Swimmer tells pupils to mix sport and studies

A SWIMMING champion has advised young people to combine sport with their studies during a visit to his old school. Tobermory Mackay-Champion, who hails from Clathy near Crieff, graduated from the University of Oxford this month with a first-class undergraduate master’s degree in earth sciences. He holds eight Oxford swimming records and is the British…

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Whisky casks go digital

RESEARCHERS at the University of Strathclyde have developed a computer simulation to help whisky distillers fill their casks without spilling any spirit. As well as the computer program, the engineers built a cask-filling test rig and achieved 99% consistency when filling a 200-litre cask in less than one minute. Inconsistent cask filling can lead to too…

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Online gigs from stunning locations

SOME of Scotland’s best-known locations will form the backdrop for a series of performances on the new “Music Is The Answer” Youtube channel. The Forth Bridge, the Glenfinnan Viaduct and McCaig’s Tower at Oban are just some of the sites that will play host to artists including Be Charlotte, Luke La Volpe, and Oakzy B…

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Authors pick top lockdown crime novels

Ahead of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, which begins online on 18 September, authors Alex Gray and Gordon Brown – who writes as Morgan Cry – pick their favourite lockdown books. Alex Gray Three books that were really good during lockdown days include Kate Atkinson’s Big Sky. A terrific read, thoroughly enjoyable, beautifully written and quirky.…

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Edinburgh’s Saughton Park turns even greener

A PUBLIC park in Edinburgh has turned even greener after installing a hydro-electric scheme and two ground-source heat pumps to power and warm its buildings. Carbon dioxide emissions from Saughton Park are expected to be cut by the equivalent of 90 tonnes thanks to the new equipment. City of Edinburgh Council will also cut its…

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V&A names new Dundee director

V&A Dundee has unveiled Leonie Bell as its new director. Bell joins Scotland’s first design museum from Renfrewshire Council, where she was the strategic lead for its Future Paisley Partnership. She replaces Philip Long, who has taken over as chief executive at the National Trust for Scotland. Bell began her career at Glasgow 1999: UK…

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Edinburgh’s first contactless open-air market

STOCKBRIDGE will host Edinburgh’s first contactless open-air market, with stalls including Bross Bagels, Edinburgh Gin and Luca’s ice cream. The Neighbourgood Market is due to open at The Grange Club on Portgower Place on 15 July. One-way routes and designated circular seating zones for small groups will be put in place. Partnerships have been agreed…

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Scotland is ‘king’ of sustainable prawns

A FARM in Stirlingshire that rears king prawns is selling its crustacean direct to the public for the first time. Balfron-based Great British Prawns, which opened last year, will harvest its warm water Litopenaeus vannamei each week and delivery them via courier to most parts of the UK – but not the Highlands and islands…

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City dwellers eye farms in search of ‘The Good Life’

URBANITES have spent lockdown dreaming of a move to the countryside, according to figures from an estate agent. Savills said that the number of searches on its website for rural properties have jumped by 50% since March. The firm also carried out a survey, which found a village or country location is now more attractive…

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Belhaven Hill School unveils new leadership team

BELHAVEN Hill School in Dunbar has made four senior appointments as it prepares for the arrival of new headteacher Olly Langton. John Marriott, currently the school’s director of studies, becomes deputy head (academic), while head of maths Katie Gale becomes deputy head (pastoral). Anna McGrath, previously resident house tutor and director of drama at Fettes…

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