Hey there world. Been a long time. A long lonely time. Ain't blogged since last year, and now it's getting dark again at night and the narrow road to the deep north is getting colder.

But it's been a good old northen summer for me, and that brings a smile to my face. My daughter turned eight this week, and that makes me feel strange. When did I become some middle-aged bloke with no hair and an expanding waistline? Must've blinked and missed it.

My wife's parents have just come off the ferry from the Orkney isles, and they were amazed to see whales in the sea around the ferry. This is the deep north, and few know it better than the whales out there...

People say whale song is soothing and lonesome and all those other charming new age epithets. For me there are only two lonesome sounds worth recording: an early summer curlew at twilight in Caithness, and a freight train running through the southwestern American night. If you know better, don't tell me...