Beautiful music in beautiful places at Lammermuir Festival

This year’s Lammermuir Festival returns to live performance with 14 days of 37 concerts at eight venues across East Lothian. The festival runs from September 7–20 and opens with four song recitals presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3 featuring Robert Murray and Alisdair Hogarth, James Atkinson and Sholto Kynoch, Catriona Morison and Malcolm Martineau,…

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Aldi beer festival: which brew are you?

The Aldi beer festival includes a quiz to help drinkers find their perfect tipple – so Peter Ranscombe took the test. ONE of the drawbacks of pandemic-induced table service is the inability to stand at a bar and peruse the pints. Pre-lockdown, few joys matched visiting a pub and squinting at the hand pumps to…

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Chefs aim to fly high as they launch Heron restaurant

Two chefs who have worked in some of Scotland’s top kitchens are branching out together with a new venture, Heron. Chefs Tomás Gormley and Sam Yorke have announced a launch date of Wednesday 14 July for their first restaurant, Heron, and have shared details of the opening menu. They have also revealed that Glen Montgomery…

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Scotland’s lifeboats celebrated in new film

A new release of archive film and video celebrating RNLI communities across Scotland will finally kick off its major Scottish big screen tour later this month. Launch! On the Sea with Scotland’s Lifeboats will premier at Mareel in Lerwick, Shetland on Sunday June 20 at 2pm before visiting cinemas and community halls in lifeboat communities…

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Ten easy ways to help Scotland’s wildlife

HALF of Scots want to do more to help our native wildlife, according to new figures. NatureScot, formerly Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), carried out its research during the pandemic, when more people visited nature reserves and green spaces in cities. The Scottish Government agency has now come up with ten top tips to help Scots…

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Review: ‘Sittingsuits you, sir!’

Elis Elliot climbs inside a Sittingsuit to put the ‘sleeping bag you can wear’ through its paces. TIME spent in the great outdoors has always been instrumental in improving our physical and mental health, but that’s never been more important than it is right now. As the seasons change and we are forced to socialise…

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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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Islay pub owner sparks community initiative

DURING lockdown, our beloved pubs and restaurants have been cruelly snatched away from us but, while some pub owners closed their shutters and awaited the easing of restrictions, David Graham of Ballygrant Inn on Islay saw this difficult time as a shining opportunity to help those in need. “At the start of the lockdown we…

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‘Drive through’ afternoon teas are here to stay

A HOTEL that launched “drive through” afternoon teas during the coronavirus lockdown has decided to keep running them because they proved so popular. The Stair Arms Hotel at Pathhead in Midlothian transformed an old shipping container into a hatch from which to serve its teas. Customers can order their afternoon tea over the phone and…

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A biscuit and a Blether

With the Corona virus lockdown causing a spike in loneliness, particularly amongst the retired population, Edinburgh charity project Vintage Vibes has launched a phone-based service to help vulnerable over-60s cope with self-isolation. Seniors who normally meet at least weekly with a dedicated volunteer will instead receive phone calls, with Vintage Vibes also extending the service…

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