Calls to ‘care for the countryside’ this Christmas

SCOTTISH Land & Estates (SLE) – which represents farmers, land managers and rural businesses – has called on Christmas walkers to take litter home, not disturb wildlife, and keep dogs under control near cows and sheep. The organisation’s plea follows high-profile issues of littering, anti-social behaviour, vandalism, and flytipping in rural Scotland during the pandemic.…

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Christmas recycling – an easy guide

IT’S a question that will plague hundreds of households this afternoon – can I recycle my Christmas crackers? Fortunately, recycling firm Biffa has come up with a handy guide to help sort out the landfill from the recycling. Steve Oulds, the firm’s national commercial manager, said: “We know it can often be tricky working out…

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Soul Food Sisters serves nearly 1,000 meals in Glasgow

SOUL Food Sisters, a social enterprise in Glasgow, is set to serve almost 1,000 meals over Christmas to people in need in the city. The organisation, which is run by migrant women with a passion for food, normally operates as a catering company and has run a café in the Gallowgate since 2018. With orders…

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Lockdown cupboard clearing reveals secrets in historic family home

Lady Dorothy Ogilvy unearths the past as she clears out the cupboards at Winton Castle in East Lothian. WHAT did you do in Lockdown? I did what most people without any medical training did: stayed at home, oversaw home-schooling, shopped for my endlessly hungry teenagers and shielding parents, did the day-job via Zoom, cleaned the…

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Scottish drinks have a ‘can’ do attitude

SCOTLAND’S brands are continuing to embrace canned drinks with two recent releases. Forrit has launched a range of “hard seltzers”, while Boe has unveiled two gins mixed with lemonade. Forrit has blended sparkling water with alcohol, botanicals, and fruit flavours. The brand, which is owned by whisky maker Loch Lomond Group, has unveiled three variants:…

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Conifox donates Christmas trees

RESIDENTS and staff at Murrayfield House Care Home in Edinburgh have received an eight-foot Christmas tree following a public vote. Conifox Adventure Park, which sells Christmas trees and sourced the 60-foot tree for The Mound, donated the tree to the care home after holding a poll on its Facebook page. The business has also donated…

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Easy festive styling tips from an expert

You don’t have to be a design guru to make your home feel special this Christmas writes Kate Henderson, owner of Henderson’s Garden & Home Store in Melrose. PEOPLE worry they are not creative enough or might get something wrong when it comes to trying out new ideas at Christmas. But if you use what…

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Hospitality launches ‘Taste Edinburgh’ campaign

CHEFS have launched a campaign to encourage customers to buy gift vouchers for their favourite Edinburgh restaurants, bars, and hotels this Christmas. The launch of the “Taste Edinburgh” scheme was attended by Michelin-starred cooks Tom Kitchin and Martin Wishart. Other restaurateurs taking part in the campaign include: James Thomson from Prestonfield House Hotel and The…

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Review: Tigerlily’s festive afternoon ‘T’ service

AFTER an extremely tough year, there’s never been a better excuse to indulge in some epicurean delights. It’s one of the few things we’ve been able to enjoy in 2020 and, while we might not be able to dine exactly the way we’d like, there are a huge variety of businesses that have adapted to…

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Review: Time for tea at Aberdeen’s Café Bohème

Fairy lights? Check. Brussels sprouts? Check. Shopped till you’ve dropped? Check. After all those festive preparations – and, let’s face it, a rather trying year for us all – there couldn’t be a better time to indulge in a pre-Christmas treat. As we headed down to Aberdeen’s Café Bohème, a gorgeous restaurant that pairs Scottish…

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