Reviews: Madhouse

This play, Madhouse, was like being in a student house, chaotic and disruptive. The setting is a kitchen table and the themes explored include the usual travails of student life, pregnancy, sexual orientation confusion, debt, self harm and the ultimate crime of student communal living, sleeping with a fellow flat mate. At times amusing with…

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Mental health – from both sides of the table

Finding True North is an important book highlighting a topic that should be more widely discussed – mental health in adults. Author Linda Gask, who trained in medicine in Edinburgh, spent her career working as a consultant psychiatrist while also battling with her own mental health struggles. Gask’s wisdom and experience result in an insightful…

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A baker’s challenge to make bread for a whole year

When asking himself whether he was capable of baking enough bread to feed his family for a year, Robert Penn could never have predicted the adventure he was about to undertake. This book details his journey around the world as he learns how to grow and produce his family’s own bread. He ventured to Fertile…

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Coming to terms with a family past of slavery

Blood Legacy: Reckoning With A Family’s Story Of Slavery is a highly reflective book about how, by coming to terms with one’s past, we can advocate for a better future. Author Alex Renton explains how, rather than disinterested bystanders, the Scots were enthusiastic participants who were up to their oxters in slavery. Through tracking his…

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Review: Dare2B Aptile Hooded Softshell Jacket

Scottish Field reviews a new lightweight, water-resistant and highly breathable jacket. WHAT IS IT: Aptile Hooded Softshell Jacket Athletic Blue Ebony Grey. RRP: £70. www.dare2b.com I WANT IT BECAUSE:  This is marketed in Dare2Be’s activewear range but is actually a great-value all-rounder that works on the golf course, walking, cycling or just slouching around the house. USEFUL…

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Read our latest reviews from the Edinburgh Festivals

Edinburgh’s festivals are back with a bang in 2021, having been cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak in 2020. As ever, Scottish Field is out and about at various shows, and here we have collected our various reviews from shows in 2021. Madhouse Afterparty Love in the Time of Lockdown Looks Like We Made It…

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A light-hearted tale set in the Scottish Highlands

The Peacock is light-hearted read set in a dilapidated castle in the Highlands. Following a group of investment bankers who rent out a space for a weekend of team building, they find themselves at Lord and Lady McIntosh’s stately home. Slapstick humour reigns supreme as most of their plans go awry and new stumbling blocks…

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Review: The End of the Line

On reading the themes of The End of the Line before I went I felt I was about to enter the very throat of the dragon that is modern woke: divorce, loneliness of the young, eating disorder, therapy, reality over expectation etc. it was all there. How very, very wrong I was about my preconceived…

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Review: Ciara Harvie stars with silver screen songs

I have no idea what the typical congregation turnout for a Sunday at the beautiful St Cuthbert’s Church is but what I do know is word of Ciara Harvie has got out.  The number of attendees would be the envy of any clergyman. Ciara chose the theme of cinema songs set to her unique operatic…

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Review: Ciara Harvey stars with silver screen songs

I have no idea what the typical congregation turnout for a Sunday at the beautiful St Cuthbert’s Church is but what I do know is word of Ciara Harvie has got out.  The number of attendees would be the envy of any clergyman. Ciara chose the theme of cinema songs set to her unique operatic…

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