Posts by Peter Ranscombe
Keep your eyes peeled for red squirrels
HIGHLANDERS are being asked to report sightings of red squirrels during the “Great Scottish Squirrel Survey“, which begins today. Rewilding charity Trees for Life wants to hear about sightings in gardens, forests or any other location across the Highlands. The charity has already reintroduced red squirrels to nine locations in the north. Around 120,000 of…
Read MoreM&S Classics range shifts to new world
Peter Ranscombe reviews five wines from Marks & Sparks’ latest additions. MARKS & Spencer continued the roll out of its “Classics” range this week. The first wave of bottles over the summer concentrated on old world examples, while this week’s wines focus on the new world, with a few other European players thrown into the…
Read MoreA Week in Whisky: Colourful capers
GLENKINCHIE Distillery in East Lothian has been presented with a gold certificate by the Green Tourism scheme. The site is only the third distillery in Scotland to receive the accreditation. It is also the first premises owned by Diageo, Scotland’s largest distillery, to achieve the standard. The distillery has installed beehives, bat houses and bug…
Read MoreTattie growing art project marks finalé – with chips
POTATOES grown in Glasgow’s gardens are being turned into chips to mark the end of an innovative art project. Aproxima Arts and the SWG3 venue gave 150 brightly-coloured handmade hessian bags to households in Kelvinhaugh and Kelvindale during the lockdown, each filled with soil and a batch of Maris Pipers. Their “An Empty Gunny Bag…
Read MoreTour guide launches kids’ activity packs
CHILDREN who can’t take part in Invisible Cities’ walking tours can now learn about locations while at home thanks to the social enterprise’s new activity packs. Invisible Cities, which trains people who have previously experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city, has created a series of “round-the-world subscription boxes”. Created in…
Read MoreFestival to boost Glasgow coffee shops
GLASGOW Coffee Festival is taking to the streets to promote local businesses. The festival, which has been running for six years, was due to take place in May, but was postponed due to the lockdown. Plans to run the festival indoors next month have now also had to be changed to fit in with Scottish…
Read MoreMaths Week Scotland competition launches
PUPILS from throughout Scotland will be competing to win prizes for their schools as part of Maths Week Scotland, which begins on 28 September. All age groups from primary one through to S6 can enter the contest to win vouchers and certificates. The activities that will be used in the competition all fit in with…
Read MoreLeith market’s Oktoberfest starts today
THE first of three Oktoberfest weekends gets underway today at Pitt Street Market in Leith “Pittöberfest” features Barney’s Beer, Bellfield, Campervan, Edinburgh Beer Factory, New Barns, and Pilot. Barnacles & Bones and Ròst are among the street food vendors taking part in the festival. Barney’s Beer boss Andrew Barnett said: “While the cancellation of beer…
Read MoreWhy grenache is so much more than ‘poor man’s pinot’
Ahead of tomorrow’s World Grenache Day, Peter Ranscombe praises the grape’s revival in Australia’s McLaren Vale – and beyond. SOMETIMES wine feels like a popularity contest, with bottles like prosecco, pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc elbowing each other out the way to catch the drinker’s eye. For ugly duckings, it’s harder to be seen –…
Read MoreWhy organic wine needn’t cost the earth
As Organic September continues, Peter Ranscombe picks five bottles to try for under a tenner. REWIND to the 80s and 90s and “organic” produce used to raise an eyebrow. It was the slightly smaller, slightly manky looking apple in the corner of the display or that slightly odd-smelling wine that the shop keeper desperately wanted…
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