Spirit of Speyside whisky honour for the Benromach

Benromach 10 Years Old has been crowned the winner in the 12 Years & Under category at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards 2019. The annual competition seeks out the best whiskies from Scotland’s most prolific whisky-producing region. Just two finalists are selected in each category during a blind taste challenge held by the judging…

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How the Romans tried to keep the Scots out

People have been building boundary walls to keep their enemies out for millennia. In the 3rd century BC work began on the Great Wall of China as a defence from the Mongols. Famous modern day examples include the Berlin Wall, dividing the communist east from our allies in West Germany, and the current West Bank…

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Plenty at steak when you dine at Hawksmoor

Despite its vast scale, Hawksmoor feels friendly and relaxed. We started with the comforting potted beef and bacon and hand-dived scallops, but the menu centres around steak, so when in Rome… The fillet was tender and cooked to perfection even if it did look lonely on the plate at £34. The rib-eye came in at an only slightly less…

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Studio prepares host new display of print art

The Glasgow Print Studio is set to open a new exhibition this Friday. Among those displaying their work are Timorous Beasties, Martin Boyce, Annis Fitzhugh, Claire Forsyth, Michael Fullerton, Ilana Halperin, Jim Lambie, John Mackechnie, Scott Myles, Jim Pattison, Toby Paterson, Ciara Phillips, Carol Rhodes, Murray Robertson, Lucy Skaer, Tony Swain, Jane and Louise Wilson,…

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Scots vegan cheese firm looking to global expansion

Food demands and tastes are changing in the 21st century, as more and more people change to vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. Organic artisan vegan cheesemaker, Nutcrafter Creamery, is now looking to expand globally, following its move to new, bigger premises at Riverside Inverclyde’s Kelburn Business Park in Port Glasgow. Nutcrafter Creamery, set up by husband…

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Famous Scots painting returns to its homeland

One of Scotland’s most impressive paintings has returned home to Scotland after a spell in the Netherlands. The National Trust for Scotland’s Fyvie Castle after a successful stint at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam where it was viewed by almost a quarter of a million people. The life-size Pompeo Batoni portrait of Colonel William Gordon (1736-1816)…

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Glad we booked….

Saturday May 21st…As revenge for dragging her to a Fleet Foxes concert Mrs A kindly took me to see Romeo & Juliet last night, a first class Danish production but the populus of Dunfermline must have different things to do on a Friday night. Cool but fair here today, horses working on the riverbank and the…

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Hello again

Last week I packed may family up and we headed into the wilds of Highland Perthshire for a family break. Ignoring gloomy weather men, predicting gales and copious rainfall, I took the kids cycles and promised them we would have fun no matter what the weather. Well I needn’t have worried, Scotland came up trumps…

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