Cumnock Tryst: Music programme returns for October

Cumnock’s annual music festival is set to return next month. Sir James MacMillan CBE founded The Cumnock Tryst, a four-day music festival each October, nearly ten years ago. Taking place from 5 October until 8 October, hundreds of local groups are set to perform. The Musical Celebration of the Coalfields will involve ten local community…

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Martin Compston’s Scottish fling up for top TV award

Martin Compston and Phil MacHugh have been shortlisted for a TV award for their BBC travel series. Scottish Fling has been nominated for ‘Best Factual Show’ at the TV Choice Awards next year, which will take place in February at The Hilton on Park Lane in London. The programme, which aired last year, saw Greenock-born…

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New BBC ALBA documentary to explore the Scottish wolf

For 12,000 years wolves and humans shared Scotland’s landscape. But as hunter- gatherers became farmers, wolves became their enemy and were hunted to extinction.  Now a new BBC Alba documentary is set to explore whether the story of the Scottish wolf is over. Wolves arrived as the last ice age ended, following – like Scotland’s…

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Winner of the Anne Brown Essay Prize for Scotland announced

The 2023 Anne Brown Essay Prize for Scotland has been awarded to author Rodge Glass. The £1,500 prize, established in 2021 by the family of the late BBC Scotland journalist and Wigtown Festival Company chair Anne Brown, celebrates the best literary essay by a Scottish writer.  Best-known for his biography of Alasdair Gray, Glass’s essay…

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Hamza Yassin, Judy Murray and Henry Dimbleby at Wigtown Book Festival

The first weekend of the 25th Wigtown Book Festival saw Scotland’s National Book Town welcome a host of celebrities and special guests. Among those taking part were Judy Murray, who spoke about her new novel The Wild Card, and Hamza Yassin, the Strictly champion, cameraman and CBeebies ranger, who led a birdwatching walk and discussed…

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Isle of Harris: Distiller launches long-awaited first whisky

The Isle of Harris Distillers has launched its long-awaited single malt Scotch whisky. The Hearach – the Scottish Gaelic for a native of Harris – will be available to purchase from 23 September. The first legal dram from the Outer Hebridean Isle of Harris, The Hearach offers an elegant single malt, with fruit and floral…

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Oysters returned to Firth of Forth for first time in a century

After a 100-year absence, native oysters are being reintroduced to the Firth of Forth. Historically, enormous native oyster beds provided an important source for food and livelihoods in the area. But the marine species was lost due to overfishing and industrial development. The groundbreaking Restoration Forth project hopes to transfer 30,000 oysters to the area…

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Judy Murray’s tennis tips target better brain health

Tennis coach Judy Murray is backing an initiative to shows playing is a game-changer for anyone wanting to keep their brain healthy. Murray was at an Edinburgh drop-in café this week to pass on skills aimed at keeping the brain and body active. The visit was part of a project led by the Brain Health…

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Da Vinci of Denfield Avenue: How artist William McLaren used a council flat wall to brush up on his skills

An incredible Renaissance style mural by artist William McLaren was discovered in an unassuming council flat in Fife. McLaren was an illustrator, painter and artist who worked for magazines such as Radio Times and The Listener, and The Sphere, a weekly newspaper.  His commissions also included murals for the magnificent Hopetoun House in West Lothian.…

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