Looking back over a busy year that started on the Isle of Lewis. My trip was delayed because of the storms in January, but the beginning of the year saw me spending ten days with Island Darkroom: a great opportunity that really helped my project find its feet. 

In February the world changed of course, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which continues to mar the world with violence, loss and sadness, and it’s difficult to believe that this terrible war has dragged on now for almost a year. All we can do is hope for a resolution in 2023 that will end the needless suffering as the people of Ukraine continue to be an inspiration.

Earlier in February my writing was included in Echtrai Ed. 1 with some wonderful company, and that led to an engaging chat with the lovely and never still Helen Needham for the BBC Scotland Outdoors podcast. I also had writing published with Little Toller’s The Clearing, Paul Scraton’s online journal Elsewhere, Southlight Magazine and Poetry Scotland.

In May I read work at a symposium with The Sir Herbert Grierson Centre, and in September I gave a workshop on writing Landscape and Place as part of the 2022 Wayword Lit. Arts festival. In November I gave a paper at the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt for the Practicing Place conference.

Finally, my work featured in the long awaited book Four Rivers:Deep Maps with a chapter on the River Don, tracing its sacred associations from source to sea and exploring how they have shaped the area’s geography and identity over time. The book was published by UWAP in late September. 

I’m nearing the end of my major work-in-progress now and hope to get it out there next year which looks set to be as busy as the last, with some teaching work lined up, and hopefully an academic publication on my research and a further conference in the summer. Beyond that I hope to do some more workshops and get my thesis in on time! 

Wishing you all the very best for the year ahead and hoping the world finds itself a little kinder in 2023.