• Home
  • Novels
    • Four Old Geezers And A Valkyrie >
      • Getting Hold Of The Novel >
        • Purchasing the ebook
        • Purchase Direct
      • The Flying Saucers
    • The Discreet Charm of Mary Maxwell-Hume >
      • Purchase >
        • Buy the ebook
    • The Blogger Who Came in from the Cold >
      • Purchase Direct
      • Buy the Ebook
  • Short Stories
    • The Piano Exam
    • Ex Libris
    • A Different Game
    • Of All The...
    • Fishermen
  • Flash Fiction Galore
    • 100 Not Out (Free!) >
      • Download Your Free Gift – 100 Not Out
    • 200 Not Out (Free!) >
      • Download 200 Not Out
  • Non-Fiction Books
  • Essays and Other Stuff
    • Remembrance Special
    • Longer Flash Fiction
    • The Uncle Charlie Stories
    • Assorted Essays
    • Assorted Poetry
    • Chicken Tikka Macgregor
    • In Search Of Scouse
  • Performance
  • Music
    • Bird
    • Right Here Lovin' Me
    • The Saturday Blues
    • River Of Tears
    • Rasta-Jock
    • Any Way You Want Me
    • Music From The Piano Exam
    • The Accidental Christmas Carol
    • Halfway to London
    • The Shores of Caledonia
    • Kindly Leave the Stage
    • The Ballad of Kirstie and Tommy
  • Advice
    • Self-Publishing Guide >
      • Buy the Self-Publishing Guide
    • Editing
    • If you find writing hard...
  • Book Reviews
  • Blethers and Blog
  • Contact
  • Privacy notice
Gordon Lawrie

REVIEW: ALISTAIR MOFFAT with Brian Meechan

27/8/2019

0 Comments

 
Edinburgh International Book Festival, 25th August

Alistair Moffat is currently promoting a new book where he retraces (he assumes) the steps of St Cuthbert from Melrose down to Lindisfarne. Moffat is a fine speaker anyway, but I suspect most of the audience were there to hear his take on the Holy Island, which forms the centrepiece of his book.
 
Moffat was introduced and then walked on and spoke beautifully for fully thirty minutes, almost without any reference to notes at all; as a piece of public speaking it was a masterclass. In the process we learned much about Cuthbert, a great deal about Lindisfarne, but most of all about Moffat himself, his views on God and religion, churches, theology and the ability of 'place' and location to infuse the spirit with a sense of peace.
 
Moffat isn't really a historian, although his excellent A History of Scotland Since Earliest Times sits in with Scottish history books on our bookshelves. Instead, he's a writer who writes about history. Here, he was speaking instead.
 
Given Moffat's 'performance approach', Brian Meechan (Scottish, but works for BBC Wales) chaired the event brilliantly, quietly allowing the audience to ask questions aside from the classic 'what's next?' one at the end.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    November 2019
    August 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

Picture
Website by Platform 36