Posts by Kenny Smith
Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival unveils line-up
Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has announced the dram-packed lineup for this year’s event. The festival, taking place 3 to 8 November, is enjoyed by whisky novices, budding master blenders and everyone in between is back for an in-person limited edition event. Whether it’s having exclusive behind the scenes access to distilleries not usually open…
Read MoreScottish Game Fair promotes greener farming and sustainable shooting
The Scottish Game Fair returns to the grounds of Scone Palace next week. Run by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and sponsored by NFU Mutual, the event will run from Friday September 24 – Sunday 26. A focal point as always is the Trust’s central exhibit which this year drills down into the future…
Read MoreStrathallan School adds another string to its bow
Traditional Scottish music lessons and step dancing are just some of the new subjects on offer at Strathallan School this year. The school has launched a traditional music and Scottish culture department. The brand-new programme, which will include workshops led by the UK’s top folk musicians, was kicked off this week with a fiddle workshop…
Read MoreThe Scot who stole the secrets of tea from China
One of my favourite figures from history is Robert Fortune, the plucky Scot who, disguised as a Chinaman and under pain of death if he was caught, learned the art of tea production in China. He spirited away the tea plants that were to break China’s monopoly on this key international commodity. It was a…
Read MoreJumping into freezing Loch Lomond was fun for Ukweli
Scottish crime series Annika has reached its penultimate episode, which airs tonight, September 14. Showing on the Alibi digital channel, Annika follows the life of Annika (Nicola Walker), who, with her team, investigate crimes on Scotland’s waters. In the fifth episode, the team are tasked with solving the death of a man ‘everybody loved’, thrown…
Read MoreWorking 9 to 5 – what a show to make a comeback!
Dolly Parton’s smash hit 9 to 5 – The Musical is coming to Edinburgh this week as live theatre returns to the capital. Louise Redknapp stars as Violet Newstead, resuming the role she portrayed to acclaim pre-pandemic, as the musical tells the story of Doralee, Violet and Judy, three workmates pushed to boiling point by…
Read MoreChicago brings joy back to Glasgow’s King’s Theatre
For too long, Scotland’s theatres have lain empty, the stages gathering dust, staff on furlough, and performers and musicians left frustrated at home, having to twiddle their thumbs. Glasgow’s King’s Theatre was dark for 544 days, being forced to shut on March 16 last year, the longest period for which it has ever been closed,…
Read MoreHelp wanted to chart Scotland’s red squirrels
Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is calling on the public to take part in the nationwide Great Scottish Squirrel Survey next week. Running from 20-26 September as part of National Red Squirrel Week, the event is now in its third year. Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a partnership project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, which…
Read MoreArt expert Alice Strang joins Lyon and Turnbull
Alice Strang, one of the UK’s most respected art experts, has joined fine art auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull. Alice won a Saltire Society Outstanding Woman of Scotland award for her leadership of the landmark Modern Scottish Women: Sculptors and Painters 1885-1965 exhibition which she curated for the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) in 2015. She…
Read MoreStrathallan’s top gun takes aim for Scotland
Strathallan student Angus Turnbull has represented Scotland last weekend at the Sporting Home International in Dundee. Angus, who was recently named High Gun at the Holland and Holland Independent Schools Clay Pigeon Championships after scoring an impressive 75/80. And he felt amazing to represent his country again. Angus said: ‘The atmosphere was great all weekend.…
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