NHS in the focus for Mark Thomas at Fringe Festival

Comedian Mark Thomas marks the 70th birthday of the NHS with his new show at this year’s Festival Fringe. Mark is 54, the NHS is 70, and the UK national average life expectancy is 84. If Mark makes it to 84, the NHS will be 100. What will they both look like? Check Up: Our…

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Enjoy a lager and support rugby hero Doddie’s charity

Rugby fans can raise their glasses to toast former Scotland hero Doddie Weir – and support his charity at the same time. Scotland rugby legend Finlay Calder was on hand for the launch of Gen!us Craft Lager at Scotmid, and now the former British and Irish Lions captain has called on customers to give #5p4Doddie,…

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Congratulations to Scotland’s winners at drinks awards

Scotland’s spirits are well-known across the world for their quality – and this week they have been officially recognised. Hundreds of drinks produced in Scotland – including whisky and gin have taken gold, silver and bronze awards at the International Wine & Spirit Competition. The competition is now in its 49th year. The original aim…

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Last spread for ice cream parlour’s peanut butter tap

A Scottish ice cream parlour has decided to call it a day on the UK’s first ever peanut butter tap – despite it proving a viral video sensation. Following its March launch at Mackie’s of Scotland’s 19.2 parlour, fans had been going nutty for the ever-flowing tap, consuming more than 5kg in the first week.…

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King Henry’s Sister Margaret: Scotland’s Tudor Queen

In King Henry’s Sister Margaret: Scotland’s Tudor Queen, a biography of Margaret Tudor, Mary McGrigor breathes new life into the story of one of the most important female figures of the period following the War of the Roses. Born in 1489, daughter of the recently-crowned Henry VII, Margaret would go on to marry James IV,…

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Mental health at the core of new Fringe production

The multiple award-winning play Shell Shock is coming to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Shell Shock addresses the major mental health issues that are leading to former service men and women taking their own lives. The Ministry of Defence has just admitted that it ‘does not hold information on the causes of death for all UK…

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Mixing real words with fictional politicians

When an ambitious politician jumps on a populist bandwagon and a previously apathetic citizen takes her message to heart – what could possibly go wrong? Former government advisor, the Edinburgh playwright Andy Moseley, is bringing his new play A Beginner’s Guide to Populism to the Fringe. A Beginner’s Guide to Populism has just completed a…

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The Restless Wave: My Two Lives With John Bellany

Helen Bellany, twice married to the late John Bellany, is beautifully candid about her life with the renowned Scottish artist in The Restless Wave: My Two Lives With John Bellany. Having fallen in love at Edinburgh College of Art, the couple had three children together, but endured a tumultuous marriage which saw divorce, despair and…

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Textile artist’s new work goes on show this weekend

A completely new body of work by renowned Scottish textile artist Jane Hunter will go on show this Saturday, 28 July. The exhibition is inspired by the geology, landscape and seascape of Argyll’s Secret Coast, where the Tighnabruaich Gallery is located. Jane is inspired by landscape, geology, maps and data. She predominantly works with cloth and…

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