The By The Way podcast is for lovers of Scotland.
It’s a thoughtful and eclectic mixture of Truth, Fiction, Unsolicited Opinion and Extra Information from around the best country in the world.
Winner at the Scottish Podcast Awards, 2026
I claim some credit for the success of Boswell’s Galloping Farmers at The Scottish Podcast Awards. I would have been satisfied when they announced the podcast was Highly Commended in the Fiction and Drama category. But wait! The best was yet to come after the interval when Boswell’s Galloping Farmers won in the History, Folklore and Heritage category.
There was a great attendance at the Scottish Podcast Awards 2026 in the Fruitmarket, Glasgow.
Anyone who had listened before the judging commented on the quality of the soundscape. Even so, it came as a huge surprise to me when it was singled out in the Winner’s citation.
The MC announced Boswell’s Galloping Farmers had won, and a deep, sonorous voice on the PA declared,
”A rich and deeply immersive audio experience. This production combines meticulous research, powerful storytelling and exceptional sound design to bring its subjects vividly to life. Compelling, moving and unforgettable.”
THE INTERVIEWEES
It’s all a bit of a whirl. There was applause, a trophy to hold, congratulations, handshakes and going backstage for the interview – What an experience.
Jill and I give our reactions in a video interview.
The words of Boswell’s Galloping Farmers, that the actors brought so skilfully to life, were written by Jill Korn and Martin Gallagher. I’m a storyteller too, and I created the sound design, which I believe tells the other half of the story.
“From galloping horses to incessant gunfire, from hidden snipers to exploding mud – John’s work brings this story to life”
Boswell’s Galloping Farmers is based on the true story of Sandy Barclay and a group of Ayrshire farmers sent to Gallipoli in 1915 to fight against the Turkish army. The drama captures the horror and yes, the humour of the months they spent on the battlefield.
LISTEN HERE.
Boswell’s Galloping Farmers Award Winning Audio Drama
WINNER
“A rich and deeply immersive audio experience. This production combines meticulous research, powerful storytelling and exceptional sound design to bring its subjects vividly to life. Compelling, moving and unforgettable.”
Boswell’s Galloping Farmers won in the History, Folklore and Heritage category at The Scottish Podcast Awards. It was also awarded a Highly Commended in the Fiction and Drama category. JB was the sound designer for this six part audio drama based on the real life experiences of Alexander (Sandy) Barclay, who fought in the infamous Gallipoli campaign of 1915.
Originally volunteers in the Ayrshire Mounted Yeomanry Sandy and his colleagues, known as Boswell’s Galloping Farmers, had their horses taken away and were sent to Gallipoli as infantrymen to fight in the trenches against the Turkish army.
The campaign saw Sandy and Boswell’s Galloping Farmers, outnumbered, under-provisioned, and out-gunned. Surviving the horrific casualties, Sandy came home after the campaign, and sixty years later wrote the memoir of his experiences, recounted in this compelling audio drama written by Jill Korn and Martin Gallagher
“Sixty years it’s been. I can’t quite believe it myself. You live your life; you think it’s all behind you. But it’s still there, inside you, the sights, the sounds, and the smells of it all. Aye. The smells. I’ve read a lot about it, the Gallipoli campaign, — but I’ve never found anything that tells the story of what it was like for the ordinary ranker, the man behind the rifle and the grenade and what those of us that came out of it alive, lived through.”
LISTEN TO THE DRAMA ON SPOTIFY NOW:
Blairgowrie: River Ericht to The Wellmeadow
A walk in sound along the bank of the River Ericht to the Wellmeadow in the centre of Blairgowrie, Perthshire by John Boyd.
John has been recording sounds for more years than he cares to remember. Many of his recordings are included in the audio drama and podcasts he’s produced.
John made these recordings along the popular walk beside the River Ericht, which was in spate, at the play-park and outdoor gymnasium in the Sir William MacPherson Park, then by the path and the road leading to the green space of the Wellmeadow lying at the centre of Blairgowrie. These are the actual sounds of the place. There’s an ASMR feel to it.
The image montage comprises pictures taken on John’s iPhone and compiled into a video using iMovie. So nothing too technical.
LISTEN TO “A WALK ALONG THE RIVER ERICHT TO THE WELLMEADOW IN BLAIRGOWRIE, PERTHSHIRE“.
YouTube video opens in a new tab.
Audio drama in production.
The story of Boswell’s Galloping Farmers tells how a volunteer regiment of mounted yeomanry from the Ayrshire farming community were retrained as grenadier infantry and sent to fight The Turks in Gallipoli.
Jill Korn and I are working on an ambitious adaptation of a memoir written by Sandy Barclay in 1975. Sandy was there and he captures the struggles, horrors and, yes, humour of daily life in the trenches during the last three months of 1915.
Jill is writing the script with Martin Gallagher. I’m dealing with the audio and post production, and we hope to publish four episodes of the audio drama early in 2025.
It’s astounding to see the number of people it can take some others to produce an audio drama, and what that must cost. We’re doing it for the love of it.
I enjoy little better than Field Recording; collecting sounds for my effects from real life. Recently on a weekend away I took the chance to record the sounds of a 1900s steam ship to repurpose as RMSP Arcadian, the troop ship that took sandy and his mates through the Med to Gallipoli.
We need the help of actors, singers and musicians to bring the story alive, and we want to pay them for their work. Please click the image or this link to Jill’s Crowdfunder page, for more details and to make a donation towards helping those people feed their families. All of the money raised will go to the creative people who bring their skills to this project.
The featured image is licensed for use under Creative Commons CC0 License; text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Flora’s Tale
The compelling and true story of Flora’s escape from her Clan MacDonald home at Dunaverty on the Mull of Kintyre, and saving the young Laird’s infant child when The Campbells were about to massacre all who remained.
Written by Jacqueline Fitzgibbon.
LISTEN TO THE FLORA’S TALE NOW.
Continue reading “Flora’s Tale”The Glad Giver by Jill Korn.
Julian of Norwich lived between the 1340s and 1416. In her thirties, she survived a severe illness, and attributed her recovery to visions of Christ on the cross.
Living at the same time a Geoffrey Chaucer, and after teaching herself to read and write, Julian wrote the Revelations of Divine Love, the first book surviving in English written by a woman.
She became an Anchoress and chose to be enclosed in a hermitage attached to a church where she would offer counselling and spiritual advice, and completed the final version of her book.
Author Jill Korn was inspired by Julian’s story to write an audio drama, The Glad Giver. The Friends of Julian of Norwich featured the drama in celebrations to mark Julian’s 650th anniversary in January 2024, and I’m delighted to have produced the audio and sound design.
The audio drama was also featured in a BBC Upload programme where you can hear an interview with Jill, the author, Zana Foley-Davis, the voice of Julian, and yours truly.