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Archive for December, 2013

News, just in from the HMRC on the CTF transfer consultation. The government has come up with a grubby little compromise only allowing transfers from CTFs to JISAs, but also made provisions for intervention at a later date. My reading of this is: it’s just too complicated to do the right thing so we’ll intervene now to get some cheap headlines but intervene later on…


It’s our third and final day of The Savages tour across Angus with The Scottish Book Trust. Together with the road crew, namely Beth and Antonia, we’ve staged events at six schools to 355 pupils. I’d love to share rock and roll tales of excess but this is a literary venture. The edgiest thing we did involved buying hot water bottles to get us through…


There are many rewards that come from talking about books and writing in schools. For the author, it’s a break from the typeface and the chance to fire up young writers to reach for their pens. There’s also a downside, and that becomes apparent when the photographer from a local newspaper is sent along to cover the event. Now, the photographers are always lovely. It’s…


Two weeks ago, I travelled to Lagos, Nigeria, where I had been invited to take part in a literary festival. For security reasons, due to the risk of robbery and kidnap, I was met by an armed guard. Yesterday, arriving at Edinburgh Airport for a three day author tour of schools across Angus, I came through the Arrivals door to be greeted by two short…


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