Two novellas / / DIFFERENT LIGHTS – The central character, Rob, a 48 year old bricklayer, is facing a crisis due to the failure of the two things that have given his life meaning so far – socialism and sex / The narrative runs parallel to a building job he is doing with his partner, Billy, and a young lad, Gary. There is also a visit by his ex-lover, Mary, from Cork, Ireland. The novel also manages to explain why people scrawl "Joe was here", rather than "Joe is here” / / NEVERTHELESS / Ruby, a midwife, (62) and her unlikely sidekick Dougie (36) are making a low budget film about the impossibility of robbing a bank in Wick, given that there are only two roads out from that corner of Scotland / Dougie, is borderline autistic – or maybe just boring – but his relentless enthusiasm for life's little details may be why Ruby's niece, Carol, seems to be drawn to him. Equally, that ‘attraction’ could just be a figment of his imagination, fuelled by listening to too many Country songs....More >< Less