Ten great Scottish films to get you through lockdown

With Scotland under lockdown, we’re all looking for ways to pass our time – today we recommend 10 great films set in our country. Over the past year, we’ve seen Netflix’s Outlaw King take prominence and gain a cult following, while Mary QUeen of Scots was another hit. With TV series like Outlander, our country…

Read More

Pupils booked up for an exciting train journey

Pupils at a Scots school received a visit from the authors of an exciting new book. Prior to schools closing with the coronavirus pandemic, more than 150 East Lothian school children listened to bestselling and award-winning author Maya Leonard and her co-author Sam Sedgeman talk about their brand new book, Adventures on Trains: The Highland…

Read More

Politics, myths and Scottish independence

Bannockburns is an intelligently written and rigorously researched book revealing how much the political is entwined with the literary imagination. Crawford uses Scotland’s myths and stories to shed light upon the romance behind the nation’s bid for independence. The 2014 Referendum, Crawford points out, coincided ‘mischievously’ with the 700th anniversary of the Scots victory at…

Read More

Luxury city living within a sought-after secluded setting

AMA Homes has reveal its latest luxury development, Pavilion. It has been designed by RIBA House of the Year award-winners, Richard Murphy Architects. AMA Homes has been at the forefront of residential and commercial development in Edinburgh for over 35 years. In that time they have converted many iconic properties and created landmark buildings that…

Read More

Tenth Boswell Book Festival delayed till October

The Boswell Book Festival, the world’s only event dedicated to memoir and biography, has been postponed. The programme for the 10th Boswell Book Festival was to have been announced with a line up of writers proving that great lives make great stories. However, the festival which had been due to take place from 8-10 May…

Read More

A novel take on the five sisters of Robert the Bruce

Sisters of Bruce is a hefty novel, giving novel gives voice to the five sisters of Robert the Bruce, highlighting the challenges they faced as sisters of Scotland’s great hero. It is certainly refreshing to hear the female voice within history’s discourse of wars and battles that is so often dominated by men. The story…

Read More

The life and crimes of author Craig Robertson

Crime writer Craig Robertson confesses to a fondness for cemeteries and his local 19th-century pub, as well as taking plenty of inspiration from his home town of Stirling. I could probably be accused of being a bit of a fraud in one aspect of my writing. All but one of my books are set in…

Read More

An outstanding bungalow by the sea

An exceptional detached bungalow in a prime position above a harbour is now on the property market. Occupying an outstanding position above Kirkcudbright Harbour, Waterside is an aptly named modern single storey house built just over 20 years ago. Built in 1997 and set in mature gardens which extend to approximately one acre, Waterside is…

Read More

Fantastic fourth in Edinburgh crime series

Nor Will He Sleep is the fourth instalment of the Inspector McLevy series, adapted from the BBC Radio 4 series. This is an accomplished murder mystery which effortlessly paints a vivid picture of the dark and often savage streets of Edinburgh in 1887. This story buzzes with a fascinating array of dastardly and heroic characters.…

Read More

Romance, politics intrigue and crime in Edinburgh

Edinburgh, Yuletide 1743, and Redcoat officer Robert Catto would rather be anywhere else on earth than Scotland. Seconded back from the wars in Europe to captain the city’s Town Guard, he fears his covert mission to assess the strength of the Jacobite threat will force him to confront the past he tries so hard to…

Read More