Jackie Bird helps pupils with time travel

TELEVISION presenter Jackie Bird helped pupils travel back in time at one of the National Trust for Scotland’s (NTS’s) properties. Bird, who is president of the NTS, joined children from St Vincent’s Primary School when they visited Pollok House to take part in a trial of “Timesliders”, the trust’s new education programme. She helped pupils…

Read More

Dundee: ‘Lights! Music! Space!’

A NEW show inspired by space will have its premier in Dundee this spring. The concert – called “The Science Fiction Experience” – will feature an array of visual effects, a bespoke light show, and a professional rock band. Gardyne Theatre will play host to the immersive event, produced by local writer David Darling. The…

Read More

Book review: ‘Nala’s World’

Nala’s World Dean Nicholson Hachette Children’s Group NEARLY everyone with internet access has likely heard the adorable story of how Dunbar-born Dean Nicholson discovered and adopted the adorably bedraggled kitten on his world cycle route from Montenegro to Bosnia. Adults interested in Dean and Nala’s story can follow them on their various social media channels…

Read More

Book Review: ‘Annie’s Boy’

Annie’s Boy Gary Todd New Holland Publishers [review rating=”4″ align = “left”] A WELL-KNOWN name in the boxing world, Gary Todd lets the reader get up close and personal, not dodging any blows in his new memoir, Annie’s Boy. Telling the story of his earlier days, over a span of 15 years, he focuses on…

Read More

Scotland’s ‘ice age’ pinewoods on knife-edge

THE remnants of the Caledonian pinewoods could be wiped out within a generation, according to a study unveiled today. Four years of analysis by conservation charity Trees for Life – the first major research into Caley pines for more than 60 years – found that “high deer numbers, spread of non-native conifers, lack of long-term…

Read More

Buccleuch selling more of Langholm Moor

ESTATE owner Buccleuch revealed this morning that it will sell more of Langholm Moor next month. Oxygen Conservation, which already owners land around the Firth of Tay, will buy 11,390 acres of moor around Blackburn and Hartsgarth. The organisation aims to demonstrate that environmental conservation can also deliver social and economic benefits for local communities.…

Read More

DUCK & WAFFLE: An exclusive look at Edinburgh’s newest eatery

She may have loved London’s sky-high Duck & Waffle restaurant, but what did Chief Sub Rosie Morton make of Auld Reekie’s new ‘gastro diner’? THE first time I visited London’s Duck & Waffle restaurant, it felt like a real occasion. Certainly, the impressive 40th floor ‘gastro diner’ at 110 Bishopsgate felt a far cry from…

Read More

Cairngorms star in new Markus Stitz bike film

A NEW film about a 165-mile bike journey through the Cairngorms has been released online for free. The film, made by biking veteran and author Markus Stitz, documents the connection between the environment of the national park and its residents, along with the businesses they run. “Home Is Where The Trails Take You” captures a…

Read More

City gardeners asked to spot mammals

HAVE you spotted rabbits, foxes, or other mammals in your urban garden? If so then the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) wants to hear from you. The charity is gathering reports of sightings, footprints, and droppings from gardens, allotments, parks, playing fields, cemetries, and other public spaces. Its data will help with conservation work…

Read More

Fred Olsen passengers report 4,400 wildlife sightings

PASSENGERS aboard Fred Olsen cruise ships recorded 4,400 wildlife sightings last year. The most frequent species spotted was – appropriately – the common dolphin, which was sighted 296 times, reaching 1,996 individual dolphins. Other creatures reported during cruises included humpback whales, orca, a blue whale, and even the deepest-diving animal, the elusive Cuvier’s beaked whale,…

Read More