Butchers are a cut above the rest

SCOTTISH butchers are celebrating after scooping prizes at the industry’s annual training awards. Ariane Bennett, 19, who works for her family’s Arbroath butchers D H Robertson, won the “SVQ Level 2 Apprentice Of The Year Award”. Newly-qualified butcher Michael Carrubba of Minicks of St Andrews took the “SVQ Level 3 Apprentice Of The Year” title.…

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Sheila Fleet Jewellery team raises ÂŁ5,000 for charity

THE team at Sheila Fleet Jewellery on Orkney has raised more than ÂŁ5,000 for Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland (PCAS) by “travelling” nearly 1,300 miles to and from Glasgow. To clock up the miles, the team walked, ran, cycled and rowed around its island base. Members of the team “set off” on 1 November – the…

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Review: ‘Sittingsuits you, sir!’

Elis Elliot climbs inside a Sittingsuit to put the ‘sleeping bag you can wear’ through its paces. TIME spent in the great outdoors has always been instrumental in improving our physical and mental health, but that’s never been more important than it is right now. As the seasons change and we are forced to socialise…

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Estates vow to continue wildlife scheme

SCOTTISH estates have vowed to continue expanding an international wildlife and habitat accreditation scheme beyond the UK’s European Union (EU) transition. Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES), which builds information on species and land use to improve Scotland’s biodiversity, is based on a European scheme used in 19 countries. WES is celebrating its tenth birthday this month…

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Peebles Hydro Hotel welcomes Pure Spa

SPA operator Pure has taken over the facilities at Peebles Hydro Hotel. An extra treatment room is being added and the beds and equipment in the spa are being upgraded. The hotel, which is accepting spa booking from 1 December, also has a swimming pool, steam room, sauna, and Jacuzzi. Stephen Leckie, chairman and chief…

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Wee Smoky – a whisky for people who don’t like whisky

WHISKY industry veteran Rory Gammell has launched a bottle of Scotch – for people who don’t like whisky. Wee Smoky is made by ageing single grain whisky in a cask that used to hold peated single malt. Gammell describes the result as “smooth, fruity, and lightly smoky”. His initial run of 400 bottles went on…

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Sir James MacMillan marks Eric Liddell Centre’s 40th anniversary

COMPOSER Sir James MacMillan will take part in an online broadcast next week to mark the 40th anniversary of the Eric Liddell Centre in Edinburgh. The centre is a care charity and community hub, providing specialist dementia support together with a carers programme and befriending service. Sir James’s younger brother, John, is chief executive at…

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‘What a beast!’ When crofting goes hi-tech

A CROFTER on the Isle of Lewis is celebrating the difference modern technology has made to him and his neighbours. Donald MacSween, who gave up a job with the local council to become a crofter, won the use of a telehandler for free for a year as part of The Prince’s Countryside Fund’s New Holland…

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Artists set to benefit from online auction

BORDERS auction house Brown & Turner will help 24 contemporary artists target the Christmas shopping market tomorrow through a special online auction. Seventy pieces will be auctioned, including two portraits by Berwickshire artist Gill Walton, oil paintings by Kelso artist Neville Storer, mixed media works by East Lothian artist Julie Barnes, and two pieces by…

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Rural gift card launched

MORE than 120 businesses have signed up to accept a new rural gift card. The Rural Enterprise Directory Scotland (REDS) gift card has been launched by Perthshire-based enterprise support firm GrowBiz. Jackie Brierton, chief executive at GrowBiz, said: “Scotland’s micro-enterprises form the backbone of our rural economy and the REDS card is designed to encourage…

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