Journalism

I write articles and columns for national and Scottish newspapers and magazines.

Poetry from the islands, from the Sunday Post [24 May 2022]

Head teacher on how to improve schools, from the Sunday post [16 May 2022]

The joy of salmon fishing, from the Sunday Post [27 April 2022]

Readers ditch noir for romance, from The Times [11 April 2022]

Folk hero Rory McEwen’s art legacy, from The Times [5 April 2022]

Who was Sir William Burrell, from the Sunday Post [8 February 2022]

The Arlington Baths, from the Sunday Post, [3 August 2021]

Opinion: We forget family holidays were a nightmare before Covid, The Courier [8 August 2021]

Opinion: The truth behind social media holiday snaps, from The Herald [19 July 2021]

Opinion: Food, a recipe to combat unhealthy diets, from The Herald [26 July 2021]

Opinion: School children should learn old-fashioned manners, from The Herald [13 July 2021]

Opinion: Black Widow – movie milestone or me-too marketing ploy? from The Courier [8 July 2021]

Opinion: I’m no anti-vaxxer but I worry about giving my child the Covid jab, from The Herald [1 July 2021]

Gone Girls: Novelist hails incredible Glasgow women written out of art history, from the Sunday Post [7 June 2021]

Poetry for nurses, from The Herald [14 June 2021]

Alexander McCall Smith says he’s hit a prolific writing spell during lockdown, from The Herald [March 14, 2021]

Birdwoman of Aberdeen shares her home with rooks, starlings and magpies but worries about how we treat other animal species, from The Sunday Post [March 8, 2021]

I married a psycho! Mother’s nightmare as her ‘loving’ husband turned out to be a bigamist conman with another wife, FIVE fiancees and several families, from The Daily Mail [February 27, 2021]

Football still a game of two halves as stereotyping leaves girls on the sidelines, from The Herald [February 15, 2021]

It’s A Sin stigma is still as relevant today as it was 35 years ago, says HIV expert, from The Herald [February 2, 2021]

Me, my shelves and sigh: Scotland’s grumpiest bookseller on the seven customers he loves to hate (but mostly loves), from The Sunday Post [November 3, 2020]

Once upon a second time as Scotland’s Enid Blyton returns to print after her books were lost in the Blitz, from The Sunday Post [October 27, 2020]

Steep rise in Scots enjoying fruits of foraging, from The Herald [September 5, 2020]

Still wild about Harry: The first Scots superstar hailed on 150th anniversary, from The Sunday Post [August 9, 2020]

Injustice then, justice now: Mounting calls for a pardon and apology to the thousands of women killed in Scots witch hunts, from The Sunday Post [June 22, 2020]

Our wee bit kill and glen: Crime bestsellers head north in hunt for inspiration, from The Sunday Post [June 2, 2020]

Our end of the pier show: Ullapool duo spot a delicious gap in the market close to home, from The Sunday Post [May 25, 2020]

Zombies in the classroom – in the name of science, from The Herald [April 18, 2020]

Author winds clock back 50 years to grow cattle herd and tempt endangered wildlife back to the farm, from The Sunday Post [March 24, 2020]

A wag for life: Expert animal psychologist reveals how to have a happy dog, from The Sunday Post [March 10, 2020]

Jimmy Reid: inside the mind of a working-class hero, from The Herald [February 23, 2020]

Flying high – how the trapeze is helping students overcome stress, from The Herald [February 17, 2020]

From the real-life Dr Jekyll to lovers on the run: Writer reveals the captivating stories all leading back to one Edinburgh address, from The Sunday Post [January 26, 2020]

Scottish Ballet’s bid to aid dementia sufferers with dance, from The Herald [January 6, 2020]

To boldly go: Mission to sell science to school girls with help of sci-fi, from The Herald [December 27, 2019]

Rare archive pictures and documents chart how mighty Queen Mary liner was built on the Clyde in just three-and-a-half years, from The Sunday Post [August 18, 2019]

How a book on verse is helping junior doctors cope, from The Herald [June 13, 2019]

Thrill of a lifetime as Huntington’s mum ticks skydiving off her bucketlist, from The Herald [May 18, 2019]

Author and daughter team up on Nessie’s tale inspired by loved childhood stories, from The Sunday Post [April 14, 2019]

From the Titanic to the Whitehouse: how Scotland carpeted the world, from The Sunday Post [April 14, 2019]

Former boxer launches campaign for more male nurses, from The Herald [March 18, 2019]

From an Ayrshire manse to the opium dens of Shanghai: following in the footsteps of a Glasgow Girl, from The Sunday Post [January 27, 2019]

Economic legacy still Burns bright, from The Times [January 25, 2019]

Novelist weaves a tale of fashion and heroism to mark war tragedy, from The Times [November 28, 2017]

Christopher Brookmyre: If I could I’d rewrite my hero as a woman, from The Times [November 4, 2017]

All the world really is a stage for Scotland’s most theatrical clan, from Scottish Daily Mail [October 21, 2017]

Police Scotland criticised by watchdog for taking three days to find body of man in parked van [October 6, 2017]

Skim it over: the world championship which leaves no turn unstoned, from Sunday Herald [September 24, 2017]

Perfect pitch: The Dragon’s Den-style contest held to fund cancer research, from Sunday Herald [September 24, 2017]

Repetitive Vain Injury: how an obsession with looking good is sending many to A&E, from Sunday Herald [September 24, 2017]

Farming must shed its tweedy image, says woman head of Royal Agricultural University, from The Times [September 2, 2017]

Nice day for a lite wedding, from Daily Record [June 12, 2017]

Two seats to remember theatre’s tale of romance, from Daily Mail, [May 15, 2017]

Bitter rivalry, sex and violence…welcome to the dog eat dog world of Crufts, from Sunday Herald, [March 12, 2017]

Get ready for the latest month of misery: March with no chocolate, from Sunday Herald, [March 5, 2017]

World Book Day under fire from parents and teachers as ‘just another Hallowe’en’, from Sunday Herald, [March 5, 2017]

How crafting took over the world, from Sunday Herald, [March 5, 2017]

Guide dog trainers reveal why they give up their time as campaign for puppy walkers is launched, from Daily Record [November 5, 2016]

New book Disappearing Glasgow looks at the vanishing ‘streets in the sky’, from Daily Record [October 30, 2016]

A house fit for a princess: Queen Victoria’s daughter’s house goes up for sale, from Daily Record [October 28, 2016]

Take a trip to explore ‘Whisky Island’ in the Scottish Hebrides, from Daily Record [October 25, 2016]

Wolves and other creatures that should belong in Scottish wilderness, from Daily Record [October 18, 2016]

Shetland writer inspired by explorers’ dreamt-up islands, from The Times [September 26, 2016]

From cleaner to published author: how one woman realised her writing dreams, from Daily Record [September 11, 2016]

Medical school puts social barriers aside, from The Times [September 7, 2016]

Scottish novel takes America by storm after rejection in UK, from Daily Record [August 29, 2016]

Tartan Noir author takes her cue from Dad the detective, from The Times [August 23, 2016]

Hidden Burrell treasures go on tour, from The Times [August 20, 2016]

From concrete jungle to glam garden, from The Times [August 2016]

‘Horatio’s Garden is all about renewal and hope. Out of this terrible tragedy we have created a legacy’ [August 2016]
Click for cutting of Times piece.

It’s Rekindle Romance Week – would you go back to an ex? in No1 Magazine. [August 2016]

Experts warn of social media addiction as one user flees to the Outer Hebrides for extreme digital detox in the Sunday Mail.

Ups and downs of running a merry-go-round for The Times.

Tourist trail for unsung Glasgow heroines for The Times.

Exhibition highlights our belief in divine intervention for The Times.

My research for writing Paris Kiss inspired this travel piece for The Herald.

I also wrote a piece on staying in Paris for The Sunday Herald.