In immersing myself in the Carrbridge community I feel that I’ve found a charming, witty, and at times poignant cast of characters. To my recurring question “Why did you start on this competition in the first place and why are you involved?” almost everyone I asked responded with, “It’s just something to do...”

And in a way, there is a playful existential honesty to this reply. The Golden Spurtle is a world of small curiosities and dreams - the story of salt of the earth people who are a reflection of us all. We are aiming to give voice to all things small and peculiar in a glorious and magnificent way. Maybe this has something to do with my background as an opera director. I am often in the business of elevating the everyday through music and song to uncover the inherent operatic feeling and drama that can occupy our innermost worlds.

I keep thinking about the whimsical optimism of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood and its swirling universe of village dreams. We are in a similar territory. Documenting a world both enormous and small, and all of the charm that goes with it.