Posts Tagged ‘reviews’
A red refresher course with Lidl
An evening of red wine tasting gave Peter Ranscombe an appetite for exploring more of the discounter’s core range. LIDL’S “Wine Tour” promotions are an addictive wee gimmick – every eight weeks or so, the supermarket chain releases a couple of dozen wines in limited quantities – so when they’re gone, they’re gone. The set that…
Read MoreRum distillery prepares to release summer liqueurs
PAUL and Jacine Rutasikwa, the husband-and-wife team behind Matugga Distillers in Livingston, are getting ready to launch a pair of rum liqueurs. Their honey and lavender and raspberry and hibiscus flavours will go on sale next month. They’ll join the navy strength, pot distilled and black spiced rums in the company’s Liv range, which was…
Read MoreOne Year No Beer: a lockdown lifeline
Looking to change your relationship with alcohol? Peter Ranscombe reports on a Scottish firm’s online programme. FOR so many of us who have been staying safe at home with no exposure to the coronavirus, it’s been a lockdown of memes. Memes about face coverings, memes about zoom quizzes, memes about TikTok challenges. One set of…
Read MoreSeafood restaurant nets covid bank loan
ONDINE, one of Edinburgh’s best-known seafood restaurants, has landed a £50,000 bounce back loan from the UK Government. The loans, which were unveiled by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 27 April, are designed to help businesses to recover from the coronavirus lockdowns. The 80-seat restaurant has continued to serve local customers through its “Ondine At Home”…
Read MoreThe secret gardening life of Beatrix Potter
This delightfully illustrated book reveals a little known aspect of Beatrix Potter’s life. She was a gardening enthusiast and how her evident appreciation and knowledge of gardening informed her work. McDowell writes beautifully, painting a charming portrait of Beatrix Potter and her garden at Hill Top Farm through the seasons. Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life, by…
Read MoreA stunning look at the beautiful Hebrides
Hebrides is a beautiful book of narrative extracts from Peter May’s bestselling trilogy. The text features alongside specially commissioned photographs by David Wilson depicting the eerie mists, abandoned buildings and dramatic lighting of the Outer Hebrides. This book allows fans of May’s Lewis trilogy to experience the land that gave the writing and his characters…
Read MoreFascinating look at the 14th Duke of Hamilton
Scottish amateur boxing champion, Unionist MP, participant in the first flight over Mount Everest, the 14th Duke of Hamilton was an adventurous and popular man. But when World War II loomed, Hamilton was embroiled in an escalating rumour that he was a crypto-Facist. Mark Peel rectifies these slanders in this fascinating and detailed biography. The…
Read MorePolitics, myths and Scottish independence
Bannockburns is an intelligently written and rigorously researched book revealing how much the political is entwined with the literary imagination. Crawford uses Scotland’s myths and stories to shed light upon the romance behind the nation’s bid for independence. The 2014 Referendum, Crawford points out, coincided ‘mischievously’ with the 700th anniversary of the Scots victory at…
Read MoreFantastic fourth in Edinburgh crime series
Nor Will He Sleep is the fourth instalment of the Inspector McLevy series, adapted from the BBC Radio 4 series. This is an accomplished murder mystery which effortlessly paints a vivid picture of the dark and often savage streets of Edinburgh in 1887. This story buzzes with a fascinating array of dastardly and heroic characters.…
Read MoreRomance, politics intrigue and crime in Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Yuletide 1743, and Redcoat officer Robert Catto would rather be anywhere else on earth than Scotland. Seconded back from the wars in Europe to captain the city’s Town Guard, he fears his covert mission to assess the strength of the Jacobite threat will force him to confront the past he tries so hard to…
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