Going West: Our Father the Sun and Our Mother the Earth

A couple of miles southwest of Cannich is the Fasnakyle Hydro Power Station. Gravity pulls water down the mountains and the energy wrapped up in this process is harnessed and distributed as electricity. Following the energy back through time we cannot avoid arriving at the sun, Continue reading “Going West: Our Father the Sun and Our Mother the Earth”

Going West: Encouraged to be.

From Beauly we follow the A862 south for a couple of miles then turn right on the A831 towards Struy and Cannich. At a small road signposted Kiltarlity 2 ½ Eskadale 4 ¾ we turn left and freewheel down hill, fast, towards Black Bridge over the River Beauly. My spirit soars, I am an eagle, a kingfisher, a pterodactyl, Continue reading “Going West: Encouraged to be.”

Going West: Flesh Ripped from Bone

My stepfather’s Marin Larkspur is jammed under the bike holder and I’m sitting on the fold down seat by the carriage door as the train accelerates away from Dyce. Oil company crew changes and the beginning of Easter break ensure the train is over capacity; the vestibule is rammed, hot, and the country is spluttering. Continue reading “Going West: Flesh Ripped from Bone”

Top of the Mountain

We were living in an incredible time. Industrial civilization, as it was referred to, was fueled by the fearsome energy of a younger sun. As a species we had never produced so much oil. We were burning around 84million barrels every day; more than would ever be possible again. A small portion of the species had easy access to global travel. These were referred to as “tourists”. They were everywhere. Continue reading “Top of the Mountain”

The Riding the Long White Cloud post

Below, in 5 parts, you should hopefully find a film of a muscle-powered tour that a group of skateboard enthusiasts undertook in New Zealand one summer. My idea was to use the trip as a speculative platform from which Continue reading “The Riding the Long White Cloud post”