Ceud Mìle Fàilte
Thank you for dropping-by, I hope you enjoy your visit. The main content is to be found in the blog, where I discuss everything and anything, but, topics including: photography, nature, technology, food, movies, music, politics, and life in the Highlands of Scotland, make regular appearances.
I commonly write reviews of movies (or films, if you prefer). Some movie reviews are short, others will be discussed in more detail. The scope covered will be mainly mainstream English language movies from the 1930s until the present day.
About me
My name is Iain MacDonald, and I live in the Highlands of Scotland (although I have lived elsewhere in the past). I use Fitheach as my online pseudonym, on this website, on Mastodon, and on Matrix. I am a big fan of Free & Open Source Software, which I use both professionally and at home.
Computing and technology tend to infuse themselves into my other interests, as once you learn some skills in one area it is convenient to use them to solve problems in other spheres.
When not tinkering with computers, I am likely to be found repairing things because living in the countryside you learn to be resourceful.
Of course, man doesn't live by SSH tunnels and kerosene vapour burners alone, so, food, as a subject, makes regular appearances, too.
My latest Life articles
My most recent ramblings can be found in the Life section.
My latest Mastodon posts
Mastodon is a microblogging app that is part of the decentralised web known as The Fediverse. See this article for more details.
Fitheach
Mon, 05 Oct 2026 20:42:49 +0000
Actually, hundreds of people have saved me the bother of photographing the Home Bargains' policeman. There are photos of him everywhere. He might even be a bit of a celebrity.
Although, I must say, he looks too happy and cheerful to be a stern warning to potential shoplifters or criminals.
Mon, 05 Oct 2026 19:17:48 +0000
🧵
Although fooling drivers with a cardboard cut-out policeman will only work once, I suspect that having a visual reminder of a copper with a speed-gun would make some slow down.
Home Bargains, the retailer, must also work on this assumption, as their stores often have a cardboard policeman at the entrance/exit doors.
I must take a photo of the HB policeman the next time I'm in buying dog food.
Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:17:26 +0000
I first encountered cardboard cut-out policemen on the newly opened M40 motorway, about thirty years ago.
I noticed all the cars ahead of me started applying their brakes (illuminated brake lights). As I moved a bit further on, I could see a policeman and a patrol car on one of those raised sections at the side of the motorway. As I got closer again, I thought there was something strange. It wasn't until I drew level that I realised they were cardboard.
The surprise element only works once.
Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:01:39 +0000
Meet my flatmate, he's a policeman. 😂 😂
#Highlands #Scotland #cars #police
Sat, 03 Oct 2026 09:11:47 +0000
I've mentioned before that I like to peruse online classified adverts for my local area. The things people want to sell is endlessly fascinating.
That said, this advert is totally bizarre (on Gumtree). I'm not sure if it is some kind of joke or a coded message. Surely, it cannot be a genuine sales advert, or can it?
If anyone wants to buy the grass/weeds for 15p (£0.15) I can forward the details to you. 😃
Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:03:06 +0000
Wimpy, immortalised in the Jethro Tull song "Up to me":
Take you to the cinema
And leave you in a Wimpy Bar
You tell me that we've gone too far
Come running up to me
Were they ever called Wimpy Bars? I think it is artistic licence, to achieve the rhyme.