Collated by Elaine Brown South Ayrshire came into existence as a unitary authority in 1996 and comprises the south western corner of the historical county of Ayrshire. It ranges from built-up in the north, where it is home to Glasgow International Airport at Prestwick, to rich agricultural land in the south. Where to find local collections: Scottish […]
Author: Angus Wark
Dungeons and Dice-Rolls 4
Part 4: The end and the new beginning The original series continued with a rapid turnover, including a number of new ideas and scenarios. 1985’s releases included Ian Livingstone’s ‘Freeway Fighter’, a ‘Mad Max’ inspired adventure involving vehicular combat, Andrew Chapman’s pirate story ‘Seas of Blood’ which contained sea-based combat and Jackson’s ‘Appointment with F.E.A.R.’, […]
Dungeons and Dice-Rolls 3
Part 3: A series Following the success of ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’ Jackson and Livingstone were asked to turn their idea into a series, and Livingstone pitched ‘Fighting Fantasy’ as a title. Having learned the pitfalls of co-authoring, the pair started work on separate books. Livingstone admits that the writing process was complicated, and […]
Dungeons and Dice-Rolls 2
Part 2: The mechanics of Fighting Fantasy Players begin ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’ by rolling dice to determine their skill, stamina and luck levels. Skill represents a player’s fighting ability and stamina is their endurance level – essentially their lifeline – with luck coming into play in the ‘test your luck’ game mechanics. These […]
Dungeons and Dice-Rolls
During the month of February the mezzanine display in our General Reading Room celebrates the ‘Fighting Fantasy’ series. To mark this we are publishing a blog on the history of these books throughout the month. Part 1: The adventure begins On 27 August 1982 Puffin books released ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’. Essentially a choice-based […]
Family History information at your fingertips
It can often be a frustration for visitors to the Library, especially those that are visiting for a brief period, that most of the collection is in storage and has to be ordered and fetched. For the material that is held offsite in our Causewayside Building, this process can take up to two or three […]
The prettiest station in Britain
Wemyss Bay Station has been a vital part of Scottish transport links since its inception in 1865 when it was built to connect to Clyde steamer services to Rothesay, Largs and Millport. This halved the journey time for people travelling from Glasgow. This film from our Moving Image Archive’s collection shows the popularity of this […]
Researching local town history
People often think that the only way to search for material in the National Library of Scotland is via the on-line catalogue. However there are other resources available that can pinpoint useful material that can assist with your research. For example, if you are studying the history of Largs, you will find quite a few […]
Stephen King turning seventy
Master of horror Stephen King, who has written over fifty novels and roughly two hundred short stories, turns seventy next month. The influence of his work is as strong as ever, with film adaptations of “The Dark Tower” and “It” due for cinema release in the coming weeks and a series based on one of […]
Tracing your family history through football
Did your grandfather referee the Junior Cup final? Did your father play inside left for Third Lanark? If so you may just be able to further your family history research using the newspaper resources that we offer at the National Library of Scotland. The National Library of Scotland has a large collection of microfilms, a […]