By The Way

They say the pictures are better on radio. That's why I'm making noises. I'm putting more sounds into By The Way stories. It's all about helping to create the environment where the dialogue takes pla…

Hill 60 on the Western Front near Ypres is the site during WW1 of the largest non-nuclear explosion ever. Gunner Graham was positioned about a mile away at Manor Farm during the first three months of…

Gunner Graham was an extraordinary soldier in the Royal Garrison Artillery during WW1. Just turned 20 years old, he was decorated in 1918 for gallantry with the Military Medal, which represents a lev…

Angus Adamson is an Arranach. He was born and brought-up on Arran. We recorded a conversation the last week I lived there and it was a delight to hear the story of his connection to the island, its p…

Over 80 thousand people endured a downpour of biblical proportions when they attended the AUOB (All Under One Banner) procession in Glasgow on Saturday, 11 January. It's testament to their strength o…

It was a bleak day when I sought shelter in Dunkeld Cathedral only to come across the Dunkeld Handbell Ringers. The team play there every other Thursday afternoon during the summer season. I met some…

Not only did Torylinn Creamery make outstanding cheese it also used milk from Arran's dairy cows. Now the creamery has been closed the jobs of those who worked there have gone, jobs have gone on farm…

I've known Crofter's, as it is now, through many incarnations and proprietors. Today's custodians are father and daughter team Dónal and Ealána Boyle. As their business has evolved they've embraced m…

Mike Bailey is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. He talks about what it’s like to be a musician and how he feels about Arran - his home.

Graham brought another supercar to Arran for the weekend. As he said it's got a proper engine - 5.2 litres, V10, naturally aspirated 631hp. Checkout Drive Canada, the story of Graham's road trip two …

Exploring Corrie, one of Arran's most picturesque villages on the East coast of the island I discover more about Corrie Capers. Back in the 1970s, 80, and 90s Corrie Capers was a week long celebratio…

Many of our favourite foods and drinks start with fermentation. Microscopic organisms transform our food and scientific studies confirm what folklore has always known: Fermented foods help people sta…

My interview with Michael Russell MSP and a report from the Scottish Cabinet public meeting on Arran on 27 August 2018 chaired by First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

The story of serial road tripper and car enthusiast Graham Chappell's plans to drive the length of the Trans Canada Highway with his dad. Graham's first car-delivery trip at the age of 22 is followed…

We've come to regard some foods as totems of our culinary heritage. We may regard them with reverence. We may hold them in contempt. I explore Scotland's guilty food secrets and ask how to deal with …

Music and song are a lifelong, fundamental part of Tim Pomeroy’s life. It’s from this perspective that he gives a remarkably frank assessment of the part music and song play in his art and his life.

Tim Pomeroy, one of the UK's foremost sculptors, lives and works on the Isle of Arran.  I've re-edited this episode where Tim talks freely and honestly about his work, his inspirations and his ambiti…

The erudite George Grassie bakes wonderful loaves at the Blackwater Bakehouse he owns on the Isle of Arran. We’ve often talked about food, travel and people and now I’ve been able to record our chat …