David Rowell
@dorwell.bsky.social
The world is full of too many opinions so I probably won't be adding many of my own except perhaps some thoughts about whisky or photos of birds
His event at the Derby Book Festival was also one of the best. His openness and humanity shone through
August 25, 2025 at 11:19 AM
His event at the Derby Book Festival was also one of the best. His openness and humanity shone through
One of the general rules is to always distrust heavy discounts. This is doubly true for whisky
August 11, 2025 at 3:27 PM
One of the general rules is to always distrust heavy discounts. This is doubly true for whisky
Something about that era of male tv interviewers. The Edna O'Brien doc Blue Road had some examples of men feeling they had to confront her. The only one I liked was Melvin Bragg being unable to respond when confronted with a list of the in adequacies of men
August 10, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Something about that era of male tv interviewers. The Edna O'Brien doc Blue Road had some examples of men feeling they had to confront her. The only one I liked was Melvin Bragg being unable to respond when confronted with a list of the in adequacies of men
Apart from whisky nonsense. If you haven't already seen it I would thoroughly recommend The Ballad of Wallis Island
June 22, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Apart from whisky nonsense. If you haven't already seen it I would thoroughly recommend The Ballad of Wallis Island
So a new introduction would have been a very good idea
June 22, 2025 at 3:41 PM
So a new introduction would have been a very good idea
What is now forgotten about this book is that it was written as part of a series edited by James Leslie Mitchell (Lewis Grassic Gibbons), who had to cudgel an unwilling Gunn to write the book and provided ideas for the structure as part of their negotiations
June 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
What is now forgotten about this book is that it was written as part of a series edited by James Leslie Mitchell (Lewis Grassic Gibbons), who had to cudgel an unwilling Gunn to write the book and provided ideas for the structure as part of their negotiations
And they didn't mention the subtitle?
June 22, 2025 at 3:32 PM
And they didn't mention the subtitle?
Didn't recognise the Neil Gunn edition and so looked it up on Amazon. Why would they mess with the subtitle? 'A practical and spiritual survey' is elegant and implies a third party distance but 'a spiritual journey from glen to glass' is too contemporary, too woo
June 22, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Didn't recognise the Neil Gunn edition and so looked it up on Amazon. Why would they mess with the subtitle? 'A practical and spiritual survey' is elegant and implies a third party distance but 'a spiritual journey from glen to glass' is too contemporary, too woo
It's odd how some distilleries get all the love and others are rarely mentioned e.g. newer distilleries get a lot of praise but Wolfburn is hardly ever part of the conversation
April 28, 2025 at 9:01 AM
It's odd how some distilleries get all the love and others are rarely mentioned e.g. newer distilleries get a lot of praise but Wolfburn is hardly ever part of the conversation
Whoever we are, when we become obsessed with something, whatever it is, there is much scope for weirdness
April 15, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Whoever we are, when we become obsessed with something, whatever it is, there is much scope for weirdness
Birdwatching and whisky are not mutually exclusive. The RSPB has two reserves. One on the OA and the other on Loch Gruinart.
April 15, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Birdwatching and whisky are not mutually exclusive. The RSPB has two reserves. One on the OA and the other on Loch Gruinart.
He also used literary techniques. To show the scale of Moses' works, instead of just saying he built a lot, he used the lists in Homer as an example and listed all the parkways Moses built so that the rhyme and repletion made you feel the magnitude
April 3, 2025 at 7:09 PM
He also used literary techniques. To show the scale of Moses' works, instead of just saying he built a lot, he used the lists in Homer as an example and listed all the parkways Moses built so that the rhyme and repletion made you feel the magnitude
It has a sweep and a grandeurs that it s more than a biography. The key is that to show the working of power he wanted to show its effect on the powerless. Make the reader see and feel those effects. It is a novelistic ambition
April 3, 2025 at 7:06 PM
It has a sweep and a grandeurs that it s more than a biography. The key is that to show the working of power he wanted to show its effect on the powerless. Make the reader see and feel those effects. It is a novelistic ambition
have branched out to make comparisons with aeropress and v60 (ps my standard method is aeropress)
January 16, 2025 at 5:03 PM
have branched out to make comparisons with aeropress and v60 (ps my standard method is aeropress)
Is Connor Gallagher the new Steve Perryman - primarily defensive, running around a lot? Bill Nicholson always looked to me like a man of the 1950s ie someone who had been through the war and carried the experience with him. Interesting to speculate on the effect of the war on post-war football
January 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Is Connor Gallagher the new Steve Perryman - primarily defensive, running around a lot? Bill Nicholson always looked to me like a man of the 1950s ie someone who had been through the war and carried the experience with him. Interesting to speculate on the effect of the war on post-war football
It is amazing how such colossal scandals can disappear from public consciousness once time has passed
January 15, 2025 at 12:50 AM
It is amazing how such colossal scandals can disappear from public consciousness once time has passed
Your voice is fine. It sounds a bit like Helen Lewis' and her voice has certainly not hindered her attempt to appear on all known podcasts
January 9, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Your voice is fine. It sounds a bit like Helen Lewis' and her voice has certainly not hindered her attempt to appear on all known podcasts
I am so pleased by this news Matt. I have faith hat you have found a place where your expertise can flourish
December 23, 2024 at 5:48 PM
I am so pleased by this news Matt. I have faith hat you have found a place where your expertise can flourish
Or as someone once said: don't try to think outside the box until you have tried to think within it
December 10, 2024 at 1:23 PM
Or as someone once said: don't try to think outside the box until you have tried to think within it
I came to Saroyan through Jack Trevor Story - a now forgotten name , but one I remember when in traffic and repeat to myself the title of one of his novels 'I sit in Hanger Lane'
November 21, 2024 at 9:16 AM
I came to Saroyan through Jack Trevor Story - a now forgotten name , but one I remember when in traffic and repeat to myself the title of one of his novels 'I sit in Hanger Lane'