Callum Hüseyin

What’s with the surname?

Hüseyin is the Turkish transliteration of the Arabic name حُسَيْن which may be more familiar to Westerners as Hussain. I have it because at a certain point in the history of Cyprus, patronymic naming (where the child takes the first name of the father was abandoned, creating a whole set of family names, all at once. My father’s family come from the village of Melandra, in the Paphos district of what is now the Republic Cyprus. It was a Turkish village and was destroyed by shelling in 1974. The experience of walking in a bombed out paradise amongst the overgrown and untended (save by the now feral bees whose honey gives the village it’s name) graves of one’s ancestors is far too common. At least the ruins survive, and my grandfather, father, sister and I have been able to make the pilgrimage, many are not so lucky.

So you aren’t Scottish?

I am half Scottish, my mother’s surname is Morton. After being born and growing up in London, then Sussex, in England, I now live in the same town that my mum grew up in, Penicuik, just outside of Edinburgh. Confusingly, I use a fair number of Scottishisms, or as my dad and I have found out over the years Mortonisms, but haven’t ever managed to pick up the accent.

I and my partner Connie are based just outside of Edinburgh. We’re lucky enough to be just on the doorstep of fantastic landscapes, which we love exploring. Connie is a post-doctoral researcher in the field genetics, with a focus on conservation.