How are we in the final week of February? What is happening to this year? In some respects, I'm glad it is passing quickly as it means I am closer to my holiday. And the troubles that plagued the start of my year are now over and done with. I started in my new role on Monday and, while I have a lot to learn, it's a great team and if I am honest, a lot more relaxed than the old job.

Well, I did it. I actually managed to write 2025 for the first five days of the month, including in preparing this post. There is hope for this old dog yet. Well ... maybe not hope, but I still like to think of it as an achievement. Nothing exciting happened this week. I went for a walk or two. I fed the swans.

Glasgow, 1966: Stevie ‘Minto’ Milloy, former star footballer-turned-rookie reporter, finds himself trailing the story of a young Eastern European student whose body has been found on remote moorland outside the city. How did she get there from her hostel at the Sovereign Grace Mission, and why does Stevie find obstacles at every turn? Italy, 1943: As the Allies fight Mussolini’s troops, a group of young soldiers are separated from their platoon, and Glaswegian Jamesie Campbell, his newfound friend Michael McTavish at his side, finds himself free to make his own rules…