Posts by Ellie Forbes
The Enchanted Forest: Theme revealed for Perthshire light show and how to get tickets
One of Perthshire’s most popular events, The Enchanted Forest, returns once again this autumn, and organisers have revealed this year’s theme. When will it take place? The light show is set to take place between 2 October and 2 November at Faskally Wood, Pitlochry. The theme This year’s theme is Luminara, which organisers describe…
Read MoreLife With Gray O’Brien: ‘I am so disappointed with the current vein of dramas on TV at the moment’
Scottish actor Gray O’Brien on growing up, the TV he’s watching at home, and the best advice he’s ever been given. I was born in Glasgow and moved to Stewarton, Ayrshire where I was brought up from the age of three, but I live in Stirlingshire now. I was a nightmare pupil at school.…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Claire Wilson: ‘I learned my craft reading Stephen King from an early age’
Claire Wilson on the books of her childhood and how Stephen King and Val McDermid inspired her writing. The first book I remember reading: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. Maybe in primary three? My mum took me and my brothers to the library every weekend, where I then read everything he…
Read MoreLife With Brandon McPhee: ‘I’ll never forget the moment my grandad let me try his accordion for the first time—it just felt right’
Musician Brandon McPhee on falling in love with the accordion, how Jimmy Shand continues to inspire him and the music he listens to at home. I grew up in Castletown, a small village in the far north of Caithness – so far north, in fact, that you might think you’d fall off the edge of…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Marisa Haetzman: ‘Denise Mina is one of Scotland’s great writers, I’m looking forward to her next book’
Dr Marisa Haetzman is a former consultant anaesthetist and together with her husband Chris Brookmyre, she writes under the joint pen name Ambrose Parry. The pair will be appearing at Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling 12-14 September. For tickets and further information go to www.bloodyscotland.com The first book I remember reading: I don’t…
Read MoreIn A Nutshell Andrew Moss, North Port Restaurant: ‘I had an album of my own music released in 2013, if I wasn’t a chef I’d be in the music industry’
Andrew Moss runs the acclaimed North Port Restaurant with his partner Karen in the historic cultural quarter of Perth. He started working in a commercial kitchen as a dishwasher when he was only 14-years-old, which eventually led to taking over the Perth eatery in 2014. Now aged 40, Andrew has secured and retained two AA…
Read MoreLife With Victoria Crowe: ‘I’ve drawn ever since I was a small child and even then it was a kind of conversation with myself’
One of Scotland’s leading painters and most recognised artists, Victoria Crowe, on her childhood, art being her first love, and her time in Venice. I’ve lived in the Borders ever since we moved up to Scotland in 1968. I have a studio there and also one in Edinburgh. I grew up in Kingston which…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart: ‘Keeping readers enthralled as to what might happen next should be the focus of any storyteller’
Dugald Bruce-Lockhart on not reading War and Peace, his love of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses and the books of his childhood. The first book I remember reading: Other than the Ladybird book of dinosaurs, the first proper story I remember reading was Shadow the Sheepdog, by Enid Blyton. Along with Gerald Durrell’s novels, my…
Read MoreStunning home with an imposing tower, walled gardens and an orchard hits the market
This stunning B-listed home with an imposing tower, overlooking beautiful walled gardens and an orchard has hit the market. Dating back to around 1800, the central feature of the house is its impressive four-storey folly tower, which rises prominently at the centre. The slightly curved wings on either side of the tower provide accommodation, with…
Read MoreLife With Mairi Campbell: ‘Hearing my version of Auld Lang Syne in the Sex And The City was surreal’
Mairi Campbell chats to us about bringing her Pendulum Trilogy together for the first time, the music she listens to at home, and her song being featured in Sex And The City. I grew up in Edinburgh. My mum’s family is Edinburgh; my dad is West Highland. I grew up in the city –…
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