Posts by Ellie Forbes
The Good Books, Jenny Colgan: ‘When I was six my parents found me reading a Dr Spock baby book’
The best selling rom-com author on reading parenting books as a child, why she recommends people read Middlemarch and her favourite books of the year. The first book I remember reading: Topsy and Tim. I wasn’t reading them, but apparently I’d learned them off by heart. My mum used to show off and pretend…
Read MoreRecipe: A Ledaig sour. The perfect palate cleanser from the Isle of Mull
The chef behind fine dining restaurant, An Cala Ciùin, on the Isle of Mull, has shared his recipe for the perfect palate cleanser. Ross Caithness is keen to showcases local produce on his menu and has worked with the island’s Tobermory Distillery, situated on the same street as the restaurant, to create his whisky sorbet.…
Read MoreWildcats: HRH The Princess Royal visits project to restore wildcats to Scotland
HRH The Princess Royal has visited the Saving Wildcats project to find out about the team trying to restore the Highland tiger to Scotland. The project, based at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Highland Wildlife Park, is working to save the cats which are one of the UK’s most endangered carnivores. The wildlife…
Read MoreThe Newport Restaurant: MasterChef winner announces closure amid soaring costs
MasterChef winner Jamie Scott has announced the closure of his Newport restaurant amid rising costs. Last year Jamie, who was crowned the BBC MasterChef Professionals winner in 2014, was awarded a coveted third AA Rosette for the restaurant in Fife. But now the chef has told customers the restaurant, which he opened with wife Kelly…
Read MoreIsle of Harris: Distillery releases four new batches of the long awaited Hearach whisky
Last year the first batches of the long awaited Isle of Harris whisky sold out in less than five hours – after more than 25,000 people queued online to get their hands on the dram. Now, whisky fans have another chance to get a bottle of the liquid gold, as the island distillery has released…
Read MoreBig Banana Feet: Lost Billy Connolly film comes to cinemas after being found on eBay
Nearly 50 years ago, Billy Connolly was in Northern Ireland filming Big Banana Feet. The edgy fly-on-the-wall documentary followed the comedian around the country’s volatile landscape at the height of the Troubles. It was a challenging filming process. Just three weeks before Connolly arrived three musicians of a popular cabaret band were shot and killed…
Read MoreRosebank Distillery: ‘King of the Lowlands’ ready to re-open with 100-year-old mill still used in whisky production
It was closed three decades ago in 1993, but now the ‘King of the Lowlands’, Rosebank Distillery is to reopen. The historic distillery has been brought back to life following a four year restoration project. Its landmark 108ft chimney stack has been repaired and continues to dominate Falkirk’s skyline. The original mill, thought to be…
Read MoreLife With the National Library of Scotland: ‘I have conserved incredible material from Jane Austen to Charles Darwin’
Conservator Claire Hutchison on having the patience to handle delicate archive material, working on a first edition of Darwin’s The Origin of Species, and safeguarding national collections. When I was a kid, I was very much into painting and drawing, but I didn’t know about conservation until I was at high school. I was lucky enough…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Neil Lancaster: ‘Ian Rankin is the master of Scottish fiction’
The retired Met police officer turned author on being inspired by Ian Rankin, John Niven’s heartbreaking memoir and Tony Kent as the British David Baldacci. The first book I remember reading: When I was about ten, my sister was doing her English O’Levels, and one of the books she was being forced to read…
Read MoreClydesdale horse Seamus returned to Scotland after being saved
When Clydesdale horse Seamus was found starving in a field with no grass, it was touch and go as to whether he would survive. The rare Scottish breed are usually associated with pulling heavy farm machinery, but Seamus was so weak he could barely carry himself. With bare patches of flesh where there should have…
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