Cal Major becomes National Trust for Scotland ambassador

VET and adventurer Dr  Cal Major has been named as a new ambassador for the National Trust for Scotland (NTS). Major recently visited the Treshnish Isles, the NTS’s newest site, to film a video. In her new voluntary role, Major will raise awareness of and support for the trust’s conservation work. Major – who has…

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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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Fringe Review: Trash Test Dummies

Alister Tenneb reviews Trash Test Dummies at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. THIS acrobatic/circus/slapstick performance essentially revolves around three wheelie bins – doesn’t fill you with delight? The show is geared towards kids ten years and under and judging by the near constant shouts, shrieks, squeals of laughter from their younger attendees they certainly know their…

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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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Respite centre renamed after Doddie Weir

A HOLIDAY cottage that provides respite for people with conditions including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and motor neuron disease (MND) has been renamed in honour of rugby legend Doddie Weir. The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation donated £25,000 to neurological charity Leuchie to refurbish the holiday home at Dirleton in East Lothian. Leuchie has renamed the…

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Edinburgh Riding of the Marches returns

THE Edinburgh Riding of the Marches will return on 10 September following a three-year gap. The event traces its roots to the historic riding of the boundaries – or “marches” – of the city, which dates back to 1579. The practice died out after 1718 but was revived in 1946 to mark the end of…

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Film Review: Isla

Jeremy Welch reviews a new short film called Isla. IT IS without doubt one of the most difficult disciplines in cinema to create a short. A short is defined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as “an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all…

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Fringe Review: Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt

Alister Tenneb reviews Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I FIRST saw Frank Skinner more than 30 years ago, performing in one of the smallest rooms in the Pleasance Courtyard, a couple of years before he won The Perrier Award. I think there were about five people in the crowd.…

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Fringe Review: Paul Foot: Dissolve

Alister Tenneb reviews Paul Foot: Dissolve at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. PAUL FOOT enters the room and immediately is right up shouting into people’s faces in a pretty full-on manner – possibly it’s his way of laying down the rules for audience engagement. I’m glad not to be on the receiving end of it. He…

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