Posts by Kenny Smith
Enjoy the pipes and drums in Barbados
Playing pipes and drums in the tropical heat is quite a unique experience! Especially when you can join in with the local defence marching bands who are used to it. Colourful to say the least, popular too. Barbados Celtic Festival is an annual event towards the end of May every year – where you can…
Read MoreTrying his hand at the dying art of punt gunning
A dangerous and dying art, punt gunning requires stealth, patience and stamina, as our editor Richard Bath discovered on the Solway Firth. He has hunted big game on the plains of Africa, stalked deer in every corner of God’s country, haaf-netted salmon for decades, and spent a lifetime wildfowling on Scotland’s foreshores. But nothing gives…
Read MoreAnnual exhibition opens at Royal Scottish Academy
Scotland’s two leading arts organisations have joined forces for the second time to present an ambitious and dynamic annual exhibition. This will bring together the best in contemporary art and design in a collaboration at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. The Society of Scottish Artists (SSA) and Visual Arts Scotland (VAS) present SSA | VAS…
Read MoreSafeguarding the future of Scottish churches
Maintaining church buildings and their grounds is a challenging task due to the numerous different styles and sizes of church buildings and their adjoining churchyards. Given the age and importance of many historic churches, they require a programme of repairs to ensure the protection of the building and grounds to avoid deterioration. Property consultancy Galbraith…
Read MoreA garden made from blood, sweat and tears
A bloody battle in 1639 provides the backdrop for Pitmedden, a remarkable Aberdeenshire garden brought back to life by the National Trust for Scotland. Nothing prepares you for your first sight of the formal, 17th century formal gardens at Pitmedden, the National Trust for Scotland garden north of Aberdeen. Certainly not the garden’s remote location,…
Read MoreA tranquil dream home in peaceful Perthshire
An exceptional property nestled in the Perthshire countryside is offering buyers the opportunity to purchase their dream home in the most tranquil of settings. Delford House, a Georgian home which has been carefully refurbished in recent years, is set among 1.9 acres of landscaped gardens and grounds in the picturesque village of Kinnaird, Perthshire. A…
Read MoreEverything you wanted to know about whisky
If you’ve ever had a question about whisky, this book is sure to answer it. Written by three chaps who are leading experts in all things boozy, the book strips things back to the very beginning and attempts to uncover how the world’s obsession with the ‘water of life’ began. Including stunning images and recipes,…
Read MoreAll’s Fair in love and knitting on the Fair Isle
The story of how a young couple stopped Fair Isle being cleared of its people, in the process saving a community and an ancient way of life, is an inspiring tale. In 2013, crofter Stewart Thomson span more than six miles of Shetland wool on his hand-crafted spinning wheel. That’s none-too-shabby considering that the island…
Read MoreSinging and ringing – a picture special
The three spires of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral dominate the western Edinburgh skyline and the voices of the choir and the peal of its bells ensure the church is always full of joyous noise. St Mary’s Cathedral is the largest ecclesiastical building in Scotland. It was imagined following the result of an architectural competition arranged…
Read MoreFree school meals for all can stop obesity crisis
Only Americans are more obese than Scots, and unless we act now our children will die in huge numbers. Every morning before school my nine-year-old daughter studies a leaflet: the lunch menu for primaries, published by the council. It’s a masterpiece of misplaced apostrophes – ‘Vege’ hotdog with salad and saute’ potatoes’ – but more…
Read More