³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Sometimes you just don't have the time or the opportunity to read out an email in all its glory and stylishness. Here's an example, provoked by stories of heating tins of shoe polish in order to get the last iota of goodness out of them...

Tam son,

Can confirm that post war we always heated the remains of any polish in shoe polish tins the whole idea is to get the most out of it - see us see frugal. Big tip always, always take the lid off first.

On the subject of "cost effective" ideas a cousin of mine fractured the middle part of her favourite pair of specs and made a splint using two broken matchsticks and some cellotape. I thought it didn't do her image any good or in today's lingo she didn't look too cool. So being a Jack of all trades I said I would fix it for her. My idea was to weld it together using "a bit of heat"...

I started with a matches but they didn't have enough heat to melt the plastic bridge between the eye rims. So undaunted I asked if I could borrow her lighter. I asked her to hold the two sides of the specs so the broken bridge in the middle just touched nicely together as I wanted the weld to be almost invisible (she was going to the Locarno dance hall in Glasgow that night for the first time).

Well unbeknown to moi she had turned the wick on the lighter up the last time she had used it to light the recalcitrant gas fire and as soon as I flicked the button, up shot this blue and orange flame like a jet from . Within seconds the bridge was on fire, acrid black smoke was pouring out, we were both coughing, the budgie was going berserk running up and down it's perch in a very agitated fashion, and almost immediately the rims on the glasses started to melt, then one of the lenses fell out!

What could I say. She was blind as a bat without her specs but she didn't want to miss her first night at the dancin so like a gentleman I gave her a loan of my NHS specs, you know the type round with wire rims and bendy wire legs - worst of all because I had a "lazy" eye I had the usual NHS solution of elastoplast stuck over the lens over my good eye (to encourage the lazy eye to work).

Did she get a date or as it was then known a "lumber" at the Lorcano, that night?

Surprisingly she didn't but we will never know whether my efforts to repair her favourite specs had anything to do with that.

Big Saul from Eaglesham

Oh remind me to tell you some time about the exploding mince episode in Aviemore.

Hear Tom's top tales on the Tom Morton Show, Mon-Fri 1405-1600.

She asked if I'd ever been to , and I had to admit I had, but that I'd failed to find the heart of the place and that my own tastes veered more to the Americana side of things. "What does that word even mean?" she asked. "And what's wrong with country? Come to and I'll show you the good stuff." "I might just have to do that," I replied?

The writer is not me. It's from a piece in . The subject of the piece? . What a great reply. Want to hear more stuff like that? I certainly do. I'll give her every opportunity on Friday night when she'll be our live guest on Another Country on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland. Later that night she'll be opening for over at . If you have to miss the show then you have my blessing to be at that gig.

Lest we forget, we will re cap on our Movie Club's movie of the month, 'Walk The Line' about Johnny Cash. On the you can suggest your favourite song from the soundtrack. I'd also be interested to hear your thoughts on the film here in the blog.

But that's not all. We'll have a world exclusive when we hear singer-songwriter version of Clay Pigeons. Gurf's going to be at the (don't tell Caitlin about that one!) when he kicks off the festival on October 10th.

More - oh yes. New music from , , and Neil Young's new album Le Noise was produced by and recorded by my good friend Mark Howard. I love it. It's worth the price and your two hour time commitment just to hear the track Hitchhiker. On Friday night from 8, you will.

Another Country With Ricky Ross is on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland, Fridays 2005-2200

I came across this audio slideshow on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ homepage today, and enjoyed it so much, I thought I'd put a link to it here too. It relates to an exhibition in Bath of aerial photographs of the UK including both natural and man-made landscapes - some incredible images.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland Landscape season is also fast approaching As well as fronting the flagship television programme "Making Scotland's Landscape" (first episode Sunday 24 October on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ 1 Scotland), will also present Walking Through Landscapes on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland (begins Monday 25 October); there'll be an Out of Doors special on Arran and a series on medieval shipbuilding presented by Susan Morrison. We'll have more details on all of these as soon as we have them.

If you want to get involved, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland's Landscape pages give you the chance to take part in our rephotography project. You can read more about it on this blog.

Bruce Morton

This Friday, Radio Scotland broadcasts a drama called Rain, written by comedian . The play stars Ford Kiernan of Chewing the Fat fame and deals with issues of climate change, tabloid hysteria and charts one man's decision to leave Scotland and head out into the unknown in his second-hand tug boat, Bruce tells us more below:

Rain is a kind of a black comedy. Set in the not so far future.

As the climate changes and the seas rise and a Scottish coastal town struggles under a foot of water, a young man called John shows up on the quayside to carry out a community service order. There, he meets an old man who is loading a tugboat with his possessions, planning to sail away. The old man invites John to join him on this seemingly desperate voyage. Persuasive, mischievous, the old man, Terry, presents John with a choice between the devil you know and, well, the deep blue sea. What follows is blur of shifting morality against a background of rising water.

And whenever this youngster thinks he has this old man sussed, Terry produces yet another wild card.

Rain is part drama, part comedy and partly a commentary about environment. There are some themes about trust, about value judgements and about freedom. And, forgive me, a few twisted jokes too.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ asked me to think of appropriate music for this play. I think that All Along The Watchtower fits. We have all, I'm sure, thought at one time or another "There must be some way out of here.."

The play was originally devised and produced for the lunchtime theatre series "" at Oran Mor Glasgow in 2006. I am flattered that some people at the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ thought there was enough in it to warrant an adaptation. Hope you like it.

Listen to Rain, Friday 1130 on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland and available for 7 days in iPlayer.

Clare English presents Make My Teenager Sleep on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland, Wednesday 30 September at 1130. She told us a little about her experiences as the mother of a teenager and about the pilot scheme undertaken by the charity .

When I was fourteen I had a nodding acquaintance with lurid blue eyeshadow, a bad haircut and a tendency to head off to bed around 10pm (ok, 10.30pm, latest, during the school week.) No big deal really as the tv schedule was winding down for the night - these were the dark days before 24/7 viewing.

Flip forward three decades and I find myself in a bittersweet position with a fourteen year old daughter. On the face of it, Roma's world is much more exciting by comparison. For starters, she's got so much technology in her room that she might be carrying out covert ops for MI6. What I know she IS doing, is chatting ... endlessly to her mates from school and the neighbourhood, on , , , or mobile phone. This is life for today's average teen; they expect to be hooked up to their peers around the clock, but some are suffering at school because of it.

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Every Sunday at 0900, Shereen Nanjiani is joined by a panel of Scotland's top journalists who share their perspective on the week's top stories. The show also includes insightful one to one interviews with high profile guests, which in the past have included feminist , artist and director , amongst others.

Yesterday her special guest was , the Irish comedian best known for his role as Father Dougal, in .

Shereen's producer Della Matheson, tells me they chatted for quite some time, but she had to cut the interview right down to fit into the programme... as me granny would say "waste not, want not", so with these wise words in mind, we've posted the full interview below:

Listen to Shereen, Sunday 0900 on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland and available to listen again on iPlayer.

Next week - on Thursday to be exact, will be my wedding anniversary, and I thought that since I'm normally playing music for our listeners who are celebrating their special days, I would play a song which reminds me of my wedding day - or at least the period leading up to it - Andy Williams and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". It's great and it's fun and still reminds me of going to see The Deerhunter at the ABC on Lothian Rd in Edinburgh all those years ago.

We've all got special songs though, real favourites - ones that define certain important milestones in our lives - such as your wedding day or when you got together with your partner - perhaps you danced your first number to it when you got hitched, or maybe you just simply love it.

I'm inviting you to share them with our listeners - is there a wee story to tell too? Go on, let me know and I'll play it on the Greetings programme, dedicating the songs to you and yours.

Email greetings@bbc.co.uk.

The Greetings Programme, Sundays 0705.

It's not every day you get a best-selling writer contributing to the show...but Michael Munro (author of The Patter) has been aboard the unstable and wallowing vessel known as the SS Morton since the beginning. Talk of favourite childhood shops provoked this:

"My favourite shop when I was wee was the impressively named Sportsman's Emporium in Glasgow's Paisley Road West (known to aficionados as The Sportsy). It did indeed sell sporting goods but what I was interested in was their amazing range of Airfix kits and those wee boxes of Airfix soldiers that used to come all attached to a plastic framework. It also stocked Meccano, Lego, Dinky cars, cap guns and all the other boyish delights. I think it was closed down years ago for having too posh a name."

And then there was another regular contributor, Paul Feeney:

"The music department in the basement of Lewis` in Glasgow was a real treasure trove of vinyl gems. The staff were not specialists and as a result thought nothing of putting the likes of The Cars "Best Friends Girl", The Tubes "Prime Time" picdiscs or even The Police "Message in a Bottle" (green vinyl) in the 20p bargain bin. Many many collectable results achieved for less than the cost of two bubblies & a chelsea whopper!

I have two fave shops. My Uncle James had the local sweetie shop attached to his house in Ashgill, Larkhall & our monthly family visit invariably ended with my brother Stephen & I being let loose among the sweet peanuts, pan drops & Texan bars for 10 minutes before it was time to head home. We always left with troosers looking like jhodpurs, unable to communicate verbally until we got home to Baillieston, such was the quantity of treacle toffee crammed intae oor gubs!

The other was Bob Morrison's corner shop in Garrowhill that I would pass on the way to school each morn, and would purchase 2 Gammon Rolls, a packet of pickled onion crisps, a can of American Cream Soda & 2 chocolate toffees all for the princely sum on 12 new pence.What a feast, What a bargain!"

You can hear Tom Morton's daily top tales on the Tom Morton show, Monday-Friday 1400-1600.

Regular visitors to the Radio Scotland website will have seen the little box pop up every so often asking for opinions about the site.

The web team are sent the quarterly results which include comments, both good and bad about the website. Many of the comments relate to things that are outwith our control (comments about radio programmes or other ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland websites), but I'll try and address some of them below, and tell you about a couple of improvements we've made to the homepage to help you navigate.

One of the most frequent complaints we receive is how difficult it is to listen live to sport on MW. The Radio Scotland website streams the FM frequency, so in the evening if you listen live online you'll hear Get it On with Bryan Burnett. However, do make their programmes available on their own website and we've added a link to that on the homepage within the schedule box.

The FM listen live button is at the top right of the Radio Scotland website.

We also received comments from people who couldn't find the playlists or who tell us that not all playlists were published on the site. The radio programme teams publish their own playlists, and these appear on the episode pages (for example, here's one from Tom Morton). I wrote more about how to find them on a previous blog.

A very common complaint is the fact our radio programmes are only available for seven days. The reason for this is down to copyright and the agreements the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ has made with licensing organisations. This is the case throughout the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, not just Scotland. The good news is, however, that almost all of our podcasts are now available for one month (with the exception of football and rugby).

We've added a couple of links to access our contact the shows page from the homepage. This page has a contact form with a drop down list of all our programmes which will hopefully make it easier for you to get in touch.

It is still possible to listen to news broadcasts and programmes from Orkney, Shetland, The Highlands, North East, Borders and South West by clicking on "News" on the Radio Scotland homepage. Hopefully, before too long we will have some news about these...

Finally, the best tip I personally can give you is to bookmark/favourite pages you visit often - I have bookmarks to the FM and MW schedules, various programme pages etc so that I can get there quickly - it does save time and multiple clicks!

This Friday there will be another chance to hear our Johnny Cash special, broadcast earlier in the year, to celebrate the release of American V1 Ain't No Grave. Now since then there have been a few other significant album releases by - Tom Jones, Willie Nelson and most recently Robert Plant. Tom did some of the songs of Johnny and Willie and Robert too did one that Willie cut on Country Music. Does it matter? No. But does it show the depth and depth of feeling behind some of these old Gospel gems? Yes.

Also on Saturday night/Sunday morning I'll be sitting in again for on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 2. The special guest will be (better known as Radiohead's drummer) who has brought out a elegiac and true folk album. Nick Drake is the obvious reference point but fans of last years album (like me) won't be disappointed.

I posted most of this up when we first re broadcast the ...but some of you may have missed it....

Johnny Cash copyright Andrew Earl.

My little boy came into the room while I was writing this. Is that Johnny Cash dad? I asked him what he knew and he told me that a friend in his class and he had been discussing music they loved. They both loved Ain't No Grave, believe me when I tell you that this has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the man we are about to salute.

It seems that we're finally getting round to something that's been looming for a long while. On Friday we are going to spend the two hours that Radio Scotland has given us on Johnny Cash. I naively wondered what we'd do with the time a while back there. Then my producer, Richard asked me for a list of favourite JC tracks and I realised if we were both going to be happy we'd need to take over the airwaves for the whole evening...there's a thought!

So for good or bad we have two hours in and around the music of Johnny Cash with tributes from friends of the programme as well as an exclusive long chat with Johnny's only son, . The excuse (as if we needed one) is the release of American VI - Aint No Grave for which John Carter has acted as associate producer, but the reason is more fundamental. Johnny Cash was part of a huge dynasty of music which goes back to the very first recordings of what we now call country. That music was gospel and rhythm and folk and blues and eventually rock 'n' roll. Johnny himself was one quarter of the most potent rock 'n' roll roster of all time and even now there will be arguments about which one of the Presley, Perkins, Lewis, Cash quartet was the greatest. I wouldn't begin to try. Competition has no place in the arts for me. Let's just be glad we have the recordings.

What is particular interesting in the case of Johnny is the fact that his career re ignited in the last years of his life. This wasn't because he was suddenly on a cool label with a cool producer, . It was because that producer decided to do what great producers do; allow the artist to shine through on his own merits. The singer became the star and anything that got in the way of that voice and the story of these songs was quietly rubbed out. Johnny Cash himself had the idea of singing these songs in that stripped down fashion long before he'd ever met Rick.

On Friday we will play music written and performed by Johnny Cash, music that inspired and influenced Johnny Cash and hear the voices of artists who continue to be influenced by the Man In Black. In my opinion that two hours is going to be worth our license fee alone.

One last story. A couple of years ago I visited a boy in hospital. He was the same age as my 2nd eldest daughter. He'd been in hospital for months as he'd suffered a spinal injury paralysing his lower body and limiting the use of his hands. We chatted for a while then I explained I had to go. I was doing a radio programme that night. Was there any country music he might like? Yes, he said, Johnny Cash.

Another Country with Ricky Ross, Fridays 20:05-22:00.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland has launched a unique multi-platform drama for radio and online.

Set above and below the streets of London, Legacy combines a two-part Radio 7 drama and an online adventure game to tell the story of Jules and Harry, two 20-something siblings coming to terms with their family's shocking past. Brendan Crowther, the game's producer, describes the project...

The game is audio led. It uses sound to describe where you are and what you should be doing. Graphics are minimal with most of the information coming through dialogue and sound effects. Playing the game is about exploration and escape. You find yourself trapped in a dark underground bunker and have to use the objects around you to help you escape. The decision to make an audio-led game followed an earlier online pilot developed by .

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As part of Fashion Week, MacAulay And Co's Richard Cadey bravely - and after only being mildy forced - donned a pair of killer heels in tribute to the catwalk.

If you have a taste for such things, I have photographic evidence of the moment below - move over Naomi (and look out Fred!)

Richard Cadey hits the catwalk *and the side of the desk*

MacAulay And Co is on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland, Monday to Friday, 1005-1130

Firstly a big thanks to all of you who responded to my request for songs with an Autumn theme. We've had some great suggestions - my favourite amongst them is Justin Hayward's Forever Autumn, but we've managed to include a Simon and Garfunkel track which I think could definitely pass as one. Quite challenging trying to come up with songs that fit the bill, but it's amazing what producer Bonnie turned up and I hope you enjoy the selection.

Last week too we featured a Jack Johnson song called Better Together, and I suggested what things do go better when they're together - like tea AND a biscuit, but coffee is ok on its own.

Rainy Saturday afternoons and black and white films for example, or hot chocolate and fluffy dressing gowns... this is getting a bit like My Favourite Things from ...there are definitely some things that just work better when they're teamed up with another...any thoughts? Obvious ones like weddings and confetti, Christmas and cake - it always comes down to food don't you find?

What are your suggestions? Why don't we play them or dedicate some music to them?

greetings@bbc.co.uk.

The Greeting Show, Sunday's 0705.

Nick Low, producer of the Janice Forsyth show shares with us some early recordings by Fran Healy.

Fran Healy is a charming man who has written a hit song or three for his band Travis. As the producer of the Janice Forsyth Show I was delighted to see that he had a new solo album "Wreckorder" out and had agreed to come on Janice's show for a chat and perform a couple of acoustic tracks.

Janice Forsyth with Fran Healy

Now, Janice and myself have a bit of history with Fran when he was with his first band Glass Onion back in the early 90's. Janice used to present the programme NB along with Radio Scotland's "Get It On" supremo Bryan Burnett, and after seeing an early Glass Onion gig at (and particularly impressed at the enthusiastic response by one audience member - Fran's mum!) she fought to get Glass Onion on the programme. Fran was remarking how the subsequent had recently resurfaced thanks to youtube.

In 1992, Glass Onion won a ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland "Battle Of The Bands" type competition on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland's Dougie Campbell Show and the prize was a Radio Scotland session; the band's first ever radio session. Glass Onion, led by Fran and with a groovy organ sound came in and recorded 4 songs, one of which was "Safe" which I remember being a difficult one to mix. Some years later, Fran admitted when I interviewed him for a Radio 2 documentary on the band that Travis had struggled to get "Safe" right and it took nearly 10 years for it to turn up in a more polished form on their third album "The Invisible Band". None of the other three tracks ever appeared again. Here are two of the Glass Onion session recordings which was Fran's first ever ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ session and you can compare that with his latest, 18 years later, for the Janice Forsyth Show. I think the bones of what makes Fran Healy a great songwriter has always been there - have a listen."

Nick Low, producer The Janice Forsyth Show
Fran Healy in session 18th September 2010, 10:00-12:00

The sparked off some amazing tales of 'spur of the moment journeys', some of them romantic. There was this one from Nicky Stevens:

"Listening to you for the first time today, on internet - heard your topic and thought I would add my story.

11 years ago I was busy working, in an industry where holidays in the summer were pretty unheard of, a good friend of mine went to Shetland to see the (we had seen them together elsewhere before) and said there would be room in her rented accommodation for me if I could get away - which I very much doubted.

However at last minute my work had a slight lull, everything I could do was done in advance so I asked my boss if I could have two days off to get a long weekend. He said yes! There were no flights left, but I got one of the last reclining seats on the P & O ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick. The weekend in Shetland was great, but the best bit was that on that ferry journey I met a lovely man, and 11 years later here I am married to him. Due to him being in the army I have travelled a lot further than Shetland - I'm currently living in the Falkland Islands...!"

Then there was this extraordinary text from Steve in Edinburgh:

"Hi Tom, 20 years ago I owned a pub in the South Side of Edinburgh, I opened up at 6am one Thursday morning and a group of vague aquaintances arrived about 8 am. They were off to Dublin, after a whole 10 mins they persuaded me to go with them. Flight was at 1, I had to rush to the shops for bag and clothes. I returned the following Tuesday, having arranged pub cover. Did I say I was married?? I never told her, when I returned home my wife (ex) had cleared the house..."

By Thursday, the visit of Pope Benedict was exercising many. What should he eat while here? As it turned out, he allegedly had haggis, neeps and tatties with , which was suggested by several listeners to the show...

...and then there was Aidan, who was hoping for a miracle:

"For the Pope! One slice of , with butter and tomato sauce on a bread roll from the Broadford bakery on the Isle of Skye...or it would have been...if the bakery in question hadn't closed down. They were the best bread rolls in the Highlands! I'm sure that if the Pope asked though they would open up again. Wishful thinking?"

Meanwhile, the availability of seemed a problem, until Bryce, a former butcher from Maybole, got in touch:

"A popeseye steak is the scottish name for a rump steak, but now the supermarkets have dominated, we know it by its English name. It is more course than sirloin and the fillet."

But, as a Landward investigation proved last year, the tastiest of the lot!

It was with mixed emotions that I did my early Autumn tidy up around the Beechgrove Potting Shed Patio Garden: excessive pride at the carrots (however stunted - yes they said full size on the packet), beans and tatties. Tinged with sadness that there is nothing else on the go.

Beechgrove Potting Shed garden vegetables

Need growing vegetables in containers stop in the winter months, I asked myself as I stacked the now empty pots? Are we limited to growing herbs and salads on windowsills, however satisfying that may be? I will be seeking the advice of our experts on the Beechgrove Potting Shed this Sunday. Meanwhile, as Summer becomes a memory the forward thinkers amongst us may already be contemplating Christmas. One such person is Carole Baxter, who has sent me on a mission to buy some 'prepared' hyacinth bulbs to plant on the programme this Sunday so that our office will be fragrant by Christmas. The orchids we were given a few months back by expert, Peter Timoney to look after in the office are still alive. And Laura Seawright's dying orchid has now come back to life after taking advice. So, it just goes to show, with a few pointers, ANYONE can grow things.

Meanwhile on Out of Doors, big boy presenter, Mark Stephen, turned 50 at the weekend. He was hoping to keep it all under wraps - but his wife Jean spilt the beans to Euan McIlwraith, who duly baked a cake and brought it in for the live show on Saturday morning. Mark was then inundated by messages and lots of fuss was made. Mark had obviously had a bout of man flu last week (or pre birthday blues!) - he was scheduled to go water skiing but called in to say he had a cold. We called Euan to see if he could do it instead but he's still recovering from straining his back whilst surfing on Belhaven Beach for the third in our series of Great Scottish Train Journeys - Edinburgh to Berwick . So with all the action men out of action, then it was up to producer, Denise Glass, to step in at the last minute. The result? Lots of screaming and water up her nose but a fine piece of adrenalin fuelled radio!

If you got the chance to see Avi Buffalo recently then I congratulate you; I missed it. However Avi himself (real name Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg...and sometimes you need a snappier title) came into our wee studio in Edinburgh and cut 3 session tracks on a borrowed acoustic guitar. (My producer Richard Murdoch brought it all the way from Glasgow!)

Ricky and Avi Buffalo

Avi's influences include Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young and The Beach Boys. He's got all these going on and way more. He's only 19. To my particular delight he comes on the show a week after the septuagenarian Kris Kristofferson. It's my considered opinion that we're playing music that's great whatever age you are playing or listening to it.

We're not going to go too far into the show without talking about Robert Plant and . I haven't heard all the album yet and I love it! What I'm saying is that I love the fact that someone who could be sitting back and organising polo matches is out there making great music and listening to new cool bands...and cutting their songs! For his producer, Robert has picked THE man to do the job...yes, my friends there will be many 'Where's Buddy (Miller)?' moments this week.

In the past week I have been to see Sam Baker at the , I'm hoping to see Wilco and I'm aware of missing Steve Earle and Dave Rawlings Machine. On the site I suggest that you could let us know about what you thought of these gigs here or there and tell us what we missed. There must be gigs in other parts of Scotland we're missing, so let us know all about them.

There will be lots of all the usual stuff. Look out for new releases from Ray Lamontagne and Justin Townes Earle and some lovely things from Furnace Mountain, Frazey Ford, Tift Merritt, Deer Tick and Caitlin Rose. We won't forget about Hank Williams or Bill Monroe in all of this and remember to tell us about your thoughts on our Another Country Movie Club film of the month, '.'

If you still have some radio time left in you I'll be sitting in for the great on his weekend Radio 2 shows for the next couple of Saturday/Sundays. This Saturday we have in session.

Another Country with Ricky Ross, 20:05 Fridays.

Throughout the day tomorrow there will be updates about the on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland. The FM schedule remains the same but if you would like to listen to the Mass you will be able to listen in real time on MW. If you listen live to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland via the website you'll know we stream FM live.

FM SCHEDULE

• Newsdrive - 1600-1800
  
• Get It On - 1810-2000
  
• Travelling Folk - 2005-2200
  

MW SCHEDULE

• Papal Visit to the United Kingdom - Mass at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow - 1700-1915. The duration is subject to change.
  
• Get It On - 1915-2000. The duration is subject to change.

• Travelling Folk - 2005-2200

After the Mass you will be able to listen again to it via the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland website and on the iPlayer.

With the Papal visit almost upon us and the prospect of 125,000 Pilgrims arriving in Glasgow for Mass at Bellahouston Park on Thursday, our thoughts turned to the prospect of possible travel disruptions.

It's expected to be a very busy time, not only in the office but also out and about on the streets and main thoroughfares. But how busy is it actually going to get?

We decided to find out what traffic and travel implications we could be facing in Edinburgh and Glasgow, so approached Nina Spence of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland's travel desk to glean some valued advice ahead of Thursday's Papal arrival. We've filmed it below and hope it helps you in planning your journey.

Contact the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland travel team with your travel news on 08000 92 95 88, text 80295, read more details about travel restrictions, and keep up to date on all the latest Scottish news on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ News Scotland.

For every radio producer, there's one programme or series that you're most proud of. Our current Culture Zone features one such series, produced for by Tim Dodd. And as Tim explains, there's usually something more than just words and music that come together to create radio magic.

One of the first tasks when I first joined the staff of Radio New Zealand in 1990 as a producer for the Concert Programme (as it was called then) was to look after the programme Composer of the Week. 1991 was Prokofiev's centenary and we planned to devote two weeks to him. A man called - a professor of English Literature - was game to take it on.

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Autumn - my favourite of the four seasons. Of course it's unpredictable weather-wise but when else do you get the most glorious colours in all of Natures palette to make up for that. Driving along Queen street the other morning on the way to work - and for once the slow crawl allowed me to appreciate what was going on around me - leaves in gold and yellow swirling like bonfire sparks in the rush-hour wind - amazing. Not so welcome in the rain - those pavements can be a hazard, but who could fail to be inspired by such sights.

With that in mind I began to search for music that belongs to this time of year - the songs that say Autumn in tone and content. They're all there - Moody Blues had Forever Autumn...Eva Cassidy recorded a version of Autumn Leaves and of course Vivaldi's "Autumn" from the Four Seasons. And then I got stuck - so here's where you come in. Which songs remind you of Autumn - maybe it's in the music, or perhaps it's just in the memories that a particular song evokes... a song you heard around that time of year. Let me know and I'll be happy to play it on the show along with why you've chosen it.

greetings@bbc.co.uk for your Autumn music suggestions.

The Greetings Programme broadcasts on 12 September at 0705.

This week, the Janice Forsyth Show features a session and interview with Scottish musician KT Tunstall, you can watch a couple of the sessions below and Janice has written a wee post about their meeting.

I first met singer-songwriter and all-round Top Woman, KT Tunstall, back in January 2005 just before her career went supersonic. Her debut album, Eye To The Telescope, was just out and she came along to our studio to record a session and interview for my Saturday morning show.

At that point she was in her one-woman band phase, using a loop pedal to brilliant effect, building up layers of guitar and percussive sound.

She turned up at the studio alone, set up her gear, did a storming session, a great interview and off she went, and I remember clearly my producer Nick and I chatting about what a lovely, down-to-earth, talented girl she was, and that we hoped that, after years of playing tiny clubs and pubs all over the country, she would make the big-time.

She did of course, with that album going multi-platinum, and with songs from it being featured in countless film soundtracks.

Since then she's come on the show twice - the last time she was in a nice hotel, with a giant tour bus parked outside and a make-up artist on hand for her TV interviews, but she was the same bubbly KT offering to make us a cup of tea! And for her appearance on this week's Saturday Show, she came back to do a session at our studio, no loop pedal this time, just the guitar.

She sang 2 new songs from the new album, Tiger Suit, and then we had a chat.
And wow - what a chat it was - she revealed that despite the success she's enjoyed, she recently suffered a huge crisis of confidence and really questioned where she was going with her music. Fortunately she was able to take time off, travel a bit and get back in touch with who she really is, and her love of music. You can hear a shorter version of the interview on this week's show, and we'll put the full interview on this website after the show. We also filmed the session - so you can see as well as hear her in action!

I was interested to note that the day after our chat KT Tweeted that her new favourite phrase was "theraview" (combo of therapy & interview).

Listen in and you'll hear what she means!

Next Thursday the head of the Roman Catholic Church visits Scotland. Our News teams will be covering the visit throughout the day, as well as providing live coverage of the Mass in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on Thursday night.

News Correspondant, Elizabeth Quigley presents a special feature, 1130 on Wednesday 15th of September, From John Paul to Benedict - A Tale of Two Popes, which marks only the second visit by a Pope to the UK in 500 years. Below she recollects Pope John Paul II's visit of 1982.

I was just 10 years old in 1982 when Pope John Paul the second made history by visiting Scotland. There was great excitement at the time but what I didn't know then and what I've discovered while making a television and radio documentary is how close it came to never happening.

Just a year earlier there had been an attempt on the Pontiff's life. A gunman hiding among the crowds in St Peter's Square at the Vatican shot the Pope four times. Incredibly he survived the assassination attempt. Security obviously had to be tightened up and there must have been question marks over the Pope's continued globe-trotting. The idea of travelling to Britain must have seemed an unlikely.

But a visit still seemed to be on the cards although there were doubts over how welcome Pope John Paul II would be made in Anglican England and Protestant Scotland. North of the border the Orange order in particular was far from welcoming. The whole idea of the head of the Church of Rome visiting a Protestant country - the land of John Knox and the Reformation - was deeply offensive. It had never happened before - and the Orange order definitely thought it should not be happening now.

But protests at home seemed insignificant when compared to what was happening thousands of miles away in the South Atlantic: a far greater threat to the visit was looming on the horizon.

Argentina invaded the Falkland islands in 1981, Margaret Thatcher sent in British troops and the possibility of Papal visit was fast disappearing.

A historic visit from the head of the Catholic Church to a country at war with a Catholic nation seemed unthinkable. How could it happen? The odds were overwhelmingly stacked against it. Frantic and urgent diplomacy was required to try to salvage the situation and make sure this unprecedented and groundbreaking visit could go ahead - however hopeless it seemed. And looking back at papers and letters kept in the Scottish Catholic Archive, it certainly seemed hopeless.

The then Archbishop of Glasgow, Cardinal Thomas Winning, travelled to Rome in the hope of convincing the Pope to come to Britain and along with the then Archbishop of Liverpool, Derek Warlock, attempted to save the visit. The Argentinian bishops were then summoned to the Vatican and the emphasis was placed on the fact that this would be a pastoral visit to Britain - and shortly afterwards there will be a Papal visit to Argentina. Rome would not be taking sides in this conflict: the Pope would be visiting the faithful in both countries.

So incredibly, some might even say almost miraculously, a visit with almost no chance of going ahead - with pitfalls and obstacles at every turn - does finally get the green light. History is about to be made...

Elizabeth Quigley presents From John Paul to Benedict - A Tale of Two Popes Wednesday at 1130 with coverage of the Mass at Bellahouston Park live on MW Thursday at 1715. Keep across coverage of the Papal visit to Scotland on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ News Scotland.

Here's a thing. We were talking this week about being late, and the effects thereof. Frank from Glasgow sent this in, and I happen to know that the job interview he was five hours late for was at....the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳. What a fine organisation that is!

"Many years ago I applied for a job in London.

My brother offered to drive me there as he had never been in 'the big smoke'
and so we set off very early in a southerly direction.

We got as far as the M6 just south of Birmingham when my brothers old Vauxhall Cavalier blew a major gasket and ground to a halt belching white smoke!!

As luck would have it we managed to limp into a service station approx 111 miles from London.

Try as I might and in a nice new suit I could not secure a lift!!!

I spotted a camper van containing an elderly man & his wife, Scottish ex-pats now living in America.

I walked over leaving my now covered in oil and cursing brother and After a quick explaination and some pleading I was off again!!

They dropped me at Brent Cross and A to Z in hand and after long unsure train and tube journeys and a quick sprint up Great Portland Street I arrived at my interview.
Is being 5 hours late a lot when it comes to making a good impression?

I thought so...I got the job though so all's well that ends well...

As for the kind Scottish couple who made it all possible...Here's tae us....whas like us...damn few and there all deid!!!

Frank in Glasgow"

You can hear Tom Morton's daily top tales on the Tom Morton show, Monday-Friday 1400-1600.

In the second episode of My Life in Five Books Stuart Cosgrove interviews the Glaswegian writer . One of the books which Andrew chose was critique of - was first published in 1925.

My colleague Bruce Munro was telling me about an F. Scott Fitzgerald feature on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Learning Bitesize website; if you've not seen it and fancy a little look at it, you'll see it here.

My Life in Five Books is on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland, Thursdays 1130-1200

Don't mistake me for someone who knows things. A few years back a friend of mine held a film premier at the and invited me along. As we were going to our seats he said, "Ricky, you know Kris Kristofferson don't you?" I realised at this point that we were to sit next to the great man and his wife. Fortunately it was a film; the lights went out and we said hello quickly then a polite goodbye a couple of hours later.

I tell you this because I didn't really know Kris Kristofferson's work and right up to that point the best use of his name occurred in 's wonderful 'Still Life.' (I'll leave you to find that one). That all changed a few years ago when my friend Roddy Hart asked me along to see his show at supprorting the great man. What I hadn't fully recognised was the depth of Kris's songs, how intrinsic they were to the Scottish DNA and how much he was loved by the people of Glasgow. That night and last month he played without his band and, whenever someone would shout for a particularly massive song, reply. "If I do that the night will be over." Nobody wanted that. When he got to the end of the final chorus he would let the song trail off and announce its completion by offering a dusty, "Thank you very much," triggering wild applause. It was magical. I told everyone to go and see it so I had to go back myself.

Ricky Ross with Kris Kristofferson

This time the blessed Roddy arranged for me to meet up and invite him to be our special guest on Another Country. In the end I must have spent 45 minutes with Kris Kristofferson and decided we didn't have time to talk about , Barbra Streisand or Waylon Jennings. We skipped over the army years and we didn't spend time talking about the Rhodes scholarship to Oxford. However we did talk about his friend John Cash, his and some of the wonderful covers of his many great songs. If you need to be reminded about the impact of some of these then you might want to to listen to Glen Campbell, Gladys Knight or Elvis Presley...oh yeah, sorry...that's just ONE song! If you want some more names....Perry Como, Willie Nelson....Al Green! There's so much more....... But you can hear all of that Friday night from 8pm on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland. In part 2 of the show you will get another chance to hear the interview I did with the man who gave the name to Kris's supergroup, The Highwaymen, Jimmy Webb which was first broadcast on January 1st. We also have an exclusive session from Jimmy and his family recorded when he visited Scotland last year.

It's 40 years since the death of Jimi Hendrix, and to commemorate his life, the in London is running an exhibition "Hendrix in Britain" with displays, music and photographs.

This is one of the features on today's (8 September) Music Cafe, when Bruce MacGregor chats to Martin Wyatt from the exhibiton about Jimi Hendrix and his time in the UK. The museum has kindly given us permission to create a gallery showing some of their exhibits including "The Westerner", a hat formerly owned by Jimi Hendrix. which he wore during a filming session at Bruce Fleming's photo studio in London. This session resulted in some of the most famous Hendrix film footage in existence, showing him playing an acoustic version of his blues song, 'Hear My Train A' Comin'', on a borrowed 12-string acoustic guitar.

The Westerner

If you like listening again to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland programmes on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ iPlayer, you might have noticed that the iPlayer is looking a bit different. This is because a new version of it launched this week, and there are a few more changes coming up at the end of September. While it's been worked on it has been called iPlayer version 3 and a test verson - Beta - was launched back in May.

So what's different with the new version?
The new version has some new features with the focus on making the iPlayer more personal to us as individuals. For example if you enjoy listening to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland but also like Radio 2, Radio 4 or 5 Live you can edit the stations so when you go to the iPlayer it shows you what you like and also offers other programmes which may be of interest.

By using the , it allows us to access the iPlayer from a range of gadgets.

The new version also includes social networking sites such as and which means if you're signed in you can highlight the programmes you like so your pals can see what you like, and vice versa. Beware though if you don't want folk to see any guilty pleasures on your list!

The player will also personalise what sort of shows you like based on your previous listening or viewing habits.

Another new option is the ability to automatically download programmes as soon as they're made available online which is quite handy.

If you're finding it tricky to get used to there are some short which are helpful.

There's also more about the whole thing on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Internet Blog.

Some months ago, I was given CDs of a series of programmes produced by about the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Helen Munro, our Editor of Music had thought they might work on our Culture Zone. The first thing that I noticed was the name of the presenter: . Marshall is a retired Professor of English at the in New Zealand and I first came across him some 18 years ago when I was writing my honours dissertation at university. Born in Glasgow, Marshall's love of Sibelius was nurtured by Ian Whyte, the man who founded the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the subject of my university thesis. I remembered Marhsall had been very helpful with my Ian Whyte research and I was excited at the prospect of re-connecting with him, even more so when I listened to the programmes and heard what a terrific series it is. The programmes form the backbone of our current Culture Zone and Marshall has kindly provided a little more context about his Letters to Sibelius.

Read the rest of this entry

Highlight of my week was definitely listening to in conversation with at the , discussing life with her late husband, the celebrated playright, Harold Pinter. 700 of us hanging on to their every word in a tardis type marquee in Charlotte Square. I was at the very back - a world away it would seem, but having read her book Must You Go, I wasn't completely cut off. Punctuality would have secured me a better seat. All very exciting but in terms of proximity - nothing like Radio Scotland colleague Clare English, who managed to interview her on The Book Café.

Antonia Fraser, Simon Van Booy and Alexander McCall Smith

You can understand my envy as I would have given anything to ask a few questions of my own. If you missed the programme, remember you can catch it on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ iPlayer.

Romantic and nostalgic in equal measure - which by happy co-incidence are both themes in this weeks Greetings programme, with some of you celebrating birthdays or marking many years of marriage with songs that remind you of those early days.

What songs revive happy memories for you? Let me know, and I'll play them for you on the show.

Look forward to your comments.

Following her conversation with Fred MacAulay on Tuesday's edition of MacAulay & Co, Dr Christy Fergusson shares her handy tips on overcoming psychological barriers to re-educating your palate.

Dr Christy Fergusson

Mushrooms, celery, macaroni, offal....what food is it that you simply cannot stand?

Very often the foods we avoid are the ones we have avoided since we were young. As children our palates may have struggled with strong flavours and we would therefore have opted for blander foods. But how many of us still base our food choices on these earlier preferences?

Our perception of certain foods can also be influenced by the fact that we as humans have a natural aversion to things that differ from our expectations. This is why so many of us avoid foods, which we perceive to have strange textures. For example, how many of you can't stand mushrooms or okra, because of how they feel in your mouth?

No one likes to be thought of as a picky eater, but most of us have foods that we would rather live without. However, maybe its time to give some of them a second chance. here are 8 easy steps to re-educating your palate.

Step 1: Firstly, decide on which food that you are currently avoiding, that you feel you would benefit from.

Step 2: Try new ways of cooking and preparing a food you dislike. If you were force fed overcooked boiled vegetables as a child then try stir-frying or roasting them instead.

Step 3: Always select the freshest produce, as this will taste better than canned, frozen or low quality versions.

Step 4: Commit to continuing to try the new food until you find a way to prepare and enjoy it.

Step 5: Find some recipes online, or invest in a good cookbook to inspire you and give you new ways to prepare and present the food.

Step 6: Pair it with something your love. If you hate mushrooms but love spaghetti bolognaise then chop the mushrooms finely and add small quantities to the sauce.

Step 7: Take it slowly. For example, if you are trying to switch from white pasta to brown, the answer is not to force feed yourself a big bowl of brown penne. Start by doing half white and half brown and slowly reduce the quantity, until your taste buds adjust.

Step 8: Be adventurous at restaurants. Eating out is a great opportunity to try the food in a new way.

Even if a certain food never makes it to your favourite list, at least you may be able to enjoy it on occasion. The key word here is to 'enjoy.' Eating foods because they are healthy is one thing, but food is there to be enjoyed and the best reason to eat certain foods is because you absolutely love them.

Catch up on all the star guests and interviews featured on this week's MacAulay and Co. and listen live, Monday to Friday 1005-1130 on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland.

On Thursday, for reasons not entirely unconnected with one particular news story, we were talking about sharing rooms... something everyone's done at some time or another. There were some crackers, two in particular relating to the perils of cabinmates at sea:

This from Orlando via :

"On my first trip to sea as a deck cadet, waaaay back in the days of steam, I shared a cabin with a chap from Kirkcaldy. Lovely, but odd. he was a total neat freak and I wasn't. Understandably he got quite upset with my slovenly ways and so, one day, decided we would split the cabin in half by drawing a line on the deck in chalk. I agreed and drew a line right down the middle of the room. Trouble was, the door in and out was on my side of the room so he had to ask my permission every time he wanted to enter or leave. I also felt, if we were going to do that, we might as well go the whole hog so, as there was a wash hand basin and a mirror in the cabin, I got a chinagraph pencil and drew a line through the middle of these too. He was only ever allowed to use "his" half of the mirror and "his" half of the sink, unless he asked my permission, and I made him ask in all sorts of unusual ways."

And on the high seas, with Her Majesty's Senior Service, was Eric Swinney:

"Great room mates.

On one of HM Warships I shared a cabin with a lad who had recently got wed.He obviously missed his bride very much, to the extent I felt I was married to her. Well back then to speak to some one ashore you made a link call which was when you went on the radio to certain stations which would connect to into the phone system. Anyway this lad goes off to make his nightly call to his beloved. Ahhh nice, especially when he forgot to switch off the ships broadcast.This went from gushing romanticism to down right pornography. But for the rest of his RN career was was known by his pet name....Wait for it.....PoopsiePie.

Poor lad."

You can hear Tom Morton's daily top tales on the Tom Morton show, Monday-Friday 1400-1600.

French composer, performer, producer and all round pioneer of electronic synth, Jean Michel Jarre, popped into Pacific Quay's studio 2, this morning for a wee chat with Fred, I've added a snippet of the interview below ...

To listen to the whole interview and indeed the whole show, which included guests Sharon Corr and comedian , visit the MacAulay and Co. website, available to listen again for 7 days.

Radio Scotland's flagship folk programme Travelling Folk returns tonight (2 September) at 20:00, with new presenter Bruce MacGregor at the helm and his guests trad. folk band .

If you're curious to find out more about Bruce, he's sent us his biography for our Presenter section of the website describing his varied career as musician, festival organiser, radio producer and presenter.

Bruce is also the presenter of The Music Cafe which broadcasts every Wednesday at 13:45.

It's 1974 or 1975 I'm still a kid and there's a student comes to our church, name of John Fitzpatrick. He loves music. He's at the university and he tells me about the gigs he's been to. At the time he liked it better - and if I'm honest, so did I - if the music had a Christian edge. It meant we could enjoy it more and not feel as guilty as we did when we dug the Stones. Do you know where I'm coming from?

Parallel to this I'd heard about this group of people in Nashville called . Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard were in that elite group and then there was Willie.

So John got excited one day at the Youth Fellowship and tells me that Willie Nelson has brought out an album called 'The Troublemaker.' It's all Gospel songs. What excited me more was that Willie was covering half the hymns in a Hymn Book we used to have in the Gospel Hall called Redemption Songs. But Willie was singing them like we'd never heard them sung... Suddenly I was finding myself saying "Forget Youth Praise, let's keep the old fogeys' hymn book and sing it the Willie way." "There is a Fountain Filled With Blood," "Shall We Gather At The River" (my Dad's favourite) and "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder." Man, these songs were no longer torturing me, they were released into glorious, abundant life by Willie Nelson. Thank you John, thank you Willie Nelson and thank you .

I met up with the great man on his tour bus in Edinburgh recently and you can hear that as well as the music of Willie on Another Country, all on Friday from 8pm. Every Prime Minister , it was said, needs a Willie. Not much that Margaret Thatcher said I believed - but she got it right there.

Listen to Another Country, Friday, 2005 on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland.