Culture
Life with comedian Laura Davis: ‘I go for a three hour walk almost every evening, to write’
Australian comedian Laura Davis on the loneliness of comedy, Scotland’s rich wildlife, and how finding a large number of dead birds on a beach in Fife inspired their latest show. Comedians aren’t generally known for being early risers. I’ve worked nights ever since I started comedy about 17 years ago, so to me a…
Read MoreMost comprehensive exhibition to date of British painter Sheila Girling to open in Scotland this summer
Sophie Farquharson looks ahead to the new Sheila Girling exhibition in Fife this summer. She was a ground-breaking British abstract painter renowned for her expressive, vibrant and deeply emotional paintings. But Sheila Girling was often overlooked. Now, 100 years after her birth, the most comprehensive exhibition of her work to date, will be held…
Read MoreThe first Naval V.C. of the Great War awarded to Edinburgh Captain to fetch more than £200,000 at auction
Noonans Mayfair are to sell the first Naval V.C. of the Great War. The medal was awarded to Captain Henry Peel Ritchie of the Royal Navy, who was born in Edinburgh. He won the Senior Service’s first V.C. of the conflict for his gallant command of H.M.S. Goliath’s steam pinnace at Dar-es-Salaam in East Africa…
Read MoreMaine Highland Games: A celebration of Scottish heritage and culture
Did you know that Maine has the highest concentration of people with Scottish ancestry in the United States? Ahead of the 45th Maine Highland Games, Rosie Morton speaks with Shari Rodden, Events Director of the Games, to learn more about her ties with Old Alba. Where did your great love of Scotland begin? It has…
Read MoreReview: Lotte Glob exhibition, Ullapool
Lotte Glob is an internationally acclaimed Danish potter and ceramicist based in North West Scotland. In this, her 80th year, An Talla Solais, in Ullapool, surveys some of the key elements which make up Glob’s evocative artistic output, her influences, and her life as a sculptor. Writer LG Thomson takes a look at the exhibition…
Read MoreScotland Through A Lens: Karl Oparka on chasing waterfalls
From the Highlands to the Southern Uplands, Karl Oparka has photographed 70 of Scotland’s waterfalls and found little is known about these hidden wonders. His self published book Chasing Waterfalls, features the ones he has captured since he started the project during the pandemic. Tell us a bit about your background, how did you get…
Read MoreNational Galleries of Scotland celebrates acquisition of rare work by ‘Glasgow Girl’
The National Galleries of Scotland has acquired a rare work by ‘Glasgow Girl’ Bessie MacNicol. Many of MacNicol’s works were dispersed or lost following her tragic death in the late stages of pregnancy, aged just 34. In recent years there has been strong competition to acquire the precious few artworks by this talented artist which…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Suzy Aspley: ‘I curl up in the dark with a great book and read until I can’t keep my eyes open
Suzy Aspley has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize with her crime fiction novel, Crow Moon. The first book I remember reading: Three Ponies and Shannan, by Diana Pullein-Thompson. As a pony mad kid who pined for a horse of my own (which was totally out of reach growing up in a…
Read MoreSally Reid reprises her role as Shirley Valentine: ‘The ideas behind the story still feel very familiar to a lot of people’
It’s been nearly 40 years since Willy Russell wrote Shirley Valentine, his monologue about a middle-aged, working class Liverpool housewife and her transformational solo holiday in Greece. But as Sally Reid prepares to play the iconic role of Shirley for a second time at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, she says there is a lot about the…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Doug Sinclair: ‘The Life Changing Magic Of Not Giving A F***’ changed my life
Doug Sinclair on his favourite books of the year, his favourite place to read and the books of his childhood. The first book I remember reading: It was a children’s book about a boy who befriends a Romany girl when her family stops at his town. She lived in a charming old wooden caravan…
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