From the shortbread tin
Revamping a podcast involves a lot more than changing its name, but let me start with that.
I love the name Scottish At Heart. It describes me, and the people I had on, to a T.
But I always felt a bit cringey saying it, almost like I was embarrassed by the name for a podcast and that to me was cause for concern. How could I talk about the podcast if I wasn’t sold on its name?
So last week I sat down with pen and paper and created three pages of potential names.
I used ChatGPT (one suggestion was Scottish Sunrise: A Daybreak Journey Through Scotland).
I looked up the names of films made in and about Scotland, musicians from Scotland, their song titles, books and sayings.
I spent a good couple of hours trying to come up with the perfect short name.
And then I hit on My Scotland and then Our Scotland. I asked some of my fellow podcasters for their thoughts.
It should have been obvious really, after all, each guest is describing their perfect day. However, going through this exercise helped me choose what this podcast is not, as much as what it is.
The name and podcast art were among the final things to decide upon.
The first was who is my podcast for and how does it stand out from what is already available?
Why podcast at all?
The goal for my podcast is for listeners to make meaningful connections to places and stories and be inspired to visit places beyond the shortbread imagery.
I want to learn more myself about the people who live there and the contribution they make to their field of expertise.
I also want to find where I should be spending what time I have in Scotland and where better than to learn from the people who live there.
Yes I am a Caledonophile (someone who is fond of Scotland) and I know there are many more people like me who don’t live there but want to learn more so they feel connected (and can plan their dream holiday).
The first season of the Scottish At Heart podcast featured people who had Scottish connections. This season (and moving onwards) I want more Scottish voices.
The premise will be your perfect day in Scotland and in that weaving stories of life in Scotland.
Who would you like to hear from?
Email me with your guest suggestions.
What I’ve been reading:
After A Long Time Dead by JM Dalgleish I started and rapidly finished The Dead Man of Storr. It’s the second of his Misty Isle series.
I subscribe to the Hidden Scotland email, this week I scored three out of three in the quiz, which is a first for me.
Here are the questions, I’ll post the answers at the bottom.
1.What is the capital of Shetland?
2.Which Scottish town invented the game of Rugby Sevens?
3.Which is Scotland’s smallest region?
What I’ve been listening to:
On Saturday I went to the Central North Island Pipe Band Contest at Mount Maunganui to support the City of Rotorua Highland Pipe Band. This was the last hit-out before the national championships on March 15 and 16.
As well as their sets (and hearing them at band practice) I’ve been listening to a lot of pipe band music on Spotify as part of my immersion (I’m learning the bagpipes and hearing bagpipes is helping me get to know tunes).
What I’ve been eating:
Walkers shortbread. It’s available in the supermarket and while other (New Zealand) brands were available, I just wanted the authentic Scottish variety.
Quiz answers:
Lerwick
Melrose
Clackmannanshire
You can subscribe to Hidden Scotland on their website here.
