News
Lady Glenconner at Royal Scots Club lunch
THE Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh is preparing to host Lady Glenconner for its next literary lunch. Lady Glenconner, 90, was maid of honour at the Queen’s coronation and was appointed as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret in 1971. Her memoir, Lady in Waiting, was published in 2019 and became a best-seller, with Lady Glenconner…
Read MoreHigh School of Glasgow pupils tutor local kids
PUPILS from The High School of Glasgow are becoming tutors for children in Maryhill through the Volunteer Tutors Organisation (VTO). Glasgow-based VTP runs a leadership programme for senior pupils and provides volunteering opportunities at its local “learning hubs”. Seventeen sixth form pupils from the independent school will spend an hour each week helping children with…
Read MoreSearch begins for Scots language champion
A PUBLIC vote gets underway tomorrow to find this year’s Scots language champion. Arts organisation Hands Up For Trad is publishing a list of nominees for the title and now wants the public to vote for the winner. The poll opens tomorrow and runs until 18 September. The winner will be named at a ceremony…
Read MoreFeragaia opens Scotland’s first alcohol-free distillery
ALCOHOL-FREE brand Feragaia has opened a distillery at Glenrothes in Fife, the first facility of its kind in Scotland. So far, Feragaia – which was launched in 2019 – has been made at a distillery in the south of Scotland. Now, the label has moved into its own site to cope with demand for its…
Read MoreScotland’s seabirds disturbed by rising boat traffic
INCREASED boat traffic is disturbing many of Scotland’s seabirds, according to new research by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). The charity monitored 11 species of seabirds during ferry journeys around Orkney. Data on more than 6,000 flocks was recorded. Red-throated divers, Slavonian grebesm and black-throated divers were the most sensitive to boats Black guillemots,…
Read MoreArtificial intelligence gets arty for Scotland
TOURISM marketing body VisitScotland has used an artificial intelligence (AI) program to create pictures of Scotland. Photographs and paintings were fed into the NightCafe AI art generator, which then produced images in-keeping with the originals. The agency is using the images to promote the 13 sites on Scotland’s United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation…
Read MoreForaging Fortnight begins on Saturday
SCOTLAND’S Foraging Fortnight begins on Saturday, with events taking place throughout the country. Talks, workshops, and walks have been organised as part of the Orkney International Science Festival, which also begins on Saturday. The Scottish Wild Food Festival is also taking place at Tir na nOg, near Drymen, on 17 and 18 September. The Foraging…
Read MoreYoung Islanders’ Network launched
CHILDREN and young people from Scotland’s islands will be sharing their views through a new Young Islanders’ Network (YIN), which was launched yesterday. The YIN has been set up as part of the Scottish Government’s national islands plan. The network will help to share young people’s views on how the plan is implemented. Ministers teamed…
Read MoreVoxblock plays audiobooks without a screen
AN EDINBURGH couple has today launched Voxblock, a device for playing audiobooks without a screen. Rebecca Lundgren and Tom Williams were inspired to create the machine after watching their daughter play Lundgren’s childhood audiobooks on an old cassette player. ‘‘Watching our own daughter listen to and love my old storybook cassettes was a revelation and…
Read MoreWhisky news round-up: Talisker, Glenlivet, and more
Peter Ranscombe rounds-up the latest whisky news from Scotland’s distilleries. TALISKER ambassador Ross Edgley is attempting to break a swimming world record to promote the distillery’s partnership with conservation charity Parley for the Oceans. The long-distance swimmer aims to break the world record for the longest tideless open water swim. Edgley wants to swim for…
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