Posts Tagged ‘Life with’
Life With St Andrew Botanic Gardens: ‘The answers to society’s biggest challenges all involve a different relationship with plants’
Harry Watkins, director of St Andrew Botanic Gardens, on growing up with gardeners as a child, experimenting with new ideas and how what we thought we knew about nature is being challenged. I’ve always enjoyed being outdoors, my mum is a great gardener, and her passion has been a massive influence on how I…
Read MoreLife With Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home: ‘You can try not to get attached to the dogs, but it’s inevitable’
Rachel Halliday a kennel assistant at Edinburgh Dog and Cat home talks to us about her love of animals, the joy of seeing dogs being rehomed and how emotionally demanding the job can be. I have always loved animals of all shapes and sizes. Some of my earliest memories are of my grandparent’s dogs…
Read MoreLife With Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: ‘Climate change means we’re working against the clock to conserve plants’
Professor Olwen Grace talks to us about working with specimens collected by Charles Darwin and how she choose the one millionth specimen in the Herbarium to be digitalised. I was raised in quite a rural setting in South Africa and spent my childhood immersed in nature, exploring on horseback and learning about the plants…
Read MoreLife With Dumfries House: ‘King Charles wills you to do your very best, I have never had a boss with so much passion’
Head of horticulture for The King’s Foundation, Melissa Simpson, talks to Scottish Field about her love of gardening as a child, her work overseeing the gardens at Dumfries House and Highgrove and what makes King Charles such a special boss As the daughter of a father who served in the forces, I grew up…
Read MoreLife With the RSNO: ‘I don’t think people realise just how much goes on behind the scenes’
Head of Production at the RSNO, Craig Swindells, on how his army training comes in handy, touring the world and relaxing with a dram before bed to help wind down after a production. I started at the RSNO in 2013 after a lifelong career in the army. Leaving the army, I was trying to…
Read MoreLife with comedian Laura Davis: ‘I go for a three hour walk almost every evening, to write’
Australian comedian Laura Davis on the loneliness of comedy, Scotland’s rich wildlife, and how finding a large number of dead birds on a beach in Fife inspired their latest show. Comedians aren’t generally known for being early risers. I’ve worked nights ever since I started comedy about 17 years ago, so to me a…
Read MoreLife With Isle of Harris Distillery: ‘The Hearach is special, it has done so much for the island’
Isle of Harris distiller Thomas Macrae talks to us about his earliest memories of whisky and why The Hearach is so special to islanders. And he takes us through the process of making the dram. My earliest memory of whisky was my dad and I walking down a few houses to visit a man…
Read MoreLife With a skipper: ‘I’ll never tire of the stunning surroundings we are blessed with’
Ewan McCuish, Master on MV Coruisk, talks to us about life on the water, Scotland’s beauty, and how he fell in love with the sea. I have been fascinated with the sea since I was young. My Barra grandfather was a merchant seaman all his life and as we always spent our school holidays…
Read MoreLife 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 how being a professional oboe player helped her hone her craft. I think sometimes the most important things in life happen by chance, like meeting your partner or finding…
Read MoreLife 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 Country Park’s herd of 73 Highland Cows. She talks to us about mucking out, calving season and the joy the cows bring to visitors. My work day starts at…
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