A faded cherub

 I love this faded cherub on the corner of a gravestone in North Merchiston Cemetery. 

Crafty Green Poet on Substack

I've set up on Substack, where I'll be posting most Wednesdays about the type of things I post about on my Crafty Green Poet blog, but in a different format. 

You can find out more and subscribe here.

All my content on Substack will be free, though I will eventually introduce paid subscriptions, largely encouraged by a generous blog reader pledging a subscription even before I'd posted anything! I'm not intending to introduce a paywall, though.

I posted my first post today. You can read it here.

Còisir Dhùn Èideann (Edinburgh Gaelic Choir)

 I recently joined the Edinburgh Gaelic Choir in the hope that it will offer a creative way for me to learn Gaelic. It's a small, friendly group. We learn songs in Gaelic and get a good amount of help on Gaelic pronunciation from the conductor who is a fluent Gaelic speaker. 

The choir is looking for new members, so if you're in Edinburgh, enjoy singing and have an interest in the Gaelic language then why not join in! Details on their website here.

A Year of Learning Scottish Gaelic!

Last year, I made a belated new year's resolution to learn Scottish Gaelic. Today I reached a 365 day streak of learning the language on Duolingo. Over a million people across the world are learning Scots Gaelic with Duolingo. Find out more here.

I did do a term of evening classes in Scottish Gaelic with Edinburgh Council's Adult Education Programme. However I was very disappointed in them and didn't sign up for another term. University of Edinburgh offers a wider range of classes, though they're more expensive and I was put off by the tutor who I met who said I'd need to sign up for the total beginners class despite having done a term with the council and a few months with Duolingo. 

More Online Resources

Learn Gaelic is a free online resource for learning Scots Gaelic. It shares a Gaelic word a day on social media. 

Speak Gaelic is a Scots Gaelic learning programme, offering online classes and producing learning materials for other organisations. The programme is broadcast on BBC Alba (see below) and you can also watch all the episodes on Youtube.

BBC Alba offers broadcast TV primarily in Scots Gaelic with some excellent programmes.

Scots Gaelic Week (20-26 February)