Posts by Peter Ranscombe
Scotland stars in The Crown series four
SERIES four of The Crown begins streaming on Netflix on Sunday, with locations throughout Scotland starring once more in the television show. Estates including Ardverikie, Dunbeath and Rothiemurchus were used to film scenes for the series, which charts Queen Elizabeth’s life from the 1970s to the 1990s. Oscar-winner Olivia Coleman plays The Queen, having taken…
Read MoreTheatres to commission new musicals
SINGERS Barbara Dickson and Ricky Ross have joined a selection panel to find the next great Scottish musicals. Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Edinburgh’s Capital Theatres – which runs the Festival Theatre, the King’s Theatre, and The Studio – have created a musical commissioning hub, which will bring new shows to stages around Scotland. The submissions…
Read MoreOnline bookshop helps local stores
AN ONLINE bookshop has raised more than ÂŁ122,000 for local bookshops. Bookshop.org donates most of its profits to bookshops, authors, and other groups involved in literature. “By design, we give away over 75% of our profit margin to stores, publications, authors and others who make up the thriving, inspirational culture around books,” it said. The…
Read MoreDo wine glass shapes affect taste?
Peter Ranscombe sticks his snout into various shapes of glasses to see if they affect the smell and the taste of popular wines. IT’S the second-most common question I get asked – right after “How do you keep you hair so soft and bouncy?” “Does the shape of the glass affect the taste of the…
Read MoreFundraising to mark poppy’s 100th year
A YEAR-LONG fundraising initiative is being launched ahead of the 100th anniversary of the poppy’s launch. Poppyscotland will mark the centenary of the symbol in November 2021. The initiative challenges people to raise funds for Poppyscotland over 12 months, from today until 2021, in any way they choose. The first cloth poppies went on sale…
Read MoreTimothy Oulton opens in Glasgow
FURNITURE and interiors company Timothy Oulton has chosen Glasgow’s Princes Square as the location for its first Scottish store. The branch, which opened over the weekend, stretches to 1,300 square feet on the shopping centre’s first floor. Hailing from Manchester, founder Tim Oulton began working in his dad’s antiques shop, before taking over the business…
Read MoreDrinks lab hits milestone
THE Start-Up Drinks Lab in Port Glasgow has hit a landmark after its turnover reached ÂŁ1 million. The lab was set up in 2017 to help small businesses to develop drinks. Since then it’s helped to launch 95 drinks and produced more two million bottles. Big companies like BrewDog and Diageo, Scotland’s largest whisky maker,…
Read MoreLocal landmarks inspire Kingsbarns’ whisky names
KINGSBARNS, the family-owned distillery in Fife, has today unveiled its latest whisky – Balcomie. Matured in American oak butts that previously held oloroso sherry, the whisky is named after the nearby Balcomie Castle. William Wemyss, founder and managing director of the distillery, said: “Place and heritage is hugely important to us as a company and…
Read MoreKids told to play with their food
TATTIE supplier Scotty Brand is launching a mash potato art competition – and has created some spud-tacular examples. Scottish sculptor Natasha Phoenix has sculptured Prime Minister Boris Johnson and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon from mashed potato. Her nine-year-old twin girls, Hope and Talia Phoenix-Hill, also created tattie versions of Minnie the Minx from the Beano…
Read MoreScotland’s first ‘vertical distillery’ takes shape
CONSTRUCTION has begun at Scotland’s first “vertical distillery”. Foundations have been laid for the ÂŁ12 million Port of Leith distillery. The site sits next door to the Ocean Terminal shopping centre and the Royal Yacht Britannia. The 40-metre tall tower will include a double-height whisky bar at its summit. The project is the brainchild of…
Read More