Bill Marshall 🇸🇮 🏴
@spiderbill.bsky.social
Scot now living in Slovenia. #ScotsAbroad Semi-retired internet consultant, chess player and administrator, landscape photographer, guitarist, Dorothy Dunnett commentator.
http://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk
http://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk
X should have been banned in the UK long ago - this current abuse should be the nail in their coffin. The crazy statement about needing to have a counter presence is ridiculous given that any such presence is throttled while abuse and hate is promoted.
January 6, 2026 at 8:22 PM
X should have been banned in the UK long ago - this current abuse should be the nail in their coffin. The crazy statement about needing to have a counter presence is ridiculous given that any such presence is throttled while abuse and hate is promoted.
Interesting, thank you, I hadnt seen those reports. In a flood of dubious information its hard to find authoritative voices.
January 3, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Interesting, thank you, I hadnt seen those reports. In a flood of dubious information its hard to find authoritative voices.
Two statements that we can consign to the dustbin of history.
1. The US has a system of checks and balances.
2. The US military take an oath to the country and to obey the constitution - not the president - and would never follow illegal orders.
1. The US has a system of checks and balances.
2. The US military take an oath to the country and to obey the constitution - not the president - and would never follow illegal orders.
January 3, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Two statements that we can consign to the dustbin of history.
1. The US has a system of checks and balances.
2. The US military take an oath to the country and to obey the constitution - not the president - and would never follow illegal orders.
1. The US has a system of checks and balances.
2. The US military take an oath to the country and to obey the constitution - not the president - and would never follow illegal orders.
So, if Scotland gets independence and elects a socialist government, will the US invade and steal the oil, and will England offer them support?
January 3, 2026 at 7:08 PM
So, if Scotland gets independence and elects a socialist government, will the US invade and steal the oil, and will England offer them support?
Clearly you were thinking pure and innocent thoughts for the New Year 😇😉
January 3, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Clearly you were thinking pure and innocent thoughts for the New Year 😇😉
Ah, interesting. Tracing was reserved for art lessons. Mind you we started with slates and chalk before being allowed near paper and ink. Yes I'm very old😄
January 2, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Ah, interesting. Tracing was reserved for art lessons. Mind you we started with slates and chalk before being allowed near paper and ink. Yes I'm very old😄
No idea how thay teach it now, but in my day you were very dependent on the style of the first primary teacher you had. Mine was very long and loopy which got more so if you tried to speed it up.
January 2, 2026 at 11:10 PM
No idea how thay teach it now, but in my day you were very dependent on the style of the first primary teacher you had. Mine was very long and loopy which got more so if you tried to speed it up.
I get about 85% of that. Maybe you should try deciphering some of DD's handwritten notes! I used to be able to get some of that but I'm way out of practice.
January 2, 2026 at 11:03 PM
I get about 85% of that. Maybe you should try deciphering some of DD's handwritten notes! I used to be able to get some of that but I'm way out of practice.
Or maybe an entirely different market altogether!
January 2, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Or maybe an entirely different market altogether!
Pretty readable - the only word I wasn't sure of was the last one.
Mine, which was never pretty, was ruined at university trying to keep up with ultra fast talking lecturers. By about 30 I couldn't read it myself and stopped using it altogether.
Mine, which was never pretty, was ruined at university trying to keep up with ultra fast talking lecturers. By about 30 I couldn't read it myself and stopped using it altogether.
January 2, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Pretty readable - the only word I wasn't sure of was the last one.
Mine, which was never pretty, was ruined at university trying to keep up with ultra fast talking lecturers. By about 30 I couldn't read it myself and stopped using it altogether.
Mine, which was never pretty, was ruined at university trying to keep up with ultra fast talking lecturers. By about 30 I couldn't read it myself and stopped using it altogether.
I managed that by moving to Slovenia. All the old crap is back at the Edinburgh house! 😁
January 2, 2026 at 7:18 PM
I managed that by moving to Slovenia. All the old crap is back at the Edinburgh house! 😁
One of my neighbours down in the village first converted a barn into a small cottage, then demolished his house and built a new one. Nice place but the time in the cottage with three kids must have been challenging.
January 2, 2026 at 7:14 PM
One of my neighbours down in the village first converted a barn into a small cottage, then demolished his house and built a new one. Nice place but the time in the cottage with three kids must have been challenging.
Sympathies, I had all that in 23 and early 24. Ripped out the kitchen including an old range and a wall, bathroom stripped to the brick, dug up the floors to lay underfloor heating. New windows and surrounds. Dust was impossible.
January 2, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Sympathies, I had all that in 23 and early 24. Ripped out the kitchen including an old range and a wall, bathroom stripped to the brick, dug up the floors to lay underfloor heating. New windows and surrounds. Dust was impossible.
Either King Hereafter or Checkmate, or The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal (chess - the greatest attacking genius who ever lived)
January 2, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Either King Hereafter or Checkmate, or The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal (chess - the greatest attacking genius who ever lived)
Reposted by Bill Marshall 🇸🇮 🏴
Surprise find while tidying up my laptop tabs (a la @drspacejunk.bsky.social), this fantastic map of prehistoric tombs, settlements and standing stones located on the North Isles of Orkney from the @uhiarchaeology.bsky.social 'Tomb of the Isles' project. 😍
archaeologyorkney.com/tombs-of-the...
archaeologyorkney.com/tombs-of-the...
January 1, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Surprise find while tidying up my laptop tabs (a la @drspacejunk.bsky.social), this fantastic map of prehistoric tombs, settlements and standing stones located on the North Isles of Orkney from the @uhiarchaeology.bsky.social 'Tomb of the Isles' project. 😍
archaeologyorkney.com/tombs-of-the...
archaeologyorkney.com/tombs-of-the...
Then Reform shouldn't get access - they're a company not a party. But when did laws ever matter to the right?
January 1, 2026 at 11:42 PM
Then Reform shouldn't get access - they're a company not a party. But when did laws ever matter to the right?
The Dutch have an insane love affair with fireworks. The New Year ones go on for hours and there are loads on other surrounding nights and even during the day (!?). It's totally out of control.
January 1, 2026 at 11:34 PM
The Dutch have an insane love affair with fireworks. The New Year ones go on for hours and there are loads on other surrounding nights and even during the day (!?). It's totally out of control.
One of the truely great moments in modern music - two titans combining their formidable talents again decades after the song was written. Neither will ever be forgotten.
January 1, 2026 at 3:07 PM
One of the truely great moments in modern music - two titans combining their formidable talents again decades after the song was written. Neither will ever be forgotten.
From your posts here I'd say your appetite for and ability to make reasoned argument has also improved. I wish you further improvement across the board in the next year.
December 31, 2025 at 9:23 PM
From your posts here I'd say your appetite for and ability to make reasoned argument has also improved. I wish you further improvement across the board in the next year.
Ah right - lots to discover now. Hope you enjoyed Niccolo and co.
You did well with the weather - there's plenty of years there would have been 3 feet of snow or more at this time of year. Remember Wat looking out of a first floor window face to face with a sheep!
You did well with the weather - there's plenty of years there would have been 3 feet of snow or more at this time of year. Remember Wat looking out of a first floor window face to face with a sheep!
December 31, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Ah right - lots to discover now. Hope you enjoyed Niccolo and co.
You did well with the weather - there's plenty of years there would have been 3 feet of snow or more at this time of year. Remember Wat looking out of a first floor window face to face with a sheep!
You did well with the weather - there's plenty of years there would have been 3 feet of snow or more at this time of year. Remember Wat looking out of a first floor window face to face with a sheep!
If you ever attend a Dunnett weekend, watch out for hypnotists or spies carrying truth serum. Just sayin.
December 31, 2025 at 12:24 AM
If you ever attend a Dunnett weekend, watch out for hypnotists or spies carrying truth serum. Just sayin.
And one of these days we'll weedle the Ordnance Survey map reference out of you ;-)
December 31, 2025 at 12:19 AM
And one of these days we'll weedle the Ordnance Survey map reference out of you ;-)
Yes, very evocative on good days. When I saw your Hexham photos I wondered if you were scouting the area. I'd planned to do a photoshoot + article on Flaw Valleys 6 years ago, but then Covid came along and I've been here in Slovenia ever since.
Have you seen www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/views-around...
Have you seen www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/views-around...
Views around "Midculter"
The countryside and placenames around the area in which Dorothy Dunnett placed Midculter Castle - home of the Crawfords.
www.dorothydunnett.co.uk
December 31, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Yes, very evocative on good days. When I saw your Hexham photos I wondered if you were scouting the area. I'd planned to do a photoshoot + article on Flaw Valleys 6 years ago, but then Covid came along and I've been here in Slovenia ever since.
Have you seen www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/views-around...
Have you seen www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/views-around...
You should blame autocorrect like the rest of us! ;-)
Nice crisp clear winter photos.
Funnily enough the text is wrong here - Biggar lies north of Boghall, not east. See www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/blog/book-di...
Nice crisp clear winter photos.
Funnily enough the text is wrong here - Biggar lies north of Boghall, not east. See www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/blog/book-di...
Dunnett Directional Discrepancies | Bill's Dunnett Blog
Curious directional errors in the Lymond Chronicles concerning the layout of Midculter and Biggar, and the direction taken on Lymond s final ride in Checkmate.
www.dorothydunnett.co.uk
December 30, 2025 at 11:56 PM
You should blame autocorrect like the rest of us! ;-)
Nice crisp clear winter photos.
Funnily enough the text is wrong here - Biggar lies north of Boghall, not east. See www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/blog/book-di...
Nice crisp clear winter photos.
Funnily enough the text is wrong here - Biggar lies north of Boghall, not east. See www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/blog/book-di...
Yes, it'd be a fine talking point at literary parties.
We had an Antquarian Dept at Thins and I remember the dept head had one. I wonder how many turn up in antique shops mislabled as something else. Maybe as a bodice ripper ;-)
We had an Antquarian Dept at Thins and I remember the dept head had one. I wonder how many turn up in antique shops mislabled as something else. Maybe as a bodice ripper ;-)
December 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Yes, it'd be a fine talking point at literary parties.
We had an Antquarian Dept at Thins and I remember the dept head had one. I wonder how many turn up in antique shops mislabled as something else. Maybe as a bodice ripper ;-)
We had an Antquarian Dept at Thins and I remember the dept head had one. I wonder how many turn up in antique shops mislabled as something else. Maybe as a bodice ripper ;-)