Making things up since 1837. Contact me at gordonwrotesomething [at] gordondarroch.com
One of my most memorable escapades in journalism was interviewing one of the quintet of Italian writers who go by the collective name of the Wu Ming Foundation for The Herald. At one point I asked, playfully, if they deliberately chose titles for their books that were untranslatable – such as Q and Manituana. I … Continue reading Neologicasm, or the joy of making up words
Here’s a list of Father’s Day presents, culled at random from the internet: drones, ties, DIY tools, thermos flasks, ties, home brew sets, wireless speakers. All of them, to a greater or lesser extent, underline the image of the man of the house as someone whose natural environment is outside the house, whether it’s in … Continue reading Let’s ditch the sexist myth of the hapless male
2018 is going to be publication year. I ought to be excited. I should probably be ecstatic. For around a decade 'have something published' headed my list of new year's resolutions with the grinding recurrence of a Cliff Richard Christmas single. And now it's actually happening, and my primary feeling is apprehension. At the risk … Continue reading My first publication year
Since the protective cocoon around Harvey Weinstein started to crumble a few weeks ago I've been following the #metoo hashtag on Twitter with mixed emotions. Specifically a blend of horror, shock, disgust, bewilderment, helplessness and dismay. Some people have berated men for our deafening collective silence on the issue, but I'd argue that this is … Continue reading The Weinstein spectrum
Photo by Axel Hindemith via Wikipedia, September 2007 Theo Jansen, whose work I was lucky enough to see taking a stroll on The Hague's south beach this afternoon, has an interesting theory about the evolution of his Strandbeesten. The sight of Jansen striding up the beach, dragging his whirling plastic contraption and a swarm of curious onlookers … Continue reading Evolution and the Strandbeest
I'm delighted to announce that my memoir, All The Time We Thought We Had, will be published by Birlinn, provisionally in the spring of 2018. What's it about? In the first place it's the story of how Magteld died of breast cancer in 2014, within two years of first being diagnosed. It's about how our … Continue reading Announcement
At the end of a year dominated by the politics of fear and division, a few bold individuals resolved to speak up for the values of solidarity and compassion. Here are the words of one of them: “Even with the inspiration of others, it’s understandable that we sometimes think the world’s problems are so big … Continue reading After 2016, whither democracy?
“We cannot cope alone,” wrote George Monbiot in his essay on the age of loneliness, published in The Guardian two years ago. Human beings are social animals: we crave the support, approval and love of like-minded individuals. But society in the last 50 years has become steadily more atomised, with a relentless focus on individual success. … Continue reading Loneliness: the secret circle of hell
It seems ridiculous now, but there was a time when every date you went on carried the risk of the other person not showing up. In other words, you’d be stood up. Nowadays when your date doesn’t appear you summon your pocket djinn, dispatch a message demanding to know where the hell they are, and … Continue reading Chippings from the quarry #4: Stood up
Have two years really gone by, my love? When I think of us together it seems like five minutes ago and another time zone at once, as if I'm watching a live television broadcast from the medieval era. I look through a telescope in search of you, but all I see is flickering lights. Are … Continue reading Above and beyond