First flight from China touches down in Scotland

Today is a momentous day in Scottish aviation as the first-ever direct flight from China touched down at Edinburgh Airport. The four-weekly, year-round service with Hainan Airlines to Beijing Capital International Airport is Scotland’s first connection to the Far East. It is a major boost for tourism in Scotland and increases business links with the…

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The joy of six with Hò-rò’s new album Hex

Released last Friday, HEX is the eagerly awaited second album by Hò-rò who boldly promise a very unique sound drawing inspiration from their, now six, individual musical approaches. As is my habit prior to reviewing albums, I listened to the band’s previous offering simply entitled Hò-rò, as a reminder of what had gone before. The…

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Scots fiddler and Austrian piper produce a sumptuous nugget

The Pipe Slang is a translation from the Gaelic song Feadan glan a’ phiobair, a tune of which Simon Fraser comments in the appendix to his famous 1874 collection. “In the words of the pipe slang, the noisy rattling piper of a country wedding draws a ridiculous comparison betwixt his own music and that of…

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A taste of Edinburgh in exclusive new gin

A new gin that’s got Edinburgh running right through it has been released. Edinburgh Gin and the world renowned Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), have come together to create a new limited-edition gin that truly celebrates the history of the iconic botanic gardens. Edinburgh Gin 1670 is a bespoke gin using rare and exotic botanicals…

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Abandoned village inspires a gem of an album

Renowned piper, James Duncan Mackenzie has released his second solo album in which he remembers the people and land surrounding an abandoned township on the Isle of Lewis, Sròmos. Nestling on the south eastern shores of Loch Sròmois, a stones throw from Loch Shiphoirt, life would have been hard and isolated for the townsfolk and…

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Scots get ready to take part in New York Tartan Day

Scots have been crossing the Atlantic this week to play their part in the 2018 New York Tartan Day parade. Being held in the Big Apple on Saturday April 7, pipers and drummers from all over the world will take part in the event, a celebration of the contribution made to the USA by the…

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Book review – The Day She Saved the Doctor

What’s the story? To mark International Womens Day 2018, BBC Books have released Doctor Who – The Day She Saved The Doctor. Containing a quartet of short stories, these have been written by four women – two of whom, Jenny T Colgan and Susan Calman, are Scots – with a female cover artist, it’s very…

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Ross finds Sanctuary with his third album

Sanctuary is Ross Ainslie’s third solo album in which he continues his quest to rationalize the direction his life has taken from the time he chose music over sport to removing alcohol from his life. Music is his sanctuary, the place in which he is safe; ruler of a familiar territory that wraps its warm…

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Acting legend Brian Cox helps to celebrate the Spirit of Scotland

A series of short films showing off Scotland at its best have become a social media success. As the Spirit of Scotland campaign celebrates its second birthday, VisitScotland have revealed new statistics showing the phenomenal success of their online films. The 15 Spirit of Scotland cinematic shorts have collectively received over one million views on…

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