Glaswegians cycle around the equator – 28 times

Forget the latest UK winner of the Tour de France – Glasgow has its own biking champion. As the United Kingdom celebrated Geraint Thomas’ triumphant Tour de France win last week, nextbike, the world’s most extensive bike-share operator, marked its half a millionth journey in Glasgow. An incredible 1,125,000km have been clocked up on the…

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Arts festival needs to raise £80,000 for it to continue

A leading Scottish independent arts festival is appealing to raise £80,000 in funding so it can continue. Hidden Door is appealing for help to secure its future, as Edinburgh’s alternative arts festival has grown fast over the last five years. It began as an experimental project launched by a group of volunteers in 2014, and…

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Congratulations – Songwriter to the Stars

In this engrossing autobiography, Bill Martin, one of the most successful and prolific songwriters of the last few decades, tells not only the story of his Glasgow upbringing, but also some fascinating anecdotes from his long career in the music industry. Bill wrote several number one hits in the 1960s and 70s and received numerous recognitions…

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Scots housebuilder chooses its base in England

A Scottish family housebuilder have chosen the iconic Cheltenham House offices in the south of England as their new home. This to act as a new hub for Mactaggart & Mickel Homes England as they expand into the English housebuilding market. Mactaggart & Mickel is a fourth-generation family business which has been building quality homes…

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Scots of note added to UK’s historical biography

Prominent Scots are among 216 contemporary individuals who have been added to the new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB). The latest update of the DNB has been published, and gathers biographies from stand out men and women who transformed the UK in one way or another. The online edition of the…

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Tuned in for new appointments at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra has made two major appointments. The orchestra has appointed Paul Philbert as its new principal timpani and Luis Eisen as associate principal bassoon, writes Stacey Wylie. Paul Philbert, originally from London, will be joining RSNO as principal timpani (kettledrum). Having studied at Purcell School and Trinity College, Philbert has had…

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Enjoying the character of Bolney’s pinot noir

Peter Ranscombe gets a rare chance to compare four vintages of English pinot noir from the Bolney Estate in Sussex. DRINKING the same bottle of supermarket wine week after week can sometimes make it easy to forget how much the taste of a wine can vary from year to year. Big producers will blend wine…

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Bringing a taste of Napa Valley to the UK

VISITING California with the Wine Institute – to learn more about its sense of place, environmental programmes and diversity of styles – demonstrated the sheer variety of quality wines produced in the Golden State. Yet much of the tastiest wine never leaves the United States – or even, in some cases, California. That’s why it…

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