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Harris, our story begins

Margot McCuaig

Harris. A captivating island in the Outer Hebrides. A town in eight different American states; a township in Ontario Canada and a village on the Island of Montserrat. A composer, a rapper, a rock band; a number of famous buildings, museums, schools and businesses.

An impressive list.

Yet there is no Harris more important than my grandson, Harris Kerr McBride, born at 01:52am on Friday 2nd of January, 2015.

He’s here and he’s safe and he’s beautiful. His mum and dad are well and happy. And I’m so in love every line of his bonnie wee face is already perfected in my memory.

I haven’t met him yet but already I can touch the gleaming softness of his cheeks, smell the possibilities that will linger on his skin and in his nest of hair long into the weeks and months ahead. Soft-mouthed and flushed cheeked he’s a dream in the making, tender love glistening on lips swaddled by dawn’s new light.

Yesterday the world was one place and today it is another. It is a home for Harris, earth’s gravelly surface opening up to make room for a new history, a journey of some magnitude nuzzling into the winter cold and making souls flutter.

Happy Birthday Harris, this is where our story begins!

Published by Margot McCuaig

I’m a novelist and award-winning documentary filmmaker. My debut novel, 'The Birds That Never Flew', was shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize and longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. 'Almost Then', my second novel, was published by Linen Press in April 2021. I write, produce and direct documentary films and won Royal Television Society Scotland awards in 2015 with 'Jock Stein' and for 'Jim Baxter' in 2016. 'Jimmy Johnstone' was nominated for a bronze Torc for Excellence in 2017. My feature length documentary film 'Tommy Burns won a Royal Television Society award in 2019 and 'The Women Who Built Glasgow City' won the same award in 2021. I made two children who are now making children too. That's the biggest achievement of all. I live in Glasgow, Scotland and Rathlin Island, Ireland. If you want to get in touch you can email me: margot@purpletv.tv. If you'd like me to attend a literature event then please have a look at my Scottish Book Trust profile.

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