Culture
The debt to pleasure of the Merry Widow
The late Queen Mother’s great-great-great-grandmother, the fabulously wealthy Mary Eleanor Bowes, endured kidnapping, notoriety and lashings of scandal in a life that was lived to the full. With its pink sandstone walls and greyroofed turrets Glamis Castle looks like a fairytale palace. But the 14th-century castle in Angus, childhood home of the late Queen Mother,…
Read MoreCrime and punishment – 10 infamous Scots trials
Some of Scotland’s most infamous criminals have fallen foul of the law and ended up in the dock in ten of the country’s most remarkable and high-profile trials. Here, we highlight 10 of them. 1. William Burke (1828) Most people are familiar with the story of Burke and Hare, who murdered 16 people in order…
Read MoreCulture, music, language and storytelling
The opening of Aberdeenshire’s Across the Grain festival is almost upon us, showcasing some of the nation’s best known cultural institutions on the opening weekend alone. The National Theatre of Scotland will premiere a new film in Huntly and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland will choreograph solo, duets and group dance work for Banff residents,…
Read More‘Lost’ Peploe at Bonhams Scottish art sale
A newly discovered painting by the Scottish colourist painter Samuel Peploe is among the leading works in Bonhams Scottish Art Sale in Edinburgh next month. The painting was first owned by Mme Marie Marguerite Soulie, who was married to the English novelist and playwright Arnold Bennett from 1917-1921. Its whereabouts have been unknown to scholars…
Read MoreBringing Burns and Beethoven together
Burns and Beethoven will collide in the Grand Gallery of the National Museum of Scotland on World Opera Day. This will come in a special performance by Scottish Opera to celebrate works by some of the world’s great operatic composers, inspired by Scotland’s romantic past. The event is in association the National Museum’s critically acclaimed…
Read MoreThe world’s finest orchestras heading to Scotland
The world’s leading orchestras are to play at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall this autumn. They will perform as part of the Sunday Classics season, including the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Flanders Symphony Orchestra and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra are key players in the Usher Hall’s continuing…
Read MoreTwo exhibitions coming to the Open Eye Gallery
Edinburgh’s Open Eye Gallery is staging two exhibitions next month. The first is Impressions: Two Centuries of Printmaking, a wide-ranging exhibition featuring examples from some of the most prominent British printmakers in the last two centuries. In association with John Anderson, this show will include works by Robert Austin, Sandra Blow, Sir Muirhead Bone, Gerald…
Read MoreYoung Gaelic singers to perform in Canada
Six young Gaelic singers from across Scotland have been invited to perform at the renowned Celtic music festival, Celtic Colours, in Canada next month. This will showcase the second phase of the Fuaran project, which aims to inspire young Gaelic speakers to engage with the wealth of Gaelic culture in their local communities. The singers…
Read MoreStatue tribute to Ally Bally Bee writer
A sculpture to remember a 19th century Scottish sweetmaker who penned a world famous children’s lullaby has been unveiled. Hundreds of people attended the ceremony in Galashiels today (Friday 20 September), which saw the Coulter’s Candy statue dedicated to Robert Coltart revealed by sculptor Angela Hunter, local historian Graeme McIver and 14-year-old Liam Darling, a…
Read MoreMarine painter Rob Andrew’s work is all at sea
When it comes down to it, there are very few places that rival the love and inspiration of home. Such a phenomenon is shared by marine painter Rob Andrew who, after working in Czechoslovakia and South Africa, returned to the north east of Scotland to pursue and develop his passion for painting. Drawing on a…
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