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Features
EdinburghSketcher: Can you place this sketch?
WELCOME TO our monthly dip into the EdinburghSketcher’s WhereArtI? quiz. Can you name the Edinburgh location sketched above?
Leonardo DiCaprio on playing Jay in The Great Gatsby
THERE’S always a certain amount of hysteria surrounding summer blockbusters but Baz Luhrmann’s new big-screen adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby has surpassed all the usual hype.
Images of Scotland: Western Harbour, Edinburgh
THIS beautiful photograph of the old pier near the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith, with Western Harbour on the horizon, was taken by Rod Hanchard-Goodwin.
Images of Scotland: Ravenscraig Castle, Kirkaldy
Ancient and modern Kirkaldy share the same frame in Sandy Cook’s photograph: Ravenscraig Castle, built in the 1460s, and a residential block, constructed in the 1960s
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10 things to do in Scotland this week
The most exciting entertainment, events and activities in Scotland this week, including comedy from Rob Rouse, poetry from John Cooper Clarke, and a Lana Del Rey gig in Glasgow.
Motoring
Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet is a roofless operator
THE Beetle reboot continues with Volkswagen taking the car to the next, and logical, step in its evolution – going roofless. Of course, Volkswagen has been here before; previous iterations of the “new” Beetle boasted a Cabriolet variant. However, as you would expect, evolution has brought a number of welcome improvements.
Kia is taking Carens of business
AS CONVERSATION killers go, mentioning “mid-size seven-seat people carriers” is right up there. But before your dinner party guests look at their watches and start moving to the door, they might like to know that there’s more to the new Kia Carens than its snooze-inducing nomenclature suggests.
Suzuki Vitara’s vital spark
I admit I’m a bit of a softie. I’ll happily walk away from any sign of trouble and I’ve never taken up golf for much the same reason. I can’t see the point in getting soaked just to sink a wee white ball into a hole out of my line of sight somewhere far in the distance. A yachting friend keeps inviting me to join him on a cruise round the west coast. I’m sure it would be lovely, but unless he can guarantee wall-to-wall sunshine and flat-calm waters, then I’ll just stick to dry land, thank you.
Testbench: Bikers’ Britain (£12.99, AA Publishing)
I’m guessing this is a book for bikers And I’m guessing I can call you Sherlock.
But you don’t like bikes That’s not true. I’m just a bit... scared of them.
Peugeot 208 GTi clocks up the smiles
I SUSPECT winning the lottery would do it. An original joke should bring it on. Maybe just a kind word from a good friend is all it would take. For some people it would require a visit to the dentist and then they might have to wait a few weeks before it appeared.
Food and Drink
Call for national holiday to mark World Whisky Day
THE creater of World Whisky Day says that a national holiday should be created to mark Scotland’s national drink.
9 commentsFordyce Maxwell: I felt I could come off the subs bench at short notice if needed. I wasn’t, so didn’t
TWENTY minutes into the demonstration I had my lightbulb moment with: “I could do that.”
Restaurant review: The Pantry, Edinburgh
THERE are many things I like in restaurants, but the acronym BYOB is my second favourite – pipped only by the same letters on the door of a restaurant within 100 yards of a decent off-licence.
Wine: ‘Unlike oak-dominated shiraz of yesteryear’
HEAVY, ripe and alcoholic expressions of shiraz (or syrah) have given it an unfair reputation for brashness. While this generalisation was never completely true, the current popularity of cooler-climate versions has brought freshness, subtlety and balance more to the fore.
Tom Kitchin: Seafood, scallop and champagne recipes
LEARNING to cook, no matter what level you’re at, is all about a few essential things. Whether you enjoy trying new recipes or ingredients, just love cooking for your family and friends or you’re training to be a chef, there are a few key things you need.
Outdoors
Roger Cox: If your favourite sport’s not often televised, you must rely on witnesses who can create romantic myths
ONE of the best things I’ve read so far this year is Found At Sea, a new book of poems by Andrew Greig.
Saddle up for the Borders Festival of the Horse
THEY say you have to be mad to live in the Borders. Mad on rugby and mad on horses.
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Scot becomes first deaf man to sail around world
A SCOTTISH teacher has became the first deaf sailor to sail around the world single-handedly.
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Roger Cox: The 60th anniversary of Hillary and Tenzing’s Everest ascent
Sex sells – and so, it seems, do round-number anniversaries. This month, to mark the 60th anniversary of Hillary and Tenzing’s historic first ascent of Everest on 29 May 1953, there will be celebrations all over the world, and so much money will change hands that you’ll be able to hear the cash registers ringing from here to Nepal.
Watching badgers requires planning and patience, but it’s worth it
Young badgers will be making their first forays outside their homes or setts over the next few weeks, making this one of the best periods of the year to watch these fascinating animals.
Travel
Travel: Safari in Kenya
THE conservation message comes over loud and clear when visiting Kenya’s famous animals on safari.
Travel: Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire
ONE of three hotels owned by the National Trust, Hartwell House, in the Vale of Aylesbury, was first mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to a natural son of William the Conqueror. But the stunning building that stands there now, with its Jacobean and Georgian aspects, dates from the early 17th century.
Travel: Florence versus Venice
DAN Brown’s forthcoming novel, Inferno, is set principally in Florence, and already the city is gearing itself up for an even greater influx of tourists than usual after the book’s publication on Tuesday.
Travel: Channel your appetites at Jersey’s food festival
Think of Jersey and what immediately springs to mind is sunshine, cows, potatoes and – I’m just going to get it out of the way – Bergerac.
Video: Wallace & Gromit visit Loch Ness in tourism ad video
Plasticine duo Wallace and Gromit have been to the moon, fought off evil penguins and solved one small town’s rabbit problem, but now they’ve done the impossible - they’ve had their picture taken alongside the Loch Ness monster.
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Music
Susan Boyle to embark on first ever live tour
SINGING sensation Susan Boyle is to embark on her first ever live tour - with a seven-night run across Scotland.
ISS astronaut Chris Hadfield back down to Earth video Picture gallery
A Soyuz space capsule carrying a three-man crew returning from a five-month mission to the International Space Station landed safely this morning on the steppes of Kazakhstan.
Lana Del Rey drops into Glasgow Co-op
A SHOP assistant in Glasgow has told of her disbelief at meeting US pop star Lana Del Rey - at her work in a Glasgow branch of Co-op.
Chris Hadfield sings David Bowie cover in space video Picture gallery
IT HAS to be every David Bowie fan’s fantasy: sitting in a tin can far above the world and singing Space Oddity to millions listening below.
1 commentGig review: John Grant, Edinburgh
JOHN Grant is one of those blessed songwriters who can turn heads with just a phrase – generally colloquial, often witty, sometimes vicious and occasionally naughty – while beguiling with a beautiful melody and heart-wrenching delivery.
Books
Dundee International Book Prize shortlist drawn up
A 13-strong shortlist of authors from across the globe has been chosen to compete for this year’s prestigious Dundee International Book Prize.
Claire Black: Reading time is precious and I don’t want to waste it on Dan Brown
DAN Brown has a new book out this week. I confess I am underwhelmed.
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Book review: The Society Of Timid Souls: Or How To Be Brave, Polly Morland
IN THIS fascinating rumination on the nature of courage and cowardice, there’s a chapter titled “Crime And Punishment” in which, among other things, Polly Morland has frank conversations with two armed robbers, now reformed.
Book review: Dear Lumpy, Roger Mortimer and Louise Mortimer
A DEFTLY witty collection of letters from exasperated father Roger Mortimer to his wastrel son Charlie, Dear Lupin was one of the surprise hits of last year.
Book review: The Round House, Louise Erdrich
LOUISE Erdrich takes us back to the North Dakota Ojibwe reservation that she has conjured and mapped in so many of her novels and made as indelibly real as Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County or Joyce’s Dublin.
Comedy
Comedy review: Bill Bailey, Glasgow
There are some brilliant set-pieces in this latest show from stand-up musician Bill Bailey, so much so that reprises are demanded in the encore.
Bill Bailey on cockatoos and his new stand-up tour
Ask bill bailey about his stand-up tour and somehow you end up with a lesson on the behaviour of cockatoos. What to do? Throw away the script and enjoy the surreal ride
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10 things to do in Scotland this week
THIS WEEK’S arts, entertainment and lifestyle highlights from around Scotland, including music from Malcolm Middleton and Seasick Steve, fiery festivities in Edinburgh and Speyside, and comedian Eddie Izzard kicking off his UK tour in Aberdeen.
Karen Koren: New ice rink plans will get a frosty reception
THE headlines in the Evening News last week announced that the ice rink will be moving to George Street for the Christmas period.
Lorna Watson and Ingrid Oliver on the art of the double act
OH, DOUBLE acts and their conversational helices! Sentences beginning in one mouth finish in another, or return to their starting place for a final flourish.
Film
‘Breathe In’ to open Edinburgh’s film festival
ACCLAIMED new American drama Breathe In has won the coveted opening night slot at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, organisers revealed today.
New Star Wars film could be shot in Scotland
TOURISM leaders have predicted another massive movie spin-off for the country if the next Stars Wars film is partly shot in Scotland.
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Brave creator slams Merida makeover as ‘atrocious’
THE creator of the Disney-Pixar adventure set in the Scottish Highlands has branded a controversial makeover for the main character Merida “atrocious.”
5 commentsDVD reviews: Les Miserables | Side By Side
BOMBASTIC, over-blown, over-long, needlessly convoluted, and full of simplistic characters, terrible performances and a constant, cochlea-cracking racket on the soundtrack, Les Misérables arrives on DVD and Blu-ray in all its baffling glory – like the musical equivalent of a Transformers movie.
Andrew Eaton-Lewis: The problem is Merida has been turned into an object
AS YOU may have heard, Merida from Brave has just become an official Disney princess, and had a makeover to celebrate.
TV and Radio
Delia Smith criticises Masterchef
COOKERY queen Delia Smith has taken a swipe at MasterChef for undermining the confidence of aspiring cooks.
TV review: Apprentice | The Politician’s Husband | Life of Crime
‘CLICHES, cliches... I’m sick and tired of all that bloody rubbish, to be honest with you.” Is this a) Lord Sugar when confronted with another bunch of braggards spouting business-speak on The Apprentice? Or b) your correspondent on having to listen to yet more soundbites, headlines and clunky phrases passing for dialogue in The Politician’s Husband? Both, actually. Let’s deal with The Apprentice first.
Kevin Spacey to give Edinburgh MacTaggart lecture
HOLLYWOOD star Kevin Spacey has been chosen to give an annual keynote speech to TV executives - about how his latest hit show bypassed television channels.
Baftas: Olivia Colman leading lady with two awards
Olivia Colman was crowned leading lady at this year’s TV Baftas after picking up two awards.
Eurovision: From nul points to Number One
It’s Eurovision time again, and David Elder has the lowdown on the cheesiest show on TV
Performing Arts
Paul Kieve talks about special effects and magic of Ghost
THE mysterious art of the illusionist lies at the heart of Ghost, which floats onto the Playhouse stage today, for a three-week haunting.
Theatre reviews: Chalk About | Ilo | Wanted: Rabbit
TIME WAS when Imaginate – then known as the Children’s International Theatre Festival – was all about watching in wonder, as children’s theatre artists from across Europe and beyond showed us the magic of world-class children’s theatre.
Theatre review: Arches Behaviour Festival: #Torycore
#TORYCORE is hardcore. So much so that its co-creators –writer/musicians Chris Thorpe and Steve Lawson, and writer/actor Lucy Ellinson – were bumped off a BBC Scotland arts programme, last Friday, for being too blatantly anti-Tory.
The Royal Caledonian Ball keeps it reel in London video
Once a year the Grosvenor Hotel in London is turned into a floor-shaking bacchanal when the tartan aristocracy take the floor for the Royal Caledonian Ball
2 commentsComedy review: Bill Bailey, Glasgow
There are some brilliant set-pieces in this latest show from stand-up musician Bill Bailey, so much so that reprises are demanded in the encore.
Visual Arts
Images of Scotland: Bass Rock
Jonathan Nisbet, of North Berwick, describes himself as a keen amateur photographer, however his image looking out to the Bass Rock is nothing less than professional
Art review: David Batchelor - Flatlands, Edinburgh
FOR most people October is a month. For art world types it’s a secular bible. October, founded in New York in 1976, is the journal that, depending on your point of view, is the voice of radical critique or the delusional product of an inward-looking clique. Unbelievers have even named a syndrome after it: Octoberism.
Renaissance man Rory McEwen’s work in new exhibitions
RORY McEwen caused an international hullabaloo in the worlds of art and music. Now the Scot’s creative talents are recognised in exhibitions and a book that celebrate the legacy of this Renaissance man.
Lothians in pictures: Firth of Forth
Green railings form a perfect frame for News reader Tor Sodergren’s picture of a lone boat sailing in the Forth
Images of Scotland: Glenmore Forest Park, Aviemore
Reader David Reynolds from Edinburgh took this photograph in Glenmore Forest Park in the Cairngorms at Aviemore, capturing the rush and tumble of a Highland river
Fashion
Fashion: Patterned outfits
Prepare yourself, a pattern revolution has hit the high street. For the past few seasons, the threat of head-to-toe textiles was sidelined for hardcore fashionistas.
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Lynne McCrossan: Raise a glass to family business on the Royal Mile
WALKING down the Royal Mile, it is hard not to feel proud as a Scot. This reaction goes beyond patriotism to feeling part of a giant national family.
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Timorous Beasties accuse Topshop of ‘rip-off onesie’
ONE of Scotland’s leading design companies has accused a high-street giant of creating a “rip-off” of one of its most famous patterns.
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Female Virgin Trains uniforms ‘too revealling’
Virgin Trains has delayed the introduction of new uniforms after some female staff said blouses were see through and too low cut.
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The Met Gala in New York proves punk is still rocking
MADONNA, Beyonce and Katy Perry were among the celebrities to embrace the punk theme at the Met gala in New York this week, the fundraiser that has become known as “the party of the year.”
Homes and Gardens
Creating a home full of character
SERENDIPITY is how Pauline Brotherton explains finding Cleish Mill eight years ago.
A Dalry apartment has an A-listed ceiling bearing the crests of the 17th century king Charles II
EVEN keen renovators sometimes need a break, and the catalyst for that break can be finding a property that’s too good to miss, and simply doesn’t need any work.
Original features and plenty of space for their kids to play
‘WE TOTALLY fell in love with this house,’ says Steph Middleton of her home at 2 Albert Terrace in Musselburgh. “We had been looking extensively and couldn’t find anywhere in our budget that offered the same amount of space, with all the original features that we love.”
Preview: Gardening Scotland at Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre
IN THE greenhouses of Kevock Garden Plants near Lasswade, many unusual kinds of primula, elegant trilliums and dactylorhizas, those delicate orchids that flourish in the harsh surroundings of bogs and heathland, are all in bud.
Health
Krav Maga: The no nonsense self defence class
GET her on the ground!” is what I hear from the sidelines as I grapple with a stranger who’s grabbing my face like a bowling ball, his fingers almost in my eyes.
Meningitis leaves lasting legacy
FRIGHTENED and desperately ill, Jennifer Hamilton turned to the nurse beside her hospital bed and dared to ask the most terrifying question of them all.
“I needed the truth,” recalls the mum-of-four. “I needed to know if I’d still be alive in the morning.”
Glasgow 2014: Campaigners call for smoke-free games
ANTI-SMOKING charity Ash Scotland has called on the organisers of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to make the event completely ‘smoke-free’.
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Lifelines: Karen Bell on child contact week
I HAVE two children aged ten and seven. My ex-partner and I had an acrimonious separation and I had to go to court to see my children. My ex made allegations that I was not a good father and therefore a contact centre was suggested by the sheriff.
Cancer ‘costing Scots patients £5000 a year’
ILLNESS is costing Scottish cancer patients an average of £420 a month – or more than £5,000 a year – as they battle the disease, research has shown.
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Technology
Train view app to highlight Scottish landscape video
A new app is giving rail passengers the chance to learn about the landmarks they pass, turning the view through the window into an interactive learning experience.
Samsung 5G test: ‘Download film in a second’
SAMSUNG has developed “ultra-high speed” fifth-generation technology that could allow users to download an entire film in a second, the electronics giant has said.
Scots firms fear falling behind in tech investment
A quarter of Scottish small firms fear they are falling behind competitors in investing in technology, according to new research.
£100,000 of offer at first green transport prize awards
ELECTRIC bubble cars and cargo bikes to deliver goods in busy cities are among the projects which will compete next week for £100,000 in the first Green Transport Prize awards.
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Windows 8: Microsoft’s U-turn after complaints
MICROSOFT is preparing significant changes to its latest operating system after complaints and negative reviews, with commentators already drawing similarities with Coca-Cola’s infamous “New Coke” fiasco nearly 30 years ago
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Heritage
Skye business facilities plan gets funding boost
PLANS to develop new business facilities on Skye – supporting up to 80 new jobs – has been handed a £1.9million funding boost announced by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
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Edinburgh museums to close as staff begin strikes
THE National Museum of Scotland and National War Museum will be closed until lunchtime tomorrow as part of a three-day strike over pay and pensions.
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Lost Edinburgh: Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospital
THE outstanding career achievements of Doctor Elsie Inglis have undoubtedly secured her place among the most notable medical heroines in Scottish history. How fitting that the Edinburgh maternity hospital that was named in her honour has become as fondly recalled as the doctor herself.
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Call for national holiday to mark World Whisky Day
THE creater of World Whisky Day says that a national holiday should be created to mark Scotland’s national drink.
9 comments
A Dalry apartment has an A-listed ceiling bearing the crests of the 17th century king Charles II
EVEN keen renovators sometimes need a break, and the catalyst for that break can be finding a property that’s too good to miss, and simply doesn’t need any work.
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Weather for Edinburgh
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 2 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 3 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
