Lindisfarne, St Aidanstide. 2nd September.

Kayaking

Shadowed by the policeman of a lingering pod of orca, shallow into the shore of an appointed camping spot.  Being tail-flipped into a series of rollicking capsizes by a playful dolphin, off the rocky extremities of Cape Wrath.

Two anecdotes told with relish by a consummate storm-going veteran of the outdoors.

He'd rounded our tents as we packed up for the early ferry.  What time did it leave? We shared our journey in German and English, back from Castlebay, through Oban to Glasgow.

I asked whether he had ever written about his experiences.  No, only his log books.  There were other writers.

Some refuse to accept the wild sea and land as unwelcoming realms,  but respectfully occupy their own place amongst other creatures and weather fronts.

We fixed his phone and I gave him a postcard drawn at Howmore a few days before.

Winged ox of St Matthew the Evangelist, San Marco, Venice.

Pollock fishing | 18th May

Chuck D

behind the new house

on the train

by the sea

A couple of illustrations for a commission that I'm working on at the moment.

Granny Pine

From Kate's

Bedroom for the undead Saint Sea Otter

Happy New Year

Postcards from the Edge II

All of these cards were posted at Howmore, South Uist on 6th September.  Some were sent to twitter followers, the rest to family and friends.  Some other cards had already been given away * * , and some came home with me *.  

The cards shown were drawn between the 30th August and 6th September in a few different locations: Howmore; various locations on Berneray; a couple of ferries; St Clements, Rodel, Harris.  Picture taken on the table at Howmore hostel, as I did the divvy up. 

Twitter followers who responded to the offer of a card #postcardsfromtheedge:

@aikowrites *, @randmhousekpr, @tinyblob, @davidtuckisgay, @benrobertsphoto (card), @homespunvintage, @caponicus, @mrkipperling, @bremnerdesign, @mhutchings, @jencrabtree, @stjudes

*card m.i.a. 

update:  the card sent to @randomhousekpr turned up 2 months late and with an Edinburgh postmark.  Particularly odd as it arrived on the same day that I had got in touch with Royal Mail to see if it could be traced.

A Drawing for A Dram

He was a rigger in recalibration after a stint of night shifts.

A large dram was administered as I sat outside drawing.  John sat on the other bench with the bottle of Bushmills.  He wore a jumper forgotten on the pulley by another (smaller) hosteler.  A couple more draughts were drawn before he disappeared rig-lagged into his room.

I don't know where this drawing is now, possibly on an oil rig miles out into the North Sea.  Autumn migration south may have taken it to a different beach hut.  A swap: heather and reed thatch for palm.

A Tale of Two Saddles

I made a wee sketch of a tandem aboard the MV Loch Portain, the Berneray to Harris Ferry.  The sketch went home with the owners of the bike, lovely Alan & Wendy, who we had met the day before.

The tandem has been Alan & Wendy's mode of transport on adventures all over the world, while we are touring novices; it was great to chat panniers and packing with them.

This week Alan & Wendy sent a photograph of the drawing, up on their wall alongside mementos from their other trips.

A & W also did a tour blog - warning - this site has quantities of powerfully diverting reading material!

 

Berneray 31st August: Electrical & White Goods, Lobster Pots.

2010, berneray, drawing, Loch a Bhaigh, pen, plein air, postcard, scotland, west, outer hebrides,

Top Table

Over Meadowbank Stadium to Inchkeith and Fife

Nelson's Monument & Edinburgh's Disgrace

for a girl (grill?) who likes to BBQ