The Beatcroft

The scones he made

Just off the Esplanade

Were baked freshly every single day

Now James has left

And we are bereft

He's gone from the Peerie Shop Café

I cannot think

Without his Cullen Skink

And his shortcrust quiche lorraine

What can I say

About his mackerel paté?

We will never taste the likes again

He was occasionally grumpy, I'm not lying

He supported some Embra team, there's no denying

He put up with rude newspaper reporters

But he was even kind to animals, and Rangers supporters (sometimes)

I have cheese and fruit

And a plain scone to boot

Saved in the freezer for future generations

I have the recipé

But made by me

They just cause dental devastation

To the Olive Tree

Temporarily

Where the coffee and the food are splendid

But Old Lerwick's grief

Is beyond belief

We've lost the scones on which we all depended.

Copyright Tom Morton, 2023 

Tom Morton's monthly hour of music from Scottish artists old, new and almost forgotten...or never heard of. Brought to you by Discover Scotland Magazine, the only online, multimedia free magazine for those interested in Scotland. discoverscotlandmagazine.com

A selection of songs with Scottish roots, brought to you by Discover Scotland Magazine and presented by Tom Morton

Colin Clyne - Within Hindsight

Michael Marra - Hermless

Findlay Napier - Cod Liver Oil and the Orange Juice

Randolph's Leap - I Can't Dance to This Music Anymore

Blue Rose Code - Edina

Adam Holmes and the Embers - I Can't be Right

Sorren Maclean - Science or Fiction

Lindisfarne - Clear White Light

Rab Noakes - Your Clear White Light

Stealer's Wheel - Let Yourself Go

Karine Polwart - Dignity

July's Musical Discoveries, presented by Tom Morton, is a selection of Scottish music ranging from the new to the old, the raucous to the reflective, the traditional to the cutting edge. From veteran garage rockers The Primevals to folk soloist Alasdair Roberts, from brand new music by Del Amitri to Robert Bruns interpreted by The Silencers, and including Simple Minds, Calum Easter, Lola in Slacks, Blazin' Fiddles and more.

Tom takes a trip back to the 1960s and some of the crunchy, clangy best of garage rock from the USA, from The Seeds to the Standells, with detours to Holland and the UK, topping things off with some of the scurrilous verse he's been writing recently and some newer tracks from The Primevals, Kissing Bandits and Screaming Blue Messiahs. Contains no football, except in the pejorative sense.

Tom's personal compilation of music by Scottish artists or with a Scottish connection, courtesy of Discover Scotland Magazine, the world's only full colour, online multimedia magazine for people who love Scotland - or would just like to get know more about the country. Tracks include: Cocteau Twins, Cherry Coloured Funk; Donovan, Wear Your Love Like Heaven; Jesus and Mary Chain, Just Like Honey; JSD Band, Cousin Caterpillar. Gerry Rafferty, Mary Skeffington; Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells, the Coppertop; Five Hand Reel, Ae Fond Kiss; The Beta Band, Dry the Rain, Belle and Sebastian, Lazy Line painter Jane, and Idlewild, These Wooden Ideas.

As published in the October 2020 edition of Discover Scotland Magazine.

A man alights from the train at Culrain on the Far North Line, in the shadow of Carbisdale Castle, known locally as Castle Spite. Where is he going? What is in his rucksack? And who is the strange figure pursuing him across the hills as he heads west?

Full text at Discover Scotland Magazine or on Tom's blog - thebeatcroft.com 

As featured in the August 2020 edition of Scotland Correspondent Magazine. Thomas MacCalman Morton dives into the terrifying world of Shetlandic sea monsters. Read the story in the magazine or listen online here.

Another strange tale from one of Scotland's thin places, by Tom Morton, as published at scotlandcorrespondent.com

A Strange Tale  from one of Scotland's Thin Places. Written and read by Thomas MacCalman Morton. for the full text and illustrations, got to scotlandcorrespondent.com. It appears in the June 2020 edition.

Thomas MacCalman Morton's Strange Tales from Scotland's Thin Places takes you to the parts of Scotland where the barriers between the natural and the supernatural, the earthly and the spiritual, the magically monstrous  and the everyday, are thin or barely exist at all. Places where the past mingles with the present, peculiar creatures arise,  ghosts and apparitions walk and festivals may represent more than at first may be evident.

In An Up Helly Aa Souvenir, Thomas takes you to the side of Shetland and the viking festival of Up Helly Aa which is never mentioned: the obscure, lost rituals of a tiny Shetland community where Up Helly Aa could have meant much more than dressing up as a viking and burning a boat. Much, much more...

Thomas MacCalman Morton retells stories from throughout Scotland, all of them centred on the 'thin places', where folklore comes to life, the barriers between the natural and the supernatural vanish, and the paranormal becomes the new normal. Hhosts, apparitions, history impinging on the present, and the magically monstrous making uncanny appearances. Each month a new tale.

Episode One takes you on a journey to Unst in Shetland, Scotland's northernmost inhabited island. And the appearances there of the White Wife. Which continue to occur.

Scotland Correspondent is the world's only free, online monthly magazine for those interested in all things Scottish. Every month, the team behind the magazine will bring you insights into what is online right now and what you can look forward to in the future.

In this first podcast, Paul Kelbie, editor and founder, and Stewart Cunningham, photographer, talk to columnist Tom Morton about how the magazine styarted, what's available currently and what will be coming up in March and in the future.

Check out the magazine at scottishcorrespondent.com, and our other podcasts available here at Scotland correspondent Sounds