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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Review: ‘Sittingsuits you, sir!’

Elis Elliot climbs inside a Sittingsuit to put the ‘sleeping bag you can wear’ through its paces. TIME spent in the great outdoors has always been instrumental in improving our physical and mental health, but that’s never been more important than it is right now. As the seasons change and we are forced to socialise…

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REVIEW: Home is where the spa is

FOR anyone who knows me, they’ll know that I like a little bit of pampering. But even prior to the horrors of 2020, popping to the salon or spa has had its challenges. There are always little things like work and children that tend to get in the way of precious “me” time. So, you…

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A crime thriller on a Scottish island

We didn’t have to wait long for the next instalment of Inspector Angus Blue’s whodunnits, and it doesn’t disappoint. Called to Jura after an attempted assassination on a Cabinet Minister, the inspector finds himself in a series of fantastically eerie landscapes and is forced to overcome several unexpected hurdles. As with The Pead Dead, the…

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Review: The Loveable Rogue

The Hebridean may have gone, but Keith McIntyre is in love with its replacement – The Loveable Rogue in Glasgow. WHEN it was announced at the end of August that The Loveable Rogue (TLR) was replacing The Hebridean in Glasgow’s West End, the accompanying press blurb stated that new owners Joe Lazzerini and Amalia Colaluca would…

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Review: The last days of summer in the Lakes

Elis Elliot and family explore the Lake District from The County Hotel in Kendal. I HAVE a long and somewhat damp history of spending time in the Lake District. And yet, still I return to this scenic area of England. And there is good reason for this, because on a sunny day there really is…

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Review: The Broughton, Edinburgh

Stephanie Abbot enjoys an end of week visit to The Broughton in Edinburgh. NOT a lot of things can compete with that Friday feeling. And, while the promise of finishing the evening on a dancefloor is still a long way off, the opportunity to enjoy a delicious meal and a tipple or two is thankfully…

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A Week in Whisky: Is this the ultimate prize for a Scotch fan?

MEMBERS of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) have the chance to win an entire cask of whisky from Holyrood Distillery in Edinburgh. It’s the first time the society has given away an entire barrel from one of its partner distilleries. The prize is worth around £10,000 and includes duty and ageing for 10 years.…

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REVIEW: Rabble, Edinburgh

Stephanie Abbot explores the menu at Rabble in Edinburgh. A MID-WEEK dinner out is always a welcome treat.  It breaks up the monotony of the painfully dull and uninspired dinners I’ve been making of late, mostly because work has been keeping me busy (which I’m thankful for). I can recall flipping through the Argos catalogue…

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REVIEW: Putting on a fine sprEHd

Peter Ranscombe tucks into a grazing box full of Scottish ingredients from delivery service sprEHd. WHEN you’re eating out, it’s the little things that matter – the butter being soft enough to spread, the lighting being bright enough to see your plate, the napkin being rough enough to stay put instead of sliding out of…

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