Inaugural Glencairn Glass short story winner revealed

The world’s favourite whisky glass – The Glencairn Glass – has been celebrating Scottish crime writing talent over the past two years as headline sponsor of the prestigious McIlvanney and Bloody Scotland Debut crime-writing prizes. To support this creative collaboration, The Glencairn Glass launched its first very own crime short story competition, inviting all budding…

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Spirit of Speyside tickets to go on sale this week

The lineup for this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, one of the world’s most anticipated whisky celebrations, has been unveiled. Over five hundred events within the Festival, which runs from 27 April to 2 May, have been announced. These will allow ticket holders exclusive access to world famous distilleries, the chance to meet the…

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StAnza festival of poetry returns today

StAnza, Scotland’s International Poetry Festival is set for another outstanding year. It’s preparing to open its annual festival, Stories like Starting Points, as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022. The festival, now in its 25th year has a programme featuring over 150 poets and performers who will deliver around 120 events, dozens of which…

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The sad real-life story of the ‘Victorian Titanic’

Gill Hoffs’ enthusiasm for the subject of The Sinking of the RMS Tayleur and extensive research makes for an absolutely fascinating read . It’s a piece of work scattered with inserts from historical reports and newspaper articles. The book starts by painting a picture of the social and economic problems in 19th century Ireland with…

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Clay pigeon shoot will be a (double) barrel of fun

The Borders Branch of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity is organising a clay shoot next month. This will take place on Sunday, April 10, at Bisley at Braidwood near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders – and those interested can register a team of four to take part at the six-stand, 60-clay flush shoot. Bisley at…

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Daunderlust – a book sharing the untold Scots stories

Daunderlust is a beautifully eclectic and eccentric collection of stories about a side of Scotland that is rarely seen by the average visitor (or by many who have lived in the country all their lives). And they certainly has never been mentioned in VisitScotland’s ongoing campaign to promote Scottish culture and encourage tourism. But, like…

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A well-researched look at who the Picts were

The first time I heard about the Picts, the ancient people of the North of Scotland, I was hooked. My dad told me all about them during a trip to visit family in Aberdeen, and my imagination went into overtime, imagining who they were, and where they lived compared to where I was visiting. The…

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Meet the busy wee bees at a Scottish school

Outdoor learning is central to the ethos at St Leonards School in St Andrews, with beekeeping, bushcraft, and Beach School amongst the core elements embedded in the International Baccalaureate curriculum and co-curriculum. From cooking ‘wee bannocks’ over the fire pit in the outdoor classroom – to bring Year 1’s study of the traditional Scottish retelling…

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Take a magical trip to the world of Narnia

There’s always been something magical about The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. C S Lewis’s novel from 1950 spearheaded The Chronicles of Narnia series, introducing us to the magical land, and creatures which have become touchstone points in popular culture, in Aslan and Mr Tumnus, as well as the White Witch. Currently on tour,…

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It’s definitely worth trying to grab hold of Letting Go

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, according to the old song (and film). And it most definitely is in Letting Go: A Timeline of Tales, by Gerda Stevenson. The Twelve Stories in Letting Go take us on a journey through landscape, language and turbulent times, from the mid-19th century to the present day, and into the…

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