Posts Tagged ‘Scotland’
Boo bags biggest fags haul in Scotland
SNIFFER dog Boo has set a record for the most illegal cigarettes seized by a trading standards team in Scotland. East Ayrshire Council teamed up with the police to raid three premises in Kilmarnock. Boo sniffed out 447,000 cigarettes, worth an estimated £134,000. Training for Boo, a three-year-old Labrador-German Wirehaired Pointer cross, was funded by…
Read MoreSt Leonards School celebrates exam results
PUPILS at St Leonards School in St Andrews are celebrating this week after receiving their International Baccalaureate (IB) results. The independent school set a record average points score of 36, out of a possible 45 points. More than a quarter of its leavers scored 40 points or higher, placing them in the top 7% of…
Read MoreJousting sells out at Linlithgow Peel
LINLITHGOW Peel hosted its first jousting tournament over the weekend since the start of the pandemic. Organiser Historic Environment Scotland (HES) all of its tickets for the show, which is part of the public body’s summer events programme. Caerlaverock Castle in Dumfries, which is also managed by HES, will host a jousting tournament on 30…
Read MoreWhy do authors use pen names?
THE reasons why writers use pen names is the theme for a new exhibition at the National Library of Scotland. “Pen Names” opens at the library on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh on Friday. The exhibition draws on material from the library’s archive to cover a range of writers using pseudonyms from the 1800s to…
Read MoreFrankie Boyle on debut novel shortlist
COMEDIAN Frankie Boyle is among six writers shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. The debut award was launched in 2019, with two of its previous winners – Claire Askew and Deborah Masson – going on to make the longlist for this year’s main McIlvanney Prize. The judges for this year’s debut prize are Arusa…
Read MoreOrkney and Cairngorms to host outdoor art
ORKNEY and the Cairngorms have been selected to host “Green Space Dark Skies“, a series of massive outdoor artworks. Volunteers – including paddleboarders and kayakers – are being recruited to hold lights in the Cairngorms national park on 11 August. Residents on North Ronaldsay will hold lights on 16 August to form astronomical symbols and…
Read MoreRare Coralroot Orchid found in Wester Ross
A RARE Coralroot Orchid has been found in Wester Ross for the first time in 250 years. The orchid was spotted earlier this month on on the National Trust for Scotland’s Balmacara Estate during a visit by conservation land managers from the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest. Gus Routledge, an ecologist representing Reforesting Scotland and Scotland…
Read MoreGordonstoun pupils wins national photo contest
A PHOTOGRAPH of a red deer stag has won Gordonstoun pupil Olivia Barnett first prize in a national competition. Her photograph had already won the local and district stages of the contest, which was organised by the Rotary Club of Great Britain & Ireland. Olivia, who is in her final year at the Moray school,…
Read MoreTourism bookings hit by cost-of-living crisis
HALF of Scottish tourism businesses are reporting fewer bookings and lower spending by customers, according to a new surey. The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) found 50% of members have fewer bookings between June and August this year than during the same period in 2019. The same proportion reported a fall in consumer spending this year…
Read MoreRoyal Highland Show sells out two days
THE Royal Highland Show has sold all its tickets for Friday and Saturday. The show, which begins on Thursday, is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. It will be the first time crowds have been allowed to attend the show at Ingliston on the edge of Edinburgh since 2019 due to the pandemic. Director operations…
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