13th Cromarty Film Festival plans announced

The full programme has been announced for the 13th annual Cromarty Film Festival. Guests including best-selling author Denise Mina, acclaimed journalist Lesley Riddoch, sound engineer to the stars Stuart Wilson and directors Zara Balfour and Vicki Lesley will introduce some of their favourite films and more at the Black Isle town 6-8 December Everywhere from…

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Celebrating the nation’s micro-distilleries

Distillation is a sort of magic that involves taking humble grains and turning them into wonderfully intoxicating spirits. Industrialisation has sucked the magic from the trade but the micro-distiller exists to keep the dream alive. This book explores 75 artisan micro-distilleries – their history, where you can buy their produce and, most importantly, what it…

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Celebrating the Gaelic experience

A forgotten and marginalised culture, the Gaelic experience is exposed as it was, is and all it might be. Written in both English and Gaelic, Shore to Shore, is an anthology of Gaelic raps, secular poems and aphorisms artistically and vividly bringing the Gaelic world to life. Descendants of Gaels now reside in every corner…

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A historical novel that’s so intense it feels real

Rosemary Goring’s powerful sequel to her critically acclaimed debut After Flodden is set in the tumultuous borderlands of Scotland and England. Dacre’s War is a story of personal and political vengeance at the heart of the power struggle. It has been a decade since the battle at Flodden and the unrest is rife in the…

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TV cameraman Keith Partridge on braving the great outdoors

Having filmed in some of the world’s most extreme environments, award-winning adventure cameraman Keith Partridge really does enjoy Touching the Void. My favourite childhood memory is of cycling around the lanes of north Norfolk on a Saturday, on my own, with a camping stove and a pannier and – I’m not sure I should admit…

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A handy guide to Scotland’s monsters and creatures

From unicorns and dragons to the Ghillie Dhu and Morag of Morhobhar, The Book of Beasties: A Scottish Bestiary of Old is a beautifully illustrated gift book certain to inspire innocently belief-filled questions from children. Posing as the long-lost sketchbook of The Great Clan Chief seems inauthentic but despite this the book maintains a certain…

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When gambling debts lead to a kidnapping

Middle-class parents Victoria and Nicholas Foulkes are distraught when their children are kidnapped against Nicholas’ gambling debts. Penniless and desperate, the couple turn to crime as a way to raise the ransom. Can they save their children before time runs out? New talent Smith delivers a fast-paced page turner in this brilliant and believable debut…

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The Scots who hunted for seabirds to eat

At one stage the sea-bird was commonplace on the Scottish dinner plate; from the puffin to the cormorant. Every year, ten men from Ness on the northern tip of Lewis sail the perilous voyage to Sula Sgeir, and for a fortnight they live and hunt baby gannets on this remote rock. Murray tells their story,…

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New book marks the Cairngorms National Park

A year of inspirational writing about life and nature in the Cairngorms National Park has been captured in a new book, which is being launched today (Thursday 21 November). Shared Stories – A Year in the Cairngorms is an anthology exploring how people and nature thrive together. The works have been compiled by the Cairngorms…

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Chapter Five of Balvenie DCS revealed

The Balvenie has unveiled the final chapter in The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter Five, titled Malt Master’s Indulgence. The eagerly anticipated release is the last of the coveted Compendium series and is comprised of five unique and rare vintages carefully selected by malt master David C Stewart MBE for their significance to his career. David…

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