Reviews
MacCrimmon pipes up for a fun children’s book
Young MacCrimmon and the Silver Chanter is a comical children’s story tells the story of a piping school and the struggle of a young pupil, Donald MacCrimmon, to master the instrument. When a Fairy Queen steps into help, she does so with a warning, presenting Donald with a life changing dilemma. Based on the tales…
Read MoreRestaurant on Calton Hill worth a Lookout
I have a list of 30 go-to Edinburgh restaurants of all hues for when friends come to visit the city. I’ll go through phases when a particular establishment pushes my buttons (current favourites: The Little Chart Room on Leith Walk, and The White Horse on the Canongate), but for many months now my consistent –…
Read MoreA passionate affair in The Sound of the Hours
Occupation during the Second World War in Barga, Tuscany, turns plans for the future of 17-year-old Vita on their head, in The Sound of the Hours by Karen Campbell. The arrival of Frank Chapel, a young black US soldier, finds the Scottish-Italian heroine falling deeply in love. The vividly portrayed characters embark on a passionate…
Read MoreThe Exorcist can still provide its share of shocks
On its original cinematic release, The Exorcist became one of the most shocking films of the 1970s. Whilst it’s hard to replicate 1973 sensibilities in 2019, The Excorcist stage production, currently at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, still manages to pull of a few moments that make it uncomfortable viewing. But let’s rewind a little.…
Read MoreYou can have your Cake – and read it
Refrigerator Cake is an enjoyable, humorous and contemporary collection of short stories from young Falkirk-based author, Dickson Telfer. With subject matter which guides the reader through subjects as diverse as teaching the class from hell to a 92-year-old man’s quest for peace, this is not one for the fainthearted, but Telfer’s humour will resonate with…
Read MoreA handy guide to walking Fife’s Pilgrim Way
Officially opened in July 2019, the Fife Pilgrim Way has two starting points, the first in Culross and the second in North Queensferry. From these towns the path snakes its way across Fife to the ancient city of St Andrews, following in the footsteps of our medieval predecessors. In this essential companion, Ian Bradley brings…
Read MoreThree women, their lives and relationships
Lyn Miller explores the relationship between three women as they support each other through major life challenges. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the central female characters – there’s Marion, a single mum and Edinburgh GP; Nyaga, a nurse missing her home in Botswana; and Rose, Marion’s daughter who recently started…
Read MoreHistoric importance of the Honours of Scotland
Dating back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Scotland’s crown jewels have survived a turbulent past on their journey to the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle, where they are currently on display. Now the dramatic story of the Honours of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny has been updated and revised in this attractively presented…
Read MoreWhen the Romans came to Scotland
For anyone who has an interest in classical history and literature, or in the foundations of Scotland, this book is remarkably insightful. The author describes the Roman presence in ‘Caledonia’ (as Scotland was known then) in great depth. Drawing on literary evidence from the ancient historian Tacitus, Forder works with primary sources while casting a…
Read MoreHamish Macbeth’s 30th case is another success
Hamish Macbeth has an iPad and an espresso machine . But don’t worry, he still doesn’t have a girlfriend. On his 30th outing, we find the laconic Highland detective happy as ever with his pet cat and dog in his beloved Lochdubh. But like Midsomer Murders, it is not long before the bodies begin to pile…
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