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I've been thinking about the significance of the number 7. Lots of people consider it a lucky number. You've got the , , the , and of course the number of days (and nights) in the week. And that's why I've been giving it some thought. For over 2 years now, we've been broadcasting 5 Zones a week, overnight on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland's Medium Wave frequency.

This week, we're making a momentous leap and broadcasting across 7 nights as well as shifting over to the FM frequency which means that for the first time in our history, we'll be a 24/7 FM station. I'm not going to bore you with the many reasons behind why we're doing this. All you need to know is that it means you get the chance to hear even more brilliant programmes from our vast and ever expanding archive. And don't worry, you don't have to actually stay awake between the hours of half past midnight and 6am to hear our Zones. They're available for you listen to online via the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland website, either as a continuous stream, or by choosing individual chapters of the Zone via the Ö÷²¥´óÐã iPlayer.

To coincide with our hijacking of the overnight schedule, our friends at Get It On have taken contributor madmacfraeclydebank up on his suggestion to give next week over to Zones-themed programmes. Tune into Bryan every week night after the 6 o'clock news.

When I was at school, somewhere between O grade and Higher, the cool thing to do was to write song lyrics on the covers of your books - anyone who enjoyed music showed their devotion by scribbling, often mindless and incomprehensible words on their books and jotters. It was a tribal thing, it showed you belonged to a particular group - and we obviously thought we were too sophisticated for words. I copied huge chunks of Dylan, Dobie Gray and even Donovan - from "If You See her say Hello", to "Drift Away" to the "chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty" of Donovan's "Catch the Wind" we were like a new generation of poets, misunderstood by our teachers and moral guardians.

Half the stuff we penned made no literal sense but it showed the world that we were serious about our heroes - they were and and for our generation. The boys quoted AC/DC or the Stones - heavy metal was for them, while we clutched the softer romantic tones of Joni Mitchell or the McGarrigle Sisters. Funny how I still remember those verses long after forgetting and .

What made them so memorable was that we wallowed in the heartache and sheer suffering of unrequited love that they were writing about- it was as if they were writing for us. Pure nostalgia, but actually some of them were quite good. If you can remember which ones you did a cut and paste job on when you were at school, how about letting me know. I've given you a few to start off with - and if you want to hear them on the show, drop me a line or an email greetings@bbc.co.uk.

I don't get much excitement at my age so it was nice to be invited on to a real film set today. It's the location for much of the action in Field of Blood, an adaptation of the Denise Mina novel which is based in a Glasgow newsroom in the 1980's.

When they were looking for a gnarled reporter from the era to recall the visual detail from 30 years ago to make it authentic, they thought of me. How kind! And having remembered the typewriters, ashtrays, the big news diary, mocquette chairs and envelopes full of cuttings, at the , I was really taken to find them replicated in the newsroom of the "Glasgow Daily News". I almost called out:"Boy! Twenty Bensons and black coffee to the reporters' desk. Quick as you like." I have to admit it brought to mind so many hacks who illuminated my life but who are now gone - Ronnie Anderson, Dick Sharpe, Arnold Kemp, Duncan Dinsdale, George Miller, Eric Dakers and many others. The location is the top floor of an old Strathclyde Region building in India Street in Glasgow and is a reminder of how clever the film makers are at creating a fantasy world.

Nothing fake about Newsweek, though. We have a real programme from a real newsroom put together by a real news team...okay, I'm overdoing it now.

We tackle a sensitive issue with unpleasant undertones - jock-baiting in the media. There have been heavy-duty examples recently of gratuitously insulting references to Scots and Scotland and while we don't normally take that too seriously, the reaction in the Ö÷²¥´óÐã complaints log indicates just how dismayed and sometimes downright angry it makes you. We have a stab at explaining why certain people - or is it a social type - feel the need to denigrate the Scots in a way that you are most unlikely ever to hear a Scot do about an Englishman these days. We debate with academic and journalist .

David Cameron returns from the Euro summit glowing with pride at cutting the level of increase in our contribution to Brussels but knowing his own backbenchers will thank him not. They want what he promised - a freeze or a reduction in real terms. Aren't we always at war with Europe? Sorry, that sounds as if it's in bad taste. We were at war IN Europe and afterwards Churchill backed a new compact with our neighbours to prevent future conflict. Yet ever since we have turned the shoulder and grudgingly accepted EU membership, but only on our own terms. Why can't we embrace the European project wholeheartedly? Will we ever love it? We hear from an MEP and a European expert.

And we have something really spooky at Hallowe'en. At the start of the year we spoke to , a world authority on earthquakes. He predicted before the end of 2010 a cataclysm in Sumatra. And what just happened? We return to hear his view of this week's quake, tsunami and volcanic eruption.

I'm off to fire up the with the cassette..."What A Feeling!!!!" Join me tomorrow morning. At 8.

If you haven't seen The Black Keys live then you should check out the where there's a link to their performance on Later. Elvis Costello also features on Later. Not over convinced by this record - but it's only my job to deliver you the goods. I am only too aware you can quickly let me know if you like what we're playing!

The main part of the show is given over to our live session and interview with Eilen Jewell. Eilen and her band are from Boston but are playing tribute to one of Country Music's greatest female singer-songwriters, Loretta Lynn on this rather fine record.

Ricky Ross and Eilen Jewell, Studio 1, Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland, October 2010

Please don't tell me you have forgotten about our Another Country Movie Club? If so, we'll remind you...

We'll play some music from the film and nudge you to watch it before we rap things up next week. Just in case you don't know - it's 's brilliant documentary about Bob Dylan which constantly flicks back to the electric tour with The Band in the UK in 1966.

Also.........??? Dolly and Porter, Mavis Staples, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Carolina Chocolate Drops....and we'll talk about that other Bob gig.

Mr Plant was in Edinburgh just last week.

Hear it all live on Another Country.

Email of the week this week came complete with very scary photographs! Who knew there was an imitation rattlesnake abroad?

Hi Tom

My brother is terrified of snakes. While camping with a group this spring on a remote island in Northern we came across the snake in the attached photos. I quickly picked it up with a large stick and my brother, out of his mind with fear, proceeded to run to the canoe and leave us stranded on the island. I thought about launching the viper into the canoe with him, but decided against it. He eventually came back and we got these photos while leaving. The snake is a harmless species known locally as a . It rattles it's tail against dry leaves to fool you into believing it is a rattle snake.

Eric in Wisconsin

You can hear Tom Morton's daily top tales on the Tom Morton show, Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland Monday-Thursday 1400 -1530 (- 1600 on Fridays).

Ö÷²¥´óÐã Scotland's Making Scotland's Landscape is now in full swing. The tv series on Ö÷²¥´óÐã One is based on the premise that the wild and beautiful land so many people associate with Scotland, is in fact man made. Centuries of intervention have shaped our land; history has left its imprint, from the felling of trees to build war ships to the cultivation of heather moorland for grouse shooting. If we accept the premise that there is no truly wild land in Scotland, then it causes us to view the future differently and ask the simple question, 'What is Scotland's Land for?'

The pressures of renewable energy targets - recently increased to 80% of all electricity in Scotland coming from renewable sources by 2020 - will inevitably result in more large scale wind farms in the countryside. But those concerned with marketing our mountains, lochs and glens to tourists fear that these will blight the very landscape people come here to see. Meanwhile, with traditional industries such as hill farming and fishing in decline, how do we go about encouraging people to live in the remoter parts of Scotland?

All these questions and more will be the subject of a special Out of Doors audience debate taking place on Tuesday 16th November near Perth. Mark Stephen will be our chair. Our panel will include Dr Rob McMorran of the at Perth College UHI, David Cameron of the and Jim Mclaren of the . We're really keen for anyone who is interested in these issues to come along and be in the audience - armed with questions. For tickets please visit the Ö÷²¥´óÐã shows and tours page.

The resulting programme will then be broadcast on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland on Saturday 27th November at 7 am and again on Sunday 28th November at 11 am.

I no longer believe in ghosts, but I still love a good ghost story. It all goes back to my tortured childhood and the strange influence of my Auntie Jean and Uncle Jimmy. I would spend school holidays at their house in Tullibody and, in daylight hours, they would bundle me into the back of their Mini, drive around Clackmannanshire and fill my head with tales of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.

At night, because they didn't own a television set, they provided a choice of entertainment. Sometimes that involved singing around the upright piano in their front room, or else Jimmy would wheel out a massive cine projector and show silent movies.

But later, as the coal crackled in their fireplace, they would tell me spooky stories about local phantoms and the supernatural events that supposedly occurred in the various towns and villages that fall under the shadow of the .

Often these tales centred on an old mausoleum known as , which was all that remained of a local stately home. Tait, it seemed, was inclined to rise from the dead and pose as a hitch-hiker on the road between Dollar and Menstrie

"Come on Bairn," said Auntie Jean, "we'll show ye whereaboots that is!"

And so, under the half-moon of a midnight sky, we would get back into the Mini and drive through the countryside so that they could point out the tomb while telling me to keep one eye peeled for strange men thumbing for a lift.

To this day, nothing has ever frightened me as much as those night-time journeys.

But I keep hoping.

That's why we've commissioned five new ghost stories for Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland, penned by some of the best contemporary Scottish writers. You'll hear the first of these in our special Halloween edition of the Culture Café...and there will be four more in time for Christmas.

I hope you enjoy them....and do have nightmares.

I was lucky enough to be in the audience for the Mary Chapin Carpenter gig at the last night (25 Oct) where she put on an excellent show featuring songs from her new album as well as a selection from her back catalogue including Stones in the Road, Passionate Kisses, Shut Up and Kiss Me. It was her first time in Scotland since the 2007 Celtic Connections festival, and on this occasion she was supported by Another Country with Ricky Ross favourite Tift Merritt.

As soon as the gig finished she headed over to the Iain Anderson Show where she spent an hour in his company talking about the new album sharing the stories behind some of the songs, the life-threatening pulmonary artery she had last year, her family of dogs and cats and much more.

The interview is available until Monday 1 November, and if you're a fan it's worth giving it a listen - she's an interesting and informative guest.

The Ö÷²¥´óÐã Landscape season is under way on both TV - Making Scotland's Landscape and on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland Walking Through Landscape where Professor Iain Stewart visits areas relating to the TV programme.

The season was launched at the Royal Highland Show back in June with the rephotography project. The photographer initially tasked with taking new photographs to match old images was . Today staff at Ö÷²¥´óÐã Scotland in Glasgow were lucky enough to enjoy a short masterclass from Colin about landscape photography.

He talked us through a number of his amazing photographs giving tips and suggestions as he went along. The thing that struck me most was his use of light. Colin takes the majority of his landscape pictures first thing in the morning or last thing at night. He knows exactly where and when to go, it's not down to luck but a lot of knowledge and research! Beautiful days with cloudless blue skies might sound like the ideal conditions for landscape photography, but they're not. He told us that the best thing to do was to wait until the sun had set (or before it had risen), when the landscape turns red. Colin often camps out on mountains so that he can capture the early morning shots.

The use of light and shade was also crucial to create the impression of a 3D image. Light at the front, then shade, then more light. You can see examples of this in the on Colin's website.

Colin emphasised that a photographer had to be aware of his/her surroundings - to see what others miss. It's more about observation than taking hundreds of pictures.

Landscape photography has always been something I've struggled with, I see wonderful scenery, but when I photograph it, the pictures just don't live up to the actual view I saw. Hopefully with these tips from Colin, I'll be able to do better!

On the Scotland's Landscape pages Colin shares tips about rephotography. So if you fancy particpating, that's a good place to start.

Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland was live at the throughout the weekend (22-24 October). On Friday show visitors could enjoy MacAulay and Co (see this earlier blog for photos) and Brian Taylor's Big Debate.

On Saturday Off the Ball with Stuart Cosgrove and Tam Cowan came live from the show and enlisted the taste buds of winner to sample the new curry pie which is being introduced to football stadiums around the country... hear what she she thought and listen to the "pielights"!

The Book Cafe pre-recorded Monday's programme with guests , , and food writers and .

There were no shows on Sunday, but entertainment at the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland stand continued. Ö÷²¥´óÐã Scotland PR and Events Officer, Susie Miller tells us more:

As Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland broadcasts from the Shetland Isles to the Borders, we asked young (and a few not so young) visitors to our Ö÷²¥´óÐã Good Food Show stand on Sunday to help make this alternative map of Scotland. Our artists decorated their handprints with flowers, trees, fish, squid, sharks and penguins among other things, and we also now have one mermaid living in the North Sea. Visitors also had the chance to decorate cupcakes and make models of some CÖ÷²¥´óÐã characters.

I spent Sunday at the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Good Food Show with my parents, sampling the food, watching some of the demonstrations and sampling some more food... There were some great stalls and I'm already looking forward to next year!

A couple of weeks ago I was complaining that it's often a struggle trying to persuade Scotland's most high achieving women to talk about themselves on radio. No offence guys, but I think they just don't like to boast!

Teresa Medhurst and Shereen Nanjiani

My special guest this week falls into that category. You've probably never heard of Teresa Medhurst and that's the way she likes it. As Governor of Cornton Vale Women's Prison, she holds one of the toughest jobs in public service yet, when I Googled her, I could find virtually nothing about her.

She told me she's actually very shy but had decided to do this interview because she felt it was time to speak up for the women in her custody.Teresa feels that most of the inmates in Cornton Vale shouldn't be there at all. Is it right that someone is sent to prison for trying to commit suicide? She doesn't think it is yet that's what happens at Cornton Vale.

She's dealing with some of the most vulnerable women in society and finds her job is often more that of a social worker than a prison governor. Not that she's any kind of soft touch. She may be quiet and caring but there's a steeliness about her and I suspect she doesn't take any nonsense.

Off air she admitted to me she has a secret crush - David Tennant, who she met at a charity event. A photo of the two of them sits proudly on her desk and she enjoys telling visitors it's her husband... I won't tell, Teresa.

Listen to Shereen, Sunday 0900 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and available to listen again on iPlayer.

I really should have relied on my natural instinct regarding musicals, before I shelled out over £150 to take the family to see in London. I was never really a fan of that dramatic genre, generally amused whenever any of the actors burst into song - it was just a step too far from reality for me - but I figured, or rather I hoped the hype would win me over. Sadly it didn't but that's just me.

I was definitely in the minority on Tuesday night as my fellow theatre goers stood up to applaud the cast, clearly delighted with the prequel to Dorothy and .

But in terms of songs - musicals have gifted us with some wonderful and memorable tunes right down the years. One of my own favourites is from , it's the track "", just listening to performing that songs brings me out in goosebumps. There are of course many more - from the tragic to the lighter from Grease or the equally fun "Honey, honey" from .

If you'd like to send birthday or anniversary greeting to a loved one with musical a favourite, let me know and I'll include some of them in the show. Get In touch.

As I write we are on a ... Sounds like something from the 1970's and Everybody Out!, don't you think? It means the journalists are only doing what we must in order to fulfil the terms of our contracts - no extra hours and meal breaks are compulsory. The unfortunate result is I'm putting on weight... We normally just work right through and grab a sandwich. Apart from my waistline, we'll see what effect it has on the programme.

It's part of the ongoing action against changes to our pensions. After the breakneck this week, we are living in a more frenetic age than usual in the broadcasting business. Most people I meet really value the Ö÷²¥´óÐã but also have a strong suspicion that our world is gilded compared to most. That's at least partly true but there are vast disparities in terms and conditions among staff and we try to look after everyone, especially the worse off. Feel free to disagree. As they say: .

On Newsweek the show goes on. No shortage of material this week but most with numbers attached. Personally I am barely numerate so I hate Budgets and spending reviews. You hear someone say: The education budget is down and you rush off to check and find it's actually gone up. Then the answer turns out to be that the CAPITAL education budget is down but the revenue one is UP. Still we can't ignore what is a massive event in the life of the country and the government so we have some nippy debate from the Great Lewis man Angus Macleod and James Cusick of the Sunday Herald.

And being Newsweek we have a twist - John Swinney says we can't afford the Union so we take him at his word and ask what would a spending review look like if Scotland had been independent as he wants. gives us some surprising insights into that very scenario, on the line from the Washington studio on M Street.

One of the things I love about this programme is the eye-popping array of talent The Producer unearths from around the world. Some of these people have brains the size of my garden shed. It can be intimidating and just occasionally I ask a question and a Nobel-winning professor says: You're absolutely right. But he has no idea I'm just guessing. Thus... who does global governance at the LSE. She puts me right on the defence review and says we think about conflict the wrong way. She is "reconceptualising" war and she leaves me in her slipstream.

We're also in France - sur la grève - it's a bit like the Ö÷²¥´óÐã industrial action except completely different. And we as it sweeps away homes and lives to devastating effect in Pakistan.

By the way, just as the kids started sleeping through the night at long last, the younger one got chicken pox... you can play join-the-dots on her little tummy.
Join me in the morning - at 8.

My favourite misprint story from this week, from Lockie in West Edinburgh:

Tom, a police force which will remain nameless produced an entire operational order about the arrangements for a 'cortege' . Just they printed it somebody hit the spellcheck. It changed 'cortege' to courgette ! Which resulted in gems like ' the courgette will travel at 20 mph and be escorted by police outriders'.

You can hear Tom Morton's daily top tales on the Tom Morton show, Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland Monday-Friday 1400-1600.

The is currently taking place at the SECC in Glasgow. Today MacAulay and Co and Brian Taylor's Big Debate came live from the show and I popped across to take some photos and try to avoid being distracted by all the delicious food and drink that surrounded me!

Fred challenged Richard Cadey to purchase 13 items available at the show, one for each letter in "MacAulay and Co", and gave him £20 to pay for them. The Easy Orchestra were the house band, and comedians Teddy and Scott Agnew shared the Five Things we Didn't Know last Week.

Fred MacAulay, Richard Cadey, Teddy and Scott Agnew during MacAulay and Co from the Good Food Show.

Fred was joined by Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland presenters Gary Robertson, Brian Taylor, Judith Ralston and Gillian Marles for a blind taste test. As you can see from the facial expressions below some of the samples proved unpopular!

Blind food tasting

is running his cookery school at the show and invited Kaye Adams (a former celebrity masterchef contestant) and members of Stirling Albion to cook a dish.

Fred was treated to the delights of raw seaweed, but turned down eating raw garlic grown at Scotland's only garlic farm.

Of course on outside broadcasts such as this the production team need some extra help from volunteers...

You can listen again to the show via the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland website, and see photographs from Brian Taylor's Big Debate on his episode page.

Monise Durrani, the producer of the new Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland series Walking Through Landscape tells us a little more about the series:

Walking Through Landscape, a new Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland series that's part of Ö÷²¥´óÐã Scotland's "Making Scotland's Landscape" season, starts on Monday at 1130.

In these programmes, presenter Iain Stewart (as you might guess from the title) takes a walk through some of Scotland's most intriguing landscapes, with people who live and work in them as guides, uncovering tales of how we have shaped the land around us.

Professor Iain Stewart

A series like this is always great to work on - there's nothing quite like having your eyes opened by people who know and love a place. For the first programme we braved rain, midges and ferry timetables to visit Sunart Oakwoods, near Strontian in Argyll. I'd visited the woods before as a tourist, and they're lovely - really lush and peaceful. So I knew they were full of butterflies and birdsong, but I had no idea of their history.

Trees%20in%20Ariundle%20Oakwood

It turns out that this area, known today as a nature reserve, owes existence entirely to industry, because the oak trees were valued as a source of charcoal in the 18th century. And with the help of enthusiastic locals Jim Kirby and John Dye, we were able to see the legacy of that time for ourselves - with the archaeological remains buildings and charcoal platforms, and places where you can see how the trees were planted in straight lines - the woods' history is literally there to trip over, but without the locals' help, we'd have probably walked straight past it! You can see more photographs from the Ariundle Oakwoods in our gallery and the walk will be available to download as a podcast.

Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland Newsdrive presenter Bill Whiteford shares this story about his great-great-grandfather "Big Rab Whiteford". Written in his "" as part of the Family Legends short story competition:

It must hae bin aboot '61 or '62. It wis the talk o Dunlop and Stewarton. Fowk in Kilmarnock hid even heard it, an it made a grand tale, but ye never heard a bit o' it fae Big Rab Whiteford.

Big Rab wis close wi' his siller, and closer still wi' his talk. He fairmed at Gabrochill, above Neilston. The muirs up there where Ayrshire starts are soor, wersh-like land, but Rab limed it and drained it and kept coos. Ilk a morn, gie early, he'd mulk the kye and pit Auld Jock intae harness. Hale days micht gae by when Auld Jock and the coos were the only things Big Rab talked tae, bar the dairy lasses.

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Today saw the launch of Children in Need 2010.

and the cast of hit musical are just some of the acts joining Pudsey at the as Children in Need Rocks Scotland on Friday 19 November.

John Barrowman and Jackie Bird are presenting this year's extravaganza from Glasgow, which will be part of the national Children in Need appeal show.

Other acts confirmed for the evening are dance acts and The Box, music acts Pearl and the Puppets, and plus comedians Fred MacAulay, , , , , and . Other acts are due to be announced in the coming weeks.

The Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland schedule is as follows:

Kaye Adams gets things underway at 1000 on Call Kaye. She will then hand over to a Children in Need special on MacAulay and Co from 1030, which will include fundraisers and celebrity guests.

Brian Taylor's Big Debate then takes over the helm with a special programme live from Pacific Quay at 1215 - where an audience of children will discuss issues alongside panellists and comedian .

The Comedy Café will follow at 1315 and will be tapping into some of the talent on hand for Children in Need Rocks Scotland.

Tom Morton will be starting at 1405 with his show including special guests and live music from Cherry Band.

Finally, from 1810 Bryan Burnett and Edith Bowman will take over the airwaves for a special four-hour Children in Need programme.

On the Children in Need Scotland page you can find information about this year's events, see highlights from Children in Need 2009 and download the fundraising pack.

Family Legends is a short story competition run by Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and the which invites you to write a story about your family. If you'd like to contribute your story, then please visit our Family Legends page to find out more.

Inspired by the competition, Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland presenter Nick Rougvie has shared this story about his grandparents with us:

My grandmother was the tall, slim woman who burnt fruit cake with regularity. My Granddad: the man who would sit with the crossword in his lap and a twinkle in his eye.

The other end of Fife seemed like a journey of forever from our house near the banks of the Tay, the twisting roads apparently, complainingly, endless. Only when we had passed the loch, sped past the caravan park and reached the crest of a towering hill did the end seem in sight - a final, sharp, dangerous corner at the bottom of that mountain allowing their house to appear before us.

Gran, "Pat" to my father, and Granddad, "Bill", were full of warmth, humour, generosity and burnt cake. There were endless rounds of word games, brain-teasers, puzzles and cups of tea. There was swing-ball in the garden and a dog which wouldn't bite you. There was the gigantic open hearth, a magnificent space to set fire to things without being told off.

To my eight year old self they were just Gran and Granddad, different from the other Gran and Granddad, but the same genus nonetheless. But as I soon learned, they could have been anything but.....

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A quick note for all Desperate Fishwives fans out there. We are currently repeating the first three episodes of series three at 1130 on Fridays after MacAulay and Co.

The cast of Desperate Fishwives

If you missed episode one, you still have time to catch it on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã iPlayer and don't forget to tune in this Friday, 22 October, for episode two.

You can also take a peek at some behind the scenes videos and photos from the last series on the Desperate Fishwives page.

Here's Take the Floor presenter, Robbie Shepherd, telling us about his Desperate Fishwives character...

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Keep an eye on the blog for more Fishwives news!

The line-up for the 2011 festival was announced this morning.

It runs from the 13 - 30 January at a variety of venues around Glasgow city centre.

The Scotland's Music team have written about some of the performers on their blog. As usual they will be creating a Celtic Connections site with videos and photographs from the event. You can still visit last year's site.

Many of the artists performing are regulars on Travelling Folk, Mary Ann Kennedy's Global Gathering, Another Country with Ricky Ross and the Iain Anderson Show. Iain will be hosting a serious of talks at the Festival too.

For full details of who will be performing check out the , there's folk, country, gospel and world music to choose from. Personally I am more than a little excited to see that Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives are playing at The Arches. I've seen thousands of bands live, but none have come close to the experience of seeing Marty and his band.

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives performing during the Americana Music Awards 2006 in Nashville.

So that's my recommendation, but if you have any suggestions please post below. There's so much to choose from and I'm sure other readers would appreciate it.

Bill Whiteford presents Newsdrive on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland, and was the guest presenter on Saturday's Out of Doors. He tells us more about the experience...

It's stupid o'clock on Saturday morning, an hour before Out of Doors goes on-air. I'm outside the Ö÷²¥´óÐã in Aberdeen, staring at two sets of headphones with jokey stickers on them. One says "star", the other "sidekick". How to choose?

It's not, as it happens, the first time I've seen these. In May, they were on the heads of Mark Stephen and Euan MacIlwraith, the veteran hosts of the programme. I was being interviewed along with my old school chum, Mike, just before we set out on a cross-Scotland adventure. After a dip in the sea at Aberdeen beach, we ran, cycled, walked and canoed across Scotland, to end up ten days later on the west coast at .

Bill and his friend Mike being interviewed by the out of doors team in May.

Bill during his cross country cycle.

Mark and Euan have an easy, jokey, rapport which manages to sound both comforting and authoritative. A hard act to follow for Helen Needham and me this morning.

So, a quick run-through of the script, and a check of the sound levels, and at half past six we're off and running. A warm up circuit of wind farm controversy is followed by a lap round wild camping, over the jumps of an animal sanctuary and cyclocross, and a final sprint at . Phew. Where did the time go? Soon we're winding up, and trying to squeeze in as much listener response as possible. Calls, texts and emails have poured in, and as I read each one out I scrunch up the paper and chuck it on the ground. A mistake, it turns out, because we're going to need these later, when we pre-record the Sunday version of the programme, which goes out at eleven. So, unscrunched papers in hand and suitably chastened, we get the repeat recorded and it's time to heat up.

And boy, am I cold. I knew the show, as the name suggests, happened out of doors. What I hadn't quite reckoned on was just how chilled you get standing more or less in the one spot for a couple of hours. Even with three layers (and a hat) I can feel my mouth slowing up and my teeth considering a good chatter.

In the stone dark days of mid-October it's bad enough, but what must it be like in January? Or when it's raining? Pretty awful I would think. Denise, today's producer, says she delights in telling the usual presenters to get out from under the sheltering porch and into the rain. Easy for her to say from the warmth and dry of studio .

Soon enough I'm back in the car, heater full on, heading home past hordes of tractors, and families on tattie holidays. From now on I'll have extra respect for the Our of Doors team, as I hunker down under the duvet and think of the "star" and "sidekick" struggling to keep the sleet off their scripts and the icicles off their noses. And which set of headphones did I get? D'you know, as I fumbled with glasses, hat, headphones and paper, I forgot to look.

Out of Doors broadcasts Saturdays at 0630, with a shortened repeat on Sunday mornings at 1105.

Crime Writer: James Ellroy

This week I interviewed the man who calls himself the greatest crime novelist who ever lived. Having read up on "LA Confidential" author , I learned that he often likes to make these grand statements about himself and that in media appearances he adopts "an outsized, stylized public persona of hard-boiled nihilism and self-reflexive subversiveness". "Oh God", I thought, "This isn't going to be easy". And I was right.

If you're an Ellroy fan you'll know that much of his life and his writing have been dominated by a traumatic event in his childhood - his mother's murder.
His obsession with crime, with the seedy underbelly of American society, and his own womanising, are all part of an attempt to come to terms with that event.
His latest book describes in relentless detail his downward spiral into drink, drugs and depression and his many, often unsavoury, relationships with women.

It's an uncomfortable read and he doesn't come across as a sympathetic character. That's how I would describe my interview with him. He talks in the same staccato style he uses in his prose - that would be the "hard-boiled nihilism and self-reflexive subversiveness" then. A difficult and strange interview.

He claims he has put his mother's ghost to rest now but listening to him, I wonder.

Listen to Shereen, Sunday 0900 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and available to listen again on iPlayer.

Driving south via and the A87 that snakes past Kintail and the five Sisters, sweeping through the majestic mountains of , leaving Loch Linnhe glistening behind me in my rearview mirror, has got to be one of the most therapeutic of visions, and when you get it all wrapped up in a still October morning, it's as though it's been captured by a camera shutter, captured forever in my memory. Everything they say about misty Highland glens holds true, landscapes change shape, and lochs of mist appear suspended in mid air.

I couldn't have timed it better, and I know that despite years of making that journey I have never managed to get all the elements working in such delightful synchronicity. Songs like River Deep, Mountain High by Ike and Tina Turner sprang to mind, Climb Every Mountain, and there are millions more that call up similar visions....

I wasn't in a hurry to reach my destination, and so I could appreciate nature's magnificence - the next time I make the same road journey it will be a different experience - it will be colder and the landscape will reflect those changes.

Music is a great companion especially when you're travelling alone, and this week I was tuning in to Radio nan Gaidheal at the in Golspie - it was Gold Medal day, and the excitement was palpable. Altogether then, a great mix, and of course it's always good to be back in the central belt for another wee while.

Email your requests to The Greetings Programme, broadcasting every Sunday at 0705 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland.

Still no sleep, the children want to party all night... There were four of us in the bed this week, I woke up with a two-year-old snoring lightly in my ear... But there's no time to dwell on the domestic front - There's news to analyse.

Possibly not since the has there been a drama with a happy ending like the rescue of the Chilean miners...well, possibly (or the 1990 rugby Grand Slam!) We'll look at the consequences of it all for Chile, a poor country with real resources and a hangover reputation involving memories of and .

One of the saddest stories was the tragic death of Linda Norgrove, one of those courageous young Scots who risk all to help others...we'll look at what may have gone wrong with her rescue in Afghanistan.

And we debate if we should be asking students to pay for their university education. Is that the society we want, where we can afford but not further education? Just imagine what parents of future students would make of them starting out with massive debts...

That takes me back to the ankle-biters at home... they're already busy crayoning away and counting the stairs in readiness for Oxford. All I want is a good night's sleep... join me Saturday morning at 8.

Among the topics covered on the show this week was the whole business of using the wrong substance...like the , thinking she was inserting eye drops. No (permanent) harm done! This delightful tale from listener Fiona Gibney ensued:

Years ago, during my student nurse training in the local asylum, it was usual for all new admissions to have various medical checks done - including a urine sample. There was a terrible staff nurse who thought it amusing to show us wee gullible students how to test for sugar - he'd lift the test tube full of urine which unbeknownst to us had been substituted with Scotland's other national drink - and have a quick gargle and spit it down the sink - "That's how you check for sugar!", he'd proudly announce - and leave endless classes of students feeling a bit green about the gills.

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

Theresa Talbot is the presenter of Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland's gardening phone-in, The Beechgrove Potting Shed. She's sent us this blog to introduce herself...

The best thing about being part of the team at The Beechgrove Potting Shed is having the chance each week to speak to people who are truly passionate about all things green. And I don't just mean the experts on the panel; chatting to listeners who call in to share their problems, ask for advice or in some cases call to solve a problem that's stumped the panel the previous week, is an absolute treat. One of my favourite calls still has to be from the lovely lady who wanted to know what kind of house-plants would survive her mad moggie who was determined to rip every piece of greenery to shreds. We're still waiting for the definitive answer on that one. And the expert advice? Cats and plants don't mix!

There's always something new to learn; Donald McBean the elder statesman of The Shed happily admits to being a very old man but a very young gardener! (I'd like to add that he's not old at all, he's an absolute darling of a man who's in his prime and always brings me in the most delicious Danish biscuits!). Like all the experts on the team he loves to impart his vast knowledge but knows there's always something fresh to learn, and loves to hear about plants, cultivars and techniques which are new to him and he soaks up this new information like a sponge.

The more time I spend with Jim McColl, Carole Baxter and Ian Young to name but a few of our regular panellists, the more I realise what huge gaps I have in my own horticultural knowledge. But gaps are there to be filled - and not just by Donald's lovely biscuits!
As the days get shorter, like many gardeners, I'm actually quite looking forward to winter. It's a chance to take stock of the garden and the cold days and dark nights give me the perfect chance to snuggle up with next year's seed catalogue preparing my fantasy garden in my head! I say 'fantasy' because despite the best of intentions, the perfect herbaceous border billowing with colour and the neatly tended vegetable plot jam-packed with glorious goodies somehow don't always come to fruition. In my defence, it's not always my fault. My latest attempt to add a bit of 'character' to some new steps in the garden was sabotaged! I'd read somewhere that spreading yoghurt on new stonework would attract moss and thus stop it sticking out like a sore thumb. Armed with a bumper pot of yoghurt and a paint brush I set about covering every available surface. It was a warm day and my toil soon attracted the attention of passers-by, clearly impressed with my handiwork. As I carried on I couldn't help but notice sniggers and laughter. Only when I finished the entire length of the garden did I glance round to see my fat cat Chelsea hot on my heels, licking off every last drop of yoghurt from the stone!!! Perhaps the experts are right, gardening and cats don't mix!

Listen to The Beechgrove Potting Shed every Sunday at 1205, or catch-up via the Ö÷²¥´óÐã iPlayer.

On the Another Country Norrie expresses mild disbelief that I might not have owned '' until six years after it came out. The year was 1980 and I was a volunteer youth worker working in the City Churches in Dundee. I was paid some amount that was pretty marginal and given free rent in a flat in town. I was totally happy, but there wasn't a lot left to buy records. I was going out with a girl who arrived at my flat one day with a copy of The River and we put the album on. I'd heard about Flo and Eddie from Frank Zappa days but nothing prepared me for the impact of the . It was a moment. Why had I not heard it until then? The reason was simple; Bruce Springsteen didn't get played on any radio station I'd ever heard of...at least, not during waking hours.

Bruce Springsteen (2009)

So it was the time, poor times for most people and certainly for me, when you got any copy of your new favourite album and you hoped to buy it second hand or get a present for Christmas. Double albums? Well, that was double the price. As I said on the facebook page it was my intention when I signed to CBS records to get my hands on some serious bits of missing catalogue. Cue the sudden acquisition of Bruce's missing albums, Dylan, , Willie Nelson and George Jones. I'm nothing if not eclectic.

What else could be done and not done in 1980? We stood at football matches and people took in bevvy on a grand scale to the match. They smoked in pubs...they smoked everywhere! Gigs were cheap. It cost the same to go to a gig as it did to buy an album....so you can work out why the recording business is in such disarray. You think things are bad now economically? It was terrible then. No one seemed to have any certainty of finding work and things were about to get even worse for a few years. But in among the gloom were pieces of music that took you out of yourself and made you believe. The River was one. On Friday night we'll celebrate that album.

We're not celebrating alone. We'll be joined by a band of brothers who love that album as much as I do. have just brought out their 3rd album "Road of Bones" on vinyl no less! They will be playing songs from that record, we'll be talking about the music with Roddy and they are going to play one of their favourite songs from The River. Country music...? Oh yes. Nice new things from Rachel Harrington, and The Duke and The King.

p.s

I went to on Tuesday night with my wee boy and some pals of his. It was a great night because the team were heroic, even though we lost. I hate the Hampden PA system (hate Hampden mostly) and their dire music and stupid Americanisation of our great game - the fireworks, the dafties telling us to 'make some noise' but on the way out they played . It was a nice wee moment.

About a month ago, - the aim is that 80 per cent of Scottish electricity consumption should come from renewables by 2020. According to figures from , there are currently 84 windfarms in Scotland.

What is more interesting is that there are 88 approved windfarms in the pipeline, subject to meeting planning conditions, 14 under construction and 96 going through planning. If all this goes ahead, then we'll see the number of windfarms more than treble in the short term. According to ice cream magnate, , bigger is better. He's trying to encourage the rural sector to have a slice of the wind power pie, urging farmers and rural businesses to get together and invest in massive turbines so that the profits come directly back to the community, rather than the power companies.

Meanwhile, former protesters have told us they have given up trying to oppose wind farms because they feel powerless. But with the promise of thousands of potential jobs through such developments - complimented by offshore wind, wave and tidal power too - can anyone really argue against the renewables revolution?

All these arguments and more will be explored on Out of Doors on Saturday morning from six thirty - this week our usual presenters are away, so Newsdrive's Bill Whiteford takes the helm.

UPDATE 18 October 15:00, Read Bill's account of presenting Out of Doors.

In the penultimate programme of the public spending cut series of debates, we move to the Borders, to gauge opinion from the councillors and community, ahead of the Government announcements of the 20 October.

Last night's Chairman for the Borders Spending Debate was senior broadcast journalist Cameron Buttle who highlights some of the issues raised below:

Borders Public Spending Review - Tweed Horizons Centre near Newtown St Boswells

The message from the leader of was things might not be as bad as people think, it was very much a 'watch this space' brief from David Parker who, like everyone else is waiting for the detail of the cuts next week.

Borderers were asking about policing, tourism, the effect on the local voluntary sector and in particular should the - estimated to cost somewhere in the region of £235 million to £295 million - still go ahead?

Farmers asked about future funding and strategy for an industry vital to the Borders, others wanted to know what life would be like in the Borders after the cuts.

The debate was held in front of an audience of around 70 in the near Newtown St Boswells. The panellists were Conservative MSP , SNP MSP , Scottish Borders Council leader , Councillor and Labour prospective parliamentary candidate Kenryck Lloyd-Jones.

Listen in to the Borders Public Spending Debate, 2205 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and don't miss Brian Taylor's Big Debate, Friday,1215 as he discusses the implications of the spending review on Scotland as a whole.

The series of public spending debates continues on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland, with more questions asked and issues raised from the constituents of the Highlands Islands.

The evening was chaired by senior broadcast journalist Iain MacDonald, who highlights some of the issues below:

Highlands & Islands Public Spending Review - Highland Council headquarters Inverness

Last night's public spending debate was held in the chambers of Highland Council's headquarters in Inverness, with an audience of about 50 people. The panel had representatives from the four main political parties - Labour's , Liberal Democrat , Conservative and SNP's . Campaigner Sheila Mackay and economist Tony Mackay also joined the panel for good measure.

School closures seemed to be the hot topic of the evening. We heard from the Highland Council's leadership, that schools across the area were undoubtedly going to have to close "and in significant numbers" according them "there was no way around it".

We heard views on public sector contracts going to companies outwith the Highlands,
there were calls for a relaxation of European rules to allow street lighting and even traffic lights to be switched off when they're not needed. Economist Tony Mackay told councillors that being asked to make five percent efficiency savings every year is something the private sector would take in its stride and perhaps the council should just get on with it.

Liberal Democrat representative Robbie Rowantree, who was once a Conservative, before joining his present party, admitted ruefully that he felt like someone in an old Western movie, who'd "escaped the Injuns", only to ride into another ambush.

Perhaps most surprisingly, our audience, in a show-of-hands-poll, voted for increases in the council tax to save services. Labour's Jimmy Gray suggested it would take rises of as much as twelve per cent, to have any meaningful effect.

Listen to the Highlands and Islands Public Spending Debate tonight at 2205 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and available to listen again on iPlayer.

There are an estimated 9.2 million souls across the UK who have never used the internet. Presumably if you're reading this you, like me, are not one of them.

Working on the Radio Scotland website and blog often means stumbling around new technology, programs and interfaces which can be tricky and at times - maddening. What makes it a heck of a lot easier is sitting in a working environment with colleagues who you can ask for help with while getting used to doing new things.

This is all fine and well but if you are new to this and attempting it on your own it's a lot more challenging. My folks, for example, are in their 70s and this year my Mum has bought her first computer. It's not going too well and sitting alone going round in circles is not helping. The frustration and embarrassment this causes is a serious obstacle.

There are a couple of new campaigns at the moment which aim to help people. One is called and the Ö÷²¥´óÐã campaign is called First Click aimed at people who would like to learn but are not confident about being online. To paraphrase Catriona McGrath, the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's Head of Marketing for Future Media & Technology, she says:

"By showing our audiences people just like themselves already online and loving it, we aim to demonstrate just how easy it is to get online.

The campaign is about reassuring people that they are not alone in thinking that they might be too old or unskilled to learn how to use the internet."

The site Webwise is another good resource for beginners and does a great job of explaining words like URLs, downloads, broadband which can be scary and act as barriers for newcomers.

I think I'll tell my Mum about it.

Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland continues to assess public reaction to the proposed Government spending cuts, with it's series of debates being held around Scotland.

Last night, senior broadcast journalist Willie Johnston chaired the debate held in Dumfries and Galloway, and highlights some of the issues of concern for the councillors and communities below:

South West Public Spending Review - Brigend Theatre, Dumfries

The main focus of the debate was the cuts of more than £50 million pounds facing in the next three years and the impact on jobs and services. The authority will be making the first decisions about where to wield the axe in the next few months and council leader Ivor Hyslp admitted that the total number of job cuts required could be in the order of 800.

The council came under fire for the number of senior managers it employs and - in particular - for the creation of a brand new post of assistant chief executive.

The impact of the cuts on Dumfries and Galloway police was also highlighted. The region's chief constable said they were likely to lose around 60 uniformed officers through non-replacement in the next three years as well as a large proportion of vital backroom staff.

Other issues explored included the vulnerability of the economy of Dumfries and Galloway because of the region's high dependence on public sector jobs and relatively small private sector. Gordon Mann of the region's said there was a real danger of the region suffering a "double-dip recession".

The debate was held in front of an audience of around 70 in the Brigend Theatre in Dumfries. The panellists were Conservative , Labour's , the SNP's , Liberal Democrat and council leader .

You can listen to the debate tonight at 2205 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and the programme is also available on iPlayer.

As Ricky mentioned in his blog last week, Frazey Ford, formerly of The Be Good Tanyas, was a live guest on Another Country on 8 October.

The Frazey Ford band with Ricky Ross

Here's a video of her performance of Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee".

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On this Friday's show, Ricky's live guests will be .

Next week Chancellor George Osborne announces what could be, the biggest cuts in Government spending for decades. In anticipation of this review, all this week Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland are holding a series of debates around Scotland to assess the impact they might have on council services, looking at what these cuts might mean for you and your area.

Last night's Chairman for the North East Public Spending Debate was senior broadcast journalist, Steven Duff who highlights some of the issues below:

North East Public Spending Review - Aberdeen Grammar

Education and proposals to close or merge Aberdeen secondary schools topped the agenda at a Ö÷²¥´óÐã Scotland debate on public spending in Aberdeen.

Held in Aberdeen Grammar - incidentally not one of the schools under threat - other topics discussed included health and care provision for the elderly, local government costs, pensions and quangos.

is currently consulting on plans that could see the number of secondary schools reduced from 12 to 8. The Lib Dem/SNP administration on the authority insist its not about cost cutting and instead is an attempt to make the schools estate in the city more efficient. Some schools are below capacity.

However Harlaw academy in the city centre is not. One of its most famous ex-pupils is singer . Parents and pupils there have launched a high profile campaign to save it being merged with Hazlehead academy.

Murdo McLean, the Chairman of Harlaw Academy Parent Council believed it was about cost cutting, he said "The school is full to capacity. We feel that the city needs two academies in the city centre."

The panel representing all four main political consisted of the SNP's , Conservative , Labour's and the Lib Dem's .

Listen to the North East Public Spending Debate tonight at 2205 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and available to listen again on iPlayer.

Serena Field producer of the Book Cafe has been in touch about the Portobello Book Festival which she attended on Sunday October 10.

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to a very windswept Portobello, outside , to give a talk at their . The talk was called 'Behind the Scenes at The Book Cafe' and it was to take place in . The festival organisers and the library had provided a good-sized room for us and, most importantly of all, good coffee and home-made shortbread. We were off to a strong start.

Just before the event began the Senior Producer of the department and I had the usual struggle to put up the unwieldy Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland signs but they looked great once they were up- and neither of us lost any fingers. There must be a knack to it although I haven't discovered it yet, clearly. The audience filed in and the room started to look pretty full. I checked the photos I was going to use for illustration as the Chair (otherwise known as one of the festival organisers) took her place beside me at the front and we began.

It was a really good hour of stories, literary-based conversation and great questions from the audience - and it went by so quickly. People seemed very interested in how the content of the programme is decided, by what happens in studio and they liked the stories about authors. Strangely, they seemed particularly attentive when I was answering the questions about the times things went wrong! I was hard-pushed to think of any examples of that kind of situation, obviously ...

I hope the audience took away a good idea of how we put the programme together; I certainly got a better sense of our audience and their literary interests. It was lovely to be part of the Portobello Book Festival and I was particularly struck by how friendly everyone was.

We could have gone on talking for longer but we had to give the audience enough time to go on to other events, although a few people came up at the end to ask further questions or to get more information. As we packed up our leaflets and signs I was offered the very last piece of the home-made shortbread- the perfect end to a really good morning!

The Book Cafe is presented by Clare English and is broadcast every Monday 1315-1400.

I'm hoping this week's show brought us all lots of luck. We broadcast live on 10/10/10, apparently one of the most auspicious days of the millennium.

Thousands of couples were preparing to take their wedding vows at 10.10am, just after we came off air. Since journalist David Pratt was the only unmarried person on my panel I asked if he had any plans for today. He looked decidedly shifty so I moved on!

There was much discussion on the show this week on the notion of fairness as the Coalition government announced an end to universal child benefit. My special guest, economist has strong views on what makes a fair society. He told me he got his sense of fairness from his childhood here in Scotland.

I hadn't realised that Will went to school in my neck of the woods, at Bishopton Primary in Renfrewshire and then onto Paisley Grammar. He has fond memories of teachers dressed like the cast of Mad Men and not so fond memories of getting "". That's when his liberal conscience was stirred, he says.

It was good to hear more about the man behind the soundbites for a change. Hope you enjoy it.

Listen to Shereen, Sunday 0900 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and available to listen again on iPlayer.

Paul Mitchell is presenting The Greetings Programme on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland this Sunday at 0705. Following on from Cathy's blog about journeys last week, he reminisces about some of his memorable trips...

Thinking about the current theme on the Greetings programme of 'journeys' brought back many memories to mind. I enjoy flying and the distance that it eats up to get me places although the trip from Amsterdam to Ukraine on board Eastern European airlines is not one I would wish to repeat. I still have no idea what I ate and never wish to see 'bulgur wheat' again.

On four wheels this summer in , my family and I had fun constantly re-tuning the radio on our drive from Dallas to Houston as the signals of our chosen entertainment never seemed to last long as we ate up the miles and each new station was a discovery.

For sheer fun, the journey from the holiday home we hired in Oban a few years ago to the will live long in the memory. We took, shall I say, 'the scenic route' which involved the bumpiest and hilliest road I have ever been on. Shrieks of laughter came from the back of the car as my kids watched their Grandparents in the following car - the sight of their Grandma being bounced about in her seat on this road full of dips and peaks just the prefect entertainment.

But one song always comes back to me when I think about music and driving. First heard on a gorgeous backroad near in while absorbing the scenery. The song 'What about now' by Lonestar. Singing (a term I use loosely) along to the chorus - 'What about now, why should we wait, we can chase these dreams down the interstate' - great music for any journey - and perhaps for the Greetings programme sometime.

Email your requests to The Greetings Programme, broadcasting every Sunday at 0705.

Donald Dewar

One of those weeks... bleary-eyed after sleepless nights with tiny tots...and coincidentally immersion in Labour politics where the new generation seem like little nippers compared to the giants of the past.

At least that's an easy assumption as we see only three Scots returned in the shadow cabinet elections at the very time we remember ten years on after his death. Not only that but I've been looking through the Ö÷²¥´óÐã archive at the origins of Labour... Keir Hardie, , and on through Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Prime Minister to . I watched a speech he made at the height of his powers - all sound and fury - defying anyone to disagree. It makes a contrast with today's performers and their sometimes contrived indignation. Old Willie looked like he really meant it.

Anyway our plan on Newsweek is to have a discussion about Dewar, one of the real characters of Labour, a sometimes infuriating man whom I found it impossible to dislike. (There is a clip of him in the archive from the berating the nationalists and saying:"Do you think the wogs start at Calais?" Interesting how the terms of debate change!) We'll have his former minder and with whom he didn't always see eye to eye.

We want to discuss his legacy and what he would make of Holyrood, Scotland and, indeed the SNP.

We're also asking if the government's measures on child benefit and really are fair (there's some special pleading here from the presenter) and we have a fascinting piece on the Indus river which has devastated swathes of Pakistan. Is it global warming? We speak to an expert who has surprising news. Join us Saturday morning from 8 and we'll bring the world to your duvet...

Don't miss Clare English and next week's Book Cafe for an exclusive announcement which promises to reveal exciting news for the writers amongst us.

There's a little bit about it on Monday's Book Cafe episode page and there will be more information both on air and on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland homepage from around 1330 on Monday 11 October.

Together with the we'll be launching Family Legends, the chance to tell the story of a remarkable relative and have it read out to the nation.

The last time Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland collaborated with the was for Days Like This back in 2008. The book which was published after the campaign sold out!

The Book Cafe is presented by Clare English and is on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland, Mondays 1315-1400, repeated Sundays 1300-1345.

I'm sentimental. So when I came across the music of Frazey Ford (formerly of The Be Good Tanyas) I immediately warmed to it because of her surname.

The Fords are on my mother's side. My Grandpa, Joe Ford was my hero as I grew up.

Ricky with Grandpa Ford

My Grandmother, Kitty was a huge influence on me. Her father, Willie Robertson was a hymn writer and I'm guessing that's where the song writing must have come from. My grandmother also wrote poetry and recited verse. So ...I'm well disposed to the Fords.

That aside, I like Frazey. She likes Ann Peebles and Donny Hathaway but she also loves The Rev Al...I guess we all do. But Frazey's taken all these things and made something quite new and charming from them. She's bringing a bunch of musicians in to Studio 1 on Friday and she's going to perform live on the night. Between songs we'll have a blether and find out lots more about her...expect a great cover too.

Which brings me to...The Another Country Movie Club. This will be our final Movie Club this year. Next year we will open our movie club in a rootin -tootin down-town vibey venue. Imagine! More news on that in the next few weeks. In the meantime a movie you can all buy (cheap), or hire and watch with your chums as the dark nights and wood smoke gathers in. Bob Dylan's . And this is a Country film Ricky?, I hear you ask. Well, no. But Bob Dylan is at the heart of Americana. All American roots music since the sixties has Dylan in there somewhere. That's nearly 50 years of music and I'd imagine that influence will only grow. So showing where he came from and the hurdles he had to jump (Folk singers don't come out of the movie very well.......) make for a great understanding of where we are now.

Also.... New music from Bruce Springsteen, Mavis Staples, and Kurt Wagner and Cortney Tidwell. All from 8 on Friday on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland.

Vic Galloway's live studio guests on Monday night (4 October 2010) were Scottish group The Phantom Band who are a sextet based in Glasgow.

Our colleagues Nick and Paul from Scotland's Music filmed their session which features songs from their brand new album The Wants.

All the videos can now be found on the programme page. Here's a taster, a live performance of A Glamour...

It's a pleasure this week to post the full version of a text I had to summarise on air, and one I didn't get the chance to read out at all. Both to do with mountains, glasses and the vicissitudes of the Scottish climate:

First, one from (well-known writer on matters mountainous, and indeed, outdoors editor of the :

I once had my specs blow off on a hill - one of the most alarming moments I've ever had in 30 years of regular hillgoing. A big gust wheeched them off and away into the surrounding boggy tussocks - but, not now having any means of seeing properly, I had no idea exactly where.

Crawled around for a bit - was worried about treading on them. Then realised that about ten minutes previously I'd overtaken someone, so waited for him to catch up and asked him to help. He duly found them, for which I was hugely grateful. He turned out to be the only other walker met that day, so I was really lucky.

Could have picked my way slowly back downhill without them, but certainly couldn't have driven home.

Ever since then, I've carried one of those wee strings designed to tie on specs, and I attach it whenever it's particularly blowy or, even on calm days, if I'm on a scrambly narrow ridge where having my specs slide off my head would be a disaster.

And its sequel, from Malcolm Whyte:

Many years ago I went hillwalking to the , near .

Creise, Glencoe.

It was a grand day and on the way down I stopped on the moor to take one final photo looking back to the hill. I took off my specs to compose the shot, clicked the shutter and walked away. After a few hundred yards I realised my loss and went back to try and find the glasses, but no joy. A couple of weeks later the roll of film had been completed and developed at the chemist. Looking at the Creise photo, I realised there was a lone telephone line running across the moor and that this might lead me back to my glasses. I returned to the foot of the hill the next day with a friend; clutching the photo. Using the photo, the mountain and the telephone line, we managed to get into a position on the moor that gave the same view as the photo. To general surprise, the lost specs were found sitting on top of a boulder. We retraced our steps and enjoyed a pint in the Kingshouse Hotel. I drove home that evening with the specs safely in position on my face.

The next day I went on the train to Aberdeen and left them onboard. I had no photo to help retrieve them this time...

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

Edi introduces us to a few of the talented and unique individuals who feature in her new series of Stark Talk.

Edi Stark

I've been reading Shereen's blog and agree that it is tough to persuade even the most high flying women to 'blow their own trumpet'. I've been producing and presenting Stark Talk for more than ten years and I can't say it's getting any easier to convince women they're 'worth it'.

I've just recorded an interview with , an extraordinarily bright, caring woman who is one of only five consultant neurosurgeons in Scotland. Always on the lookout for good guests, she was recommended to me by her colleague consultant paediatric oncologist , another modest individual whom I met when making Melissa's Story, a programme about one patient's experience at the in Edinburgh. Lynn claims there's nothing special about her, she's only doing her job but you can judge for yourself when the programme is broadcast on 27th October at 11.30am.

The week beforehand, on the 21st of October, there's another extraordinary woman on the show. Singer turned dancer, from Kilmarnock, took up dance when she was 27 years old. Five years on, this young woman who was born with osteoporosis, is touring internationally to great acclaim, challenging our perceptions of beautiful movement and aesthetics and confounding doctors who told her that she would never be any fitter. Still using crutches on and off stage with virtuoso skill, her bones are denser and she's taller. You can view her unique performance style and find out more through her .

Our new series starts with the lovely stage and screen actor . He's just as happy touring , (the musical of Proclaimers' songs) with as he is with Hollywood glory surrounding his Hobbit days in the trilogy, . He's planning to get married to his partner Ali this year, except that neither he nor she are any good at planning! During the course of our conversation, as you'll hear, we have a Jim'll Fix It moment when we realise the dream wedding for him would be if the could be there singing . 'That would make me do it!' he says and asks jokingly if I could organise it.

I did ask, but regretfully Charlie and Craig cannot commit to anything at the moment as they've just ended a 15 month tour and are back into the writing process. But I'm not giving up hope. Asked why Billy wants to get married when he's quite happy as he is, he tells me 'I love her.'

And I've been singing ever since.

Listen to Edi's Sony Gold award-winning documentary - Never Too Old To Care:

Catch the new series of Stark Talk, this Wednesday 1130 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and available to listen again on iPlayer.

Dave Price the product manager for radio within the Ö÷²¥´óÐã iPlayer has posted a blog on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Internet Blog explaining why radio is treated differently in this version and what new features are (and soon will be) available. It's both interesting and informative and will hopefully answer any questions you have.

Why do so few high achieving women like to "blow their own trumpet"? It's a question I often ask myself when we're looking for guests for my show.

Every week I do a "big interview" with one special guest about their life, their achievements and their influences. It can be a public figure, a celebrity, someone who's made a significant contribution to life in Scotland. I've interviewed a huge variety of fascinating people but so far more men than women. And it's not for lack of trying.
I've come to the conclusion that while there are undoubtedly many highly capable, interesting women out there, we as a species can be reluctant to promote ourselves and talk openly about our achievements. We tend to see it as boasting. Even women in the top jobs prefer to remain behind the scenes.

My producer Della and I have made it our mission to persuade as many of these women as we can to tell their stories.This week we managed to persuade Professor Neva Haites to talk to us.She's a professor of Human Genetics who's led the way in identifying the gene that can cause breast cancer. Neva is an inspirational and fascinating woman. I hope you agree, we need to know about more women like her... so any of your suggestions would be gratefully received!

Listen to the extended interview with Professor Neva Haites below:

Listen to Shereen, Sunday 0900 on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland and available to listen again on iPlayer.

It was around this time of year, 35 years ago, that Rod Stewart took "Sailing" to the top of the charts where it remained for what now seems like a remarkably long, four weeks. While I was once a fan, I never really got into that song as an anthem of any kind - possibly due to memories of too many Minch crossings on the Cal Mac ferries. But hearing it this week, got me thinking about the songs or indeed the pieces of music that remind us of journeys we've been on.

Rod Stewart

Sometimes it's easy listening music, perhaps a good classical burst to get you through the endless miles.of motorway, or something atmospheric to take you through the glorious scenery of the North West Coast. Trains, planes and automobiles - we all need some form of musical entertainment to distract us or to keep us company, regardless of the purpose of the journey. Going home for a special catch up is one example, leaving family and friends behind is another matter altogether, when even the slightest hint of melancholy music is a no-no. And of course Christmas is another, but it's far too early to start thinking about that - so all other journeys, and most especially if you're making that journey after a long absence...let me know what music "drives" you, as it were.....greetings@bbc.co.uk.

Listen to The Greetings Programme on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland, Sundays 0705.

Ricky's live guest on tonight's Another Country is Nashville based singer-songwriter Caitlin Rose who found time to pop into the studio ahead of her gig tonight supporting Deer Tick. It's also another chance to hear the session she recorded for the show a few months ago.

Caitlin Rose and Ricky Ross

Read more about Caitlin and tonight's show on Ricky's blog.