Hamish is many things to many people. He’s ‘Hamish’ or ‘darlin’ to my mum. The ‘bunker’ to customers past and present. ‘Grandpa Bum’ to Rosalyn and Jamie. ‘My secret tartan love terrier’ to TV chef Nigella Lawson. But to me, Colin and Neil – he is our dad.
Author Archives: athole
Primary teacher, dad and lover of curries.
The Lochgelly Tawse
Mrs Tullock had a Lochgelly tawse in her desk drawer. The tawse was the Scottish education system’s corporal punishment weapon of choice. The Lochgelly tawse is a leather belt with a twin fringed end. I thought it looked like an intimidating oversized bookmark. Lochgelly is the town in Fife where it was made. And Mrs Tullock had one in her drawer.
The right not to finish a book
I love reading out loud to my class. There is nothing sweeter than when a book grabs their collective attention, and they are seated spellbound, imaginations lost deep within the tale; only pausing to breathe at the exact moment you turn the page.