Posts by happyfieldsadmin
Review: Scottish Opera, The Strauss Collection
Lisa Simonis is transported back in time to a romantic past at Edinburgh’s historic Usher Hall for the latest performance from Scottish Opera. Scottish Opera’s The Strauss Collection presented a repertoire of extracts from Richard Strauss’s operas with libretti by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The stellar programme included pieces from three operas: Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne…
Read MoreGirls on Hills: ‘Solo female travel and adventure tourism is growing in Scotland’
For International Women’s Day, Girls on Hills talk to us about how solo female travel and adventure tourism is growing in Scotland, reflecting female empowerment trends. As 2025 gets underway, the adventure travel landscape in Scotland is undergoing significant transformation, and it’s one that mirrors global trends and has women at the helm. Solo…
Read MoreHamish Martin: ‘Nettle is fundamental to these lands’
This month gardening columnist Hamish Martin explains why nettle is so important to these lands. There is a visible excitement within me when the first nettles start to appear as they always fill my heart with joy, usually indicating that we have definitely arrived in Spring and that I can start to feed my body with the…
Read More100 years forgotten: The mystery of Scottish sailors’ bottled message in Australia
Down under in Australia, The Moruya and District Historical Society publishes a weekly column looking back on life 100 years ago. The gems they find in the Moruya Examiner are varied in their interest, as the news cycle ebbed and flowed in the past just like it does today. But every so often, a diamond…
Read MoreAD: Navigating Scotland’s Used Car Market in 2025: Trends, Models, and Smart Buying Strategies
Sponsored content | Purchasing a used vehicle is a financially sound decision, but it requires a thorough understanding of market trends, regulatory developments, and best buying practices. In Scotland, the used car market is shaped by factors such as supply chain constraints, economic fluctuations, and environmental policies. This guide provides a comprehensive analysis of the…
Read MoreArt Review: Murray Robertson at Glasgow Print Studio
Lisa Simonis heads to Glasgow Print Studio to see the latest work from printmaker Murray Robertson. Entering Murray Robertson’s latest exhibition feels like stepping into a living, breathing, human-sized world atlas. His impressive cartography and exceptional eye for detail makes Robertson’s work feel lived-in. But at the same time, it feels futuristic, like an archaeological post-apocalyptic…
Read MoreTributes paid to Scottish crime writer Denzil Meyrick who has died aged 59
The bestselling author Denzil Meyrick has died, aged 59, peacefully at his home in Loch Lomond, his agent and publisher have announced. Denzil Meyrick, who was born in Glasgow on November 28, 1965 and brought up in Campbeltown, became one of Scotland’s biggest-selling crime writers, and spent a varied career as a police officer, a…
Read MoreReview: Hotel du Vin, Newcastle
Alister Tenneb enjoyed a weekend get-a-way at the glamorous Hotel du Vin in the bustling city of Newcastle. Less than a three hour drive from Scotland’s central belt Newcastle is an excellent weekend break destination for those heading south of the border. Perhaps it’s the city’s relative isolation from other large ones that gives…
Read MoreLocals save 150-year-old Scottish Oakbank Hotel on shores of the Holy Loch
Campaigners in Sandbank are celebrating after being awarded a grant to fund a community buy-out of their local pub, the Oakbank Hotel. The amount of £147,411 awarded to the Oakbank Community Inn Sandbank (OCIS) group by the Scottish Land Fund will finance the purchase of the pub with an additional fundraising campaign through a share…
Read MoreReview: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Fiona Tenneb heads to Edinburgh Playhouse to see Donny Osmond in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Playhouse proved to be an unforgettable evening of music, dance, and hilarity, elevated to new heights by none other than Donny Osmond’s electrifying performance as Pharaoh. From the very…
Read More