1 Donkey Rides / There was a time when most people in Britain held their annual holiday in the UK and donkey rides were a popular holiday pastime for young children. Once your parents gave you a sixpence (pre-decimal) you could go off and have your ride. This particular song reminisces about the sands of Blackpool breach, a favourite holiday destination for Glaswegians. 2 Dwight's Dream / Culzean Castle have summed up the subject matter of this song pretty well: "When the Kennedy family donated the Culzean Castle in Ayrshire to the National Trust in 1945, they asked that the top floor be given to General Eisenhower as a thank you from the people of Scotland for his wartime service. The top floor of the castle was given to the General for his lifetime. Ike first came in 1946 and was clearly touched to accept this gift. He visited the Castle three more times, once as President, when, for a short time, Culzean was his Scottish White House. His longest stay was during his retirement when he enjoyed painting and walking in the woodlands and by the shore." Special thanks to my Swedish friends Goran Dreyfert (drums) and Johan Hackman (bass) who helped with this song. 3 Fairlie / A small town on the West Coast of Scotland. Once upon a time Glasgow nursery schools would take city kids for short holidays to the town of Fairlie. Away from the smoke and grime no doubt. I've always had a very early memory of a trip to an Ayrshire town with my Dennistoun nursery school at Westercraigs. I'd no idea where I'd been on that trip, but many years later I found out that the memories were not just an imagination, I had in fact been to Fairlie. 4 Arran Mist / The Isle of Arran is clearly visible from the Heads of Ayr, where our family had a caravan during the mid-1960s. In the blackness of the night you can watch the lighthouses blinking and spot the lights of remote dwellings. 5 Full Moon Rising / In the late 1990s I discovered that my great uncle, James McMillan, had fought and died in The Great War. That conflict has always interested me, not least because almost every town in Scotland has a memorial to the local men who died in the slaughter. The tragedy of grieving parents was made worse due to that fact that the dead were not returned to Britain. And in those days travel was expensive and difficult, so very few probably made the trip to visit their child's grave. Through the War Graves Commission I located the exact place where James McMillan was buried, and on the 11th of November 1999 I searched the Pas de Calais for the resting place of this long-lost family member. The beautifully kept graveyard was set in quiet agricultural land. That day was probably the first, and only time, a family member had visited James' final resting place since his death. Ironically, he was killed just one month before the end of the war, in October 1918. The war graves of France are deeply moving, even more so when you realise that one of your own kith and kin lies buried there. 6 One Evening in June / The East End of Glasgow has a large green area called Alexandra Park. Another Glasgow memory is of evenings spent on the swings and by the boating pond. A couple of my trips ended at the Royal Infirmary because I had been hit on the head by swings. That probably explains everything! 7 Daddy's Boy / I suppose we never understand our fathers until we have children of our own, so in that sense the child really is the father of the man. Special thanks to my Swedish friends Goran Dreyfert (drums) and Johan Hackman (bass) who helped with this song. 8 Valentine's Day in Glasgow / Song about the funeral of my father, on February 14, 1996. 9 No More Time / This song is rather self-explanatory. 10 Little Mermaid / Glaswegians have always travelled, perhaps it's the Clyde calling us away, or wondering what was over the next hill. In Copenhagen, where I now live, there's a statue of a mermaid. On postcards she looks huge, though in reality she's really rather what's-all-the fuss-about tiny. But the statue is not really the point; it's all about the author of her story. 11 Someone Save Our World Tonight / After listening to the evening news you're often left hoping for divine intervention. 12 In My Garden / Chopping down trees is a bad habit. But one particular birch tree had to go. It was a pity because birches have the loveliest bark. This one ended up as aromatic firewood in the wood burning stove. The aromatic scent of smoke on clear autumn days, and the whole exercise of tree felling, was the rather odd inspiration behind this final song on album. Once again special thanks to my Swedish friends Goran Dreyfert (drums) and Johan Hackman (bass) who helped with this song, and also to Milo Hoogzaad, who plays lead guitar.