Ron McMillan

Thanks tlady. All feedback is welcome, but such a positive take is to be revelled in. Ron

Dear Crofter, Thank you very much for your kind and thoughtful feedback. First let me apologise for the awful spelling typo that has 'Walsay' at the top of every other page for a whole section. I had been proud that next to no spelling mistakes had slipped my attention (Phnom Penh is mis-spelled; I found no other mis-spellings so far), but that damned page header had survived a thousand read-throughs without being spotted. Thanks for pointing it out. Like you I too have an active sense of poo-detection, but in the case of my work in Germany, 60 feet above vats of boiling acid was entirely true. Believe me, there was no such thing as Health and Safety on German construction/demolition sites in 1979, especially those populated by foreign workers. Thanks, too, for pointing out the glaringly obvious about the Sea Eagle story. I cannot believe that that did not occur to me, and am suitably chastened. As for the quotation: That, as you clearly understand, is a writer's tool, the placing of seemingly rhetorical questions that float the questions without the apparent discourtesy that comes with asking them outright! Your constructive feedback is very much appreciated. Best wishes, Ron McMillan ronmcmillan@gmail.com

So, based on that premise, when my brakes fail or I skid on ice or diesel and slide through an intersection and destroy the car of a hard-working law-abiding soul who NEEDS that car to do his or her job every day and whose livelihood is now destroyed because I don't have insurance, do I just shrug and tell him/her 'sorry pal, but you can't blame me for saving money.'? rm

Hi again, The book is at last at the printer's, and I will be in Shetland for launch events in early June. Anyone remotely interested in attending such events can find details on them all here: http://ronmcmillan.googlepages.com/betweenweatherslaunchevents As well as the pages linked below, more information on the book is available at this page of the publisher's website: www.sandstonepress.com/hinterland-betweenweathers.php Best wishes, Ron

Hi Emma, I got your email, and will be happy to meet and discuss your thesis topic, though I'm not certain I will have much to add to your knowledge. My book on Shetland is published later this month. It is the first all-new Shetland travel narrative in nearly 150 years, so at least some folk are a bit excited about it -- other than me, I mean! Best wishes, Ron McMillan www.sandstonepress.com/hinterland-betweenweathers.php (more info on book)

Yes, but you are forgetting that about 400 million of 300 million Americans absolutely believe that they live in the Greatest Country in the World. And do you know what? Not one of them will be put off that preposterous claim by the assault in question. But then, the same nation is the world's biggest consumer of drugs and pornography, but it blanches en masse when, for example, a performer's nipple pops momentarily out of her costume during the half-time show at the Superbowl. I number many Americans among my dear personal friends, but I can't fathom the rest of the population for a moment. rm

Good luck to Gary and his book. My book is a general travelogue about Shetland, and for it I managed to return for Up Helly Aa 2006 -- the Lerwick one. I hope one of these days to enjoy one or two of the regional festivals, just for pleasure. ron

Thanks JA, It looks great in the layout. It's a birdwatcher stalking the cliffs at the north end of Fair Isle. ron

I'm living in Bangkok, Thailand, and have been since last summer. It's a wonderful city, still full of Oriental character, even if it's getting a little harder to find in among all the new development. I was meant to be going to Malaysia in March to take part in the first Kuala Lumpur Blues Festival, but that is now postponed until August. This means that my next 'proper' trip is most likely going to be back to Scotland, and on up to Shetland for book launch events. I can't wait. rm

The BBC website yesterday reported that Marshall-Jones had been charged with a felony assault (I think) over the case in question. What chance would there have been of an assault charge being made if it wasn't for the power of the video? I bet similar assaults are happening on a daily basis, albeit surely not often quite so brutal and uncaring as what was done to that poor bloke in the wheelchair. rm

I've only managed to attend one Up Helly Aa, and that was the Lerwick one, in 2006. I'd love to get back up to enjoy a smaller, regional fire festival like the Northmavine one. Thanks for the slide show. ron

I for one think things are just fine the way they are. I know the SIC gets a lot of stick, and perhaps some of that is justified, but Shetlanders ought to spend time in some of the rest of Scotland's urban areas to see what it's like being in a really badly-managed community with runaway problems. Independence, as the Scottish Parliament are finding out, is a double-edged sword. Shetland is doing fine the way it is, in my opinion. And long may it stay that way. ron mcmillan www.ronmcmillan.com www.myspace.com/betweenweathers (new travel book on Shetland)

.......I suppose I should count myself lucky that there hasn't been a mini-flood of 'aaah but you're wrong -- so-and-so wrote three travel books on Shetland in blah blah blah'

I've stayed in so many weird places that I struggle to come up with an immediate response. I spent time in a tower-block hotel in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, a benighted land ruled by an evil regime that would have made George Orwell cringe. The ever-watchful security forces there were legendary. A couple of overseas workers in Pyongyang on a contract were alone in their room one night, moaning about how dull life in the city was. 'If only we even had a pack of cards,' one of them complained to the other. The next day, their North Korean 'minder' gave them a present; yep, a pack of playing cards. And the overseas guys had been talking to one-another in Danish. Knowing that the rooms were likely bugged, and convinced of the possibility that the full-length mirror with the odd unoccupied space behind it was a part of the surveillance machinery, I used to bare my backside to it on a regular basis. No, it wasn't clever -- but it was fun, however momentarily.

Thanks, Trout. I just sent a note to the forum administrator to ask if they'd mind if I put up a new thread -- but on the same topic of my upcoming book -- in the Arts & Literature page of the forum, since I belatedly realised that my original thread, in this section of the forum, should probably have gone to the other section. I don't want to fall foul of anti-cross-post rules, you see, and as a newcomer, am deadly keen not to offend anyone. ron

I'm Ron McMillan, a writer and photographer who first visited Shetland on a Press trip in, I think 1999 (the locals laid on so much grog for the visiting hacks that the whole trip is a bit of a blur). That experience made me want to get back there and spend more time on a bigger project, and finally, in late 2005, I did just that. The result is a travel narrative to be published by Sandstone Press in May 2008, called BETWEEN WEATHERS -- Travels in 21st Century Shetland. Excerpts, for those who are at all interested, are on my website. Ron McMillan

At least, so far as my own research goes, my new book, BETWEEN WEATHERS, Travels in 21st Century Shetland might well be the first all-new travel narrative about Shetland since John T. Reid's 'Art Rambles in Shetland, published when Victoria's regal posterior was only just beginning to spread across the royal throne. I apologise for the self-serving nature of the thread, but anyone who knows anything about niche-market publishing will understand that I will never make any money from this book. It is about more than money. It is about a love for travel, for exploring exciting new places, for discovering fascinating things about regions that exist on the outer edge of 'mainstream' consciousness, and for sharing those experiences with people who enjoy (what is, I hope) good travel writing. Excerpts from the book can be seen at my website: www.ronmcmillan.com The publisher -- www.sandstonepress.com -- and I plan launch events in Shetland, perhaps in early June, at locations as yet unconfirmed. If anyone has any questions about the book or about events connected to it, please ask them here, as I will be delighted to help. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can contact me at the email address which is listed on my profile here, as well as on my website. Thanks and best wishes, Ron McMillan