Dog days with sports broadcaster Andrew Cotter

‘Olive leapt onto one of the luggage trolleys and we were able to wheel her, like a midsized suitcase, to the lifts. What’s more, she seemed to enjoy the process, moving along in a stately fashion past the hotel manager, who forced a tolerant smile.’ And just like that, Cotter, Olive and Mabel have been…

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Boswell Book Festival unveils opening night guests

There’s less than two months to go until the Boswell Book Festival returns. Organisers are currently finalising the festival programme – the world’s only festival of biography and autobiographies – for their return to Dumfries House in East Ayrshire over the weekend of 13-15 May. On the opening night, guests will include sports broadcaster and…

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Find a better you with Scotland as inspiration

Who needs a gym when you have Scotland? That’s the message the back page of The Kilted Coaches: How to Stick to the Damn Plan, as it encourages people to get fit using the country’s natural resources. The pair behind this book know what they’re talking about, having created hundreds of videos, garnered thousands of…

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Carbon credit trading guide for agriculture

A newly published interim guide will help landlords and tenants of agricultural holdings benefit from and avoid potential pitfalls around carbon credit trading. The climate emergency has created the rapidly emerging market in carbon trading where certain activities which remove carbon from the atmosphere can be sold on or used to offset other emissions. Reports…

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Aye Write and Wee Write book festivals return this spring

The Aye Write book festival will this year return to its home of Glasgow’s Mitchell Library. There will be a live programme of events to be held across three weekends, between 6-22 May, whilst Wee Write, the book festival for children and young people, runs at the earlier time of 25-30 April. Aye Write and…

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The importance of faith in wartime Clydebank

The incredible use of descriptive language in Michael Cannon’s fifth novel paints an outstanding picture of  community life at Glasgow’s docklands during the early part of the Second World War. This novel examines the impact of faith and fanaticism on a community beleaguered by war. Articles of Faith follows the fortunes of Campbell and Gig,…

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A novel reflecting the troubles of a small town life

Out of university and out of luck, Ben Hamilton moves back in with his parents to stack shelves at the local supermarket. There he meets a group of friends and quickly finds himself dragged into secrecy, heavy drinking, and a violent feud. Trouble flares as the boys test the limits of their own behaviour, small-town…

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The last man to die for the Jacobite cause

Had Doctor Archibald Cameron had his way, there would probably have been no last Jacobite Rising in 1745. His life is one of nobility and high adventure featuring buried treasure, treachery and clan feuds. It is thrilling and tragic. This is wonderfully detailed social history of Dr Cameron, the last man to die for the…

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The intriguing stories of an Edinburgh landmark

Calton Hill: Journeys and Evocations is an interesting collection of history and folklore on one of Edinburgh’s most famous landmarks. Told by means of prose, poetry, photography and history, this is not a guide book for the casual tourist. There are plenty of images to highlight the tales, although the monochrome format is unusually dated…

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A complete history of the beautiful town of Hawick

Hawick: A History From Earliest Times truly covers the history of Hawick, taking the reader right back to pre-history. Alistair Moffat takes the narrative much further back into the mists of prehistory, to the time of the Romans, the coming of the Angles and the Normans. He recounts how Hawick got its name, where the…

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