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Bylines Scotland
Home Society Culture

The Christmas soloist 

Bylines Scotland is running stories written by members of our team about what Christmas means to them – writer and editor Gordon Watson Broughton

Gordon Watson Broughton by Gordon Watson Broughton
19-12-2025 17:36
in Culture, Society
Reading Time: 1 min read
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Christmas calendar with baubles

Bylines Scotland's team Christmas stories, image courtesy of Patricia S Paton

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Not long before my voice broke, I was the soloist for the performance Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar at our school carol service. The school hall was bedecked with large angels made from cones of white cardboard, suspended from the ceiling. I was given the note from the piano teacher and set off on my solo. The hall was clammy and moist. As I continued, one of the angels spiralled towards the ground and landed, open cone end first on top of my mother. Uproar and an abandoned solo followed. Despite being the head chorister in our local church, my mother had never heard me sing and it seemed, she never would!


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Gordon Watson Broughton

Gordon Watson Broughton

I am a criminal intelligence analyst and member of the NUJ with interests in cold cases and issues concerning the administration of justice. I like writing and communicating with people about their causes and interests. I publish podcasts on Spotify about my cold case investigations and I promote these stories on Substack. I am prone to investigative work and more than a little animated when stories are pitched to me about corporate corruption and malfeasance.

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