Famous penguin Sir Nils Olav gets promoted

ARGUABLY the world’s most famous penguin, Sir Nils Olav, has been promoted once more. Olav was raised from the rank of brigadier to major-general during a ceremony at Edinburgh Zoo. More than 160 members of the King’s Guard Band & Drill Team of Norway attended the event and bestowed Olav with his latest honour. The…

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Biggest search for Nessie – from home

THIS weekend will mark the largest search for the Loch Ness Monster – with Nessie hunters taking part from their homes around the world. The search on 26 and 27 August is billed as the largest for more than 50 years. A global audience is taking part thanks to video cameras set up along the…

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Art news round-up: Great Tapestry of Scotland, chainsaws, and more

THE tenth anniversary of the unveiling of the Great Tapestry of Scotland will be marked on 1-3 September at the community arts project’s purpose-built visitors’ centre in Galashiels. King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the tapestry last month. Sandy Maxwell-Forbes, the centre’s director, said: “As well as placing our new royal panel in its permanent…

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National Theatre unveils Dracula and Mina

THE National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) has today unveiled the first look at its production of Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning. The play was written by Morna Pearson and shifts Bram Stoker’s narrative to the North-East. The NTS has assembled an all-female and non-binary cast for the production, which will tour Scotland, Liverpool, and Coventry in September…

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Edinburgh and Glasgow most expensive student cities

EDINBURGH has topped a league table as the UK’s most expensive city for students for the second year running, with Glasgow in second place. NatWest bank’s student living index, which was published this morning, showed that students in Scotland’s capital have a monthly term-time income of £1,453 – the lowest of all the cities ranked…

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Scottish Smallholder Festival to host pig show

THE Scottish Pig Show will form part of this year’s Scottish Smallholder Festival. The festival is due to take place at the Royal Highland Centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh on 14 October. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST), and so the festival’s organisers hope the “turnout…

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Women’s piping and drumming survey extended

THE National Piping Centre has extended the deadline for women to take part in its survey about their experiences of piping and drumming. The survey, which was launched in April, has received 240 responses so far. The centre has now extended the deadline for submissions until 8 September. News of the extension came as the…

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Wee beasties: Incredible macro photographs of Scots insects

IT WAS in an unassuming park in Glasgow during lockdown that David Hamilton tried out macro photography for the first time.  The photographs are typically close-ups of bugs and flowers, and David found Ruchill Park was the perfect place to snap some tiny, colourful creepy-crawlies. David was blown away by what he found in this…

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An excerpt from Unsolved by Heather Critchlow

An excerpt from Unsolved (Canelo) by Heather Critchlow one of the shortlist authors for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Click HERE to read our interview with Heather.   LAYLA, 1986 Layla presses her face against the horse’s flank, soothed by the warmth of her body, the softness of the chestnut hair. Eager to be out, Ruby skitters; her…

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