Posts by Kenny Smith
The story of the woman behind Peter Rabbit
The story of the creator of Peter Rabbit is an interesting one that says much about the unquenchable creative spirit of a sad little girl who, in the absence of anyone else to educate her, did it herself. Cohen’s book examines Potter’s summers, which were spent on the Dalguise Estate near Dunkeld, where she developed…
Read MoreWeaving fact and fiction to create a thrilling read
Delving more into historical fiction, The King’s Beast: A Mystery of the American Revolution weaves facts and fiction seamlessly. We journey across the Atlantic with Duncan McCallum as he is tasked with retrieving and protecting ancient bones unearthed in America, while mystery and murder ensue all round him. Beautifully immersive, Eliot Pattison has a way…
Read MoreCelebrating love and friendship in poetic verse
Alexander McCall devoted a recent column in Scottish Field to to the joys of poetry (especially Auden, who he reveres). This collection, which examines the themes of friendship and love, is a joyous affirmation of his infatuation with the form. Delivered in his trademark genial, conversational style, this accessible and highly enjoyable collection is divided…
Read MoreThe martyrs who brought Christianity to the Scots
The latest offering from national treasure Alistair Moffat is a deeply lovely account of the ‘white martyrs’, the Irish priests who, at huge risk to themselves, brought Christianity to the pagan Scots. A beautifully written comfort blanket of a book, it is part travelogue, part rumination on life, part history lesson. Moffat spent a summer…
Read MoreBoswell Book Festival announces online guests for 2021
This year’s Boswell Book Festival will be a virtual event with some of the most talked about biographers, diarists and writers of memoir appearing at the world’s only festival dedicated to biography and memoir. Named in honour of Ayrshire’s James Boswell, the inventor of modern biography, the festival has attracted some of the greatest biographers…
Read MoreThe Circus is in town – and it’s a delicious super six
As a child, the circus became a source of trauma for me, after a clown hit me over the head, repeatedly, with a newspaper. As a result, some forty years later, I still turn the other way as soon as I see that a circus is on its way, and ensure that I avoid it…
Read MoreJohnnie Walker’s new ‘Highland Home’ at Clynelish Distillery
Johnnie Walker has opened the doors to its stunning new Highland Home visitor experience at Clynelish Distillery in the latest step towards the recovery of Scottish tourism. Located in the Sutherland town of Brora on the famous NC500 scenic route, the transformed distillery adds a new high-quality attraction to the Highlands, as Scotland’s tourism sector…
Read MoreGet your Glad Rags on for a host of new events
Glad Rags & Cartridge Bags, Scotland’s leading ladies’ clay shooting events, are going from strength to strength and expanding. Despite all the challenges of Covid-19 and the ever-changing guidelines and restrictions to be followed, Glad Rags & Cartridge Bags has come out the other side, as new enquiries are coming in continually, events are selling…
Read MoreFirst licensed Bross venue introduces a hole lot more
Edinburgh food favourite, Bross Bagels has officially opened the doors of its biggest venue to date – a shop, 30-cover dining space and in-house bakery at the former bank building at 177 Portobello High Street. The new venue sees the brand move from its very first premises in Portobello which opened in 2017, across the…
Read MoreFour of the rainiest UK cities revealed to be in Scotland
Glasgow has been named as the rainiest city in the UK in a new study. Online estate agents Emoov have used National Trust, BBC and Climate Central data to reveal some of the rainiest cities in the UK, calculating average yearly rainfall in inches – with Glasgow taking the top spot with a whopping 49…
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