Posts by Peter Ranscombe
Fancy owning a 40 million year old crocodile?
THE fossil of a 40 million-year-old crocodile is coming up for auction next week in Glasgow. The ancient croc is one of nearly 200 fossils going under the hammer at McTear’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” auction on 10 August. The collection as assembled by a retired geologist based in the Highlands. It includes a fossilised crocodilian…
Read MoreLook out for shelduck feathers at the beach
SCIENTISTS are asking visitors to beaches to look out for shelduck feathers this summer. Shelduck replace their feathers by moutling over the summer. They can’t fly for between two and four weeks, and so need to find safe places to moult. British shelduck either moult on mudflats in the UK or fly across the North…
Read MorePaolozzi comes to Hospitalfield
HOSPITALFIELD House near Arbroath is putting a sculpture by Scottish artist Sir Eduardo Paolozzi on display in its garden this summer. The bronze work, entitled Rio, is on loan from the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian art gallery. The work was commissioned in 1964 by Dundee surrealist art collector Gabrielle Keille and is part of Paolozzi’s…
Read MoreScottish riders selected for TREC World Championships
TWO Scottish riders are heading to France to represent Great Britain on their horses. Katie Braid and Cara Newman were one of the junior duo pairs selected for this month’s Techniques de Randonnée Équestre de Compétition (TREC) World Championships. Their selection marks the first time that a Scottish duo has been chosen for the British…
Read MorePrestonpans Town Hall holds Victorian weekend
THE 125th anniversary of Prestonpans Town Hall is being marked with a Victorian weekend. The East Lothian town will hold a re-enactment of the opening ceremony on 6 August, complete with costumes. An actor will play Richard Haldane, who was the member of parliament for “Haddingtonshire” and who opened the hall. Celebrations will continue on…
Read MoreHydro Ness opens in Highland capital
THE Hydro Ness visitors’ centre and hydro-electric scheme has opened in Inverness. Ceilidh Trail performed “The Power of the River”, a song written by Duncan Chisholm and Hamish Napier to mark the event. Hydro Ness was built next to Holm Mills bridge on the site of a previous hydro-electric scheme from the 1920s. Its Archimedes’…
Read MoreREVIEW: Kerr’s Navy Strength Gin
Drinks blogger James Robertson samples Kerr’s Navy Strength Gin from The Borders Distillery. IF YOU have not tried the original Kerr’s Gin then you should, however this is a limited edition run of 2,022 bottles of a navy strength version distilled at 57.1% alcohol by volume (ABV). Made by John Fordyce and the team at…
Read MorePeloton films first Scottish videos
PELOTON, the exercise bike maker that shot to fame during the first coronavirus lockdown, has filmed its first videos in Scotland. Members of its subscription service can use its bikes and treadmills – which come fitted with flatscreens – to take part in exercise classes recorded in the North-West Highlands. Options include a 30-minute guided…
Read MoreAlan Cumming teams up with Bross Bagels
SCOTTISH actor Alan Cumming has joined forces with Bross Bagels to create his signature snack. Social media sensation and Bross Bagels founder Larah “Mama” Bross invited Cumming to her deli in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter earlier this summer to try his hand at bagel building. The result was “The Holesome Cumming” vegan bagel, which goes…
Read MoreCulloden discovery sheds light on battle
RESEARCH has shone fresh light on the Jacobite army’s position at the battle of Culloden. Government agency Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has uncovered new evidence for the location of “Culloden Parks”, the landscaped fields and forest around Culloden House. The Jacobite army used the southern end of the parks as its left flank when it…
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