Culture
New BBC ALBA documentary to explore the Scottish wolf
For 12,000 years wolves and humans shared Scotland’s landscape. But as hunter- gatherers became farmers, wolves became their enemy and were hunted to extinction. Now a new BBC Alba documentary is set to explore whether the story of the Scottish wolf is over. Wolves arrived as the last ice age ended, following – like Scotland’s…
Read MoreWinner of the Anne Brown Essay Prize for Scotland announced
The 2023 Anne Brown Essay Prize for Scotland has been awarded to author Rodge Glass. The £1,500 prize, established in 2021 by the family of the late BBC Scotland journalist and Wigtown Festival Company chair Anne Brown, celebrates the best literary essay by a Scottish writer. Best-known for his biography of Alasdair Gray, Glass’s essay…
Read MoreHamza Yassin, Judy Murray and Henry Dimbleby at Wigtown Book Festival
The first weekend of the 25th Wigtown Book Festival saw Scotland’s National Book Town welcome a host of celebrities and special guests. Among those taking part were Judy Murray, who spoke about her new novel The Wild Card, and Hamza Yassin, the Strictly champion, cameraman and CBeebies ranger, who led a birdwatching walk and discussed…
Read MoreDa Vinci of Denfield Avenue: How artist William McLaren used a council flat wall to brush up on his skills
An incredible Renaissance style mural by artist William McLaren was discovered in an unassuming council flat in Fife. McLaren was an illustrator, painter and artist who worked for magazines such as Radio Times and The Listener, and The Sphere, a weekly newspaper. His commissions also included murals for the magnificent Hopetoun House in West Lothian.…
Read MoreAndrew Carnegie: Gold key given to philanthropist celebrates theatre makeover
A gold key given to philanthropist Andrew Carnegie when he opened a much-loved theatre is going on show to mark the venue’s refurbishment. The keepsake was one of two presented to VIP guests when Kirkcaldy’s Adam Smith Theatre – recently given a £7.8 million makeover – was inaugurated in 1899. Keys were gifted to the…
Read MoreAction! £1.25m appeal for Historic Edinburgh cinema
A fundraising campaign has started to reopen the historic Filmhouse Cinema in Edinburgh. Supporters want to raise at least £1.25 million to cover the cost of reopening and refurbishing of the 19th-century building on Lothian Road by next year. It housed a three-screen cinema and was home to the Edinburgh International Film Festival before the…
Read MoreGroup Portrait in a Summer Landscape on show in Edinburgh next month
Playwright Peter Arnott’s Group Portrait in a Summer Landscape is coming to Edinburgh next month. The play is set in a Perthshire country house during the Scottish Independence referendum of 2014. It revolves around retired academic and political heavyweight, George Rennie – played by John Michie – and his fractured family and former students, coming…
Read MoreWilliam Shakespeare’s first folio to go on display
A 400-year-old collection of some of William Shakespeare’s first works including Macbeth is to go on display. The National Library in Edinburgh will display the works as part of the Treasures of the National Library of Scotland exhibition at George IV Bridge. Originally published seven years after Shakespeare’s death in 1616, the folio includes 36 plays –…
Read MoreWinners of the Bloody Scotland Debut of the Year and McIlvanney Prize announced
Kate Foster has won the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year for The Maiden (Mantle). Callum McSorley, who is also a debut author, was awarded the McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Book of the Year for Squeaky Clean (Pushkin Press). The finalists for both prizes led the torchlit procession from Stirling Castle through the historic old…
Read MoreSherlock Holmes statue unveiled to mark birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A newly refurbished statue of Sherlock Holmes has been unveiled in Edinburgh marking the birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The life-sized bronze sculpture was removed in 2018 while Trams to Newhaven works were carried out. It was renovated by Black Isle Bronze in Nairn and is now in place at Picardy Place island. The…
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