Music
Dear Dorothy
In 2025 I was extremely fortunate to be awarded a bursary by the Sessions & Sail team to attend their songwriting course aboard the Lady of Avanel. Imagine. Sailing around Mull for a week aboard a tall ship, with the brilliant songwriting tutors Jenny Sturgeon and Adam Ross, the epic crew of Barry, Harry and Harris Bari, and a lovely, lively bunch of fellow songwriters. Heaven, no?
It was. Dear Dorothy was written during the week. Prompted by a postcard dating from 1937, the lyrics are part factual from the card’s message and part fictional, from my imagination. It was posted to a Miss J Wagart, in Kilmacolm, Scotland, by Dorothy, in Adelboden, Switzerland. This is my imagined reply, winging its way from Kilmacolm back to Switzerland.
A song about friendship and really loving and missing someone. And a song in celebration of that rather under-used-medium of the postcard.
When was the last time you posted one?
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Lyrics and Track Info
Wintersmith
Without Terry Pratchett, this song wouldn’t exist. He created one of my favourite fictional worlds, within which there are many characters that I love, but Tiffany Aching’s is one of my favourite story arcs. This song is inspired by Pratchett’s book of the same name, borrowing lines from the skipping-poem called Things That Make a Man.
I’m not going to tell you anything else. That would be plot-spoiling. If you haven’t read the book, I’d urge you to do so. In fact, you should probably start at the beginning of the Discworld series, to get the full appreciation of all the characters within.
I’m indebted to Terry for the inspiration, and for the endless hours of entertainment lost in his world(s).
This song is for all the Tiffany’s out there. Keep on keeping on, even though it feels huge, and you don’t always want to. Granny Weatherwax would be (quietly) proud.
Visit Terry Pratchett’s website
Available now on Bandcamp
Lyrics and Track Info
Begin Began Begun
Shirley’s debut EP showcases the breadth of her quirky, insightful, sumptuously layered melodies and vocals, from the sunny summer nostalgia of Run Free to the haunting refrains of Papadil.
Order the EP on Bandcamp
Lyrics and Track Info
Stages
Moniack Mhor, Scotland’s Creative Writing Centre, presents this new collaborative album, Stages, an exciting showcase of bright new songwriting talent.
Participants on the Stages songwriting programme worked with some of the finest musicians and music industry professionals to bring you an energetic and eclectic album of new music.
Hosted by Stages tutors Boo Hewerdine and Findlay Napier, this album was launched with an acclaimed live show at Eden Court, Inverness on the 28th of October 2023.