Curious Writings


It’s been quite a heady week review-wise. On top of the – now four – feedback reviews of the new book on the Amazon platform several local and not so local newspapers have been brave enough to expose my curious writings to a wider audience. First of all, The Scotsman published a wide-ranging piece titled ‘7 gems from Aberdeenshire’s past’. Penned by Alison Campsie, whom I have never knowingly met – honest Injun’s – the article begins with the history of Aberdeenshire Alligators and concludes with a tale about Aberdeenshire toilets - I kid you not. And the full feature can be found on the Scotsman website at: https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/7-gems-from-aberdeenshire-s-curious-past-1-
On the previous Friday a good friend had contacted me to say that I had finally made it into the Evening Express. Now, to put this in context, I have been trying to get the local Aberdeenshire papers to take my articles and theatre reviews for ages but without much success. On this occasion however, I was the news and Jodie Molyneux, bless her, had penned a really lovely piece highlighting Buffalo Bill Cody’s 1904 visit to the North-east alongside the mysterious tale of Inverurie’s Mound of Death.
Then came the supreme accolade of the week. The Press and Journal publish a pretty upbeat weekend supplement titled YL Magazine. Robbie Shepherd has a regular spot on page 40 or thereabouts alongside the Bookshelf column and there for all to read was a feature describing my A-Z of Curious Aberdeenshire as ‘Book of the Week’. Yet again Inverurie’s Mound of Death featured strongly and Joseph Farquharson’s plaster sheep got a good mention alongside, of course, the tale of the Typhoid Queen. All good stuff and, as a result, the good news is that the new tome is off for a second print run.
Amazon still have a supply on tap and local outlets such as Inverurie Whisky Shop and The Black Bull Inn have a supply of signed copies of the first edition on-sale.
And, of course, the entire book is available as an instant – but of course unsigned - Kindle download from the Amazon website.
Oh, and that header image - it's of Buffalo Bill Cody accompanied by a good few Lakota Native Americans at Fraserburgh harbour in far off 1904. If you look closely you can almost make out the masts of the local herring fleet in the background. That's Bill just to right of centre. He's the one with the beard and the Stetson. 

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