A couple of weeks ago, the Radio Times ran a feature celebrating the career of the talented Shirley Henderson. A new series called Summerwater was about to be shown, one which - in spite of enjoying much of Shirley's work to date - we didn't persevere with. This review from the Guardian explains why. I don't know why so many writers persist in setting slightly weird crime dramas in Scotland, but they do. There are many wonderful books set in Scotland, but we seldom see them dramatised.
If you love Dirty Dancing as much as I do, and have always wanted to stay at Kellerman's you could do worse than book a visit to the wonderful Drimsynie Holiday Park, on the shores of beautiful Loch Goil. Nothing sinister about it at all. It's comfortable and well run with gorgeous views, and somebody, somewhere, is sure to be carrying a watermelon.
I digress.
If you look at the image above - and although it says well-deserved nice things about Shirley, who is a very fine actor - there is a significant omission. That would be me. My name. I wrote Shadow of the Stone. It was a supernatural story, before they became so popular, (I was always ahead of my time) and a very happy production, with the lovely Leonard White producing. My husband, Alan, was skippering a 50 ft catamaran at the time, and it was used as the camera boat. Much of the drama was filmed in and around Gourock and Inverkip. I was about six months pregnant but still able to leap on and off boats. Shirley was just out of college and Leonard was exceptionally good at spotting talent.
Anyway, I find it odd that so many magazines and newspapers think that those who write the dramas they are publicising - unless they are mega famous - don't deserve a mention. It's as if they imagine the scripts arrive by magic.
Finally, a little while ago, I came across this clip from the film Topsy Turvy. Watch this brilliant performance of the Sun Whose Rays. I didn't know just how beautifully Shirley could sing until I heard this, but she can.
