Secrets and lies

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Jamie Jauncey

Last autumn I started giving an illustrated talk which, I now realise, has been waiting more than six decades for its moment. The subject is my great-great-uncle, the writer, politician, horseman and adventurer, RB Cunninghame Graham, about whom I’ve written … Continue reading →

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Other hearts

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Jamie Jauncey

I was brought up in the Scottish countryside. Home was a house with a field and a wood, an old stables building and a walled garden. It was a late 18th century manse, elegant though not grand. In earlier times, … Continue reading →

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A fine balance

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Jamie Jauncey

Over the last 20 years I’ve made nearly a dozen trips to India. Each time I find myself re-enchanted by it, and each time by some new or different aspect of the place. I was born two years after Indian … Continue reading →

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Time in Hampi

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Jamie Jauncey

Even in Goa it’s hard to avoid politics. Apart from the constant temptation to check on the latest Trump outrage or Brexit dumbfoolery, it’s state election day here tomorrow. That means, among other inconveniences, that the whole place is dry … Continue reading →

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What love requires

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Jamie Jauncey

Last time I mentioned the Night For Angus concert, a tribute to the life and music of fiddler Angus Grant, which takes place tomorrow at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall.  Yesterday, in preparation, I listened to a live recording of a … Continue reading →

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Peaks and troughs

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Jamie Jauncey

Six months ago I decided to take a break from A Few Kind Words. It was a spur of the moment decision, though one that had been brewing for a while. One Thursday afternoon I sat down at the usual … Continue reading →

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Pause for breath

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Jamie Jauncey

After nearly seven years of continuous weekly posting, A Few Kind Words is taking a short sabbatical. I’ll be back  in the autumn – by which time the United Kingdom might be slightly less of a madhouse …

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Imagine better

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Jamie Jauncey

Last week I went to the launch of this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival programme. It was the first official book festival event I’d been to since coming off the board last October, after 14 years. I felt oddly anxious … Continue reading →

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The Gutenbergs

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Jamie Jauncey

No one would deny that Gutenberg is a name with which to conjure. Johannes Gutenberg transformed society with his invention of mechanical printing in the 1440s. Half a millenium later, in 1971, Michael Hart, an American student, wangled himself time … Continue reading →

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Spanish tales

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Jamie Jauncey

I watch my 88-year-old mother’s gradual decline and see her reaching for memories sometimes as if they’re a glimmer on some distant horizon. My mother has Alzheimer’s, although it has been kinder to her than to many. She exists mainly … Continue reading →

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