In the frame: How advice from her dying dad led Alison McWhirter to become one of UK’s leading artists

Alison McWhirter’s paintings have achieved global recognition, attracting a devoted following of private collectors. But a decade ago, things were very different for the Dumfriesshire-born Scottish painter. Alison had a secure career in teaching and publishing when her terminally ill father told her: ‘Look you’re a painter, you’ve always wanted to be a painter. So…

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St Leonards students celebrate outstanding GCSE results

St Leonards School has celebrated another excellent set of GCSE results this month with an impressive 92.1% of qualifications awarded grades 9-4 (equivalent to A*-C), far exceeding the national average.  The school in St Andrews, Fife, has a reputation for academic excellence, and also recently achieved another record set of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and…

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Anonymous buyer of world’s biggest whisky bottle revealed

The anonymous buyer of the largest bottle of whisky ever created, which sold for  £1.1 million in Edinburgh, has been revealed.  Whisky aficionado Viet Nguyen Dinh Tuan added the 5ft 11in tall bottle, known as The Intrepid, to his collection in Vietnam this week. The dram was conceived by Daniel Monk of Cask World and…

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Home of the Clydesdale farm on the market

A Lanarkshire farm known as the home of the Clydesdale is on the market for more than £2million. Low Merryton Farm, which was once owned by the Duke of Hamilton, was home to Lawrence Drew, a pioneer in developing the Clydesdale breed.  Drew offered some of the best quality Clydesdale Horses of the period including…

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Meet the aspiring teenaged shepherdess

Meet 14-year-old Hayley MacDonald who hopes to become a shepherdess after she hand reared two adorable lambs – and got a sheepdog.  Hayley, who lives in Friockheim, Angus, with her foster carers Alison Yates and husband Ron, fell in love with sheep after working at Hunthill Estate through an Estates that Educate course last year.…

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High flying: Dream job on stunning Scottish island Benbecula

A high-flying dream job on a stunning Scottish island is currently being advertised. Highlands and Islands Airport Limited (HIAL) is looking for an air traffic controller on the picturesque island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. Advertisers HiJOBS.net said the job could be perfect for a career-starter or career-changer looking for a new challenge, with…

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Monarch of the Glen moved to new home

One of the most celebrated paintings in the world – the iconic The Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer – is on the move to its new home. With only one month to go until the opening of the new Scottish galleries at the National in Edinburgh, The Monarch of the Glen is one of over…

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Latest exhibition at Scottish Ornithologists’ Club

The Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC) has announced a new exhibition. Flight Paths, linocuts and sculptures inspired by wildlife, will be held at Waterston House in Aberlady from 27 September – 12 November. The joint exhibition presents linocuts by Babs Pease and John Hatton alongside sculptures by Helen Denerley.  All three artists take their inspiration from…

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