Posts by Peter Ranscombe
Game dishes to mark National Curry Week
THE British Game Alliance has unveiled an online cook-along and a series of recipes to celebrate National Curry Week. Braehead Foods will run the curry night on 26 November as part of Great British Game Week. Fifty participants will receive a link to the Zoom cookery session and a box of ingredients to create a…
Read More‘Atlas of Scotland’ project sets sail
AN ARTIST who is creating Scotland’s first major atlas in a century has smashed his fundraising target. Andrew Redmond Barr received donations of more than £12,000 within four days of launching his crowdfunding scheme. Barr, whose previous work includes The Illustrated Declaration of Arbroath, said: “Today modern technology may have replaced traditional paper atlases, but…
Read More‘Whisky Galore!’ bottle bought by maritime museum
A BOTTLE of Scotch salvaged from the ship that inspired Whisky Galore! has been bought by the Scottish Maritime Museum. The unlabeled bottle of blended whisky was salvaged from the SS Politician, which ran aground off the Isle of Eriskay in 1941. George Currie, a diver from Orkney, recovered the bottle from the wreck in…
Read MoreWinners of writing awards unveiled
A POET based in Newcastle was last night named as the winner of the £1,500 Wigtown Prize. Anna Woodford, whose work was entitled Portrait of My Grandparents as Souvenirs, said: “My poem is concerned with my family history, specifically my grandfather’s experiences of having to flee wartime Poland to make a new life in Nottingham,…
Read MoreA Week in Whisky: Thinking outside the box
EVENTS operator The Whisky Lounge has unveiled its first online festival. Its “Whisky Festival in a Box” will be broadcast live from the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery on 16-18 October. The festival consists of seven themed tasting sessions – “Scotch #1, Scotch #2, World, Asian, English, Indie and Peated” – with each session accompanied by…
Read MorePerthshire Adventure launches website
SEVEN adventure tourism businesses in Perthshire have launched a website to attract more visitors to the area. The companies formed the Perthshire Adventure initiative two years ago and have been working together to promote their region. Now, they’ve received backing from business support firm GrowBiz Scotland to reach a wider audience. Sarah Turner, the initiative’s…
Read MoreScottish brands offer ‘Sober October’ serving suggestions
A PAIR of Scottish brands has teamed up to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support during Sober October. Rapscallion Soda and alcohol-free “spirit” maker Feragaia will each donate £1 for each online sale made from Monday until the end of the month. Gregor Leckie, founder of Rapscallion Soda, said: “It’s always been our mission to…
Read MoreSober October: soda, ‘gin’ and ‘beer’
As ‘Sober October’ gets underway, Peter Ranscombe rounds up some of the latest non-alcohol releases and revisits some old favourites. BETWEEN “Dry January” and “Sober October”, it’s getting harder and harder for a drinks writer to earn a living… so, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. The latest month of abstinence is the ideal…
Read MoreHaving a ceilidh with Yalumba’s ‘Caley’
Peter Ranscombe rediscovers ‘the Great Australian Red’ – and suggests some affordable stepping stones along the way. THE world of wine is full of odd phrases: multiple glasses are served in “wine flights”, a liquid that hangs to the side of the glass is said to have “long legs”, and smells can sometimes – kindly…
Read MoreDid my feet make this port taste weird?
His patriotic shorts may have gone viral, but how did the port turn out when Peter Ranscombe helped tread the grapes? TWO years ago this month, me and my saltire shorts stepped into a vat at Quinta do Noval in Portugal to “help” tread the grapes. It’s a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years,…
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