How hard can it be to run an old house in France? (an excerpt) ... We couldn’t believe we’d actually gone and bloody done it! The thing we’d set out to do three years ago. The thing that seemed like a crazy, far-fetched and wild fantasy. We glanced at each other, with...

We’d arrived with nothing. These are the unexpected sequences of events that changed my world. (an excerpt) ... We’d left Scotland at a sad time, but with optimism in our steps. We had nothing, so if our plans failed, we’d simply come back with nothing. We’d be no...

Why he defecated on the floor remains a mystery to this day. (an excerpt) ... The artist arrived late. His train was delayed, so Colin had to make a second trip to collect him from the station, while I entertained the other new creative residents. When he got here, he...

These walls tell of bidets, nappies, nipples and lodgers, but not necessarily in that order. (an excerpt) ... Within a year of my brother being born, we’d moved into what would turn out to be Mum’s forever home. The three-bedroom flat had become too small for this...

If walls could talk, they’d tell stories of falling in love, eating soap and the arrival of an eccentric thespian. (an excerpt) ... Was he just giving me the good parts in the school plays because he had the hots for my ma?! When the drama teacher started visiting us...

The stories you are about to read are true. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. (an excerpt) ... At the table next to us was a raucous group of drama students, out celebrating their Christmas break. ‘I’m going to ask them for a cigarette,’ she said...

True stories of Grindr, ghosting and unexpected romance at our artist residency. (an excerpt) ... I couldn’t help but feel frustrated recently when we’d offered to take two residents out for a day trip. We were driving through lush green hills, past stunning châteaux,...

A short story about heartbreak, homelessness and how an artist residency helped me find my feet again. I want to tell you about an Artist Residency. A residency in a remarkable mansion house in Arbroath, Scotland. But first I’ll have to take you back a little, so you...

From scraping by in Scotland to owning a creative residency in France How did we change from thinking that being able to afford a fried egg sandwich in a café on the East Coast of Scotland was ‘Living the Dream’ … to realising that living in a mansion in the South of...