Welcome to Cartside! 

When I started this blog in March 2005, I was an avid traveller, with a neverending list of hobbies which included politics, literature, running, Thai boxing, gardening, sustainable transport, languages, dancing, knitting, cardmaking and sewing. 

Two years later, (or rather, since 9 months before then), my biggest passion became been being a mum to my daughter whose pen name is Cubling.

I'm a human rights activist and groups trainer with Amnesty and have been a volunteer member for over 2 decades. After some attempts at academic life and subsequent disillusionment with it, I decided to venture into the field of NGOs and the voluntary sector. My professional background is in education (although I've held a rather confusing collection of jobs), my biggest interest is around asylum and refugee issues, and I work for a large international children's charity in Glasgow.