- Warning issued about dangerous gas
- Neighbour rescues woman from fire
- Fund for 'climate justice' launched
- Former RAF Machrihanish sold for £1
- Scorching day for marathon runners
- Five held over £600,000 drugs haul
- Anti-independence campaign 'soon'
- Saltire Games ban 'ridiculous'
- Scottish drink-drive plans welcomed
Features
Interview: Josh Brolin, actor
After decades of bit parts Josh Brolin hit the big time at 40 with no country for old men. now he turns galaxy
defender with a comic role as a young Tommy Lee Jones in mib3
Interview: Gemma Chan, star of True Love
Gemma Chan studied law at Oxford but only ever wanted to be an actress. Modelling proved a means to that end and now she’s about to star in a challenging BBC drama
Food: Cottage industry
Meet the Edinburgh chefs keen to invite you into their fairy-tale abode for a magical feast
City guide: 48 hours in Oslo
Friday, 8pm Check into the Bristol Hotel (Kristian IV’s Gate 7, www.thonhotels.com, rooms from £160 per night) which is situated in the city centre.
Radio listener by Jim Gilchrist
“That is no country for old men,” declared WB Yeats in the first line of Sailing to Byzantium, coining a quote that has taken on a life of its own.
TV preview: Punk Britannia | We Who Wait: TV Smith and the Adverts | Evidently... John Cooper Clarke
God save the Queen! I mean it, man. In this week of Jubilee ma’amageddon, during which every other programme seems to have a royal theme – Coronation Jubilee, 8 Out Of 10 Jubilees, Pointless Jubilee, The Hairy Jubilees etc – BBC 4 have chosen, rather cheekily I suppose, to present an alternative celebration marking the 35th anniversary of the outbreak of punk.
Fishing and shooting: His fish is now swimming about with a radio transmitter in its dorsal fin
I suppose if anyone should be able to catch a fish it is a “senior fisheries biologist,” in this case Alan Kettle-White, of the Argyll Fisheries Trust, who has landed a 30lb 10oz wild brownie on Loch Awe.
Walk of the week: The Fara
At long last a good day, forecasting blue skies and a gentle breeze, which coincided with convenient travel arrangements. I met Rhona at Dalwhinnie – our target a trip to The Fara that overlooks the northern end of Loch Ericht.
Outdoors: Road tip - the new Seed Truck
When is a truck not a truck? When it’s a Seed Truck. This one-off invention is soon to become one of the most celebrated vehicles on the road.
Travel: Enhance Body Boot Camp, Green Craigs, East Lothian.
Many people’s idea of a holiday is a nice relaxing break on a beach, with wonderful company, great food, luxurious accommodation and perhaps some fun activities to pass the time.
City guide: Florence
I love Florence, it’s a fabulous place. Birthplace of the Renaissance and a cultural jewel for centuries, home to many precious art treasures and source of some of Italy’s best-loved culinary delights, it is also very probably the most beautiful city in the world.
Game review: Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention, PS Vita
First appearing on PlayStation 3 back in 2009, Disgaea 3 is a superb role-playing game that stars Mao, the most diabolical demon student in the netherworld.
Gardens: Airlie risers
Even after a couple of visits it was hard to define the charm of the garden at Cortachy, Lord and Lady Airlie’s garden tucked away in an Angus glen north of Kirriemuir.
Gadget: Dragon Naturally Speaking Premium Version 11.5
The last time I used voice recognition software it was a frustrating experience. Every five seconds I had to correct a word or manually edit another sentence. It was about as much fun as tickling a rattlesnake.
Recipe: Trout with almonds and grapes
There’s nothing like a good trout for lunch to inspire. Mine was eaten a week ago, on a glorious day in rural Bavaria, on a terrace high up a hillside overlooking the Chiemsee surrounded by snowy mountains.
Wine: Naked Wines is bringing wine lovers and growers together
The internet is changing the way we work, think and play. In the wine world, there is a revolution taking place, breaking down traditional barriers in this age-old industry and offering consumers a sense of empowerment and involvement.
Restaurant review: Mimi’s Bakehouse, 63 Shore, Edinburgh
What was the matter with Mimi’s? Well, nothing really, apart from the regular queues to get in. I’d given up trying to get a table whenever I was craving one of their sausage sarnies or raspberry and coconut slices. No longer. Thanks to public demand, they’ve supersized and spread into the adjoining building.
Outdoors: Have wheels will travel
Nothing is more natural and healthy than walking with your family. But surely the most beautiful countryside is too rugged to buggy in? Not so – here are three stunning walks you can do with even the tiniest tot.
Beauty: Soothe away stress with a treatment that smells as good as it feels
Despite their rather corporate sounding name, I’m a sucker for Aromatherapy Associates’ products.
Interview: Delilah, singer songwriter
What’s the last piece of clothing you bought? I bought a few T-shirts from Urban Outfitters. They’re perfect for the festivals this year.
Janet Christie: Histrionics. What is it with girls?
It’s school fair day so Youngest Child is up at seven, ready for her Highland Dancing demonstration which flings off in only four and a half hours.
Roger Cox: Passion for cycling brought new life to Peebles and the Tweed Valley
What would the Tweed Valley be like if mountain biking had never taken off as a mainstream sport? Quieter and less prosperous, no doubt, but according to Neil Dalgleish, director of the TweedLove Bike Festival, probably home to a much more elderly population as well.
Shooting and fishing: Crumpet has turned out to be the best shooting dog we have ever had
TODAY is Crumpet’s birthday. She is four. We shall have a two-barrel salute to celebrate the event at which I predict she will tear about like a blue-arsed fly looking for something to retrieve only to find that, not for the first time in our brief shooting career, there is nothing to pick up.
Outdoors: The grebe, once endangered thanks to the fashion industry, is thriving again
More times than not, my attempts to plan ahead so as to get a good view of an animal or bird ends in failure.
Walk of the Week: Carn na Caim
On the way to the hills the topic of football invariably crops up. Having lived close to Edinburgh’s Easter Road as a schoolboy, Hibs receive my support.
Travel: Croftgarrow, Highland Perthshire
DURING my time at The Scotsman, I’ve reported on wildlife-watching trips from the front seat of a Land Rover, the top deck of a sailing boat and even once from the back of a Highland pony.
Gardens: Prepare to be inspired at this year’s Gardening Scotland event
As spring turns to summer, the weather forecast is watched by all gardeners – but no-one will be following it more closely than the exhibitors in this year’s Gardening Scotland event.
Interiors: Aird Hill, Wester Ross
It took six months to complete Aird Hill, but this tale of love and land in Wester Ross was years in the making
Restaurant review: Le Bistro Beaumartin, Hope St., Glasgow
This new French eatery seems a bit out-of-place. With its homely, neighbourhood bistro feel, I imagine that it would suit a leafy corner (near Waitrose) in Glasgow’s west end, rather than a busy central street that’s buzzing with trafffic.
Wine: Hold the sugar please, champagne is having a dry spell
O ne in four of us apparently likes our champagne completely dry with “nil dosage”. If you have ever bought a bottle labelled Extra Brut, Brut Nature, Brut Sauvage, Brut Zero or Sans Sucre – rather than the standard Brut – you will have experienced this zero dosage style: champagne in its most naked state.
Recipes: Wild Garlic and Nettle Sauce | Wild Garlic Oatmeal Crust
If you’re prepared to do a little foraging, now is the time to add a touch of the wilderness to your dishes
Game review: Devil May Cry HD Collection
Revisiting the Devil May Cry collection reveals that few contenders have matched the hack ’n’ slash finesse of the series which started in 2001. The first and third games remain masterpieces, with only the second one letting this collection down.
Gadget review: Ninja Master Prep Pro
Regular readers will know that I’ve experimented with a list of kitchen gadgets that eclipse Bruce Lee in the chopping stakes.
Health & Beauty: Stick the boot in
It may be springtime, but when the frightfulness of the weather is matched by the rolls of fat accumulating around one’s belt, an indoor boot camp holds tremendous appeal. There will be no press-ups in the rain, or knees caked in mud.
Janet Christie: “I can’t wait until you’re in a wheelchair”
I overhear a conversation between Youngest and her brothers. It’s not hard as they’re standing behind me in the kitchen.
Roger Cox: When it comes to recording the magnitude of surfing exploits, size really matters
ONE rainy day last November, I started receiving a steady trickle of emails with links to the same jaw-dropping photograph: a surfer in a black-and-yellow wetsuit skittering down the face of a huge, aquamarine wall of water, looking for all the world like an exotic insect fleeing the maw of an about-to-snap venus flytrap.
Book extract: The original Mrs Robinson
Kate Summerscale’s book, Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace, revisits 19th century New Town Edinburgh and a scandal that rocked Victorian society. In this exclusive extract, Isabella meets a handsome young doctor
Interview: Charlize Theron, actress
Don’t call Charlize Theron brave for appearing in a movie without make-up – the star of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is far too down to Earth to join the cult of celebrity, finds Claire Black
1 commentJonathan Trew: “Get off your horse and drink your Darjeeling”
The Borders and Ayrshire may well be the most exciting Scottish locations this weekend; particularly if you have a yen for line dancing and/or biographies. I suspect that any crossover between the two would offer slender pickings for the promoters although slim pickings does sound as though it could be an artist who might play at the Kelso Country and Western Music Festival this weekend.
Interview: Ken Loach, director of The Angels’ Share
KEN Loach’s new film, The Angels’ Share, is about being given a chance in life. it’s a subject close to the veteran director’s heart, and it’s also pretty important to the movie’s unknown Scottish star
1 commentRoger Cox: Plentiful snow is great, but if skiers can’t get to it they will slope off
Remember a few weeks ago, when I said the 2011/12 Scottish ski season had been a disaster? Well, I was wrong.
Janet Christie: ‘We’re too close to death now’
Deep in the Yorkshire Dales, we’re setting off on a family day trip. This involves a convoy drive to the starting point. In my car I have my gang and my aunty, whom we’ve taken hostage to exploit her encyclopaedic knowledge of the terrain. But she comes with other benefits.
Falkirk Wheel: The wheel deal
IN the decade since the Falkirk Wheel opened, its great metal fangs have become one of the most recognisable tourist sights in Scotland.
Gadget review: i-temp Terrier Programmable Radiator Control
IF there’s one thing I hate wasting money on it’s heating. Pennies spill out of the radiators in my house like a Las Vegas slot machine, especially if my girlfriend’s in charge of the controls.
Game review: Max Payne for iPad
Ahead of the worldwide release of Max Payne 3, developer Rockstar Games has launched the 2001 original on iPad to give gamers the chance to see where the action-heavy series began.
Recipes: Rapeseed oil dishes offer a change of gear in your kitchen
I NEVER used to like rapeseed oil, finding it far too strong a flavour, and apt to dominate the other ingredients in whatever I was making.
1 commentInteriors: Eilean Shona House
A PRIVATE Scottish island that has inspired writers and artists is for hire. So what are you waiting for?
- Scottish independence: I don’t want ‘separatism’ says Sir Tom Farmer
- Rangers administration: End game nears for fallen icon
- USA 5 - 1 Scotland: Donovan grabs hattrick as Scots routed in Florida
- Rangers administration: Duff & Phelps ‘hopeful’ that Taxman will agree to CVA
- Scottish independence: Labour voters ‘will deliver independence’
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Weather for Edinburgh
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
