Fanfare For The Crannog

The Crannog Centre had its official unveiling on the Banks of Loch Tay this month. The Centre a museum of life in ancient Scotland, had held a special ceremony to mark the building of the new crannog following a fire in 2021. I met folk singer Barbara Dickson there with with young fan Albie (age 4) playing his traditional horn in full costume on the bridge across to the crannog. We had a great day. Music, sunshine and no midges.

John Swinney the First Minister came along. He had a tour with with Laura Jaap , Project Manager of the Build Team.

Chelsea Comes To Glasgow

I was asked along to the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice where the 2024 Best in Show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been officially opened and named as the Malcolm Family Forest Bathing Garden. It was stunning and a really cool space to be in during the hot weather. Pictured were Andrew Malcolm , Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren , Rhona Baillie (CEO) and Dr Sheonad Laidlaw in the main structure in the garden which looked great framing them all. The garden was made possible thanks to funding from Project Giving Back, a charitable organisation that supports gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea.

Only An Excuse

I was a really big fan of Only An Excuse, the hilarious Scottish Football comedy sketch show.  For me it was the best thing on the TV at New Year. With this years World Cup in the USA it has been brought back by the Comedy Unit production company for a World Cup Special. I have photographed Phil Differ and Jonathan Watson loads of times over the years, even as far back at the time they used to do a comedy page for the Evening Times. I remember photographing them on the pitch centre spot at Hampden. There is a very cool brick wall near the Comedy Unit base and it makes a great background.

Marking 10 Years of Beyond Srebrenica

I was at a very emotional but uplifting event this month. I attended the 10 Year anniversary of the of Beyond Srebrenica, the Scottish charity which coordinates Srebrenica awareness activities in Scotland. The Srebrenica genocide was a mass killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 1995. I met the board at the event at The Trades House in Glasgow where there were talks and real histories of people who lived through the war. They were presenting the winners of the Beyond Srebrenica National Schools Competition. Open to secondary-aged pupils across Scotland, the competition invited young people to engage with the theme of ‘justice’ and to explore how we remember and respond to the Srebrenica genocide.
The standard of submissions this year was truly inspiring.

Tiree……. The Place To Be

I had another lovely visit to Tiree again this year. I love the place. It is fabulous for pictures and I love the beaches. I even used have my own range of postcards for sale in one of the shops Chocolate & Charms. I have been watching this wee traditional black house in my picture slowly disintegrating over the years. The Highland cows are always present. It was nice to get my picture  of it with the coos and the beach in the background. It got a lovely show in the Daily Mail Plus over two pages. 

BBC Young Classical Musician 2026

Another one of my favourite assignments happened this month. I got to watch and listen to three amazing musicians playing with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. The winner was  Cellist Finn Mannion. A lovely guy. He was telling me his cello was 300 years old. To be honest I could not have singled out one artist over the other, they all sounded amazing.

Panto Is Here and its only May

It was a fun day at the Pavilion Theatre for this year’s pantomime Goldilocks and the Three Bonnie Bears. What a laugh I had with fellow photographer John Young doing all the portraits and group shots of the cast. The patter was on form as always. I made the edit of cast member Valissa Scott’s Instagram film going through the theatre on the day. I got a great shot of the cast out on the street outside the Pavilion. The bus drivers passing us all had big smiles on their faces as did I.