I HAVE always been interested in near-death experiences, and have had more of a personal interest since my own daughter "died" on the operating table after a miscarriage.

I WAS sitting in my big chair the other afternoon when my eye was caught by a little horsetail of a waterfall on the hillside, across from the house, and thought to myself "If anyone could get a clear insight into all the implications of that waterfall, they would know what makes the world tick."

AS I get older, I tend to see both sides of disputes. I tend to say: "Well, perhaps if I had been brought up like him, I would feel as angry as he does".

I WAS given a book by my son-in-law for Fathers' Day. I started to read it, then left it on the table in the living-room because I felt sure that if I read on, my feelings would be caught up in it more than I wanted them to be.

I HAVE come to take it for granted that I have limitations when it comes to speech; the days when I was excessively glib are now in the past, and I have come to enjoy listening to other people in conversation almost as much as I used to enjoy being at the heart of a debate, relishing the cut and thrust.

I KNEW a man 30-odd years ago who was a retired forester on Atholl Estates.

MY mind was on malt whisky last week, and I got a strong feeling of relief when I discovered that the best malt whisky in the world was Scottish.

I WENT looking for Kindnesss the other day, and though I was disappointed in my search, I found a lot that I wasn't looking for or expecting.

I DISCOVERED the other day that I could access 176 million pornographic sites by feeding one word into the search facility on my computer.

"SIX steps to success in everything you do" was the intriguing title of the Shortcut Guide I found on the Internet.

"SIX steps to success in everything you do" was the intriguing title of the Shortcut Guide I found on the Internet. I printed it off on the back of a sheaf of scrap paper, and glanced through it.

I THINK that the three princes of Serendip would be happy trawling the internet.

I'VE spent a couple of days reading through the "Man in the Manse" articles that I wrote for the "Strathy". If you have a mental picture of hundreds of articles meticulously filed away under their subjects and dates, you are far wrong.

"DO you remember the wartime bread?" I asked my companion – a mature man.

ON television the other day I came across a programme devoted to finding ways of saving cash at a time when most of us feel we have to pull in our belts and save some money where we can. One of the ways they suggested was keeping poultry. I wonder if they were right.

PEOPLE in Badenoch and Strathspey speak what is virtually a universal lingua franca, English, but it's mainly only youngsters using a form which is becoming very common and virtually a new language.

TO me, the most important thing about 1928 is that that was the year of my birth. To the rest of the world, it was probably most important as the year that marked the start of the process that led to antibiotics.

HAVING been married to a minister for years, and having written a book on speech-making, I reckon I'm well qualified to listen to the sermon when I go to church.