Scottish fish skins turned into ‘leather’ wallets

FISH skins from Dunkeld Smokehouse are being turned into wallets to raise money for wild salmon conservation. Antonia Gillett, 28, has opened Felsie, which is the UK’s first dedicated fish skin “tannery”. Gillett is turning the left-over fish skins with the scales removed into a “leather”, from which she then makes wallets and cardholders. She…

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‘Hummingbird’ flocks to Scotland

THE number of hummingbird hawkmoths spotted in Scotland has soared, according to new figures. The moths were reported in 1.2% of Scottish gardens last month, more than three times the season’s average. The British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO’s) Garden BirdWatch survey found the figure hit 5.2% across the UK as a whole, compared to 1.3%…

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Scottish Pipe Band Championships hit high note

ORGANISERS hailed Saturday’s Scottish Pipe Band Championships at Levengrove Park in Dumbarton as the “best ever” Some 20,000 spectators flocked for the first staging of the event since the pandemic began. A total of 117 bands gathered for the championships, with pipers travelling from as far away as Australia and Texas. Field Marshal Montgomery from…

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Fancy owning a 40 million year old crocodile?

THE fossil of a 40 million-year-old crocodile is coming up for auction next week in Glasgow. The ancient croc is one of nearly 200 fossils going under the hammer at McTear’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” auction on 10 August. The collection as assembled by a retired geologist based in the Highlands. It includes a fossilised crocodilian…

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Look out for shelduck feathers at the beach

SCIENTISTS are asking visitors to beaches to look out for shelduck feathers this summer. Shelduck replace their feathers by moutling over the summer. They can’t fly for between two and four weeks, and so need to find safe places to moult. British shelduck either moult on mudflats in the UK or fly across the North…

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Luxury jeweller Laings names new director

LAINGS has unveiled Brian Nelson as its new retail director. Nelson will be in charge of the jewellery chain’s shops in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Southampton, as well as its Omega watches showroom in Wales. He will also look after the company’s website and will be involved in the opening of its flagship showroom in…

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