Keeping Scots fairytales alive for children

The Dragon Stoorworm is a traditional Scottish tale beautifully retold for younger readers. We learn that the Dragon Stoorworm was the very first, very worst dragon that ever lived. It was ginormous: almost as big as the whole of Scotland! The King of Scotland called for warriors to defeat the terrible dragon and save his…

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An on the ball guide to Scots sporting buildings

This is celebration of Scotland’s stunning sporting architecture, from Celtic Park to Ayr Ice Rink. Some of the nation’s earliest sporting buildings are associated with grand properties and estates. A strong link existed between the nobility and the development of recreational pursuits – going all the way back to Scotland’s oldest remaining sporting structure, the…

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Exhibition celebrates the works of Ivy Wallace

Biggar and Upper Clydesdale Museum in South Lanarkshire are hosting an exhibition of the life and works of Ivy Wallace. The venue is hjghlighting the works of the author, artist and creator of Pookie and The Animal Shelf series of children’s books. The exhibition had been scheduled for April 2020 but had to be cancelled…

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Book swap brunch club Bookface returns to Glasgow

The hugely popular Bookface Book Swap Brunch returns next month. Being held on Saturday, 7 May in Glasgow, it will be an event for music fans as Deacon Blue book To Be Here Someday is the talking point with guest author and lifelong fan Paul English. The Bookface Book Swap Brunches take place the first…

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An exciting novel set in the 14th century

Based on events in fourteenth century Scotland, The Raid Into Angus is a novel about Robert de Atholia and Duncan Stewart. Both were both Gaelic warriors whose clans have a grudge against Sir Drugo Lindsay, a Norman knight with extensive lands in Angus Province. But, Stewart also carries with him extra baggage as he is…

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The most ship-shape cookbook of all time

I always pictured food served aboard our mariners and matelots to be a school canteen situation with wrinkled sausages and dry mash. I’m thankful to be proven wrong by this toothsome cookbook. Chefs at sea may not have access to all the ingredients, but those at home can support a good cause, benefit from the…

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The real-life adventures of presenter Simon Reeve

In Journeys to Impossible Places, best-selling author and presenter Simon Reeve reveals the inside story of his most astonishing adventures and experiences, around the planet and close to home. It continues the story Simon started in his bestseller Step by Step, which traced the first decades of his life from depressed and unemployed teenager through to…

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The amazing story of the man who took on tigers

Duff Hart-Davis has skilfully recounted Indian railway worker and British Indian Army colonel Jim Corbett’s extraordinary tale. This brave individual faced off against man-eating leopards and tigers preying on small Indian villages. A slow starter but worth a read for passages that are layered with empathy for the cunning and almost supernaturally lucky beasts whose…

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From Sheffield with love to Scotland’s islands

Despite living in Sheffield, author Richard Clubley’s love for the Scottish islands brings him north several times a year. And in this book, he gives a passionate account of what makes these places so special and worth visiting. He meets locals and learns a few realities of island life. He almost perished on Ailsa Craig,…

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Addressing the impact of personality disorders

This is a fascinating story spanning five centuries of history seen through the eyes of schizophrenic John McPake. Helped by the voices inside his head, McPake goes in a search of his brother in Edinburgh. In another thread of the plot, three 16th century weavers from Bruegel’s painting, Three Hunters in the Snow, search for…

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