Sep 25, 2018
As the presenter of one of the UK’s most important news programmes, BBC2’s Newsnight, journalist Kirsty Wark is famed for her no-nonsense attitude. She’s arranged her working life around her love of Scotland, was inspired by the Isle of Arran to write novels, accidentally stumbled into the fall of the iron curtain on honeymoon and feels her spirit soar when speeding along in a convertible in New York State. A passionate advocate for working smarter, she feels that overnight trains are the most effective use of travelling time. Covering London, Glasgow, Arran, Istanbul, Budapest, Paris, Edinburgh, Galashiels, Ardrossan in North Ayrshire, The Highlands, New York, Rhode Island, The Hamptons, Long Island and the North Fork, Greenport, Shelter Island, Mallorca, The Baltics, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Italy and more.
On this episode we cover:
Working in London but based in Scotland
How not all BBC figures should be in London
Commuting on the sleeper
Newsnight to Euston to an Arran malt whiskey in the dining car
The trick to sleeping on the sleeper
Time efficient travelling
Flying less
The arrival of new sleeper carriages and en-suites
Political cross-party mingling on the train
‘What happens on the sleeper stays on the sleeper’
Donald Dewar and Robin Cook stuck in the snow
The train from Istanbul to Budapest
Honeymooning on a train during the fall of the iron curtain
Paris for a football match
The poignancy of train travel
The Glasgow plaque commemorating the world wars
The emotional side of coming home
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
The Beeching Cuts and the return of the Borders Railway – Edinburgh to Galashiels
Lisa’s great Scottish travel shame
The Isle of Arran via Glasgow and Ardrossan in North Ayrshire
The momentous beauty of the Highlands
How travelling on the sleeper is perfect for kids
Bringing up her children in Scotland
Her daughter in London and son in New York
Providence Rhode Island for Thanksgiving on the Amtrak
Cooking up a storm in New York – the East Village, West Village or Greenwich Village
New York State, the Hamptons, Long Island and the North Fork, Greenport, Shelter Island, The Chequered Hotel, West Elm, Sunset Beach.
How automation is going to affect jobs
Her TedX talk about work/life balance and working fewer hours
Changing school and working hours
Culture of presenteeism and poor productivity
Travelling in your own place, OS maps and visualising the topography
How a rainy holiday on the Isle of Arran inspired her novel The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle
Brodick and Holy Isle
Arran during World War II
‘There’s no-one so Scottish as those who don’t live in Scotland’
How the sense of place is very important to her
Holidaying in Scotland
Misconceptions of Mallorca
Her house in Mallorca at the base of the Tramuntana mountains
Suckling pigs on New Year’s Eve and seasonal Mallorcan cooking
Tony Mora cowboy boots – the best cowboy boots in the world!
How liking clothes doesn’t mean you cant like history, literature or politics
The Vivienne Westwood skirt on Newsnight that people thought was tucked in her knickers
Travelling through the accession states in 2002 from Slovenia to Estonia
Being a mindful traveller but not going anywhere she feels unsafe
Her daughter’s violent mugging in Barcelona
How travel and safety is unpredictable
How Moscow made her feel the most uncertain
The Cold War and Perestroika
The series of cultural programmes for BBC4 – The Baltics, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia. Italy and how they were affected by the wars
Mornings in Mallorca, sitting amongst the fruit trees and wildlife
Being in the running for the Question Time job when David Dimbleby leaves
Her new novel The Striding Arch, inspired by Andy Goldsworthy’s sculptures in Moniaive, Dumbrieshire, New Zealand and New York
The ‘clearances’ of the Highlands leading to people leaving for the New World
The thrill of driving a convertible from New York to Shelter Island listening to the Killers