Posts by Ellie Forbes
The couple who gambled everything to become Wigtown bookshop owners
Joyce Cochrane had just discovered she was pregnant when she and her partner Ian gave up their jobs and moved from Edinburgh to revive a former bookshop in Wigtown. With no stock, no shelves in the shop, no accommodation and having no retail experience they were gambling everything on a dream. Now they are celebrating…
Read MoreTexas to headline Edinburgh’s Hogmanay
Texas have been unveiled as the headliners for this year’s Edinburgh Hogmanay concert. The band are returning to the world-famous event for the third time, having last performed at it in 2005, on the back of a recent run of sell-out arena shows. Performing below the stunning backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, the band will play…
Read MoreAlan Cumming named new artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Scottish actor Alan Cumming has been named as the new artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre. The actor, most recently famous for his hit role in The Traitors, made his professional theatre debut at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow 40 years ago. Later his Hamlet stormed the West End, and he was hailed as ‘an…
Read MoreLidl revive Scots Halloween tradition with first ever neep picking patch
Scotland’s first ever neep picking patch will open this year, reviving the dwindling tradition of crafting ‘tumshie lanterns’. Supermarket Lidl is calling on Scots to jack in the pumpkins this October by bringing the humble swede back to the forefront. Stewarts of Tayside, who supply Lidl, grows a huge 50 million neeps every year and…
Read MoreScottish artist Beth Robertson Fiddes on her latest exhibition: ‘I’ve always been fascinated with water’
Award-winning Scottish artist Beth Robertson Fiddes is opening a new exhibition at the Strathearn Gallery in Crieff. She has built a global following through her exceptional ability to paint the crashing waves and transparent rockpools of the Scottish Highlands, but it’s not been all plain-sailing in her search for inspiration. In the world…
Read MoreThe Good Books, J.D. Oswald: ‘Realising you can stop reading something you don’t enjoy and pick up something else is liberating’
J.D. Oswald on his memories of reading as a child, how he doesn’t enjoy Dickens and becoming addicted to audiobooks. The first book I remember reading: I devoured books from the moment I was first able to read them myself, having been read to by my parents from a very early age. I have…
Read MoreIncredible pictures revealing the life of women on Tiree over the last 100 years uncovered
Incredible pictures revealing the life of the women on the island of Tiree over the last 100 years will go on show for the first time. The images will be screened at the island’s Sea Change film festival, Scotland’s only annual celebration of women and film, later this month. Their stories have been taken from…
Read MoreShortlist announced for Bloody Scotland 2024 McIlvanney Prize
The shortlist for the 2024 McIlvanney Prize at Stirling’s crime writing festival has been revealed. The prestigious award, named in honour of the iconic late writer William McIlvanney, will be presented on 13 September – the opening night of Bloody Scotland. The shortlist includes Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre and Abir Mukherjee. D V Bishop and…
Read MoreLatest Scottish Ornithologists’ Club exhibition takes inspiration from Scotland’s wildlife
The Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC) has announced its latest exhibition with three wildlife artists. Highlands to Islands will feature the work of Chris Rose, John Threlfall and Tim Wootton, who take their inspiration from the landscapes and wildlife of the North East of Scotland and the Orkneys. The exhibition will run from 25 September to…
Read MoreScottish star Ewan McGregor to auction 150 bottles of whisky from his personal cask at Lochranza Distillery
Scottish star Ewan McGregor is set to auction 150 bottles of whisky from his own personal cask at Lochranza Distillery for charity. The rare 26 year old Arran Single Malt, matured in an ex-Sherry Hogshead cask, is one of the oldest whiskies ever produced by the distillery. McGregor first toasted the inaugural cask of the…
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