Culture
Wigtown Book Festival gets underway with The Hebridean Baker, Sue Lawrence and Irvine Welsh
Scotland’s National Book Town will burst into life with the start of the annual Wigtown Book Festival this week. Well-known names at this year’s event include poet Pam Ayres, The Hebridean Baker Coinneach MacLeod, food legend Sue Lawrence, Scotland’s National Chef Gary MacLean, Former BBC Moscow correspondent Martin Sixsmith, author Irvine Welsh. There will also…
Read MoreHidden still life discovered on reverse of portrait painting by Scottish colourist George Leslie Hunter
A hidden still life discovered on the reverse of a portrait painting by Scottish colourist George Leslie Hunter is going under the hammer for the first time. Portrait of John Ressich, by Hunter, has been held in a private collection for generations. The still life on the back of the painting was only discovered when…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Jenni Fagan: ‘I found Alice Walker at a really pivotal moment in my reading life’
Author and poet Jenni Fagan on finding her love of reading as a child, being inspired by Alice Walker and the book she always recommends. The first book I remember reading: I was reading from a really early age, I remember being in class when I was five years old and being so annoyed…
Read MoreLife on Our Planet in Concert: Netflix show comes to Glasgow with Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The groundbreaking Netflix show Life on Our Planet will come to life on the big screen alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra next month. The Netflix show, of the same name and was narrated by Morgan Freeman, tells the story of life unfolding through its most pivotal moments – from the first single-celled life form…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Angie Spoto: ‘I re-read The Hobbit and fell in love with it all over again’
Angie Spoto on the book she recommends to everyone, reading the books of her childhood to her son, and her favourite place to read. The first book I remember reading: Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of Rings – I read them so fast when I was a kid. I couldn’t get enough of…
Read MoreRenowned Scottish artist Will Maclean exhibits new work in Ullapool
As part of Ullapool’s inaugural Art Week, renowned Scottish artist Will Maclean is exhibiting new works under the title of Ghost Boats in the Ceilidh Place Bookshop Porch. Jon Miller explores this incredible work which looks into Scotland’s relationship with the sea. The history of the Highlands and the west coast are often a…
Read MoreThe 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 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 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…
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