Showing results by narrator "Jane Macfarlane" in All Categories

When Janie Ryan is born, she is destined to be the latest in a long line of Aberdeen fishwives. Ahead of her lies a life filled with feckless men, filthy council flats, and bread & marge sandwiches. But Janie isn’t like the rest of them. She wants a different life. And Janie, born and bred for combat, is ready to fight for it.

From the soil to the kitchen, Between Two Waters interrogates the influences on what we eat: capitalism, colonialism and gender, as well as our own personal and cultural histories. Yet it also captures with real heart all that the dinner table has to offer us: sustenance, both physical and imaginative, challenges and adventure and, most importantly, communion with others.

While her mother regards the Locarno dancehall as a den of iniquity, for 17-year-old shop-girl, Nell McClusky, it’s the centre of the universe. Where else is she going to meet the man of her dreams who’ll take her away from the humdrum realities of life on a council estate in 1950s Edinburgh? At first Alistair Rutherford doesn’t look that promising. He dresses more like a student than Nell’s idol, Buddy Holly.

For 16-year-old Lizzie McDougall, life in Glasgow tenements comes as a culture shock after her sheltered upbringing in the Highlands. But for her father, who has just lost his job, Glasgow offers employment. It also enables Lizzie to work in a factory as a seamstress, and it opens her horizons to new friends as well. Especially Pearl, who introduces Lizzie to her boyfriend, Willie, and her cousin, the handsome, happy-go-lucky Jack. And Jack is a real bobby-dazzler.

On a forested island off the coast of Istanbul stands Portmantle, a gated refuge for beleaguered artists. There, a curious assembly of painters, architects, writers and musicians strive to restore their faded talents. Elspeth 'Knell' Conroy is a celebrated painter who has lost faith in her ability and fled the dizzying art scene of 1960s London. On the island, she spends her nights locked in her blacked-out studio, testing a strange new pigment for her elusive masterpiece. But when a disaffected teenager named Fullerton arrives at the refuge, he disrupts its established routines.

When Julia Coleman meets Flynn Carter again in the cosy village of Heartcross it can only mean trouble. Flynn might be rich, brooding and sexy, but Julia knows first-hand he’s ruthless, and she plans to watch his every move. When Julia discovers Flynn’s plans for beautiful Starcross Manor her greatest fears come true. Because Flynn’s dreams of turning Starcross into a luxury hotel could ruin Julia’s dreams...and finish off the community of Heartcross for good.

They say everyone has a secret. For Grace Adams, her secret lies underground and was called Rose. She was nine years old when she died...Grace has lived in the same idyllic Scottish village for almost her entire life. It is the perfect place to raise a family.

Izzy has joined the Air Transport Auxiliary and can’t believe her luck. She’s getting to do the thing she loves most: flying. On the ground she is a woman who longs to be independent, but who is lying to her family about the job she does. But, in the thrill of the air, she can be free. Izzy’s heroine is her friend, Elspeth, who, on an impulse, signed on to do her bit as a lumber-jill and has been regretting it ever since.

For 10-year-old Morag, there's nothing magical about the cellar of her cruel foster parents' home. But that's where she meets Aldiss, a talking rat and his resourceful companion, Bertie the dodo. She jumps at the chance to run away and join them on their race against time to save their homeland from an evil warlock named Devilish, who is intent on destroying it. But first Bertie and Aldiss will need to stop bickering long enough to free the only guide who knows where to find Devilish.

In a seedy backstreet, in a rotting theatre, the sinister Dr Caligari runs a cabaret with his demonic assistants, Snuff and Anthrax. A riot of a listen, this surreal and macabre comedy follows the smooth-talking Dr Caligari as he encourages unwilling guests to tell their story in his London nightclub. Written by Alan Gilbey, strange encounters and dark mysteries are recounted by guest acts on London’s most bizarre stage.

1939. Irena is a young medical student living in Warsaw when the German army invade Poland. Those closest to her are dying and when Irena realises that no one is coming to Poland's aid, it's clear that she is alone. Forced to flee to Britain, Irena meets Richard, a RAF pilot who she's instantly drawn to and there's a glimmer of happiness on the horizon. And then the war becomes more brutal and in order to right a never-forgotten wrong Irena must make an impossible decision.1989.

Two women. One secret. A heart-breaking choice. Skye, 1903. Jessie, the young daughter of a local midwife, is determined to become a nurse one day, but family loss and heartache jeopardise her dreams. Isabel, the doctor's daughter, is planning to follow in her father's footsteps - even though medicine is not considered a fitting career for a woman. And then there's Archie, Jessie's older brother, whom Isabel just can't stay away from. After an unsettling encounter in the woods, Archie disappears, and all their lives are irrevocably changed...

Twenty years ago, three young women disappeared, never to be found. The rumour to this day is that their bodies are still hidden deep within the murky Loch Aven. When Eleanor, Clio and Michaela find themselves rained out of a camping trip in the Scottish countryside, they have no option but to book the mysterious house nestled on the banks of the lake. But little do they know that history has a way of repeating itself. As secrets in the tightknit community begin to surface, and Michaela suddenly disappears, it becomes clear that something sinister is at play.

Life in the Glasgow tenements was never easy, but life for Beth is becoming increasingly harsh. In wartime, everyone grabs what brief happiness they can and, in Beth's case, she finds herself drawn to Steve, a flying ace. Their relationship blossoms, but fate deals Beth a cruel hand when Steve is killed in action, leaving her pregnant.

Meet the world's most unusual undercover team. It can be tough working for HM Revenue & Customs, but DJ Smith has more than a little help from her trained sniffer cat, Gorgonzola, a moth-eaten Persian with gourmet tastes and a mind of her own. This first investigation finds DJ and Gorgonzola on the trail of a heroin smuggling ring operating in and around Edinburgh.