Posts by Peter Ranscombe
Wider audience for Wigtown young adult books
WIGTOWN YA, the UK’s largest young adult literature festival, continues this week as part of the wider online Wigtown Book Festival. This week’s virtual speakers include Dean Atta talking about The Black Flamingo, Catherine Bruton presenting No Ballet Shoes in Syria and Michelle Thomas explaining My Sh*t Therapist. Previous online events can also be watched…
Read MoreBringing sea salt harvesting back to Fife
SEA salt harvesting could soon resume in the East Neuk of Fife. St Monan’s local Darren Peattie, whose family has lived in the area for more than 200 years, launched his East Neuk Salt Company 14 months ago. Now, he’s starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise the final ÂŁ28,450 he needs to buy the right…
Read MoreA Week in Whisky: ‘Pat’s’ collection goes under the hammer
THE largest whisky collection ever to come up for auction starts going under the hammer today. More than 9,000 bottles have been assembled by “Pat”, an anonymous collector, and are together expected to fetch $5 million (ÂŁ3.9m). The first batch will be on sale at WhiskyAuctioneer.com until 5 October. Iain McClune, the website’s founder, said:…
Read MoreLiterature plan for John Knox House
JOHN Knox House in Edinburgh could be turned into a “Literature House for Scotland”. The Edinburgh Unesco City of Literature Trust is looking for architects and designers to help it come up with plans for the site. The trust also wants to develop the neighbouring Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of ambitions to enhance the…
Read MoreBiggest beaver survey begins next week
SCOTLAND’S largest survey of beavers will begin next week. NatureScot, the government agency previously known as Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), will work with the University of Essex to conduct surveys in Tayside, the Forth valley and Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park during the autumn and winter. Roo Campbell, NatureScot project lead, said: “From sightings…
Read MoreBorders textile museum holds ‘meet the maker’ events
THE Borders Textile Towerhouse museum in Hawick will hold a series of “Meet the Maker” events to mark its reopening. The events replace its “Makers’ Market”, which normally takes place in November. Robin Deas, a designer at The Hawick Tartan Company, will be the first maker to displays his products at the museum, including pleated face…
Read MoreScottish actor completes John o’Groats horse trek
A SCOTTISH actor has completed a 1,147-mile trek on horseback from John o’Groats to Land’s End to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Louis Hall, 26, aimed to raise ÂŁ10,000 but has smashed his target, bringing in ÂŁ34,000 so far. Hall completed his 57-day trek on 12 September. He carried out his “Big Hoof”…
Read MoreWhisky expert unveils ‘a taste profile for everyone’
THE Whisky Cellar founder Keith Bonnington has released a series of ten unique single casks bottled under his company’s new “Private Cellars Selection” label. The casks include a mixture of barrels, hogsheads, butts and a quarter cask, with just 2,100 bottles being filled. Bonnington, who has worked in the whisky industry for 18 years, said:…
Read MoreBill Lumsden catches ‘the one that got away’
Peter Ranscombe sips a slice of Glenmorangie’s new ‘A Tale of Cake’ whisky. EVERY fisherman has a story about “the one that got away” – that salmon or trout or other slippery customer that they just weren’t able to land on the river bank. For Bill Lumsden, director of distilling at Glenmorangie, his equivalent is…
Read MoreBritish Game Alliance launches ‘elevenses’ campaign
THE British Game Alliance (BGA) is launching its #BGABites campaign today to encourage estates to serve “game-based elevenses” during their shoots. The BGA, which was set up to promote game meats, believes serving elevenses featuring game will encourage guests to eat game on a wider range of occasions. The alliance will posts recipes and photographs…
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