Scottish Fiddle Orchestra eyes Usher Hall Hogmanay

THE Scottish Fiddle Orchestra will return to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on 30 December for its “Hogmanay Celebration”. Gary Innes, presenter of BBC Radio Scotland’s Take The Floor, will be the evening’s compere – and might bring his accordion. Blair Parham will conduct the orchestra, which has been promoting traditional Scottish music for more than 40…

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Culloden scholar Dr Christopher Duffy has died

THE death has been announced of Dr Christopher Duffy, a former chair of the 1745 Association, and researcher into the Battle of Culloden. Duffy studied history at Balliol College in Oxford, graduating with first-class honours, and went on to complete his doctorate. He taught military history at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and at…

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Bugsy Malone the musical opens in Edinburgh

ACCLAIMED production Bugsy Malone, based on the iconic 1976 prohibition era film, opened at The Edinburgh Playhouse last night. After a successful run of shows at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal, audiences in the Scottish capital are now being given the chance to see the world-famous musical and its cast of young performers on stage. This is…

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Scottish Book Week begins with animal vote

SCOTTISH Book Week gets underway today, with readers having until midnight to vote for their favourite animal in fiction. The chimpanzees at Edinburgh Zoo have even got in on the act, with characters including Gnasher, Paddington, and Tigger competing for the title. The winning animal will be named later this week. Marc Lambert, chief executive…

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REVIEW: “Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)”

Kenny Smith sort of reviews Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) in Glasgow. I NEVER could nor would claim to be an expert on the works of Jane Austen. To the best of my knowledge, I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice, although I do recall seeing short excerpts in television adaptations, but I do know the…

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Airships could fly in Highlands and islands

AIRSHIPS could soon be flying over the Highlands and islands following the launch today of a concept study. Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has teamed up with Highlands & Islands Airports (HIAL) to investigate if its Airlander 10 airships could be used to carry passengers and freight. The airship, which uses technology from aeroplanes and helicopters,…

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Lights! Camera! Winton!

WINTON Castle in East Lothian has hosted its first film shoot. Heehaw, an Edinburgh-based production company, spent two weeks filming at the castle. The as-yet untitled film is due to be released next year. It wasn’t Heehaw’s first visit to the castle though – its team enjoyed its second post-lockdown staff party there over the…

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Roxy’s Coffee & Tea House in Oban launches baking book

ONE of Oban’s most famous cafés has launched its first baking book, Roxy’s Cake & Bake. Donna MacCulloch, owner of Roxy’s Coffee & Tea House, said: “Over the years of running Roxy’s with my husband, Archie, I’ve had customers asking me for my recipes and telling me that if I had a book they would…

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Peter Capaldi narrates ‘Riverwoods’ tonight on 5Select

THE relationship between Scotland’s fish and forests will be explored tonight in Riverwoods, a documentary on 5Select narrated by actor Peter Capaldi. Riverwoods, which took three years to produce, was made by Mat Larkin, head of filmmaking at Scotland: The Big Picture. “Over many centuries, the loss of natural woodlands alongside rivers has profoundly changed…

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Drinks news round-up: Barra, Curling, and more

Peter Ranscombe serves up another helping of drinks news. ISLE of Barra distillery has unveiled the new bottle for its Atlantic gin. The bottle is made from 78% recycled glass, meaning no two bottles will look the same. The company is also cutting its supply chain’s carbon footprint by selecting Allied Glass to make the…

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