- 'Sustainable' joint campus opens
- Clinic 'can boost IVF success rate'
- Cyclists in cancer charity ride
- Contamination found at nuclear site
- £24,000 fine for Legionnaires' case
- Olympic security test at Hampden
- Gun murder conviction appeal fails
- Scots 'devo-max' option highlighted
- Frew accused breaks down in dock
- House move costs up 69% over decade
- Two hurt in police car accident
- 'Scots should decide on referendum'
- Trump wants windfarm public inquiry
- Former Labour MP Eadie dies aged 91
- Pair hunted after armed bank raid
- Toddler death inquiry announced
- Salmond addresses sterling question
- Second man charged over car death
- Murder accused in blackmail claim
- Woman in court over assault claims
Features
Road test: Join the Dark Side with the Seat Leon FR+
UGH. A 70-mile haul across Scotland. At rush hour. To Kilmarnock. Will probably take an hour just to get out of Edinburgh, I thought. Still, a long, leisurely trundle along the motorway will be good for me after the day at work I’ve had. Time to unwind, really.
Road test: Take the Renault Grand Scenic route
TO ALL the mummies, daddies, five-a-side football team coaches and folk who fawn at the frightfully clever stuff on Grand Designs… this one’s for you.
Cairn’s Indian field of dreams
The boss Sir Bill Gammell may not have received a bonus for the work, but discoveries by his Edinburgh company will boost India’s oil production by 30 per cent. Erikka Askeland visited Rajasthan to assess the impact of Cairn Energy’s achievements there
It don’t mean a thing ... it’s no more than a casual fling
Men and women stuck in stifling marriages are logging on to a website dedicated to finding them a new lover - no strings attached
3 comments
Captial vision to promote Edinburgh tourism
Edinburgh’s tourist trade has been a huge success story in recent years, and a blueprint has been published highlighting what might be done to help that boom continue up to 2020
2 comments
People
Husband of TV star thanks medics who saved her life
The husband of TV star Amanda Holden has spoken of his gratitude to medical staff who brought the Britain’s Got Talent judge back from the brink.
Alan Davies in Fringe show
Alan Davies will be one of the big names at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, performing stand-up in the UK for the first time in over a decade.
Python reunion for new movie
Terry Jones is aiming to reunite the surviving Monty Python team for his latest movie.
‘Snickers’ tweets by stars probed by ad watchdog
Tweets by model Katie Price and footballer Rio Ferdinand are being investigated by the advertising watchdog after they posted pictures of them posing with a Snickers chocolate bar.
Drama award for Gillan
SCOTS actress Karen Gillan, who plays Doctor Who’s assistant, scooped Best Female Drama Performance at the 2012 National Television Awards last night.
 |
 |
Food and Drink
Restaurant review: Knockinaam Lodge, Portpatrick
KNOCKINAAM Lodge keeps winning gongs for being one of Scotland’s most romantic hotels, and even through the hurricane-force winds that accompanied our visit you can see the judges’ point.
Interview: Jon Cooper, tea merchant
YOU’LL have had your tea, the time-honoured Edinburgh response to unexpected visitors, is one that never passes the lips of Jon Cooper.
Restaurant review: Martha’s, St Vincent Street Glasgow
WANT cheeseburger. Pay 99p. Eat it. When it comes to traditional fast food, it’s the lack of information that helps to define the genre.
‘Star’ scheme aims to boost profile of whisky
A MICHELIN-STYLE scheme could be introduced for grading Scotland’s bars, based on the staff’s knowledge of Scotch whisky.
1 comment |
 |
Outdoors
Jonathan Trew: Now in its 19th year, Glasgow’s Celtic Connections is feasibly older than some of the musicians who have played at it
ADMITTEDLY, compared to some of the grizzled veterans who are appearing under its auspices this weekend, it’s still a whippersnapper but, for those who remember its debut, it can be hard to grasp that nearly a fifth of a century has passed since then.
Outdoors: At home in the city or on the coast, the gull is one successful scavenger
THE NEXT time you pass a playing field or park and see a flock of feeding herring gulls, it’s worth stopping for a moment to observe their behaviour.
1 commentShooting & fishing: Introducing shooting to a younger generation
A 15 - YEAR OLD cousin appeared the other day to stay with his grandmother who has a few hundred acres of charming woods, fields and scrub with nice boggy bits for snipe and pheasants.
1 commentWalk of the week: Norman’s Law
OVERLOOKING the Firth of Tay, 285m/936ft Norman’s Law is a Marilyn (a hill with at least a 150m drop all round)
Roger Cox: You’ll be moved by centenary tributes to Scott of the Antarctic’s final expedition – but it’s OK to laugh too
THE line between tragedy and comedy can sometimes be a fine one, and that’s certainly the case when it comes to discussing the fate of Sir Robert Falcon Scott, aka Scott of the Antarctic.
 |
 |
Travel
Travel: Beaver Creek, Colorado
With vast, nearly deserted runs, excellent ski schools and an adrenaline rush for those who want it, Beaver Creek in Colorado has more family-friendly attractions than you can shake a stick at writes Richard Bath
Travel: Rauris, Austria
MASTERING the art of snowboarding may be challenging, but this Austrian idyll is the perfect place to learn
Travel: Brussels
ART lovers and collectors will be bidding to indulge their passions at Brussels’ annual antique fair
Scottish hotels struggling as travellers cut their costs
SOME Scottish hoteliers are struggling to stay in business because of the economic downturn, according to new figures.
8 comments
Travel: Gambia
THINGS started slowing on the ‘M1’. Up ahead I spotted the hold-up - a local bus with four goats strapped to the roof.
Music
Celtic Connections review: Woody At 100 - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
CELTIC Connections generally gives good tribute, and there can be no greater legacy looming over folk music than the words and music of Woody Guthrie.
Gig review: Jack Bruce & Lau - Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow
“YOU have no band for years and then suddenly three come along at once,” joked Jack Bruce from behind his piano.
Steven Isserlis: Action hero with a chello
Unearthing and restoring lost treasures, recording six CDs in just over a year, writing books, performing and much more… does Steven Isserlis ever rest?
Review: The Louisiana Connection with Aaron Neville and Cedric Watson - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
AARON Neville has a magical voice – a sweet, tremulous yet completely commanding tenor which he can switch seamlessly to an almost unearthly falsetto.
Review: Cahalen Morrison & Eli West - City Halls, Glasgow
FOR two young men, the Seattle-based Cahalen Morrison and Eli West produce songs that sound rooted in the rock of ages and couched in the tones of their elders.
Books
Tam O’Shanter: An extract
An excerpt of the epic poem by Robert Burns, which was voted the favourite amongst a poll of over 1,000
Billy Kay: A masterpiece that strikes fear and excitement, an incomparable epic tale all Scots can be proud of
I WAS born in 1951 and belong to a generation of Ayrshire-educated weans who were given a prize by the Burns Federation one day a year for reciting Rabbie’s poetry – and given the belt the other 364 days for speaking his guid Scots tongue.
Book review: Zona
I OUGHT to begin this review with a confession. Before I started reading Geoff Dyer’s Zona, his account of his almost lifelong obsession with Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, I had never seen the 1979 film.
Book review: Cairo - My City, Our Revolution
‘A REVOLUTION,” writes Ahdaf Soueif, “is a process, not an event.” In this account of the “18 golden days” that shook Egypt in February 2011, the acclaimed author of The Map Of Love conveys the fervour, but also the dangers and delusions, of political upheaval.
Book review: Bombay Baby
TINA Wilson was an Indian embryo acquired by a Glasgow couple. At adulthood, Tina yearns to find her genetic mother.
Comedy
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly The Stand HHH
The great thing about The Stand’s six-week run of shows, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with Jo Caulfield and the Edinburgh Comedy Collective, is that they will be released as a podcast.
***
Karen Koren: The late guide to comedy
NEXT Monday, BBC One Scotland will air my first television series - Late ’n’ Live Guide To Comedy.
Review: Andrew O’Neill, The Stand
With flowing locks and tight short skirt, Andrew O’Neill quickly establishes the credentials for the title of his show: Alternative.
**
Comedy review: Mark Thomas, The Stand
AGITATING comedian Mark Thomas first began developing his crowdsourced show The Manifesto in 2009, spawning a book and, more recently, an iPhone application.
TV revisits city’s legendary Late ’n’ Live comedy club
A BEAR pit. That’s the phrase most commonly used to describe Late ’n’ Live, the Gilded Balloon’s legendary comedy club that staggers to life just as other Fringe venues are calling it a day. Every August, this is where comedians come to die.
Film
Tim Cornwell: Brigadoon and a Brave new world
CALL me a jaded cynic – alright, it’s been done. But when Scotland’s energy, enterprise and tourism minister describes an animated Hollywood film as a “once-in-a-century” marketing opportunity, is it the best way to sell Scotland to the world?
3 comments
Review: The Descendants (15)
Sideways director Alexander Payne gives his big star room to actually act and react in a low-key manner, which helps makes this story of a midlife disaster truly convincing and affecting
Film reviews: Like Crazy | A Monster in Paris | A Useful Life | Underworld: Awakening | The Sitter
Alistair Harkness takes a look at some of this week’s new releases...
Festival preview: Manipulate - Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Manipulate is primarily a festival of puppetry, but it embraces all forms of metamorphosis, including film, animation, live theatre and even dance
The Oscars: Top of the awards
There may be other film awards, but they’re only the starters before the main course. By Stephen McGinty
1 comment
Arts blog
Want to help Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch make a movie?
Stuart Murdoch, singer and songwriter with Scottish indie-pop band Belle and Sebastian, is shooting his directorial debut in Glasgow this summer.
1 comment
How Skins lost the plot
“Just don’t change,” whimpers one vapid Skins character to another in tonight’s opening episode of season six.
1 comment
Hamlet in a wheelchair? It’s about time
In Dundee, at the end of last week, around 200 people from across the UK gathered to debate the position of artists with disabilities in theatre, dance and performance.
Happy birthday Dolly Parton
What a woman. What a songwriter. What a banjo player; I mean, with those nails.
4 comments
Are games-based dramas the new TV trend?
Gamers may have been excited by an announcement last week about a new American TV show, LA Noir, which will be a stylised drama of police corruption, gangsters and hardboiled crime noir.
TV and Radio
Lady Gaga advert ‘not overtly sexual’
AN ADVERT featuring pop star Lady Gaga rubbing her bare stomach while clad in suspenders was not “overtly sexual”, the advertising watchdog has ruled.
90% of TV is watched ‘live’
NINETY per cent of television is watched when it is broadcast despite the rise of on-demand services and new technology, according to new figures.
1 commentDoctor Who writer back to children’s TV
The television writer Russell T Davies – who brought Doctor Who back to the BBC – is to return to science fiction with a new children’s series.
Jamie Oliver trainee found dead
ONE of Jamie Oliver’s original apprentices from his Fifteen restaurant has been found dead in a garden, police said yesterday.
ITV rapped for passing off computer game footage as genuine IRA attack
ITV has been strongly criticised by the TV watchdog and found in breach of broadcasting rules for mistakenly claiming that a scene from a video game was footage of an IRA attack.
Performing Arts
Theatre review: The Captain’s Collection - Tron Theatre, Glasgow
WHAT A colossal missed opportunity it represents, this new revived version of Dogstar Theatre’s 1999 show about Captain Simon Fraser of Knockie.
Festival preview: Manipulate - Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Manipulate is primarily a festival of puppetry, but it embraces all forms of metamorphosis, including film, animation, live theatre and even dance
Theatre reviews: The Infamous Brothers Davenport | White | The Builders
The Lyceum’s ambitious yet slightly disappointing first show of the year, about a pair of Victorian spiritualist hucksters, is overshadowed by the simple joys of a returning play for nursery-age children
3 commentsBest actor stage award for Benedict Cumberbatch
A STAGE appearance as Frankenstein and his monster has landed the Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch a best actor award.
Preview: The Infamous Brothers Davenport
A new show imagines the backstage lives of two brothers who were a sensation at the height of the 19th-century spiritualism craze. By Tim Cornwell
Visual Arts
Festival preview: Manipulate - Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Manipulate is primarily a festival of puppetry, but it embraces all forms of metamorphosis, including film, animation, live theatre and even dance
Review: Art of Sylvia Wishart RSA - Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
It’s a shame that Sylvia Wishart believed those of us ‘fae Sooth’ of Orkney wouldn’t care for her work, as her posthumous first major show gives us a vivid sense of a life spent on the islands
1 comment
Review: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: A Scottish Artist in St Ives - The Fleming Collection, London
Her reputation is almost one of a Scottish artist in exile, but Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s work took inspiration from her home town, St Andrews, comparing and contrasting it with her adopted St Ives
Lothians in Pictures: Forth Road Bridge
The lights of Rosyth provide a blazing backdrop to an illuminated Forth Road Bridge in this image from reader Charles Kelly
Lothians in Pictures: Musselburgh beach
A dog walker watches as her pets play in the water at Musselburgh Beach in this photo taken by reader John D Thomson
Fashion
Fashion: Boho rhapsody
Grab your head scarves, feathers and faux furs. Add a touch of colour clashing and bask in a little retrospective fashion.
Lynne McCrossan: They will shop till they drop . . .from hunger
As the city limps sluggishly to the end of the month there are tell tale signs everywhere that payday can’t come quick enough.
Interview; Adil Iqbal, fashion desinger
MEET the fashion designer on a mission to introduce Pakistani embroidery to the Scottish textile industry, and keep a fading tradition alive
In person: Louise Munro, photographer and co-founder of Slave magazine
IF YOU'RE a talented photographer with a passion for fashion – and your name isn't Testino or Leibovitz – it can be a tough business to break into.
Reel fashion: the power of film and how we are all a bit starstruck when it comes to what we wear
FASHION and film have gone together like shoes and handbags since the dawn of celluloid, with trends pioneered on the big screen regularly helping to dictate high-street style.
Motoring
Monte Carlo glamour revs up in Clydebank
He may be a proud Dundonian, but Douglas Anderson will be happy to head west to stand on the banks of the River Clyde on Sunday evening.
He’s the man from the Caledonian Classic and Historic Motorsport Club who, last year, secured Glasgow as one of the starts for the classic Monte Carlo Rally in its centenary year.
Tesla the unexpected
Over the past couple of years electric and hybrid cars seem to have moved further into the mainstream but it doesn’t seem as though many of us are actually buying them. In 2011, almost two million new cars were registered in the UK but only 1,082 of these were electric. Part of the problem is that people are put off by the limited range of electric vehicles, even if many of us only occasionally take journeys of a hundred miles or more.
Audi turns new corner with Q3
SIZE, it seems, is important after all. You could say it’s one of the biggest issues in the car business right now. Cars are generally half as big again as they were and if proof is needed, get hold of an original Mini and park it alongside the new MINI.
Road test: We drive the Ferrari California to California (Falkirk)
CALIFORNIA, LATE-2011
“Mister, is that a Ferrari California?” asks an urchin from across the street.
3 commentsFire fears force Mini Cooper recall
Nearly 30,000 Mini Coopers are to be recalled in Britain after makers detected an electrical fault that could lead cars to catch fire.
1 comment
Homes and Gardens
Interiors: Lorraine McGuigan enjoys interior design so much that she’s started her own business, and her Ayrshire home is testament to her talent
THE RECESSION has been less than kind to many braving the nation’s volatile property market, but Lorraine McGuigan is the exception to the rule.
Interiors: Flower designer to the stars Ruby Grimes wanted her Cambuslang house as soon as she saw the view of apple blossom from the living room window
RUBY likes to bring the outside in, as can be seen with the abundance of plants and blooms adorning her Edwardian Glasgow home.
Gardens: Seeing her snowdrops lit by her car headlights one evening inspired Catherine Erskine to create an illuminated walk through the gardens of Cambo House in Fife. Now visitors can also enjoy the magic
WHEN you hear of a snowdrop walk in the dark described as “fantastic”, “magical” and “incredible”, even on a cold, wet night with children in tow, it is time to investigate.
Gardens: The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is picking up the pieces after storms battered the country at New Year
JIM Gilchrist talks to David Knott, Curator of Living Collections on the damaged inflicted from the recent storms
Interiors: A retired consul and his sculptor wife have created a memorable bed and breakfast in Kirkcudbright
COOKING eggs the way guests like them is a far cry from a career in the diplomatic service, but Laurence Bristow-Smith is relishing the change.
Health
‘On Christmas Day I smiled but I couldn’t help but look at Vanessa and wonder if this was her last Christmas’
The only hope Connie and Chris Riddle have of saving their daughter from a rare form of cancer is treatment in the USA costing £500,000. Maria Croce meets a couple determined to give their little girl the best chance they can
2 comments
Ban on all cosmetic surgery adverts and sales gimmicks demanded in Britain
All cosmetic surgery advertising should be banned and annual checks carried out on surgeons, experts said today.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) is calling for a “six-point plan” to tighten up regulation of the “cowboy” market in the UK.
2 comments
Ten tips to getting fit in January - without leaving your front door
Want to get fit but don’t fancy a gym or going jogging? Here’s how to do it without leaving the comfort of your own home
2 comments
Raise eyebrows with a look to dye for
So apparently eyebrows are big. This isn’t great news for me, as my eyebrows are small. It’s not that I overplucked them – actually, I barely have to pluck them at all, so unblessed am I in that department.
Technology
Gadget review: RHA Ca-200 headphones
When looking for a good set of headphones we all want a set which offers exceptional sound quality at a reasonable price. The Reid and Heath Acoustics (RHA) Ca-200’s fit the bill perfectly.
1 comment
Gadget: Griffin Beacon Universal Remote Control
IF THE Christmas elves have brought you yet another electronic gadget with a remote control, chances are your coffee table is fast becoming crowded by a herd of buttoned black beauties.
Gadget: Pure i-20 Hi-Fi Quality Dock for iPod/iPhone
IF you’ve just got a shiny new iPhone or iPod Touch for Christmas, you’re no doubt delighted with the almost psychic user interface, limitless supply of entertainment via iTunes and the precision of the retina screen.
Gadget review: Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone
If anyone was going to challenge Apple’s dominance of the smartphone market, it was Google. At least that’s been the spiel since they announced their plans to launch their own rival device.
Heritage
Bannockburn visitor centre awarded nearly £4m in funding
A VISITOR centre being built to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the battle of Bannockburn has been awarded funding of almost £4 million.
4 comments
Glimpse of a young Walter Scott on his way to Waverley
AGED 19 and studying to be a lawyer, it would be some time before he became an established household name.
Yet a glimpse into the life Sir Walter Scott was living as a young academic in the Capital has been revealed as a rare census goes on sale to the public for the first time.
Tim Cornwell: Brigadoon and a Brave new world
CALL me a jaded cynic – alright, it’s been done. But when Scotland’s energy, enterprise and tourism minister describes an animated Hollywood film as a “once-in-a-century” marketing opportunity, is it the best way to sell Scotland to the world?
3 comments
Pictures
Lothians in Pictures: Forth Road Bridge
The lights of Rosyth provide a blazing backdrop to an illuminated Forth Road Bridge in this image from reader Charles Kelly
Lothians in Pictures: Musselburgh beach
A dog walker watches as her pets play in the water at Musselburgh Beach in this photo taken by reader John D Thomson
Lothians in Pictures: Threipmuir reservoir
Tor Sodergren had his skates on as he braved the cold conditions to snap the icy Threipmuir reservoir after the first freeze
Framing Glasgow’s art scene is a snap for Alan Dimmick
Compulsive snapper Alan Dimmick, who recorded the rise of Glasgow’s art scene in countless photos, describes the genesis of his own retrospective
Lothians In Pictures: St Anthony’s Chapel
Evening News reader John D Thomson snapped the ruin of 15th-century St Anthony’s Chapel in Holyrood Park
- Scottish independence: Backlash warning as English identity rises
- Scottish independence: Momentous day as Salmond outlines referendum vision
- Scottish independence referendum: Fresh trouble for Alex Salmond over adviser’s damning e-mails
- Warning from woman left brain damaged after binge accident
- Scottish independence referendum: One question, ten words, you choose
- Scottish independence: Momentous day as Salmond outlines referendum vision
- Scottish independence: Posing a simple question proves far from easy
- Scottish independence: Backlash warning as English identity rises
- Scottish independence referendum: One question, ten words, you choose
- Scottish independence referendum: Fresh trouble for Alex Salmond over adviser’s damning e-mails
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Edinburgh
Friday 27 January 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: -3 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 0 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
