser: Lessons from a rock climbing legend

Man Carrying One Man Curragh Cruit Island, Photo E. H. Purser.

Man Carrying One Man Curragh Cruit Island, Photo E. H. Purser.

John Purser: A cruel tale heard in Ireland decades ago has never left me

CARVED OUT OF MARBLE

CARVED OUT OF MARBLE

John Purser on his friendship with sculptor and etcher Charles Wells

A selection of Maori instruments and crafts

A selection of Maori instruments and crafts

John Purser on working with Maori musicians and their unique instruments

City Chambers, Renfrew, Scotland, circa 1910 (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

City Chambers, Renfrew, Scotland, circa 1910 (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

BACK IN THE DAY

The small Scottish town with a mighty history now overshadowed by its neighbour

Duncan Williamson sang stories - only they weren't just stories Image: Leonard Yarensky

Duncan Williamson sang stories - only they weren't just stories Image: Leonard Yarensky

A memorable trip to see storyteller supreme Duncan Williamson

Susan was producing for BBC Radio Scotland’s religious affairs department and for some reason they had latched on to me as a presentably tame agnostic with spiritual leanings

Susan was producing for BBC Radio Scotland’s religious affairs department and for some reason they had latched on to me as a presentably tame agnostic with spiritual leanings

John Purser: The sound of Mingulay, a story of a rare recording field trip

Margaret Fay Shaw and John Lorne Campbell gifted the island of Canna to National Trust for Scotland

Margaret Fay Shaw and John Lorne Campbell gifted the island of Canna to National Trust for Scotland

The remarkable life of musician and folklorist Margaret Fay Shaw

A foggy sunrise at Merklands Quay, 1956, taken by John Purser with a Box Brownie

A foggy sunrise at Merklands Quay, 1956, taken by John Purser with a Box Brownie

John Purser: Two ship's officers and two ships

A whiskey maker and a composer who fled the Nazis

A whiskey maker and a composer who fled the Nazis

10

A seaman from Skye and a composer who fled the Nazis

Hamish MacPherson looks at how St Andrews made golf in the final part of his series on the ancient town

Hamish MacPherson looks at how St Andrews made golf in the final part of his series on the ancient town

BACK IN THE DAY

Did St Andrews make golf, or did golf make St Andrews?

Martin Dalby with John Purser who is playing the Caprington horn, Scotland's oldest surviving playable musical instrument

Martin Dalby with John Purser who is playing the Caprington horn, Scotland's oldest surviving playable musical instrument

1

Scotland's Music: Working with Martin Dalby on a groundbreaking series

Tom Fleming gave a 'monumental' performance in Carver, ably matched by Anne Kristen

Tom Fleming gave a 'monumental' performance in Carver, ably matched by Anne Kristen

1

A behind-the-scenes insight into the world of radio at BBC Scotland

Bertolt Brecht’s The Visions of Simone Machard at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow

Bertolt Brecht’s The Visions of Simone Machard at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow

John Purser: Do you have to experience horror or tragedy to give it true expression?

A scene from a A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A scene from a A Midsummer Night’s Dream

John Purser: Shakespeare, the Citizens Theatre and the Sixties

John, Augustus Edwin; Zoe Hicks (1922-1996)

John, Augustus Edwin; Zoe Hicks (1922-1996)

Glasgow Theatre Royal

The ‘Citz’ in the sixties: Performance never-to-be-forgotten

The Beatles pictured in June 1963 as their fame soared (PA)

The Beatles pictured in June 1963 as their fame soared (PA)

The Last Great British Story: How The Beatles changed Britain

General Sir Alexander Leslie

General Sir Alexander Leslie

BACK IN THE DAY

Life of the original ‘crooked man’ of the nursery rhymes

Rutherglen Town Hall on the Main Street, Rutherglen.

Rutherglen Town Hall on the Main Street, Rutherglen.

BACK IN THE DAY

Rutherglen and Hamilton West

1

The rich history of Rutherglen - one of Scotland's most ancient settlements

Alan Riach speaks to Kenneth Munro

Alan Riach speaks to Kenneth Munro

1

'Buried treasure': Alan Riach speaks to Kenneth Munro

Scotland’s unending renaissance

Scotland’s unending renaissance

1

'Scotland's unending renaissance': Alan Riach speaks to Kenneth Munro

Peter Jewell (right) will hopefully attend a Glasgow Short Film Festival screening of early short 8mm films by Bill Douglas

Peter Jewell (right) will hopefully attend a Glasgow Short Film Festival screening of early short 8mm films by Bill Douglas

Alan Riach: Championing the work of a great Scottish filmmaker

Kenneth Munro on his rediscovery of Bill Douglas

Kenneth Munro on his rediscovery of Bill Douglas

4

Film to explore international significance of Scottish filmmaker Bill Douglas

Paolozzi in the studio

Paolozzi in the studio

BACK IN THE DAY

1

Centenary of Scottish father of Pop Art movement celebrated

Illustration from Symmes Theory of Concentric Spheres, 1878.

Illustration from Symmes Theory of Concentric Spheres, 1878.

Alan Riach: A journey into the centre of New Zealand's literary universe

What happened to the common ground between the SNP and Labour, asks Gerry Hassan

What happened to the common ground between the SNP and Labour, asks Gerry Hassan

14

Gerry Hassan: Hostility between SNP and Labour fails the cause of independence

Elgin Cathedral

Elgin Cathedral

BACK IN THE DAY

8

This truly ancient Scottish town was once a city

An opera inspired by a poem about Robert the Bruce is to be staged in Glasgow Cathedral

An opera inspired by a poem about Robert the Bruce is to be staged in Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral

The young composer staging an opera about Robert the Bruce

If anyone was truly a ‘millennium man’, it was surely Nelson Mandela

If anyone was truly a ‘millennium man’, it was surely Nelson Mandela

Alan Riach: Here's what we can learn from the 'millennium men' of the 20th century

New Lanark World Heritage Scotland

New Lanark World Heritage Scotland

BACK IN THE DAY

New Lanark World Heritage Site

Lanark: The historic town where William Wallace ‘first drew his sword'

Newmarket street, Falkirk town centre in 2019

Newmarket street, Falkirk town centre in 2019

Back in the day

Charting Scotland's ancient towns: Falkirk's battleground to industry hub

Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott at his home in St Lucia (Photo by Micheline Pelletier/Corbis via Getty Images)

Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott at his home in St Lucia (Photo by Micheline Pelletier/Corbis via Getty Images)

Alan Riach: The 1970s saw literature reach across the cultural divide

Sean Connery as James Bond

Sean Connery as James Bond

2

Reassertion, liberation, reconfiguration: The 1960s embedded within ideologies

Why have the stories of independence not been enough?

Why have the stories of independence not been enough?

Scottish independence referendum

11

Gerry Hassan: How the independence movement can start a new story

William Golding and Stevie Smith feature as Alan Riach explores the 1950s

William Golding and Stevie Smith feature as Alan Riach explores the 1950s

Alan Riach: Exploring the 1950s artists who stayed true to their art

MA mither an faither lued haein faimily an friens roon aboot thaim on Hogmanay

MA mither an faither lued haein faimily an friens roon aboot thaim on Hogmanay

3

Billy Kay: The Christmas an Hogmanay tradeitions tha mairked ma childhood

The Cuillin Hills

The Cuillin Hills

How 1940s literature rose on the other side of sorrow

My attempts at genealogy were continually hampered by the way everyone in the past had the same names

My attempts at genealogy were continually hampered by the way everyone in the past had the same names

10

What I found when my family tree research led me to Scotland

The institution of marriage has played a role in shaping Scotland throughout history

The institution of marriage has played a role in shaping Scotland throughout history

BACK IN THE DAY

The marriages and diplomacy which made Scotland

Riach considers the literature of the 1930s, a decade of winter and a great depression following the aftermath of the Second World War

Riach considers the literature of the 1930s, a decade of winter and a great depression following the aftermath of the Second World War

Dark clouds, bright talents: The complex story of the 1930s

Igor Stravinsky chose to set his Oedipus Rex in a dead language to emphasise the contemporary relevance of the apparently archaic

Igor Stravinsky chose to set his Oedipus Rex in a dead language to emphasise the contemporary relevance of the apparently archaic

'A healing energy': The great decade of the Modernist movement

The Auld Alliance was one of the first mutual defence treaties, with France and Scotland promising to respond to any English invasion by supporting each other against England

The Auld Alliance was one of the first mutual defence treaties, with France and Scotland promising to respond to any English invasion by supporting each other against England

BACK IN THE DAY

Scottish history

Treaties show how the international community treated Scotland as a nation-state

Shetlandic alternative R&B artist Philomenah

Shetlandic alternative R&B artist Philomenah

Music in Scotland

Let's shout loud and proud about Scotland’s up-and-coming bands and artists

Australian troops, Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), 29 October 1917

Australian troops, Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), 29 October 1917

1

How did literature fare in one of Europe's most horrific decades?

The work of Oscar Wilde and Charles Darwin provided fertile ground for the literature of the 20th century

The work of Oscar Wilde and Charles Darwin provided fertile ground for the literature of the 20th century

Alan Riach: The literary symmetries of Oscar Wilde and Charles Darwin

Alec Guinness (left) as the titular character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Alec Guinness (left) as the titular character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Re-exploring William Shakespeare's Macbeth - a play like few others

Alan Riach takes the long way round to explore some
further thoughts on distances and differences, and to find
some unanswerable questions and unresolved enigmas …

Alan Riach takes the long way round to explore some
further thoughts on distances and differences, and to find
some unanswerable questions and unresolved enigmas …

Alan Riach: Exploring unanswerable questions to unresolved enigmas

Clava Cairns bronze age stones outside Culloden, Inverness

Clava Cairns bronze age stones outside Culloden, Inverness

BACK IN THE DAY

The Clava Cairns are tangible reminders of our ancestors

All the present ghastliness is worse precisely because the visible world events are reduced to an exclusively intrusive visibility

All the present ghastliness is worse precisely because the visible world events are reduced to an exclusively intrusive visibility

National government

Alan Riach on the quest for distance

The remains of the neolithic chambered cairn near Creetown, Kirkudbrightshire, Scotland

The remains of the neolithic chambered cairn near Creetown, Kirkudbrightshire, Scotland

BACK IN THE DAY

Scottish history

4

The cairns holding the key to early Scottish-Irish connections

Alan Riach on his visit to the Carhaix Book Festival in Brittany where this year’s theme was Scotland

Alan Riach on his visit to the Carhaix Book Festival in Brittany where this year’s theme was Scotland

Connections with Brittany exemplified, demonstrated, celebrated and confirmed

King William II

King William II

BACK IN THE DAY

3

How a King showed he preferred his English subjects to his Scottish ones

Summerhall reception.

Summerhall reception.

A new dawn for Scotland's arts 'to be able to compete on the world stage'

The coast of Brittany has inspired many great works of literature, writes Alan Riach

The coast of Brittany has inspired many great works of literature, writes Alan Riach

Alan Riach: The great works of Breton literature have much to teach us

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