Literature plan for John Knox House

JOHN Knox House in Edinburgh could be turned into a “Literature House for Scotland”. The Edinburgh Unesco City of Literature Trust is looking for architects and designers to help it come up with plans for the site. The trust also wants to develop the neighbouring Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of ambitions to enhance the…

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Tour guide launches kids’ activity packs

CHILDREN who can’t take part in Invisible Cities’ walking tours can now learn about locations while at home thanks to the social enterprise’s new activity packs. Invisible Cities, which trains people who have previously experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city, has created a series of “round-the-world subscription boxes”. Created in…

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Caledonia on my mind

Like many of those born outside Scotland to avowedly Scottish families, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart has a complicated relationship with the mothership. “WITH a name like Dugald Alastair Roddick Bruce-Lockhart, you must be Scottish,” says the casting director, studying my CV with a frown. It’s a good question – and one I’ve never known quite how to…

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Wigtown Book Festival reveals line-up

WIGTOWN Book Festival has unveiled its online programme, which includes the world premier of author Alexander McCall Smith’s Ninian’s Gift song cycle Other highlights across the ten-day virtual festival include Alastair Campbell, Maggie O’Farrell, and Andrew Marr. More than 80 guests will take part in the festival, which aims to promote local businesses affected by…

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Bloody Scotland names McIlvanney Prize finalists

FOUR writers have been shortlisted for The McIlvanney Prize. The winner will be announced on 18 September as part of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival. This year’s finalists are Andrew James Greig for Whirligig, Francine Toon for Pine, Doug Johnstone for A Dark Matter, and “Ambrose Parry” – husband-and-wife team Chris Brookmyre and…

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REVIEW: Cavens Country House

A trip to the south west of Scotland proved a welcome break from city life for Rosie Morton…  Carpe diem. Two words we’ve heard countless times, and yet they seem to resonate far more in 2020 than ever before. Having been on our starting blocks since the end of March, all the trips we’ve been…

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Review: The Harbour Cafe, Elie

Wet weather didn’t put off Stephanie Abbot when she visited The Harbour Cafe at Elie in Fife. SPENDING any amount of time by the sea has an almost magical effect on one’s mood. Despite the persistent drizzle that spread across much of Sunday, the thought of a lunch at The Harbour Cafe in Elie in the…

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River Tweed fishing museum set to open

A MUSEUM telling the story of rod and line salmon fishing on the River Tweed will open in Kelso on 4 September. Rod and line techniques were developed on the Tweed during the middle of the 18th century and influenced the economic and cultural development of the Eastern Borders. The River Tweed Salmon Fishing Museum…

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Authors pick top lockdown crime novels

Ahead of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, which begins online on 18 September, authors Alex Gray and Gordon Brown – who writes as Morgan Cry – pick their favourite lockdown books. Alex Gray Three books that were really good during lockdown days include Kate Atkinson’s Big Sky. A terrific read, thoroughly enjoyable, beautifully written and quirky.…

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Outlander star Sam Heughan reflects on his Steiner school days

HOLLYWOOD heartthrob Sam Heughan has spoken about his time as a pupil at the Edinburgh Steiner School during a new online video interview. The star of Outlander, the television series based on the historical fantasy books by Diana Gabaldon, said: “The Steiner education gives you this understanding about the world; that you are not being…

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