The Mountain

Hello from the dark streets of Edinburgh.

I have some exciting news to post here, but for the moment, I have to keep it under wraps. Until I do, writing continues at normal, slowed by the fact that I have a new job and that takes up so many hours that it doesn’t leave me much time to put pen to paper. That said, last weekend I took my first walk up and around Arthur’s Seat as part of a research trip for project The Mountain. It was a blustery day, and initially it was quiet as I approached from the south-east, which gave me a chance to look down at St Margaret’s Loch and St. Anthony’s Chapel.

It got a lot busier as we headed to the summit, which looks out across the Edinburgh skyline. I was able to sit and do some writing, hiding behind an outcrop of rock to protect myself from the wind.

I intend to do several more visits as I want to experience the hill in all weathers and seasons. However, my wife has expressed concern about going up it in winter. Whilst a tourist attraction and well-traversed, Arthur’s Seat is still a wild place, and accidents do happen.

This weekend I picked up my new glasses. My reading and the ability to pick out details, particularly in low light, have been getting worse over the last few months. I was also getting a lot of headaches and sore eyes. Nothing wrong, other than decrepitude and my body reacting to looking at the screen all day, every day.

Reading

Illuminations by Alan Moore: Selection of short stories, though to be honest, one is a novel. The writing and themes vary, but the literary precision of Moore's writing is what shines here. He knocks similes out of the park. By far the best here is the novel about the world of comic books, which undoubtedly has many allusions and connections to the world of the major comic book companies and the history of the art form. A few of the short stories left me cold, but I enjoyed the supernatural-tinged 'Cold Reading.'

Injection, Vol 1 by Warren Ellis and others: I missed this the first time around, but picked up a digital copy. It's right up my street. Strange goings-on in a UK very much like this one, but subtly changed so that it feels uncanny. Supernatural mixed with science fiction and a bunch of characters that hide dark secrets.

Watching

Sleepers: Dutch crime drama where the hero (if you can call him that) is a plant made by a local kingpin. Detective Martin Oudkerk is a cold fish, but you grow to understand his ticks and reticence to get involved in life, knowing that at any moment his cover could be blown. Interesting, though it finishes on a cliffhanger.

Witchfinder General: I’m doing a bit of review of Folk Horror at the moment, and this is where it all started (according to Mark Gatiss), forming part of the Unholy Trinity alongside The Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man. The film is surprisingly sparse about why Vincent Price’s Mathew Hopkins has risen to power, but he is given free rein to kill as he sees fit. Being a psychopath, his control of women soon attracts the attention of another man, whose love interest the general has defiled.

And that’s me out for this week. Stay healthy, keep eating your greens and imbibe with moderation where possible.