Fringe review: Salty Irina

Jeremy Welch reviews Salty Irina at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The play is set in some non-defined Northern European city where there have been a series of murders, all the murdered are foreigners, all recent immigrants.   Irina, played by Yasemin Ozdemir, arrives at her apartment and the steps are steeped in blood, obviously the result…

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Aberdeen hits high note for European Pipe Band Championships

FURTHER details were revealed today ahead of this summer’s European Pipe Band Championships in Aberdeen. More than 100 pipe bands from across Europe and from as far away as Australia will travel to the North-East to participate in one of the largest piping events in the world. It’s the first time since 1981 that the…

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English sparkling wine for the Lionesses

Drinks blogger James Robertson picks two English sparkling wines to toast “the auld enemy’s” victory in the fitba. TIMING, they say, is everything and – along with 17 million other viewers – I watched the England women win the European Cup. The question therefore is what to drink to celebrate the win? Well here are…

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Strathallan School swimmer and coach go to Olympics

A SWIMMER and his coach from Strathallan School will represent Great Britain at this summer’s European Youth Olympic Festival. Evan Davidson and Strathallan’s head of swimming, Elaine Johnston, will join a 16-strong junior squad heading to Banská Bystrica in Slovakia. At 15, Davidson is one of the youngest swimmers selected for the squad. He was…

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Delight as novel wins New Zealand Booklovers Award

A Scots-based writer’s first historical thriller has won the New Zealand Booklovers Award for Best Adult Fiction Book 2022. Written by Kiwi-born David Bishop, who has lived in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, for more than 20 years, City of Vengeance took the prize at the awards, which were announced last week. Writing as D.V. Bishop, the…

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First Scottish Pictures Auction of 2022 at McTears

Glasgow auction house McTears is looking for submissions for next month’s Scottish Pictures Auction. This specialist auction, held twice-annually, focuses on fine 19th to mid 20th century pictures by Scottish artists or of Scottish subject matter. The first auction of 2022 will takes place on 27 April and entries are invited. The previous Scottish Pictures…

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9000 bottles of whisky make history at auction

A man who has travelled the world in pursuit of good whisky, has made history after selling his personal collection – the largest in the world to come to auction. Working with market leader Whisky Auctioneer, over 9,000 bottles and 23 auctions later the curtain has closed with the final auction bringing the total to…

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Whisky miniature collection makes almost £30,000

A collection of miniature bottles of whisky has gone under the hammer for an amazing £29,750 at auction. The collection of 4000 whisky miniatures and memorabilia was amassed by Kettering-based collector Brian Marshall over a 30-year period beginning in the late eighties. It was sold in two timed online auctions by Gildings Auctioneers in Market…

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Scotch Whisky Association unveils its new chief

The Scotch Whisky Association has announced that Mark Kent, former British Ambassador to Argentina, will succeed Karen Betts as chief executive. Mark joins the SWA following more than three decades with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Most recently, he served as Ambassador to Argentina from 2016 to June 2021. He also served as…

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Montane’s ‘Green Friday’ donation to Fix the Fells

British outdoor clothing specialist, Montane, has pledged a donation of its Black Friday marketing budget to the Lake District’s Fix the Fells programme in support of the Green Friday movement. The outdoor brand’s £2500 donation will go towards helping to preserve the Lake District’s paths and landscapes by tackling the problem of erosion through repairing…

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