NEWS

Credit: Rachel Bolton.

Faces of Edinburgh: We find out what people love about the Scottish capital

‘This is a city of shifting light, of changing skies, of sudden vistas. A city so beautiful it breaks the heart again and again,’ Alexander...
Annika 2

Life With a horologist: ‘In watchmaking you can’t cut corners or learn things overnight, it takes time’

Laings watchmaker Annika Leppala on following in her grandfather's footsteps as a horologist, learning the art of patience in a world full of immediacy and...
Melissa Curran helps care for Pollok Country Park's herd of 73 Highland Cows.

Life With Pollok Country Park: ‘I have the joy of working with one of the best known cattle breeds in the world’

Fourteen years ago Melissa Curran was a city girl who had never been around cattle. Now, an assistant livestock supervisor, she helps care for Pollok...
Credit: Dundee Heritage Trust

Photo Essay: Dundee’s heritage and nature

Dundee Heritage Trust will host the latest International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition, at Verdant Works Museum this year. Alongside IGPOTY Exhibition 17, images...
Cal Major has travelled 800 miles around Scotland’s wild coast on a paddleboard.

Life With Cal Major: ‘I look forward to the day I look out my window in the Highlands and see dolphins and whales’

Adventurer, vet and ocean advocate Cal Major has travelled 800 miles around Scotland’s wild coast on a paddleboard. Along the way, she made shocking discoveries,...
Culloden, Inverness. Credit: National Trust for Scotland

Culloden Battlefield: Clan Chief’s shoe buckle among new discoveries

Archaeologists have unearthed fascinating new artefacts from the Culloden Battlefield - including a clan chief's shoe buckle. Researchers working around a 60 square-metre area close...

Scottish sea eagle soars over Isle of Wight

A SCOTTISH white-tailed eagle has been relocated to the Isle of Wight as part of a reintroduction project. The young bird was collected by Forestry...

Scope fundraisers reach summit of Ben Nevis

A BOY with cerebral palsy has climbed Ben Nevis to raise money for disability equality charity Scope and his local hospital. Caeden Thomson, 7, from...

Directory supports rural and island businesses

SHOPPERS can now support even more rural and island businesses following the launch of the Rural Enterprise Directory Scotland (REDS). Joe Sykes, founder of Perthshire-based...

First autumn mammal survey gets underway

THE first autumn "Living With Mammals" survey kicks off on Monday, with Scots being asked to keep their eyes peeled for creatures, tracks and droppings...
A 12-year-old school student had a huge surprise when she was taken to Redford Barracks and presented with a professional recording made by Army musicians of her rap inspired by the Windrush generation. 
Leila McPhate, from Larbert High School in Stenhousemuir, wrote The World Is A Dark Place as her entry for Never Such Innocence, an international arts competition to give children and young people a voice on conflict.
Leila, who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), had learned at school how people from the Caribbean were invited to the UK to help it rebuild after WWII but frequently faced injustice and discrimination. After seeing the black British artist Dave on the Brit Awards she decided to address the issue with a rap.
The Army was among the supporters of the 2019/20 competition and Leila’s song caught the eye of Lieutenant Colonel Wendy Faux, the Army’s head of arts, who led the team behind this year’s three-week Army@TheVirtualFringe event.
She was so impressed that she arranged for the Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra to create a new soundtrack for her rap. Leila was invited to the barracks where Colour Sergeant Richard Kerr, Musician Brittany Johnnie and Corporal Scott MacFarlane of the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland presented her with flowers and a copy of the music on behalf of the Army.
Wendy said: “Army@TheVirtualFringe has shone a light on many issues including racism and equality. We have also been trying to support young and emerging talent. So working with Leila has been a perfect way to round off the event.  
“The contribution of people from Commonwealth nations in Africa and the Caribbean to the Army and to civilian life has been immense but is often overlooked, along with the discrimination so many of them experienced.
“The fact that young people like Leila are determined to use their talents to demand a better world gives real hope for the future.
“We are really proud to have been able to bring her together with some s

Pupil hears her rap recorded by the army

A RAP written by a 12-year-old school pupil and inspired by the Windrush generation has been recorded by army musicians. Leila McPhate, from Larbert High School...
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Mains of Taymouth puts luxury timber lodges on sale

MAINS of Taymouth, the five-star country estate and golf course at Kenmore in Perthshire, has begun marketing phase two of Balloch Park, its residential, holiday...