During a friendly chat a couple of weeks ago, I learnt how farmers and fishermen used to form pretty separate communities in the Buckie area. Quite likely I personally wouldn’t have been able to share much common ground with either community – my knowledge regarding farming or fishing is pretty much next to nothing. Am I uniquely ignorant in that…

The graduation season is in full swing. It started a fortnight ago in St Peter’s church, when three graduation ceremonies were held: one for the P7 leavers from St Peter’s Primary School, followed by two for St Peter’s Nursery pupils. Now, across the country, university students who have completed their degrees are hiring gowns and mortar-boards in readiness for going…

Some time ago I had lunch in a local restaurant with Deacon Vincent McQuaid, the Catholic chaplain at Dr Gray’s. By pure coincidence, a woman I knew was there too with her friend. On their way out she told me that she had paid for our drinks. That was a very kind and generous gesture. It’s just a pity that…

I very rarely wear a ‘dog-collar’ – that white ‘number plate’ under my chin, signalling to the world that I’m a clergyman. Not that I’m ashamed of being a priest, or trying to maintain a low profile about my priesthood. In small communities like Fochabers or Buckie, that wouldn’t make much sense anyway – I’ve been here long enough to…

A few months ago we were watching daily dramatic reports about the acute famine in East Africa, followed by reports from war-ravaged Yemen that were uncomfortable to watch. Mass hunger remains an acute problem in many places around the world despite the many efforts made by international organisations and charities. Perversely, because those images of starvation are so graphic, they…