There was a blackbird standing in the rain,
Half way along the garden path.
His head was down. He might have been in pain
But, clearly he was standing in his bath.

Click here to download the full poem. It is in 'rich text format' which will open in most computers.

Edith is a member of the Lanark Writers' Group.

15th July 2007

O my love is like a poki chips
when yir trauchlin along Argyle Street
in January eftir the sales
n the poly bags r cuttn inti yir fingurs
nits freezn

Click here to download the full poem. It is in 'rich text format' which will open in most computers.

Anne is a member of Clyde Valley Writers' Group and this poem was a prizewinner in the 2007 writing competition sponsored by Radio Heartbeat, the radio station broadcasting in Monklands General Hospital. Anne tells us ' The poem was one I've read in several places. It's about walking back fi the shops in Argyle St, pure freezin, & yi come ti that chip shop unner the brig & aw yi want is CHIPS. I'd sent it to a few places and it came right back again. It seemed to fit the bill for the hospital radio competition though, cheerful and accessible to all'.

21st June 2007

Bird of Paradise

This banner was made as a wedding present for Finn and Fiona. Finn is from Australia and Katriona from Scotland. They first met when working as doctors in a hospital in Melbourne and they wanted an Australian emblem for the theme of their wedding. They chose the exotic 'Bird of Paradise' flower.

The hanging is approximately 12" x 24" and I used part of my own satin wedding dress for the background. The shapes of the flower are attached with bondaweb - a double sided adhesive film which fixes two layers of fabric together with heat from an iron. The latin name of the flower and the couples' names were embroidered in stem stitch down each side and a matching fabric was used to pipe round the edges and for the loops at the top. The two small hearts at the bottom symbolise their love for each other.

21st June 2007

Natasha 2

"Capturing an expression is my aim in this painting. She has an air of mystery behind those eyes. Is she happy or sad? She just evolved when I was painting her. I wanted simplicity. She haunts me a little."

Acrylic on canvas, Size 9 1/2" X 11"

1st June 2007

Hamlet (Condensed)

This song tells a 'condensed' version of the Shakespeare play Hamlet. It was written by the Glasgow poet and songwriter Adam McNaughton, a former teacher of English in a Glasgow secondary school. It is sung here, unaccompanied, by Lyssie Graham.

The track lasts for about 3 minutes. It is stored in mp3 format, which will download and play on most computers. The download time may be long (many minutes) over a slow connection and most computers won't begin to play the song until it has downloaded completely. But IT IS WORTH WAITING FOR. Click here to begin the download. You can also listen to a short extract of around 1 minute.

1st June 2007