<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Commablue]]></title><description><![CDATA[Commablue]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:51:54 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.commablue.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[I am a grain of sand]]></title><description><![CDATA[I am a grain of sand: ocean-bred, sun-baked, wind-blown and older than history. Once I lay hidden, motionless below an ancient sea, longing for the kiss of the sun, as a vague and distant prize through the silt. Over time, I grew to accept my abjectness and the complaining of my peers. But the world changed, rocks folded and the heat grew stronger, scalding away my captor: this brought me hope at first but soon the past purgatory seemed nothing against a new hell, as the aridity strangled and...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/i-am-a-grain-of-sand</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a315ad953bc3e35ee1663ea</guid><pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2026 15:20:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_f0857353f10f483fb9778065155df38e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_849,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Eiger dreams: never forgotten]]></title><description><![CDATA[Turn your light off, he called. Save power! The words rang clear in the pre-dawn. Already, forms were emerging from the landscape, with...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/eiger-dreams-never-forgotten</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88ec</guid><category><![CDATA[Adventure]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_309f1f7214a34cafa1adf9af9385777b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Scotland the big picture: too much to dream of?]]></title><description><![CDATA[I attended a recent screening of Why Not Scotland? The film was an enjoyable introduction to case studies of applied and natural...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/scotland-the-big-picture-too-much-to-dream-of</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88e6</guid><pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:47:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_82c312e9ebde4ee580ad9134ee0af8b7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_304,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Unbounded: travels through the hinterscape]]></title><description><![CDATA[My challenge was to go to work, drive up the road, run to the most remote loch in Scotland, swim for as long as I had heat reserves, run...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/the-endless-hinterscape-nothing-to-see-around-here</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88e8</guid><pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2022 18:15:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_1a426b2b453446bd8e780f700db3685a~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Taken by the current: the road to recovery]]></title><description><![CDATA[The body did not need to create such pain. That is my impression on recovering from a herniated disc, not once but four times in as many...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/taken-by-the-current-the-road-to-recovery</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88da</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><category><![CDATA[Adventure]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2015 09:12:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_e7670195ee79479a9fe2ec3c70d3b3f0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The journey or the destination: education in the outdoors]]></title><description><![CDATA[This was the very first question that I asked my ‘internet girlfriend’ who would, eventually, become my wife. She replied ‘Journey’...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/the-journey-or-the-destination</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88e9</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 08 Mar 2014 17:15:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_af94f361913b4c5e9eb1dc33c326031f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_960,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A race through time: Scotland's southwestern peninsulas]]></title><description><![CDATA[Welcome to Argyll, a different place. It doesn’t match the Highlands with their tall mountains and deep glens, or the Lowlands, where men...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/a-race-through-time</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88ed</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 08 Mar 2014 17:09:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_7f285d54567940438a79c45f74d63296~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Recreating reality: the pressure on young people]]></title><description><![CDATA[InRealLife, a film about teenagers, social media and electronic addiction. ]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/recreating-reality</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88ea</guid><pubDate>Mon, 28 Oct 2013 16:30:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_4afb5d4f3abf45f1809d7e35f314527c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_960,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The strength of families: get outside more]]></title><description><![CDATA[I just had to write about this story because it made me smile. Appearing on the inside pages of some the regular suspects, beginning with...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/the-strength-of-families-get-outside-more</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88d9</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 27 Sep 2013 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A cross-country journey: 50 miles to think]]></title><description><![CDATA[During the first few months of 2013, I became fascinated by journeys because of their power to inspire and transform. For my first...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/a-cross-country-journey</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88d8</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 08 Aug 2013 16:07:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_3d5e1f0fc146452fba991391b09b000a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_430,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Leaning on fresh air: the national curriculum in the outdoors]]></title><description><![CDATA[Outdoor education has been shown across time and geography to be an effective and safe means of learning. It’s relevant equally to...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/leaning-on-fresh-air</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88e1</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2013 16:02:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_b8f6f78c4f784c2b8419e8bfe5f3b413~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_431,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Homeward Reflections: waterways to link and split]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’ve recently found myself wondering how our infrastructure helps to shape our environment and behaviours. We take most of the built...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/homeward-reflections-waterways-to-link-and-split</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88e5</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_40e57df2c5844065a54823b1384ea902~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The road not yet travelled: a brief history of maps]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Edinburgh’s National Library, an exhibition on map-making and the Bartholomew dynasty has been showing. This was a superb display of...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/the-road-not-yet-travelled-a-brief-history-of-maps</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88de</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2013 10:13:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_0c25871ea15d4087a13a5e5e44f07a84~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A week in Provence: the best climbing in the world?]]></title><description><![CDATA[The snow was lying low in the Alps for early June, blanching the icy runnels between granite spires, dilly-dallying beneath the treeline....]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/a-week-in-provence-the-best-climbing-in-the-world</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88e2</guid><pubDate>Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:59:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_0986cb249ffb4321bc88931fc47a4394~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The snow must go on: tragedy and solace]]></title><description><![CDATA[That wintry Saturday, the snowy corrie that arcs down from Church Door Buttress into Glencoe looked fantastic. The sky was a perfect...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/the-snow-must-go-on-tragedy-and-solace</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88e4</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_cea3fdc93be944ae8346a13896e53610~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hotel Marcheka: a five-star experience]]></title><description><![CDATA[Travelling across Ukraine was an adventure in the 1990s, and being on the move was a source of comfort, even surprise. And if you were at...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/hotel-marcheka-a-five-star-experience</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88e0</guid><category><![CDATA[Adventure]]></category><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 13 Jun 2004 16:18:18 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Crossing Loch Maree: into the wilderness]]></title><description><![CDATA[Across Scotland, the mountains link in loops and chains and scatterings, from small hills near the cities to giants beyond the knowledge...]]></description><link>https://www.commablue.com/post/crossing-loch-maree-and-into-the-wilderness</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a270d59462c80b3ef7d88eb</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2003 15:21:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9bcd10_e8282005b68549ee9dbe5c507a55d29f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>njwilliams8</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>