Discover Scotland Issue 46

Exploring the delights of Dunbar A celebration of magic and fantasy Uncovering the roots of Halloween

The timeless poetry of whisky New twist on a winter warmer dish Art and the age of steam p1

October 2020

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K eepin g t he f la g f ly ing

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Index - Inside this issue

inside this issue 14 Delights

of Dunbar & North Berwick

30 Tales

of Tantallon Castle

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steam trains

38 Halloween’s

Scottish origins

54 A

piece of the past

58 Facing

up to history 64 Hunting

antiques with...

Roo Irvine p7

Index - Inside this issue

48 Celebrating

Index - Inside this issue

inside this issue 84 A

wee livener with...

Tom Morton 96 Designer

72

Chef in a Kilt with‌.

Gordon Howe

drams

106

79 New p8

line for beer company

Gintelligence with...

Fiona Holland

Index - Inside this issue

114 Beauty

& 128 Style with...

Celebrating Alicja the work of an Błasińska icon

144 Chance

to get on record

Discoveries and the story behind the song

136 An

actor’s life for me with...

Scott Kyle

150 Musical

157 A

love of magic and fantasy p9

Index - Inside this issue

inside this issue 163 Top

drama prize awarded

Strange Tales from 178 Danger to Thin Places marine life 168

184 Dream

for sale

properties

1 Cover

Photo

Photo by Damian Shields / VisitScotland Greenan Castle and beach, Ayrshire p10

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Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland John Muir’s Birthplace in Dunbar

Dunbar - where dreams were born

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here is little wonder that pioneering environmentalist and father of the National Parks John Muir grew up in awe of the beauty of the natural world when you consider where he was born.

The historic town of Dunbar lies some 30 miles east of Edinburgh and is perfect for a quick and easy day out from the big city.

As you would expect the town is justifiably proud of its most famous son as there

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are numerous memorials and commemorations of the visionary who had a dream to protect the world.

The John Muir Way, a 134 mile walk, starts in the town and crosses the county to finish in Helensburgh on the west coast. There is also at least two sculptures dedicated to Muir. The first is a statue in the High Street beside the town clock of him as a young boy and the second is a 16ft high steel bear, created by Andy Scott, the man behind the world famous Kelpies.

Muir, was born in the town in 1838 but emigrated from Scotland in 1849 to the United States where he forged a career as a naturalist, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist and evangelical environmentalist.

He is credited with petitioning the US Government to establish Yosemite National Park. The bear is a symbol of his love for the American wilderness.

In addition to the statues the house he was born in has been transformed into a museum and the exterior restored to how it

Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland John Muir statue, Dunbar

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Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland Dunbar high street and Toolbooth

was in 1838. Inside the free to visit attraction there are three floors of fascinating exhibits and interactive displays depicting the journey of his life, from a boyhood exploring the local area to becoming a gobal icon of conservation.

But there is much more to Dunbar than John Muir. Renowned for its high sunshine record the town has been a popular destination for visitors for many years and is especially prized for its numerous picturesque buildings steeped in history and surrounded by spectacular scenery.

Photo by Stewart Cunningham Dunbar Harbour

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At the far end of the harbour, which dates back to at least the early 17th century, stands the remains of a much older structure. Dunbar Castle used to be one of the most formidable fortresses in Scotland. It was here Mary Queen of Scots fled to after her Italian private secretary David Rizzio was murdered.

Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland Andy Scott’s 16ft tall bear sculpture in Dunbar. A tribute to naturalist John Muir

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Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born

Over the years the harbour has changed immensely from a small trading port to a strategic defensive harbour and then a

major centre for herring fishing and whaling.

South of Dunbar lies the village of

Biel and the Bridge to Nowhere.

A popular attraction for visitors and photographers the Balhaven Bridge was built to provide

Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland Balhaven Bridge over Biel Water in Belhaven Bay otherwise known as The Bridge to Nowhere

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beach beyond via the bridge but once the sea comes surging into shore the land around the bridge is swallowed up, making the

bridge appear as if it’s stranded.

And, for lovers of the ancient game, Dunbar is one course that

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Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born

access over the Biel Water, a large stream that runs through the village into Belhaven Bay. At low tide it’s possible to access the

Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born

should be on the must play list of every golfer. There are few places that can boast such a long and distinguished history, after all they have been playing golf at Dunbar since at least 1617.

Ancient church records show that a number of townspeople,

referred to as ‘gouffers’, had to be reprimanded by Kirk ministers for breaking rules of the Sabbath. Other, slightly younger, documents have revealed that members of an organisation

Photo by Stewart Cunningham Golf at Dunbar overlooking the Bass Rock

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The club, as we know it today, was officially formed in 1856 and

the course has the almost unique honour of having had at least two world famous architects influence its design. Old Tom Morris altered seven holes in 1894 and between 1922 and 1924 James Braid laid out much of the course that’s played today.

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Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born

called the Dunbar Golfing Society, played on the western side of the town as far back as 1794.

Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born

After a few hours enjoying the delights of Dunbar many visitors take the longer route back to Edinburgh via North Berwick

Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland North Berwick over Milsey Bay Beach

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through postcard villages to the magnificent Tantallon Castle and on to the beautiful beaches of Gullane.

Dominated by a 300millionyear-old volcanic plug of once molten rock, which was formerly home to an Iron Age Fort and

buildings - and the world’s third oldest golf course played over the same piece of land since the 17th century.

The town also boasts some fantastic, family friendly beaches which regularly attract visitors from around the country to come

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Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born

later a Napoleonic observation post, North Berwick enjoys an eclectic mix of shops, cafes, bars, popular beaches, historic

Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born Photo by Grant Paterson / VisitScotland North Berwick beach

and enjoy the myriad of water sports on offer from swimming and sailing to diving and surfing.

Photo by Stewart Cunningham Windsurfer at Gullane Beach

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The historic harbour sits further to the west of the beach separating Milsey Bay from West Bay with

the Scottish Seabird Centre next door.

Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born

On a clear day the top of the hill known as North Berwick Law, which has been crowned with

a whale’s jawbone since 1709 (albeit a fibreglass replica since 2008), offers a stunning view over

the Firth of Forth and the majestic Bass Rock.

Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland A fibreglass replica whale bone located on North Berwick Law

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Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born Photo by Stewart Cunningham Bass Rock

At first glance on a sunny day the rock, which sits a little more than a mile off shore, looks like an iceberg but it’s actually a lump of carboniferous rock smothered in centuries of droppings from millions of seabirds.

Described by Sir David Attenborough as ‘one of the 12 wildlife wonders of the world’

the Rock is a Site Of Special Scientific Interest. As the nearest bird sanctuary to the mainland it is home to more than 150,000 gannets during peak breeding season.

lighthouse and a castle-turnedprison, is a big attraction for day trippers on sight seeing tours to watch the birds and learn more about the history of this extraordinary island.

Now completely devoid of permanent human habitation the rock, which hosts the ruins of an ancient chapel, an unmanned

In the late 17th century, between 1672 and 1688, the fortress was used as a prison for Presbyterian ministers and other political prisoners.

In 1691 four Jacobite prisoners managed to escape their chains and capture the castle. The held it for three years, despite numerous attempts by government forces to retake it, until a naval blockade eventually starved them into submission.

Photo by Stewart Cunningham Beach North Berwick

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Five miles west of North Berwick lies Gullane, a pretty village with an exceptional beach that attracts numerous sandcastle makers and windsurfers, making it an ideal location for a fun day out.

Travel - Dunbar - where dreams were born Photo by Stewart Cunningham Barns Ness Lighthouse Dunbar

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Photo by Guy Phillips

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History - Tantalising Tantallon Photo by Stewart Cunningham Tantallon Castle

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Tantalising Tantallon

et high on a cliff edge, in the shadow of the legendary Bass Rock, the ruined medieval fortress of Tantallon Castle still exudes an air of menace, power and influence.

If its crumbling walls could talk this former home of the Red Douglas dynasty would tell tales of bloody battles, illicit affairs, treasonous plots, political skulduggery and international intrigue.

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It was built sometime in the middle of the 14th century by William, 1st Earl of Douglas. His grandfather, Sir William the Hardy, fought with William Wallace against the English and died a prisoner in the Tower of London.

His uncle, Sir James Douglas, sided with Robert The Bruce and earned the nicknames ‘Black Douglas’ from the English and ‘The Good Sir James’ among the Scots.

It’s therefore no surprise that

when England went to war with France, in what became known as The Hundred Years War, the 1st Earl of Douglas fought for the French. When he returned from the war he killed his godfather, Sir William Douglas of Liddesdale, and took over as head of the House of Douglas before being created Earl of Douglas in 1358.

He also went on to have an affair with his sister-in-law, Margaret Stewart, 4th Countess of Angus, who bore him an illegitimate son

History - Tantalising Tantallon James V of Scotland who laid siege to Tantallon in 1528

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History - Tantalising Tantallon General Monk’s siege of Tantallon in 1651 led to the abandonment of the castle

called George who later inherited the castle and his mother’s title to become the Earl of Angus and the start of the family line known as the Red Douglases.

Over the years the family sided with and against the Scottish monarch as they schemed and plotted their way to even greater riches and build upon their existing power base. The result was sometimes a success but more often a disaster as the castle was put under siege several times over the years.

Photo by marsupium photography CC BY-SA 2.0 Tantallon Castle

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The castle’s last military adventure happened in the 17th century when Oliver Cromwell’s army defeated a Scottish force at Dunbar and laid siege to Tantallon Castle. For 12 days the Royalist defenders inside the fortress were bombarded by cannons until they were finally forced to surrender, but only after securing a promise of mercy in recognition of their bravery. The castle had been

History - Tantalising Tantallon Photo by Lynne Kirton CC BY-SA 2.0

severely damaged in the siege and was never again repaired or inhabited.

The ruins were sold in 1699 to Sir Hew Dalrymple, the President of the Court of Session, to settle gambling debts run up by James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas and the 12th Earl of Angus, and pretty much left to decay.

In 1924 the castle remains were handed over to the UK Government and it is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and renowned as the last medieval curtain wall castle built in the country.

A little more than three miles from North Berwick the castle is unique and well worth a visit by anyone holidaying in, or passing through, the area. The south-east, north-east, and north-west sides are naturally defended by steep

Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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History - Tantalising Tantallon Photo by Stephen C Dickson CC BY-SA 4.0 Tantallon Castle and the Bass Rock by Alexander Nasmyth

sea cliffs while to the south-west a massive red sandstone curtain wall defends the last approach.

There is no doubt that in its heyday Tantallon must have been an impressive fortress. Even as a ruin it is an enchanting place

Photo by Deepsphotography CC BY-SA 3.0

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to visit. History seems to seep from every pore and ghosts still wander the crumbling halls and galleries.

History - Tantalising Tantallon Photo by Karora PD Tantallon Castle courtyard

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History - A traditional Scottish Halloween Photo by VisitScotland

A traditional Scottish Halloween Halloween will soon be upon us, with all its ghostly tales, superstitions, tricks and treats.

by Tracey Macintosh

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he nights are drawing in, the shadows are getting longer and veil between this world and the next is growing increasingly thin.

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While this annual festival of fun and fright is celebrated throughout the world - and is now big business for purveyors of colourful costumes, suppliers of spooky home dĂŠcor and even pumpkin farmers - few people realise many of its origins can be traced back to Scotland.

The name, Halloween, is a contraction of All Hallows Eve, so called as it is the night before the Christian festival of All Hallows

or All Saints Day on 1 November, which is followed by All Souls Day on 2 November, (also known as the Day of the Dead in Mexico). It is a time of year to remember and honour deceased relatives and ancestors, and in many cultures it is customary to set an extra place for dinner for those no longer with us.

Halloween seems to have overtaken All Saints and All Souls Day in popularity in the UK, the USA Canada and further afield.

Historically the celebration started as the final harvest festival of the

History - A traditional Scottish Halloween

Photo by VisitScotland

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History - A traditional Scottish Halloween Illustration of Robert Burns’ Halloween

year, known as Samhain which roughly translates as summer’s end and as such the festival marked the end of summer and the start of winter. This celebration was also seen as the end of year celebration in ancient Celtic culture, with the Celtic new year beginning on 1 November.

In bygone years Samhain was a time of sacrifice to ensure survival over the harsh winter months. The last of the field crops would be stored and livestock were often killed around this festival and preserved to provide food for the winter months.

Superstition also tells that the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds is at its thinnest at this time of year and our ancestors believed the souls of the departed wandered the earth. Bonfires were lit as part of this celebration to frighten off ‘evil’ spirits.

Although the industrial revolution

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Photo by Rosser1954 CC BY-SA 4.0 Halloween pumpkin lantern

has removed many of us from our agricultural roots, in Scotland these ancient traditions have been kept alive through the centuries in a number of ways. ’Guising’, short for disguising, is a popular Halloween tradition still very much alive. The enduring tradition of children dressing up for this time of year has its roots

in disguising yourself, usually in a dark, creepy themed costume, to confuse the potentially malevolent spirits around on Halloween and make them think you were one of them.

Once in costume, ‘guising’ also has a performance aspect and children in particular would go from door to door and perform a

History - A traditional Scottish Halloween

Video QR Code

song, recite a poem or tell a joke in return for fruit or nuts, although over the years this has evolved to include sweets and occasionally coins - essentially an offering to appease the ‘evil spirits’ at the door. This became ‘trick or treat’ in the USA and Canada and is increasingly used in the UK. The underlying meaning of appeasing mischievous or scary ‘spirits’ with offerings continues. With the added threat of a trick if the

offering is not forthcoming!

Fire is still used to ward off evil.

Traditionally turnips, or neeps as they are known in Scots, were hollowed out and carved into scary faces then lit from within by a candle. These have increasingly been replaced by pumpkins – usually more impressive in size and considerably easier to carve.

Nowadays the larger bonfires that were lit in years gone by tend to be left until Guy Fawkes night on 5 November.

As with all good Scottish traditions, food features at Halloween.

Photo Chowbok CC BY-SA 2.5 Trick or Treater

Tackling a treacle scone Halloween style is a sticky business! A scone (regular or drop scone) is lathered in treacle then threaded through with a piece of string and suspended from a ceiling or door lintel and one by one participants are invited to try to take a bite or two from the dripping, messy scone which is spun and swung, usually ensuring everyone is liberally doused in treacle. Perhaps a testament to the mischievous spirits abroad at this time of year!

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History - A traditional Scottish Halloween Photo by Caleb Zahnd CC BY 2.0 Apple bobbing

Another popular Halloween activity, dooking for apples, is still a popular Halloween pastime and an ideal activity after the treacle scone challenge to help clean up sticky faces.

Apples are thought to have originated in the Caucasus mountains and made their way West with merchants and travellers over the centuries, becoming established throughout the UK in by the 13th century.

Many ancient cultures linked apples with fertility and in medieval Scotland a crop of apples at the end of the harvest season was a real bonus going into the lean winter months. A versatile addition to the winter larder, apples could be eaten raw, boiled, baked or even made into cider. As a source of vitamin C when many other sources were dormant, this was arguably a real wonder food for our ancestors.

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Celts often tied apples to evergreen branches to help encourage the sun to return following winter and apple blossom would surely have been a welcome sight after the long, cold winter months.

Dookin’ for apples entails a dozen or so apples in a bucket or basin of water then participants need to catch an apple without the use of their hands, by dunking or ‘dooking’ their mouths into the water. A slightly more sanitised version frequently used allows a fork to be clenched between teeth then dropped into the water to try to spear an apple. Of course in the mischievous spirit of the festival, the apples should be given a good ‘shoogle’ to make sure none of them are easy targets!

As a symbol of fertility, an old Celtic legend, possibly originating from Roman invaders, suggests that peeling an apple in one single

unbroken strip then throwing it over your shoulder would reveal the first initial of your future spouse’s name.

Some Scottish Halloween traditions have not survived the test of time.

Nut burning was a prophetic Samhain tradition. Betrothed couples would put two nuts together in the fire. If the nuts burned quietly the union would be a harmonious one, however if the nuts sizzled and spat this did not bode well for the forthcoming marriage. Although this custom hasn’t survived, it may be the precursor to the nuts often gifted to guisers.

Another prophetic tradition involved single men and women being blindfolded then guided into a garden to uproot Kale stocks. The kale stock uprooted was supposedly representative of a future spouse. Health, age and

History - A traditional Scottish Halloween Photo by VisitScotland The Globe Inn - Frequented By The Poet Robert Burns On The High Street, Dumfries

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History - A traditional Scottish Halloween Illustration from Burns’ Tam O’Shanter (PD)

height of the kale stock were all supposedly predictive, and even wealth, or lack of, was thought to be indicated by soil adhering to the Kale stock’s roots. A stock with little soil on it was thought to presage poverty.

Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns, wrote a poem on Halloween touching on many of the traditional customs. First published in 1786, this is one of Burns’ longer poems with 28 verses.

With a rich and long history, Halloween in Scotland continues to be a thriving celebration with the roots of its Celtic past reaching many other countries.

This Halloween, whether you go guising, trick or treating, throw a party with some seasonally themed games or draw the curtains, light some candles and watch a scary movie, give a thought to the echoes of our ancestors, still apparent in many

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Alabama Extension PD Kale and Cabbage

of the customs and traditions we follow today.

History - A traditional Scottish Halloween

Robert Burns

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History - Iconic railways poster arrives in Edinburgh

Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland Flying Scotsman crossing the Forth Bridge

Iconic railways poster arrives in Edinburgh

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ational Museums Scotland has acquired the original artwork for LNER’s 1932 advertising campaign ‘Take me by the Flying Scotsman’ by A R Thomson.

It was created for a railway poster titled LNER ‘Take me by the Flying Scotsman Leaves Kings Cross at 10am weekdays.

With apologies to the Southern Railway.’ The painting shows the enormous, gleaming wheels and engine of the Flying Scotsman with a child standing on the adjacent platform looking up in awe at the driver.

It was intended as a pastiche of

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a Southern Railway poster “I’m Taking an Early Holiday cos I know Summer Comes Soonest in the South” which showed a child talking to an engine driver.

LNER wanted to project a very different image, one of speed and modernity, and Thomson was mocking Southern Railway’s homely style.

The age of railway art as a serious field of commercial design took off in the 1920s and reached its pinnacle in the 1930s. Before the First World War railway posters were text-heavy, cramming in as much information about a service and its destination as possible.

In 1923 the government grouped into four regions those rail companies which had survived the First World War. Although divided geographically they were still in competition with one another due to overlapping territories and routes. Railway poster art, as we recognise it today, was born along with the creation of these new companies.

Each was keen to promote their own distinct style and region, and LNER took the progressive step of appointing an advertising manager and introducing a poster campaign. Soon the company had a reputation for producing exciting and innovative work,

History - Iconic railways poster arrives in Edinburgh

Photo Science Museum CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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History - Iconic railways poster arrives in Edinburgh

Photo by David Ingham CC BY-SA 2.0 Flying Scotsman

setting a standard in poster design that none of its rivals could match. LNER kept five artists on exclusive contract from 1926 until 1932 and commissioned a new typeface.

When the contracts expired in 1932, the company approached A R Thomson to create new works.

The focus on the impression of speed and the scale of the shiny locomotive, conveyed in the distinctive Art Deco style, is in marked contrast to the more traditional railway poster art which showed bucolic images of a destination rather than the experience of train travel itself.

Possibly for this reason, and despite its artistic merits, when the poster was displayed on station platforms it was not as popular with the public as the Southern Railway design.

However the railway advertising managers recognised the value of being provocative.

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In 1929 the Public Relations and Advertising Officer for Southern Railways wrote, ‘the most valuable asset of a well-designed poster is its shock value…its kick, strength, visibility, immediate readability.’ In this regard Take me by the Flying Scotsman is a classic of its time.

The Flying Scotsman locomotive was built in Doncaster for LNER in 1923. It was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley as part of the A1 class – the most powerful steam locomotives used by the railway. By 1924, when it was selected to appear at the British Empire Exhibition in London, the locomotive had been named after the express passenger rail service between London and Edinburgh which ran daily at 10am from 1862.

The service became a byword for the luxury of rail travel between the wars. Although the locomotives have been replaced

several times since the original A1, the service has continued to be named the Flying Scotsman.

Take me by the Flying Scotsman will go on display in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

“This striking artwork evokes the obsession with speed, industry and modernity which influenced graphic design in the twenties and thirties. An iconic image which broke new ground when it was created, it’s a beautiful reminder of a golden age of rail travel,” said Meredith Greiling, Senior Curator of Transport at National Museums Scotland.

“This is an important addition to our internationally significant railway collection and we are grateful to Art Fund and the NMS Charitable Trust for their support.”

History - Iconic railways poster arrives in Edinburgh

Photo by Science Museum CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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History - Rediscovery of valuable artefact Copyright National Museums Scotland The ancient Roman urn rediscovered in National Museums Scotland’s collections

Rediscovery of valuable artefact

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n ancient Roman burial urn made of Egyptian stone has been rediscovered in National Museums Scotland’s collections.

A very rare example of such an urn found in northern Europe, it would have once held the remains of a powerful Roman at Camelon, just north of the Antonine Wall. It has been in National Museums’ care since the 1850s, but its significance has only recently been understood.

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Camelon was a major Roman military base facing the unconquered northern tribes.

When a railway line was constructed across it in 1849, the navvies’ pickaxes uncovered and broke the urn and scattered the bones it once held.

The whereabouts of the bones and smaller pieces of the urn are unknown, but the largest two fragments entered the collections of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, which later became part of National

Museums Scotland.

Early antiquarians were amazed by the urn, and it was on display for decades. However, in a 1901 article the then Keeper of the Museum, Joseph Anderson, wrote that it “presents no features which suggest Roman workmanship”. It was dismissed as more modern and put into storage, where it remained for over a century.

The fragments were recently reexamined by Dr Fraser Hunter,

History - Rediscovery of valuable artefact William Roy Plate XXIX Roman Station Camelon Antonine Wall

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History - Rediscovery of valuable artefact Photo by Ministerio per i beni e le attività culturali e per il turismo Museo Nazionale Romano An example of a similar, more complete urn in the National Museum in Rome

Principal Curator, Iron Age & Roman collections at National Museums Scotland. He found that they were made from Egyptian travertine, a popular choice for Roman burial urns because of both its beauty and the Romans’ fascination with Egyptian beliefs about death and the afterlife.

The blocks of raw stone were quarried in Egypt and shipped to Rome, where they were carved into funerary urns and bought by the Roman elite, including emperors and their households.

While only the base and bowl of the urn survive, a very similar, perfectly-preserved urn in the National Museum in Rome shows how it would have looked, with an ornate lid and paired

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handles.

While similar urns have been discovered in southern Europe, only two others have been identified from the northern frontier of the Roman empire. It is likely that it was brought here by a member of the Roman elite – probably the commander of this powerful Roman outpost, or one of his close family. The Romans planned carefully for death, so travelling with one’s own funerary urn was commonplace among the wealthy and powerful.

The urn is now back on display in the National Museum of Scotland as part of New Collecting, New Thinking, a display highlighting new acquisitions and new ideas.

“Rediscovering this object and working out how significant and unusual it is has been an exciting process, said Dr Fraser Hunter, Principal Curator of Iron Age & Roman collections at National Museums Scotland.

“Luxurious stone urns are very much a Mediterranean habit, with barely any coming from the cold northern edges of the Roman world, so this one is a rare migrant indeed. That a powerful person travelled such a distance with this object offers a tantalising glimpse into the practices and values of ancient Romans. I am delighted that it is now back on display for visitors to enjoy, over a century after it was last seen.”

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History - Shedding light on a shadowy past Stones Steeped in History GoMA Glasgow

Shedding light on a shadowy past

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he legacies of slavery and empire are to be highlighted in a range of new exhibitions which aim to shed light on the hidden history of Scotland’s largest city.

Glasgow Life, the charity that manages the city’s museums and collections, has appointed its first curator specifically tasked with telling the story of the impact the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and the British Empire has had on the city.

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Miles Greenwood’s remit as Curator (Legacies of Slavery & Empire) will include developing a programme of community engagement and collaborative research to reshape understandings of the connections between the slave trade and colonialism, and their contemporary legacies.

The extraordinary wealth that Glasgow accumulated on the back of enslaved labour is woven into the city’s physical environment and material culture.

In the 19th century, Glasgow’s connection to slavery was obscured. As a consequence there are few objects that directly relate to slavery in the city’s museums.

Across Glasgow Museums, Greenwood will, with colleagues, curate new displays to clearly demonstrate the impact slavery and empire had on all aspects of the city. Working with local communities and existing specialist curators he will shape a public programme of talks, tours,

History - Shedding light on a shadowy past Miles Greenwood Curator (Legacies & Empire) Glasgow Museums

handling sessions and other activities that reflects the legacies of slavery, empire, race and globalisation.

Greenwood recently worked in Visitor Studies at the Paisley Museum where he planned and delivered a Black History tour of of the town museum’s collection, which explored links to the slave trade.

“Miles’ appointment will enable a step change in the way we are able to address the history of slavery and empire in Glasgow.

By creating the post of Curator Legacies of Slavery & Empire we hope to send a powerful message about the city’s commitment to acknowledging our difficult past,”

said Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life.

“We have already carried out a considerable amount of work in the area of slavery and empire, but having Miles lead our efforts will provide a sense of unity and make it easier for local communities to meaningfully engage.

“We understand Glasgow participated fully in the slavery economy, yet the journey of rediscovery and coming to terms with that participation is still in its infancy. There is still much to do and this appointment will assist us in that vital journey.”

Recent museum projects highlight

Glasgow Life’s commitment to telling this story and engaging with the communities that are part of its legacy.

A panel display was installed on the Gallery of Modern Art to highlight the building’s early history as a tobacco merchant’s mansion. Inside, Stones Steeped in History, is a permanent display installed on the balconies that directly addresses the history of the building that it is housed in.

A blog ‘Legacies of Slavery in Glasgow Museums and Collections’ (https:// glasgowmuseumsslavery.co.uk) was launched to mark the UNESCO International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition in 2018. Wider

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History - Shedding light on a shadowy past impacts of Glasgow’s history of Empire can also be seen at the GlaswegAsians exhibition at Scotland Street School Museum and Blockade Runners at Riverside Museum.

“Having a role in addressing the legacies of the British Empire and the trade in enslaved African people is incredibly important for me personally, but I also know these legacies impact a lot of people’s lives today, in Glasgow

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Block runners exhibition

“So many of our social, political and economic realities today are tied to the history of colonialism and the trade in enslaved African people. I hope this project will help people understand that connection in an interesting, often challenging, and even empowering way.”

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History - Shedding light on a shadowy past

and around the world, so I hope I can do them justice,” said Miles Greenwood.

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History - Antique hunting with... Roo Irvine

Antique hunting with... Roo Irvine

Lobster Telephone, 1938 by Salvador Dalí and Edward James on display at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)

A Dark Dalliance…

M

y favourite month is here again, giving me the excuse to get a little ‘dark’ in this monthly article. We’ve discussed all manner of morbid curiosities every October, from Mourning

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Jewellery to Antique Vampire Kits and Death Masks.

This time I want to take that darkness, deep inside the mind of one of the greatest artists of all time. His work was

simultaneously mind-bending, surreal, symbolic, grotesque, yet beautiful, - quite an achievement.

Creativity is fuelled by what lies within, and Salvador Dali is the greatest example of baring your soul on canvas.

History - Antique hunting with... Roo Irvine Photo Library of Congress PD Salvador Dali with his pet ocelot, Babou, and cane

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History - Antique hunting with... Roo Irvine Photo by Suicasmo CC BY-SA 4.0 Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Few artists could convey phenomenal egotism and crippling insecurities within the same piece, but Dali, literally turned it into an art form. He once wrote “Every morning when I awake, the greatest of joys is mine: that of being Salvador Dali”.

Born in 1904, and growing up in a tumultuous household, Dali was irrevocably linked to the Surrealist movement, but he later rejected any association with it, preferring to be linked to classicism.

Another example of his contradictory ways, considering Classicism is represented by harmony, clarity and restraint, rarely seen in his work.

This startling juxtaposition that ran amok inside his mind gave us some of the most shocking works of Art ever. Ask most people about Dali, and they will think of ‘melting clocks’, referring to his most famous piece- 1931’s ‘The Persistence of Memory’. Few

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have delved deeper past his more ‘commercial’ pieces.

One of his best-loved works of Art, and certainly one of his most commercial pieces is ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’. It was painted in 1951 and thankfully bought by the City of Glasgow in 1952. It has been on loan to London and Florida, but it is now safely back in its Scottish home of Kelvingrove Art Gallery, nestled within its crib, - its purposebuilt gallery. A master class in light and shadow, as well as a vertigo-inducing perspective, it is a supreme, stunning work of Art, and Scotland is fiercely proud to own it.

Dali may be an acquired taste to many, but his most valuable piece, painted in 1929 ‘Portrait de Paul Eluard’ sold in 2011 at Sotheby’s London for $22.4 million.

So… I want you to listen to my

voice very carefully. You are feeling sleepy. When I count to three you will be asleep, and your dreams will begin…

Dali beloved strongly in the power of dreams, sleeping beside a canvas so he could paint his dreams as soon as he awoke. I have written poetry inspired by my often-surreal dreams. They truly are a world we escape to where reality is suspended and the impossible is entirely possible.

Every painting was born out of his fears and fascinations, - the two emotions that dominated his life, torturing him in a seductive ecstasy. His fears were many, from grasshoppers and insects to blushing and the female body.

Most of us struggle to look at what we fear. Dali painted it. He created his fear and brought it to life in front of his very eyes.

Terrified by bugs, his paintings were peppered with crawling,

History - Antique hunting with... Roo Irvine © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection Dali Christ of St john of the Cross

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History - Antique hunting with... Roo Irvine

swarming ants. Grasshoppers sat within sexualised scenes.

Despite his perverse artworks, he was repelled by and terrified of sex. He blamed that on reading his father’s horrifically graphic book on venereal diseases when he was a child. Yet his paintings feature many body parts, in situ and often castrated, symbolising his own demons.

Joining the ants, grasshoppers

and deformed body parts, were frightening crustaceans. The lobster in itself strikes fear into my heart. Yet he related to the Lobster because its hard shell and tough body armour protected his soft creature from the rejections of the outside world.

Likewise with eggs. Armour, hard shell. Gloop. Fragile. His infamous Lobster Telephone (one of 11), made in 1938, was bought by the National Galleries of Scotland

for £853,000, showcasing the demand for surrealist sculpture.

Dali believed he was the reincarnation of his dead brother. Hitler-obsessed. Orgies.

Elephants reaching into the clouds. Jesus. Impotency. Gala, my beloved Gala. Tigers leaping from the mouths of fish. Bacon.

Giant Chessboards. Cannibalism.

Lenin. The suspension of Time.

Vaginas with teeth. Took his

Painted plaster and Bakelite Lobster Telephone, 1938 by Salvador Dalí and Edward James Purchased by the Henry and Sula Walton Fund, with assistance from the Art Fund, 2018

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Cauliflowers. In 1955, he filled up his Rolls Royce with 500kg of cauliflowers and drove from Spain to Paris. Why? Because “everything ends up in the cauliflower”. Pair this with the

quirky fact he designed the psychedelic Chupa Chups logo, which I have just realised looks like a cauliflower from above.

Not only did Dali paint surrealistically, he LIVED surrealistically. He was the truest definition of a movement he rejected. His most ambitious quote? “I’ll be a genius, and the world will admire me. Perhaps I’ll be despised and misunderstood,

but I’ll be a genius, a great genius.” The greatest summary of Dali’s magnificent mind is the fact he wrote this in his diary at the tender age of 16. Genius he became. Inspire, he did.

When I count to three, you will wake up, and remember nothing…

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History - Antique hunting with... Roo Irvine

dead wife for one last spin in his Cadillac De Ville before she was embalmed and buried in her favourite Red Dior gown, in a crypt guarded by mythical carved creatures.

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Food & Beverage - A taste of Scotland, Chef in a Kilt with….Gordon Howe

Chef in a kilt

with….Gordon Howe

Photos by Gordon Howe

Pie, beg to differ!

S

hepherds Pie and Cottage Pie, or variations of either, have been enjoyed by families throughout the nations of the British Isles for generations.

Whether its minced lamb in a

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Shepherd’s Pie or minced beef in a Cottage pie both dishes are usually cooked in a delicious gravy, with or without vegetables, and topped with mashed potato.

Depending on individual taste, and family custom, cheese or fresh herbs are often included to

add that little bit of extra flavour and texture.

The traditional recipes of these historic comfort food dishes have changed little over the years so it’s time for a rethink.

Food & Beverage - A taste of Scotland, Chef in a Kilt with….Gordon Howe

Orkney Pie is a uniquely Scottish variation of this tried and tasted delicacy. It’s a blending together of a little culinary history from Orkney with some of the best quality ingredients Scotland has to offer.

What could be more mouthwatering? The delicious rich taste of Scottish pulled slow cooked brisket of beef, sautéed caramelised onions and a rich gravy topped with Clapshot, a popular classic Scottish vegetable side dish made from a combination of mashed tattoos and neeps (potato and turnip or swede).

Orkney Pie Pulled slow cooked Scotch Beef brisket in rich gravy topped classical clap shot Serves 6/8 kcal 730 per serving Prep time 30mins Cooking time 4 hrs in total

Ingredients: Slow cooked Brisket: 1 kg joint of lean Scottish brisket 4 medium onions peeled and chopped (medium pieces) 300mls of hot rich Beef or Veal stock 2 cloves of garlic peeled and

crushed 2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary 3 tbsp of Scottish Rapeseed oil (Olive oil if you prefer)

Method: Pre heat oven to 150c 130c Fan / Gas Mark 2

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Food & Beverage - A taste of Scotland, Chef in a Kilt with‌.Gordon Howe

Heat 1/2 the oil in a frying pan Season the brisket with Sea salt and black pepper, add the beef brisket and brown on all side, then transfer to oven dish.

Add remaking oil to pan then onions and cook over medium heat until caramelised add to oven dish with rosemary, garlic and hot stock.

Cover and cook for 3hrs/3hrs 30mins, until the meat is soft and tender. Reduced pan jus to a thick sauce, remove any impurities.

Once done, transfer the cooked beef brisket to a chopping board and shred the meat apart into medium strands and set aside.

Now make the Clapshot: 750g Ayrshire, Golden Wonder or Record (or good local mashing potatoes) and cut into large chunks.

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Food & Beverage - A taste of Scotland, Chef in a Kilt with‌.Gordon Howe

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Food & Beverage - A taste of Scotland, Chef in a Kilt with‌.Gordon Howe

500g (2 small or 1 medium) Turnip (Swede) cleaned, de-skinned and cut into 2cm chunks 1 onion finely chopped Large knob of butter Sea salt and pepper to season

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Heavy dash of milk Place potatoes, turnip, chopped onion and salt in a pan of water.

Place lid on and bring to the boil.

Reduce then simmer for 16-20

mins until all the vegetables are cooked with soft texture. Drain and mash with butter, milk and a grind of black pepper. Now set aside to cool

Food & Beverage - A taste of Scotland, Chef in a Kilt with‌.Gordon Howe

Assemble and cook the pie: Mix the cooled pulled beef brisket with sautĂŠed onion and reduced oven pan juice gravy in a suitable oven to tableware serving dish Spread the Clap Shot over the top gently to cover entire surface of beef, fork to crest ragged

texture, add a few small knobs off butter on top of Clapshot and place into the oven. Cook at 200c / fan 180c gas 6 for 25-30 mins until surface it starting to brown and crisp. Rest for 10 mins and serve.

Serving suggestions: Carrots tossed in butter and fresh parsley Roasted parsnips with honey and finely chopped chives SautĂŠed asparagus with fresh finely chopped coriander Pea medley with lemon juice and zest.

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by Scott Aitken

A

celebration of the past has been hailed as a vision of the future for the branding of an award winning Stirling based craft brewery.

Fallen Brewing has repositioned its range of products with a new image that takes inspiration from the history of its headquarters.

Located at the old Kippen Railway Station, surrounded by splendid Scottish views of The Trossachs and The South West Highlands, the innovative brewery is unveiling larger can sizes, and a refreshed design produced by a local doctor with a passion for art.

The rebrand, designed by Erik Porter of Union Creative, includes a rainbow kaleidoscope of colours and unique new labels that feature pen and ink artwork

designed by East Lothian GP Zain Kapasi, artist and close friend of Paul Fallen, founder of Fallen Brewing.

Zain who also enjoys photography in his spare time began drawing after an accident left him in hospital. He set about putting pen to beer can long before the rebrand, and soon had a collection of beautifully illustrated drawings that caught the attention of Fallen’s founder.

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Food & Beverage - All change for brewing brand

All change for brewing brand

Food & Beverage - All change for brewing brand

Illustrations by Zain Kapasi

The illustrations celebrate the stunning location of the brewery with its railway heritage featured in stylised trains and railway scenes, along with the signal box from the old Kippen Railway Station and other iconic Scottish

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landmarks.

unique,” said Paul Fallen.

“Zain’s illustrations were exactly what the coloured designs needed. They add texture, interest, and provenance to the cans and each drawing is

The Fallen Brewing range is made using only pure, soft Scottish mountain water and the best hops and malts from around the world. It includes the aptly named

Food & Beverage - All change for brewing brand

Local Motive, Chew Chew and much-loved Platform C.

The company claims it is committed to only using the

highest quality ingredients, their beer is vegan (unless stated

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Food & Beverage - All change for brewing brand otherwise), sustainable and environmentally robust making them the ideal beer for those

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searching for craft beers with a difference.

Fallen Brewing is available in independent pubs, restaurants, and selected stores.

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Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

Photo by Jakewalk de CC BY-SA 3.0 Glengoyne distillery

Just the one: taking your time over whisky

W

hisky. What is it?

Well, basically, it’s a drug delivery system.

We know there’s a thing called ethyl alcohol, C2H6O, and that it alters the human mood, in a variety of ways, some good, some bad. It needs to be manufactured, and using the basic substances readily available in a pre-industrial Scotland, that would have been done by

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malting, brewing, and distilling.

Then as now, the actual delivery to the human body and brain is accomplished by pouring and swallowing.

Primitive whisky, uisge beatha, the water of life, was, as in every society in the world, primarily medicinal. Then, as is the case with drugs from cocaine to cannabis, people

began to appreciate the effect.

The rest is branding, marketing and modification to fit in with those two concepts, based on producing a variety of tastes and qualities. So different ages and qualities, at varying costs, introduce the idea of knowledge, of connoisseurship and collectability The key fact is that whisky, and

Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

Glengoyne Unhurried

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Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

alcohol generally, is a legal, if controlled substance. That means a vast, worldwide industry has grown up around its production and sales. That alcohol is dangerous is not in doubt.

David Nutt, Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College, London, has a recently-published book called Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health. In it he states bluntly that if alcohol had been discovered in the last year, it would be illegal, and that using current food standards criteria, the safe limit for drinking would be set at one glass of wine (or whisky) per year. Per YEAR! Interestingly, Nutt (who famously once owned a wine bar) is not arguing for prohibition or teetotalism. He is pointing out the risk factors involved in consuming a substance which many of us do not think deeply enough about. And the truth is that a knowledgeable, moderate but enthusiastic approach to Scotch Whisky can not only fit in

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with a healthy lifestyle, but reap dividends in one’s appreciation of it. If you don’t drink to get drunk, but to enjoy and assess the taste, then the alcohol in a glass of whisky needs to be treated with extreme caution. I always remember the eminent vinophile Jancis Robinson telling me that the one thing that would make her life as a wine writer easier would be if it wasn’t alcoholic. And my own experience as a judge of whisky competitions, sometimes entailing the tasting of dozens of single malts in a day, is that alcohol blunts and then burns the tastebuds and the sensibilities.

Discrimination gets drowned.

This is one of the reasons I distrust most supposed whisky “expertise” and everyone should take those flowery and poetic tasting notes (including mine) with a pinch of Alka Seltzer. They often reflect the conditions under which a whisky was consumed (location, state of sobriety, what you had for lunch, mood) rather than the liquid itself. And much acclaimed whisky writing is over-engineered

prosody fed by ego, bias, and occasionally mania.

Which is not to say that all whisky writing is bad. Some is great and one or two people exhibit, genuine, consistent insight and humour based on extensive industry knowledge and, for the most part, careful moderation when it comes to consumption.

They know who they are. I won’t embarrass them.

All of which takes me to a new marketing and branding campaign for one of the most interesting and unassuming whiskies in the pantheon of single malts. And in direct contrast with Bowmore’s odd, grandiloquent and glittering collaboration with Aston Martin, Glengoyne’s subtle and sly relaunch of its brands presses a lot of different buttons: High end art, ecological soundness, the importance of patience, art, philosophy and poetry. All of this from a malt which has been and will forever be caught between the Highlands and Lowlands, a whisky in flux.

Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

Glengoyne Distillery (the word means “glen of the wild geese”) is at Dumgoyne, just 14 miles north of Glasgow, and is officially a Highland malt, in that its stills sit north of the Highland Line (marked by the busy A81).

However, the whisky is matured in the extensive warehouses on the other side of the road, officially in the Lowlands. And this famously unpeated whisky possesses, in all its expressions, many of the characteristics associated with lowland malts: smoothness, lightness, graininess from the malt itself rather than the smoke induced by peat firing.

Ageing, as in all whiskies, is important, and Glengoyne has always stressed its “unhurried” approach to making whisky. It is this aspect Glengoyne has chosen to underline in its current campaign. Experimental artist and philosopher Jonathan Keats was asked to come up with a concept which would communicate the importance of time in whisky production, something which would challenge the way

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Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton Glengoyne Unhurried poets Cat Hepburn, Jeda Pearl, Courtney Peppernell, Alison Malee and Martin Reints

consumers themselves engage with time.

not be immediately available for people to view.

Keats’s art pieces, feature poems from young poets around the world including Cat Hepburn and Jeda Pearl (Scotland), Courtney Peppernell (Australia), Alison Malee (America) and Martin Reints (Holland). But they will

Instead, going very much against the grain of today’s instant culture, each poem will appear in its own time – unhurried – thanks to an innovative printing technique which fades away as it is exposed to ultraviolet light.

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Creating a greater appreciation of time and craft, each of the poems will hang in the Glengoyne distillery for customers to visit, with a first layer of ink slowly fading away, in time, to reveal the poems underneath. A version of each poem will also be exhibited in the home countries of the poets from October, including

Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

at renowned whisky bars, The Brandy Library (New York), The Ubiquitous Chip (Glasgow), J.D. Williams (Amsterdam), as well as Michelin-starred restaurant City Social (London) - creating a truly one-of-a-kind global exhibition.

“As everything becomes instantaneous, delivered next

day, our appreciation of craft and time is diminishing”, said Katy Muggeridge, senior brand manager for Glengoyne.

“This distillery has always valued the role time can play and its importance to our whisky making.

That’s why for this special rebrand, we wanted to bring this

idea of unhurried into a different world. These special pieces of literary art will appear when they are ready, likely anytime over the next two to 50 years depending on their exposure to UV light, encouraging a different interaction with the work and a greater appreciation of its craft.”

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Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

Hand in hand with this, new Glengoyne packaging, featuring an updated illustration of that namesake wild goose, will roll out across the company’s range, as well as special releases such as Legacy Series: Chapter Two and Cask Strength Batch No. 008, which both launch globally this month. Older expressions will be unveiled later this year.

Video QR Code

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As part of the distillery’s long-

standing commitment to sustainability and the future, The materials used in the Glengoyne Collection also become fully recyclable, free of plastic and magnets, and locally sourced, with nearly all of it originating in Scotland.

Katy Muggeridge said: “Glengoyne has always chosen to take its time to do things the right way - for every minute other

the same appreciation of time has gone into this rebrand. As one of Scotland’s greenest distilleries, it was extremely important to

us that our commitment to sustainability was reflected in the new packaging, as well as giving us a platform to better connect

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Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

whiskies spend in their stills, ours spends three, all in the name of outstanding fruity flavour. This is the Glengoyne way and it’s why

Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

Jonathon Keats

our customers to the unique processes and people behind our award-winning whisky.�

All of which sounds both

responsible and smart. And if you take your time in appreciating the quality not just of Glengoyne, but of whichever single malt you choose to partake of, in

Robbie Hughes, Master Distiller at Glengoyne

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moderation, you will undoubtedly enjoy it more and be better to your own health.

Food & Beverage - Skailg: A wee livener with... Tom Morton

Tasting Notes Glengoyne 10-year-old Around £35 in most retailers NOSE:

MOUTH:

Surprisingly hefty, dark, ashy warehouse aromas on opening.

Giving way to a herbal sweetness and the spiritous kick of Bourbon barrels. Then you get a creamy vanilla note and much fruity sweetness. Wine gums.

Caramac and Milky Bars, that sweet smoothness and an assured maturity for a 10 year old mainstream whisky that makes this a really palatable choice for anyone suspicious of the heavy duty sherry and peat monsters some associate with single malts.

FINISH: Easy, smooth, an almost complete absence of jagginess, and very long. Imagine a very sophisticated cider or Champagne perry. More-ish. But just say - maybe next year. 40 per cent alcohol by volume, so remember, it will get you drunk.

NOTES: I should point out that I can’t afford to buy full bottles of all the whiskies I taste for Discover Scotland, don’t (frequently) get sent them free, or samples by the producers, and wouldn’t want to own a large collection of mostly undrunk whiskies anyway. It’s a little known fact that an opened bottle of whisky will deteriorate over time.

So the existence of Master of Malt’s Drinks by the Dram service has been a godsend. This allows you to order 3cl sample bottles of a huge variety of spirits, including tasting sets of whiskies by region or style.

It’s good value, completely flexible unlike other tasting clubs or companies, and means you can have an insight into whiskies you might otherwise never be able to afford. In moderation, too!

Having said that, this month I’m trying the cheapest and most basic in the Glengoyne range, the 10 year old, which can be easily found for around £35 a bottle. It’s a classic light golden Glengoyne in colour, even in a tiny bottle!

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Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky

Custom casks of designer whisky

H

olyrood Distillery, the first single malt distillery in Edinburgh for almost 100 years, has launched a cask programme that offers the opportunity to create a truly bespoke whisky.

With a limited run of only 200 whisky casks in 2020, the programme allows customers to tailor the whisky to their tastes, by involving them in every stage of the production process, working alongside Distillery Manager Jack Mayo and Co-Founder David

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Robertson.

Given the current restrictions, the cask programme will take place via a face-to-face consultation at the distillery, with appropriate social distancing measures taken, or as a unique virtual experience with indicative samples delivered to the participant in advance and an online session with the distillery team.

The distillery is focusing on four core new make spirit flavours – fruity & floral, sweet, spicy and

smoky – with a variety of casks sourced in which to mature these impactful spirits.

Cask purchasers are able to tailor their choices or explore something completely different.

The unique process starts with an in-depth consultation allowing the buyer to identify exactly which flavours they’d like their bespoke spirit to carry.

However, customisation does not stop there. The buyer can then participate in every part of the

journey, including the selection of the type of malted barley from a range of classic spring distiller’s, to smoked, peated or roasted malts (crystal, amber and chocolate for example).

They will also have a say in the yeasts used for fermentation from distillers, or unusual wine strains to traditional craft brewer’s yeasts.

Buyers will also have an input to the distillation approach, including cut points, flow rates, and distillation date, as well as the type of cask for maturation, including its oak species, size, previous fill - such as bourbon, port, sherry - and the date when the cask will be filled.

The custom-made styles offered in 2020’s Cask Programme have been developed to follow different flavour profiles such as: Fruity and floral flavours - green,

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Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky

Holyrood Distillery’s co-founder David Robertson and client

Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky citrus and tropical fruits can be developed by leaving the new make spirit to slumber in American oak, ex sherry wood, hogsheads or a red fruits profile can be gained by maturing in port barrique casks.

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Sweet tones like milk chocolate or vanilla/treacle toffee can be introduced into the new spirit by using roasted malted barleys and filling American oak ex bourbon barrels. A deeper, richer style of espresso coffee or dark chocolate

can be brought out by maturing in toasted European oak ex Oloroso sherry hogsheads.

Those seeking spicy notes will be able to bring out classic orange marmalade, dried fruits, cloves,

Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky

ginger, and cinnamon spices by selecting a fruity new spirit filled to toasted European Oak exOloroso sherry hogsheads.

For fans of peat and smoky flavours, the distillery team can curate either a sweet fruity smoke

using peated malted barleys and allowing it to mature in American oak ex sherry hogsheads; or for smoky sherry connoisseurs, Spanish oak ex sherry wood hogsheads. Â

A total of 50 casks have also been reserved for customers looking for a one-of-kind service.

They could choose, for example, a rare wood like a Japanese oak or a cask that previously contained dessert wine or beer to

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Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky

flavour and finesse their whisky; or to select a barley used in a recipe from a bygone era - the distillery has access to varieties like Plumage Archer, Marris Otter and Golden Promise. Whatever the request, the team of distillers will work with the buyer to design a totally unique recipe.

“We built Holyrood Distillery with flavour at its very heart.

We’re not bound by heritage; our priority is to be open-minded and produce a range of truly delicious whiskies rather than sticking to tradition and crafting only one or two styles,” said David Robertson, co-founder of Holyrood Distillery.

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Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky

“We know our customers appreciate the opportunity to dive into the creative process.

This programme allows people to share that journey with us and create something truly customised to their individual taste. It’s an invitation to own a piece of history - and to be guided through that process by our experts to create something really bespoke.”

Three barrel sizes are available – a barrel (200 litres), a barrique (225 litres), or a hogshead (both 250 litres) starting from £4,950, £5,450, and £5,950 respectively.

Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky

Holyrood Distillery Head Distiller Jack Mayo

The cost includes the personal flavour consultation, whisky creation and visits to the distillery and warehouse, the cask, storage for 10 years, annual sampling, annual warehouse visits and insurance.

Bottling costs, customised labelling, duty and VAT are not included but illustrated costs can be provided for UK customers. The fully bespoke offer is priced individually depending on each client’s requirements.

“As a whisky distiller there is nothing better than getting the chance to create a wide range of flavours and styles and even a totally unique whisky,” said Dr Jack Mayo, Distillery Manager.

“While other distilleries allow you to purchase casks with whisky based on their house style, this level of customisation is unique.

For an inquisitive whisky fan, this

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Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky

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Food & Beverage - Custom casks of designer whisky

is a chance to be a master distiller for a day, and a whisky maker across the decade as you watch the development of your fledgling spirit into a mature single malt

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and decide when the time is right for bottling.� Cask sales are limited and on a first-come-first-served basis,

with a deposit of ÂŁ2,000 per cask required to secure a consultation, production slot and ultimately cask ownership.

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Food & Beverage - Gintelligence with... Fiona Holland

Gintelligence with... Fiona Holland

Woodland essence, with a parsnip thrown in LBD Gin

Little Brown Dog Spirits Ltd Aberdeenshire 43 per cent ABV £32 for 50cl

S

ometimes one just can’t help getting a little mixed up.

Things can get overcrowded with ideas, ideas can get overcrowded with things, everything can spin out of control.

While not wishing to imply too much chaos – obviously there’s

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proper science sunk in there, too – LBD may well have had a slightly entropic start to life.

Born in Aberdeenshire, this gin is a self-declared ‘all the best bits’ from a number of limited edition projects, stemming back to 2013.

The history is long and relatively complicated, but suffice to say this now ‘unlimited edition’ gin

Food & Beverage - Gintelligence with... Fiona Holland

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Food & Beverage - Gintelligence with... Fiona Holland

Andrew Smith and Chris Reid

found its current roots in 2018.

Distillers, producers, foragers and friends, Andrew Smith and Chris Reid are the humans behind LBD Gin – but the LBD, Little Brown Dog, is just as much part of the tale.

She is a 13-year-old cocker spaniel/Jack Russell cross belonging to Andrew and has been on the long adventure throughout, and has lent her name to the whole venture – and she’s recently been joined by Chris’ chocolate cocker spaniel Winnie.

After the various limited edition projects, LBD Gin is now in production at the West Aquhorthies farm distillery.

Both Andrew and Chris are fanatical about the provenance and sustainability of LBD Gin – they are completely upfront about the fact they buy in the raw spirit

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and they have tried and tested all kinds of botanicals with a keen eye on how sustainable they are to the locality. And some have either completely or partially gone by the wayside in the quest to make sure they are able to meet demand without over-plucking what is available around them.

Chervil, for example, was one thing which took too long to grow with a precariously low yield – enter instead parsnips; yes,

parsnips. And the wood sorrel, whilst still present, is augmented by rhubarb, to achieve a similar sharpness.

Most of the juniper is Italian, but around five per cent is sourced from areas nearby.

Add to all this the birch sap tapped from trees on the farm and the key ingredient of beech leaves, there is a complex liquid emerging.

Sap drip

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Food & Beverage - Gintelligence with... Fiona Holland Chris foraging wood sorrel

Food & Beverage - Gintelligence with... Fiona Holland

I have to say, my actual tasting notes are as follows… ‘quite gentle on the nose, with a tang of citrus. Perhaps a little woody and a hint of earthy spice’. It almost didn’t make sense to me, but it was true.

And just to make it yet more confusing for the old olfactory senses, there was a distinct floral fruitiness when tasted neat, with a touch of vanilla and mouth watering viscosity.

These may all sound like a very unlikely combination found in one spirit, but they’re certainly there and rather intriguing. At the start of autumn, it actually felt like a welcome leap back to light summer rain falling on trees, fresh and somehow comforting.

With the addition of Fever Tree

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Overall, this is a gentle spirit – a good mouthful and a pleasure to drink neat or diluted to experience the different flavour profiles with or without the tonic. I barely even bothered with a garnish (I did stick a tiny bit of lime in it, but I almost immediately took it back out) – you could dress it up with almost anything or simply quaff it naked (the gin, not you).

Hats off to the Little Brown Dog and her helpful humans.

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Food & Beverage - Gintelligence with... Fiona Holland

Naturally Light tonic, everything becomes much more laid back – not that it was exactly really shouty in the first instance, but the floral notes have headed for the cheeks, while the citrus twang is at the back of the tongue – the spice hints dance to the fore and the woodland tones bring it all together.

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska Photo by Pace Productions Gamekeeper tweed - Angus Glens & Grampian Moorland Groups

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Cheerleading for Scottish talent

t may not have the glamorous image of Italy, France or Spain but when it comes to quality, flair, value and innovation Scotland more than cuts a dash in the worlds of fashion, beauty and lifestyle.

Scotland’s textile industry has

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been at the forefront of high value manufacturing for some 300 years.

Every year tonnes of traditional fabrics, including tartan, cashmere, tweed and knitwear, are exported to more than 150 countries.

The quality of our products is highly prized by top names such as Hermès, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood.

The industry brings in more than £1billion a year and employs close to 10,000 people while

Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Alicja Błasińska

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska individual Scots, such as Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders, have achieved widespread fame.

Yet, despite all of the above our achievements and influence on a multi-billion pound global industry is an almost silent success story. All too often home grown talented designers and manufacturers are overlooked in favour of the allure of big names based in London, Paris or Milan.

In recent years the number of Scotland based new comers emerging as names to watch in the industry, or established names expanding their profile, has risen immensely. The surge in growth has been achieved, in no small part, by the excellent teaching proffered by eight Scottish universities providing degree level courses in fashion - from design and textiles to branding and manufacturing.

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It’s no exaggeration to say Scotland’s fashion scene is one of the most underrated in the world but times are changing, especially in the face of a revolution to the way people shop and explore new trends. The country is teaming with talent but there still needs to be more support if we are to help create opportunities for it to flourish.

As a multi-media digital magazine in a growing online world Discover Scotland, with readers in more than 120 countries, is perfectly placed to help promote the creativity of the country’s fashion, beauty and lifestyle sectors.

As a beauty, fashion and lifestyle writer my job is to look for talent close to home. I want to highlight the abilities and achievements of Scottish designers, producers and entrepreneurs making their mark in a highly competitive world.

In past issues of Discover Scotland (the new name for Scotland Correspondent) we have featured the likes of Tír Dháimh (issue 6) which was started by the talented Rachel Devine. An accomplished senior designer for some of the biggest High Street names she spent 15 years in London before coming home to Scotland to launch her own fashion and homeware label.

Tír Dháimh (issue 6) QR Code

Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska Photo by Image Prodigy - Stuart Wilkie

Linda MacDonald jewellery

Linda MacDonald (issue 1) QR Code

We have also covered the success of award winning designer Linda MacDonald (issue 1), whose hand-crafted jewellery business has found increasing popularity among collectors of all ages across the UK and beyond.

Photo by Image Prodigy - Stuart Wilkie

Linda MacDonald

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Sally Cuthbert (issue 18) QR Code

In issue 18 we featured Sally Cuthbert of Littlehouse Jewellery and her unique brand of innovative designs.

Over the years we have also carried stories on tailors, such

Sally Cuthbert

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Johnstons of Elgin’s Edinburgh store

Campbells of Beauly (issue 10) famous for their traditional tweed

fashions, and world renowned Johnstons of Elgin (issues 30 and

39).

Campbells of Beauly (issue 10) QR Code

Johnstons of Elgin (issue 30) QR Code

Johnstons of Elgin (issue 39) QR Code

Johnstons of Elgin’s Edinburgh store

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Johnstons of Elgin Womenswear

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

We have also covered wedding fashions by Tricker Bridal (issue 38) and featured up and coming

Tricker Bridal (issue 38) QR Code

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Sandra MacLeod (issue 42) QR Code

designer Sandra MacLeod (issue 42). As founder and owner of Modren she makes bespoke Harris tweed bags, hats and other accessories for clients across the UK and beyond. We have also

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Seilich (issue 41) QR Code

Seilich (issue 45) QR Code

reviewed some of the organic products made by East Lothianbased cosmetic company Seilich (issues 41 and 45).

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Dr Sally Goldstone

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Style - Beauty & Style with... Alicja Błasińska

Now, we are looking to expand our coverage of Scotland’s beauty, fashion and lifestyle sector with a regular monthly column. I’d love to hear from both established and emerging companies or individuals about their new products, launches and success stories. I, and the rest of

Alicja Błasińska

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the team at Discover Scotland, would love to help them reach a global audience and achieve the international recognition they deserve.

I can be contacted at info@ discoverscotlandmagazine.com

www.house-of-art.uk

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Arts - Honouring a legend Photo ©Eustace2020 John Byrne

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Honouring a legend

wo new exhibitions celebrating the life and work of John Byrne, one of Scotland’s most iconic figures, have opened at the Glasgow Print Studio.

‘John Byrne at 80’ and ‘Dear John, A Thirty Year Portrait’ bring together two outstanding talents: the renowned artist, writer and playwright John Byrne, and the internationally acclaimed

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photographer David Eustace.

created at the studio this year.

‘John Byrne at 80’ is a retrospective exhibition of works in print by the revered Scottish playwright, writer and artist who turned 80 earlier this year.

Well-known as a polymath of prolific output, producing plays, screenplays and stage design alongside his artistic practice, Byrne’s idiosyncratic style has brought him significant renown in recent years.

The works have all been produced at Glasgow Print Studio since the early 1990s and include a selection of new and exclusive hand coloured screen prints

The exhibition is a showcase of Byrne’s fluid draughtsmanship and his ability to underscore

Arts - Honouring a legend Night Owl by John Byrne

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Arts - Honouring a legend

Don’t Look Back by John Byrne

in Edinburgh, the Museum of Modern Art and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow.

Alongside John Byrne’s exhibition is Dear John: a Thirty Year Portrait.

David Eustace took his first photograph of Byrne in 1989.

John has since become his most revisited subject.

Melancholy mogy by John Byrne

a raw directness with typical humour, confidence and virtuosity. The works depict many of his signature ‘characters’ including the Slab Boys and Teddy Boys, Donald the Cat and of course, Byrne himself depicted in a range of chameleon-like self portraits.

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John Byrne has been using the Glasgow Print Studio facilities since the 1970’s, publishing a significant and diverse body of work in print. His work is held in major collections in Scotland and abroad, with several of his paintings hanging in The Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Taken over a 30 year period, the exhibition features 13 striking photographic portraits of John Byrne, one of which was specially commissioned by Glasgow Print Studio for this exhibition. This work is available to purchase as a stand-alone piece, while the other twelve are only available as part of the limited edition portfolio.

Eustace refers to this body of work as “a very personal and important portfolio” containing 12 of his favourite portraits of a

Arts - Honouring a legend

Photo ŠEustace2020

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Arts - Honouring a legend

Wee Man by John Byrne

“cherished and wonderful pal.”

He remarks that “John is someone I hold in the highest regard as both an artist and friend. He is also the person I have probably photographed on more occasions than any other individual,” said David.

Eustace reflects that the portraits “form cherished memories and moments combined within a frame that offer an insight of a

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bigger picture.”

Museums of Scotland.

“David observes over 30 years of John’s evolving appearance with acute sensitivity and wit.

Each photograph is a chronicle of the time and the man, which has a universality and humanity to which we can all relate,” said Sir Angus Grossart, Former Chairman of The National Galleries of Scotland and Former Chairman of The National

The work of David Eustace, who is known for his fashion, celebrity and art can be found in the collections of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art. Both exhibitions run to 30 October.

Arts - Honouring a legend

Photo ŠEustace2020

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Arts - An actor’s life for me... by Scott Kyle

An actor’s life for me with... Scott Kyle

Photo by Stephen C Dickson CC BY-SA 4.0 The ceiling in the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

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Long live The King’s

he lights are out, the curtains down, stages are bare across the country and nobody knows when Scotland’s theatres will reopen.

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We live in unprecedented times! The last time arts and entertainment venues were closed en masse like this was over 80 years ago, at the beginning of World War Two. Even then many

were back up and running within a few weeks.

More than million Scots visit the theatre each year. For many youngsters the annual pantomime

Arts - An actor’s life for me... by Scott Kyle Photo by Mike Murry from Bellevue, US CC BY-SA 2.0

is often their first taste of live entertainment.

This should be one of the busiest times as venues across the country gear up for the festive season to earn the money that will keep them going well into the following year.

However, there is a real danger that unless help can be found many of these beautiful pleasure palaces that have played a major part in the lives of many of us could be lost for good.

One such theatre battling to survive is the beautiful King’s Theatre in Edinburgh which is desperately in need of £25million.

Opened in 1906 it is one of the country’s oldest and most loved working theatres but even before the pandemic it was in need of redevelopment.

Capital Theatres had started a

Photo by Mike Hume at English Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 King’s Theatre Edinburgh Upper Circle

major refurbishment programme to preserve the grandeur of the 110-year-old Edwardian venue while refitting it to meet the needs of modern 21st century audiences.

The aim was to keep the charm and heritage of the ornate auditorium and the grand front of house but modernise the

backstage facilities. Unfortunately work was brought to a sharp stop in March with the national lockdown and it fell through the cracks of available funding, putting the entire project and the jobs of at least 230 people in jeopardy.

However, as is the custom that the show must go on, one of

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Arts - An actor’s life for me... by Scott Kyle Photo by Dmitry Rozhkov CC BY-SA 4.0 Brian Cox

Scotland’s most revered actors, Brian Cox, has now stepped in to spearhead a campaign to save the King’s Theatre for future generations.

Multi-award winning Brian has appeared in numerous major movies - such as Rob Roy, Red and my favourite Braveheart. As a kid I watched that movie over and over again and it inspired me to act. Brian was recently nominated for an Emmy for his role as media

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company mogul Logan Roy in the television series Succession, another great performance.

However, he is not just a star of screen. He started in live theatre.

A native of Dundee, he began his distinguished career in 1961 at Dundee Repertory Theatre and was one of the founding members of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in 1965. Both of these venues I have had the privilege to play and follow in his footsteps,

albeit in a minor way.

Since then Brian has gone on to become one of Scotland’s most beloved actors and recognised faces without ever forgetting his roots and passion for theatre.

In addition to taking on the role as Honorary Patron for the capital campaign to transform the King’s Theatre Brian is already an Honorary Patron for the Lyceum and a patron for Scottish Youth Theatre. He is

Arts - An actor’s life for me... by Scott Kyle Photo by Kim Traynor CC BY-SA 4.0 King’s Theatre

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Arts - An actor’s life for me... by Scott Kyle Photo by Stephen C Dickson CC BY-SA 4.0 Side boxes and plasterwork, King’s Theatre

also a patron of “THE SPACE”, a training facility for actors and dancers in his native Dundee and an “ambassador” for Screen Academy Scotland.

Why he has not already been knighted and elevated to Sir Brian Cox is a mystery to me!

The King’s has a special place in Brian’s heart. As a young boy he would often holiday in Edinburgh with his aunt and she would take him to the theatre. He saw his first pantomime there.

Recently the 74-year-old actor and champion of the arts described The King’s Theatre as a gem which deserves to be preserved.

“If we don’t invest in our theatres, we stand to lose a vital part of Scotland’s cultural heritage and a theatre for everyone for generations to come,” he said.

And I couldn’t agree more!

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Photo by Sarah Darling Photography Mull Theatre presents Strange Rocks by Oliver Emanuel

While work is underway to preserve the past other theatres are looking at new ways to survive the present.

Armchair theatre They say necessity is the mother

of invention and I’m looking forward to a couple of brand new dramas for the theatre being staged and filmed for a digital run later this month.

Emergence is two new short plays - Strange Rocks by Oliver Emanuel and Undocumented by

Arts - An actor’s life for me... by Scott Kyle Photo by Sarah Darling Photography Mull Theatre presents Undocumented by Anita Vettesse

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Arts - An actor’s life for me... by Scott Kyle Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan Cumbernauld Theatre - Kidnapped

my friend and neighbour Anita Vettesse, currently rehearsing at Mull Theatre for productions to be staged and filmed for a two-week digital presentation from Tuesday 13 - Tuesday 27 October.

Made and presented for audiences to enjoy at home Strange Rocks looks at imagination and connection.

Taking place over one night in spring, two strangers recall what happened to them in their pasts and try to figure out what the future might hold.

Undocumented is a hopeful love story of sorts about two people finding the strength to let go of the past and look to the future.

Both plays have a great cast, including Ashley Smith from Scot Squad and Simon Donaldson - a

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fellow Outlander and also part of the Scot Squad team, so I’ll definitely be joining the audience for this new form of armchair theatre.

Behind the scenes Anyone with a passion for theatre might like to know that Cumbernauld Theatre Trust Ltd is looking for unpaid volunteer trustees to join its board.

The Trust is going through a very exciting time as it prepares to move into a brand-new performing arts venue next year.

Cumbernauld Theatre is a charity that produces and presents theatre, music, dance and comedy for the community of Cumbernauld and North Lanarkshire.

Its new cultural home for theatre, cinema, music, comedy and dance will offer state of the art facilities alongside performing arts classes and community creative learning projects.

The Trust is currently looking for articulate and passionate advocates for the power and potential of the arts. Candidates need to have experience of working at executive level with skills in artistic leadership, audience and community engagement, financial management, equality, diversity and inclusivity, strategic planning and development, education and creative learning.

The deadline for applications to sprice@cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk is 9 October

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Sounds of Scotland - Singing for peace

Singing for peace

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ingers of all abilities are being encouraged to join one of Scotland’s most renowned singers and add their voice to a new song promoting friendship and healing around the world.

Led by the acclaimed performer Fiona Kennedy, accompanied by Scotland’s premier orchestra the RSNO, the virtual collaboration will become a charity single raising money for a number of good causes.

The iSing4Peace initiative, developed at the University of Aberdeen, aims to bring choirs and individual voices together at a time when performing is severely constrained.

Fiona, along with royal composer Paul Mealor and lyricist Grahame Davies have created a brand-new piece of music called Stronger for the Storm.

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The idea is that she will lead a chorus of global voices with each singer or ensemble submitting their own contribution online.

These will then be crafted into a charity single by Calum Malcolm, who has also produced albums for Mark Knopfler, Simple Minds, Big Country and The Blue Nile. iSing4Peace was initiated by the University of Aberdeen’s Neil McLennan as a new form of

Sounds of Scotland - Singing for peace

Video QR Code

commemoration.

“Paul Mealor, Graeme Davis and Fiona Kennedy have collaborated to create a beautiful new piece of music which will be not only an emotive addition to Remembrance commemorations but which can play an important role in bringing people around the world together when Covid-19 has put so many barriers in place for musicians and singers,” he said.

“This is an amazing opportunity for singers of all abilities to add their voices to a track featuring the wonderful Fiona Kennedy who is accompanied by some of Scotland’s most talented musicians including the RSNO,

Stronger for the Storm

Thoren Ferguson on fiddle, Calum MacColl and Nils Elders on guitar.

It is not something that you’d normally be able to achieve from the comfort of your own living room!”

Once all the recordings have been mixed together the resulting charity single will be released to coincide with Remembrance Sunday – raising funds to support the Red Cross, The Royal Commonwealth ExServices League (RCEL), VSA and the University of Aberdeen’s Development Trust.

“My hope is that this new, beautiful song will bring many people from all over the world together with a common purpose during these continuing challenging times,” said Fiona Kennedy.

“We’d love solo singers, choirs and ensembles to bring their own unique magic to #ising4peace and raise as much as we can for the four charities.

“We all know the world is in turmoil just now and charities are really suffering with the postponing and cancelling of

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Sounds of Scotland - Singing for peace

fundraising events - this is one way we can all get behind these wonderful organisations by taking part, regardless of musical ability. Please join us wherever you are and give it a go!�

Singers can add their voices to Stronger for the Storm either as individuals or can submit their

Fiona Kennedy at Dunnottar Castle

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performances as part of a choir, group or ensemble. Musicians are also invited to perform and record the work on their own instruments.

All contributions will support the four nominated charities through the small charge for the sheet music and many of the

submissions will feature in the charity single which will raise further funds for the causes.

Paul Mealor, a professor in composition at The University of Aberdeen described the project as incredible. “Everyone involved has given of

“I’ve never been involved in something like this before and didn’t know what to expect; but, you know, it’s been wonderful.

Everyone has been so engaging

and enthusiastic. And, a wonderful song and recording has already been born.

“Now, we ask everyone who wants to and can do, to add their voices to our own, and truly make a song for peace which ‘sings’ in every language, on every instrument, and from every home

through the universal language of music.”

Contributions should be sent to iSing4Peace@abdn.ac.uk by no later than October 11. More details on how to submit can be found at https://www.abdn.ac.uk/ stories/iSing4Peace/

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Sounds of Scotland - Singing for peace

their time freely and ‘virtually’!

The writing, the singing and the playing have all been done from everyone’s own home,” he said.

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Sounds of Scotland - Musical Discoveries... with Tom Morton

Photo by Michael Lucan, Lizenz/ CC-BY 3.0 Battlefield Band

Story behind the song…

The Shipyard Apprentice

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he Shipyard Apprentice is a hauntingly beautiful homage to the people of Glasgow who built some of history’s most famous ships and enabled a revolution in global trade.

founded a yard at Greenock in 1712 and gave birth to an industry which really took off with the advent of steam powered ships following construction of the ‘Comet’ in Port Glasgow in 1812.

Performed by the Battlefield Band in the latest episode of Musical Discoveries the song, which was written by Archie Fisher and Norman Buchan for a BBC documentary, captures perfectly the proud spirit of the shipyard workers of the River Clyde.

The ‘Comet’ was the first sea going steam ship in Europe and and it turned the Clyde into a centre of manufacturing. Over the centuries its estimated more than 300 firms have been involved in building around 30,000 ships over.

There has been shipbuilding on the Clyde for more than 300 years, ever since the Scott family

The term Clydebuilt became synonymous with quality as the working men of Glasgow

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Listen here hammered, cut and riveted together great warships, ocean going liners, cargo vessels and super yachts.

Among the great ocean going

Sounds of Scotland - Musical Discoveries... with Tom Morton

with Tom Morton

#world #folk #scottish

Music to accompany reading Discover Scotland, the world’s only free online magazine dealing with Scotland all things Scottish. www.discoverscotlandmagazine.com 1) Capercaillie - The Hebrides 2) Malcolm MacWatt - Hurricane You 3) Colin MacLeod - Old Soul 4) Battlefield Band - The Shipyard Apprentice 5) Shooglenifty - A Whisky Kiss 6) Ronnie Costley - No Money Coming In 7) Lord Stornoway - Don’t Worry 8) Yvonne Lyon - All is Not Lost 9) Talitha Mackenzie - The Mackenzie Lullaby 10) Rod Stewart - Superstar 11) Joe McAlinden - 209 12) Andy Stewart - Campbeltown Loch 13) Trashcan Sinatras - Weightlifting 14) Karine Polwart - The Good years

with Tom Morton

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Sounds of Scotland - Musical Discoveries... with Tom Morton Shipyard workers 1944

names of the past the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth 2 and the Lusitania were all built on the Clyde.

The song begins with the words “born in the shadow of the Fairfield Crane�, a renowned city landmark once credited with being the largest crane in the world. It was built with a massive 180-ton capacity to handle giant boilers, steam turbines and engine parts. It could even lift an entire steam locomotive engine.

Although shipbuilding on the Clyde has seriously diminished since the end of World War

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Sounds of Scotland - Musical Discoveries... with Tom Morton

Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland Finnieston Crane

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Sounds of Scotland - Musical Discoveries... with Tom Morton

Two its reputation as the former workshop of the world lives on.

Other performers featured in the latest podcast showcasing new and traditional Scottish music, presented by Tom Morton exclusively for Discover Scotland magazine, include Capercaillie, Malcolm MacWatt, Colin

Listen here

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Photo by Chris Williams CC BY-SA 3.0 Trashcan Sinatras

MacLeod, Shooglenifty, Ronnie Costley, Lord Stornoway, Yvonne

Lyon, Talitha Mackenzie, Rod Stewart, Joe McAlinden, Andy

Stewart,Trashcan Sinatras and Karine Polwart.

Malcolm MacWatt

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Sounds of Scotland - Musical Discoveries... with Tom Morton

Photo by Mark Heybo CC BY 2.0 Yvonne Lyon

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Fantasy - Home of fantasy and imagination Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland University of Glasgow - The Cloisters

Home of fantasy and imagination

by Scott Aitken

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cotland already has a unicorn as its national animal, a mythical monster as its most famous tourist attraction, spellbinding scenery and a history of the supernatural. Now it has a new claim to fame as home to the world’s first centre for fantasy.

With its turrets, vaulted cloisters and ornate decorations, the iconic University of Glasgow has a touch of magic about it.

The main buildings could have come out of the pages of a fantasy novel and it has also been used as the location for top films and TV shows such as Outlander.

Now academics have launched the first research centre in the world to focus solely on fantasy. The Centre for the Fantasy and the Fantastic comes five years after Glasgow academics launched the world’s first ever masters in Fantasy Literature.

The unique centre, led by Dr Dimitra Fimi and Dr Rob Maslen, brings bring together the biggest concentration of academics in this field working on a portfolio of research, knowledge exchange and educational activities.

“This will be the first research centre in the world to focus solely on fantasy. It will look at different expressions of the fantastic – literature, art, illustration, games & gaming as well as film & TV,” Dr Dimitra Fimi, a Senior Lecturer in Fantasy and Children’s Literature,

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Fantasy - Home of fantasy and imagination Photo by de-Benutzer-Nicolas17 CC BY-SA 2.5 Glenfinnan Viaduct

and the fantastic. We also have a great number of PhD students working with us on exciting research projects.

Photo by Sodacan CC BY-SA Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland

“This research centre is a chance for us to expand our collaboration with colleagues across the University and internationally, and to work closely with, and learn from, the fantasy community and creative practitioners in order to explore together what are the transformational possibilities of fantasy as a mode of expression and as a practice.

and specialist on J.R.R. Tolkien, based at the College of Arts.

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“My colleagues and I have considerable expertise and have published extensively on fantasy

“And of course Glasgow is the perfect location for students in this field! We are surrounded by expressions of fantasy and the fantastic in the University’s very architecture. But this is also a future facing University interested in world leading cutting edge research which will now include our Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic.”

Fantasy - Home of fantasy and imagination Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland Bell Tower at The University of Glasgow

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Fantasy - Home of fantasy and imagination Photo Wikipedia Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness

Research areas include The Fantastic History of the 20th Century; Myth, Legend, Folklore and Fairy Tales; Imaginary Languages; Children’s Fantasy; SciFi, Gothic and Supernatural

Loch Ness monster movie still

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fiction. “‘Fantasy can be found everywhere in twenty-first-century global culture, in films, TV shows, plays, games, comics, the visual

arts, and literature from picture books for the very young to multi-volume epics and one-off experimental forms,” said Dr Rob Maslen a Senior Lecturer in English Literature, whose area

of expertise includes Fantasy/ the Fantastic and who set up the MLitt in Fantasy Literature. “The new Glasgow Centre for

Fantasy and the Fantastic allows us to pay close attention to this extraordinary phenomenon, its past, its present, and its many possible futures.�

You can see more about the course here

QR Code

Photo by Jonathan Cardy CC BY-SA 3.0 Unicorn Cup

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Fantasy - Home of fantasy and imagination

Photo by Paul Tomkins / VisitScotland Urquhart Castle at night

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Winner of international drama prize

n energetic play about the experiences of two best friends during a carnival of Caribbean culture has won the James Tait Black Prize for Drama.

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Black British experience and is told through the story of two women. It explores the tradition of carnival through themes of female friendship, sexual politics and cultural identity.

Yasmin Joseph’s debut J’Ouvert is the winner of the £10,000 drama award, which is linked to the UK’s oldest literary awards.

Yasmin Joseph said winning was an “honour and a joy” to have the play recognised by such an incredible award.

The shortlist – which was comprised entirely of women for the first time – included two other acclaimed works. [BLANK]

by Alice Birch, which was coproduced by Clean Break and Donmar Warehouse, and seven methods of killing kylie jenner by Jasmine Lee-Jones, which was produced by Royal Court Theatre with support from Jerwood Arts.

Based around the vibrancy, history and politics of the celebrated Notting Hill Carnival, the drama was selected from more than 80 entries worldwide.

Three diverse productions were nominated for the international prize, which is annually presented by the University of Edinburgh in association with Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland and Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.

The James Tait Black Prize for Drama was established in 2012, when Britain’s longest-running literary awards were extended to include a category that celebrates innovative playwriting. It is awarded to the best new

J’Ouvert is a reflection of the

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Drama prize - Winner of international drama prize

Photo by Christopher Okocha Yasmin Joseph

Drama prize - Winner of international drama prize play in English, Scots or Gaelic that demonstrates an original theatrical voice and makes a significant contribution to the art form.

J’Ouvert, set at the Notting Hill Carnival, is a vivid and rhythmic journey through that landscape

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Photo by Helen Murray J’Ouvert

Drama prize - Winner of international drama prize and the multiple characters who inhabit it. Yasmin Joseph’s joyful, complex, rich and powerful play is a well-deserved winner of this prestigious prize,” said Fiona Sturgeon Shea, Creative Director, Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland.

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Supernatural - Strange tales from Scotland’s thin places with…Tom Morton

Strange tales from Scotland’s thin places with...Tom Morton

Photo by Graeme Smith CC BY-SA 2.0 Carbisdale Castle

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Spite: All Hallow’s Eve

ock opened his eyes, briefly uncertain where he was, sleep faded as the electronic voice announced that the train had stopped at Culrain, next stop Invershin. He’d warned the

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conductor that he might fall asleep, and that he wanted to get off at Culrain, a request stop on the Far North Line, like Invershin.

They were close together, he knew, these tiny stations, Culrain in Ross-shire, Invershin

in Sutherland, only the Kyle of Sutherland at its narrowest separating them.

It was quarter past noon on the 31 October. Halloween. All Hallow’s Eve, when the dead are

Listen here remembered, when their spirits and those of the fairies and trows and devils and small Scottish gods come out to play. He laughed at the thought. All that childhood guising for sweeties, nuts, fruit and cake, performing poems and skits, dooking for apples, dressing up as everything from ghosts and witches to television personalities. Demons.

Sometimes the same thing. He remembered his schoolmate who would year on year dress up as Rolf Harris doing his three-legged ‘Jake the Peg’ skit. Evil lurked.

The too-welcoming single-man households. The money offered.

The past.

Now he was alone and dressed

only as himself. Just Rock, or Rock as hiker, hillwalker, climber, solitary autumn camper. He hauled his rucksack from the luggage rack, and stepped onto the platform. Above him, Castle Spite soared, a gothic monstrosity, vast and baleful, black and forbidding in the dull, still Highland autumn. Deserted, despite the stories of its sale as a private residence, the planning applications for a swimming pool, holiday lodges in the grounds.

Carbisdale Castle, to give it its proper name. Most recently the pride and joy of the Scottish Youth Hostels Association, until it became too much of a financial drain. The price had kept falling until finally, somebody was unable to resist one of the grandest and most publicly visible castles in the Highlands.

It was, he thought as he walked out of the station, settling the loaded backpack onto both shoulders, truly gargantuan and impressively horrible. Awful, as in inducing awe. He dredged his memory. The Walking Guide to the North East Highlands had taken a certain glee in its description: Built in 1907 for Mary Caroline, Dowager Duchess of

Sutherland after a dispute over the will of her late husband. She was mistress turned second wife, paid off with a fortune by the Duke’s eldest son to get out of the family, out of their lives.

She went a few hundred metres across the Kyle of Sutherland, into Ross-shire, where she decided to build a castle which would put the extravagant spires of Dunrobin, seat of the Sutherlands, in the shade. That mammoth clocktower had faces on only three sides. The Countess had determined that only blank stone would be shown to anyone looking at the Carbisdale clock from the east. She would not even give Sutherland the time of day. And so Carbisdale was given its local name: Castle Spite. And spiteful to the last, it was. Mary Caroline died before she could move in.

It was a strange part of the world.

He’d been here before, staying at Carbisdale on his way north by bike, during a leisurely version of the end-to-end, Land’s End to John O’Groats. He remembered the flimsy chipboard partitions cluttering the castle’s oakpanelled interior. The statues reputedly stolen from Dunrobin

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Photo by Azerifactory CC BY-SA 4.0 Highland fog

Supernatural - Strange tales from Scotland’s thin places with‌Tom Morton Photo by Anthony Round CC BY 2.0 Carbisdale Castle

and never returned. The crowds of youth hostellers drinking in the Invershin Hotel, owned by an American couple who had formerly worked in Hollywood, and had cases of vintage costumes they encouraged visitors to dress up in. There had been, he recalled, bacchanalian singing and dancing on the footbridge between Invershin

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and Carbisdale, young tourists dressed as Guinivere, Merlin the Magician, Wyatt Earp, Pocahontas. When he left early next morning he passed an abandoned fez lying on the road outside the hotel.

Dressing up. If there was a day for it, then surely it was Halloween.

But there was no-one around as

he checked the Ordnance Survey app on his phone and began walking east, first through the smattering of houses comprising Culrain village, and then onto the forestry track which led east through a plantation of trees, Castle Spite looming high above him to the right.

He was eating a supermarket

Supernatural - Strange tales from Scotland’s thin places with…Tom Morton

sandwich lunch just past Lochcoire, where the trees gave way to open moor and the ruggedness of this least visited of Scotland’s landscapes became apparent. There was only about 40 miles here between Scotland’s eastern and western coasts, but it was some of the most unforgiving, loneliest landscape in Europe. The fertile straths

had been infamously cleared of crofters for the sake of sheep in the 19th Century. The Sutherlands again. The moorland and hills were bleak and barren above the regimented forestry plantations, but isolated hunting lodges had been built in the most unexpected corners. There was trout, grouse, snipe, salmon and deer in season, and money to be made from

people who wanted to kill them.

Some of them even ate what they caught or shot.

That was over for the season.

There was no risk of stumbling on a bunch of hooray Henrys in full, armed, drunken panoply.

He wanted the loneliness, the isolation. Needed it. There was a task to perform. Rock had no

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Supernatural - Strange tales from Scotland’s thin places with…Tom Morton

Photo by Carlos Menendez San Juan CC BY-SA 2.0 Carbisdale Castle

mission to conquer summits, and anyway none in the vicinity were sufficiently elevated to claim the title even of Grahams (more than 600 metres or so). Still, it was best to stay off the peaks such as Meal Dheirgidh, 506 metres, or Sidhean an Radhairc 396, as his intention was distance, at least at first. Distance from other people.

And as luck would have it, having seen not a soul since leaving the train, it was as he munched his coronation chicken, bought in the Inverness Marks and Spencers, that a voice behind him said. “And a very good day it is. I wonder if I may join you for a moment?”

Rock was sitting on a sizable boulder on the edge of the forest, gazing up at the grey sky and the browns, reds, golds and fadingto-grey mauve of the heather.

He turned to see an elderly man in worn but serviceable tweeds, wearing ghillie brogues, plus fours

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and a fishing-fly badged cap. He was carrying a gnarled walking stick but looked sprightly enough not to require it. The voice was high, lilting and local, not posh, but as is often the case in the Highlands, utterly classless.

“Of course.” Rock made a gesture, opening his hand, the crust of the sandwich between two fingers. There was another large stone about a metre away from where he sat, and the man perched on it, clearly unaffected by the stiffness of old age. He would be about 70, Rock thought.

But there was a youthfulness about his movements.

“From one coast to another, is it?. There’s a perhaps better route further south. The road from Ardgay to Croick, and then the stalkers’s track along Strath Cuileanach. If that more gentle landscape lies to your taste.”

“Oh, well, this is fine. I wanted to

see Castle Sp...Carbisdale, and then just wander for a couple of nights in the hills. On my own.

Just getting away from London for a day or so.”

“From London on the sleeper?”

Rock nodded.”Ah, well this time of year things can be deceptive on the hills. The stalking’s over, of course, but mists and cloud can come down and disorientate even those most familiar with the terrain.” The man paused. “I wonder if you might spare me a cup of tea? I see you have a flask with you. Or perhaps...something stronger?”

The duties of Highland hospitality.

Rock thought of the small bottle hidden deep in his backpack.

Dismissed the idea. Then opened his old Stanley flask and poured a second cup to match his own, which he topped up. “Of course.”

He handed it over. “Sugar and only a little milk, I’m afraid. I had it made up in Inverness. A cafe

Supernatural - Strange tales from Scotland’s thin places with…Tom Morton

Photo by AwOiSoAk KaOsIoWa CC BY-SA 3.0 Carbisdale Castle

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Supernatural - Strange tales from Scotland’s thin places with…Tom Morton

Photo by OLU CC BY-SA 2.0 Scotch mist

in the market. The way I take it.

Strong.”

“Just the way I like it. And may the just blessings of the day fall upon you. My name is Finn. And you?”

“Rock. As in the stone.”

“Indeed. Well, may your strength endure and your rest be eternal and of your own choosing.” Finn sipped thoughtfully. “Castle Spite.

You know about the dear lady.

What a sadness that was, and is. On this day of all days, it’s as well not to be staying in the castle itself. Deserted as it is. If she was ever to return and try to gain... entry, then I suppose today would be the day. I hope some light and life is brought back to it soon. It was a joy to hear it ringing to the music of young folk. But alas, no longer.”

“This day,” said Rock.

“Halloween.”

“Oiche Shamhna, in the old traditions. When the spirits of the water, land and air come to make small requests of those bound by the flesh. And yes, the dead too.”

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An impish grin came over the old man’s face. “Well, thank you for the tea. Walk safely now.” And with an ease which was somehow breathtaking, Finn rose to his feet, waved at Rock in a curious, almost sanctified gesture, turned and made his way back into the forest. Padded, Rock thought. In a moment, he had vanished.

Rock walked for the next four or five hours, his old Brasher boots long adjusted to every contour of his feet so that blisters were never a problem. The stalker’s tracks and paths gave way to bare rubble, heather, moss and stone.

His knees began to hurt after the third hour, and to his annoyance the Ordnance Survey app on his phone stopped working. The hills.

The rocks. No signal. Though the maps were supposed to have been downloaded. He had the Landranger paper version in his rucksack but couldn’t be bothered unpacking to look for it.

He could remember some of the names. Gaelic. Pronunciation was another matter. The small peak to his right looked like An Sidhean and the big one ahead, twice the height, like Bhein Ulbaidh. His

watch had a compass built in, but he had never quite managed to master it. Too dependent on the iPhone.

The wind changed. It had been behind him, now it moved to the west, as if someone had thrown a switch. Cloud was coming in.

Then the peaks vanished. Just like that. As he walked in what he hoped was a westerly direction, he saw wisps of what looked like smoke gathering around his feet, the heather and sphagnum moss, viewed from head height, seeming like a miniature forest catching fire and drowning at the same time. Quite suddenly he was cold, clammy and could see nothing ahead of him at all.

Highland mountain mists were like that, he knew. Dangerous. It would be wise to stop moving, to bivvy until the fog passed, but for whatever reason, perhaps because this trip was not really about being sensible, or moderate, or wise, he blundered on for a half an hour or so, until the ground beneath his feet became dry and stony, and his shins bumped into a large rock.

It was flat topped, about the

The voice was somehow both clear and muffled, distant yet close by.

“Not far now. Not far to go and we will gather there, with our cousins and brothers and sisters and prepare for the judgement of the Lord on our evil ways, and receive the just punishment for our sins. Do not tire, children, do not be afraid. Even in the mists of confusion and disappointment we shall be guided by the Lord to our destination. Do not let go of my hand. Never let go Then it was a low whisper, a panting, an out-o-breath murmuring.

“Children, where are you? I have lost you. Why did you let go?

Why did you let go? You will starve. We will all starve.” And then nothing, not even the cry of birds or bleating of sheep. There was a heavy, blanketed quality to the silence. Rock could feel his heart beating in his chest, and listened for its reassuring thump. It was steady, not painful.

But he couldn’t hear it beating.

I have lost my own heartbeat, he thought, I can feel it but it is making no sound. I am deaf to myself. Fear? There was no fear, as such. A kind of resignation.

He shrugged off the rucksack, opened it. The important items were buried far down, wrapped in oilcloth. The whisky and the vessel and the weapon. But this was not the time. Not yet. He unrolled the bivvy bag, noticing that his hands were shaking.

He had a three-quarters length

Thermarest which he placed on the ground next to the boulder, and then he crawled into the bivvy and lay looking at the grey wash of nothingness. He closed his eyes.

He dreamed. He was guising.

Halloween, his last year of primary school, going round the housing scheme in Saltcoats, three of them. Him as Captain Scarlet, Fergus as a ghost (simple sheet over head) and Jamesie as Rolf Harris, again, Jake the Peg. The days of neepy lanterns, no pumpkins. Long before that American import, trick or treat. Not a dream. A memory.

They were armed with a list of approved addresses. There was this one house, this house they had been told never to knock on the door of, where Mr Barnet lived. But that night they were full of bravado, and they did. Again and again, no-one coming to the door. Until eventually a dim light went on in the porch and a figure shuffled towards them. The door opened. There was a terrible pain in his throat. ***.

***.

***

Finn put the gralloching knife carefully away in its sheath after wiping it carefully on the heather and bracken. He had packed the meat in the meagre pieces of clothing he had found in the rucksack, wrapped the lot in the bivvy bag, now rather stained, and loaded them into Rock’s rucksack, bagging his other possessions for retrieval later.

Flask, stove. Some unappetising instant meals. Water in a plastic bottle. A pistol. An old pistol, ancient, even. Flintlock or whatever. But oiled and functional. There were containers for powder and flints. Lead balls, shining and newly cast. Not the oddest thing Finn had found on the hill. Another sentimental tourist intent on doing away with himself. No, more than that, even if the man called Rock hadn’t

realised it himself. He had saved him from trouble in various forms.

And it was appropriate. After all, this was All Hallow’s Eve, this Oiche Shamhna, when the dead walked, and sometimes stopped walking.

“Did you think a little tea would make you safe? Did you think I could be so easily appeased?”

Ignorant, the man had been ignorant of his purpose. For if whisky had been offered, if the uisge beatha, the water of life had been poured. Finn would have had to accept it. If the quaich had been used, even accidentally for its true purpose, in this landscape, and offered to the likes of him...

It was made of polished stone, ancient beyond time, mounted in silver and gold, crusted with stones that seemed malevolent in their dullness: ruby, quartz, emerald. Finn held it, making sure his palm was covered with oilcloth, recognising its power, paying a silent tribute. Then he rewrapped it and placed it carefully in the rucksack, on top of the meat.

The mist was clearing now. Not that it mattered. He knew the way.

He began the walk to his cave, hidden behind old willow bushes on a face of Bheinn Ulbaidh, and as he walked, his gait changed and the tweed seemed to stretch, tear and rot from his back, which humped and lowered as his arms lengthened and grew stronger, darker, hairier. Soon the children would be fed. Their sustenance was everything. Almost everything. Winter was on its way * This is an excerpt from Tom’s multimedia work-in-progress Spite, first part of the Quaich saga. In print, as a podcast and with music, video, artwork and location events. It will go live in 2022.

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Supernatural - Strange tales from Scotland’s thin places with…Tom Morton

shape and size of a chest, or a coffin, he thought. He sat on it, took the flask of tea from the side pocket of his pack and poured what was left. As he drank the tea, lukewarm now, never hot to start with, he heard something. At first he thought it was a radio, his phone on BBC Sounds. But when he pulled it out to look, it was black and lifeless. Dead.

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Environment - Climate change risk to coral reefs

Photo by NOAA Lophelia pertusa coral in non-corrosive water off Southern California Bight live coral is on top of large amounts of dead coral framework

Climate change risk to coral reefs

by Scott Aitken

C

hanges to ocean chemistry triggered by climate change is threatening to destroy deep-sea coral reefs and the marine life they support.

An international team of scientists, led by experts from the University of Edinburgh, have discovered how underlying structures of reefs could become brittle and fracture as a result of increasing ocean acidity caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide.

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Hundreds of metres below the surface of the ocean in Southern California, researchers measured the lowest – therefore the most acidic – pH level ever recorded on living coral reefs. The corals were then raised in the lab for one year under the same conditions.

Scientists observed that the skeletons of dead corals, which support and hold up living corals, had become porous due to ocean acidification and rapidly become too fragile to bear the weight of the reef above them.

Previous research has shown that ocean acidification can impact coral growth, but the new study demonstrates that porosity in corals – known as coralporosis – leads to weakening of their structure at critical locations.

This causes early breakage and crumbling, experts say, that may cause whole coral ecosystems to shrink dramatically in the future, leaving them only able to support a small fraction of the marine life they are home to today.

The findings complement recent evidence of porosity in tropical corals, but demonstrate that the threat posed by ocean acidification is far greater for deep-sea coral reefs.

Research was led by University of Edinburgh scientists, under the EU-funded ATLAS and iAtlantic projects, with researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“This study highlights that a major threat to these wonderful deepsea ecosystems is structural weakening caused by ocean acidification, driven by the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide we produce. While deepsea reefs exist out of sight they are certainly not out of mind,” said Dr Sebastian Hennige, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences.

Photo by NOAA Lophelia pertusa coral in corrosive waters off Southern California

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Environment - Climate change risk to coral reefs

Photo by Sebastian Hennige Lophelia pertusa skeleton with evidence of dissolution around the outside walls

Environment - Climate change risk to coral reefs

According to experts the corals in Southern California – one the most acidified reefs studied to date – are already experiencing

Photo Changing Oceans Deep sea coral reef

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the effects of climate change and exist in conditions that most deep-sea reefs are expected to encounter by the end of the

century.

Tools developed as part of the project will aid understanding

“Cold-water corals are truly the cities of the deep-sea providing homes to countless other animals. If we lose the corals the

city crumbles,” said Professor J. Murray Roberts, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences, who leads the ATLAS and iAtlantic programmes.

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Environment - Climate change risk to coral reefs

of when ocean ecosystems will change and how it will affect marine life.

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

Braelossie House

Beautiful homes and spectacular views

A

Victorian baronial mansion, described as one of the most beautiful in the north east of Scotland, has gone on the market for less than the price of a threebed home in London.

Braelossie House, built for Alexander Lawson, a local businessman and factor for the Earl of Fife, in 1862, is one of Elgin’s most prominent and wellknown properties.

Previously run as a popular hotel and restaurant for a number of years, until 2003 the present

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owners carried out a major renovation and and restored it as an impressive family home.

used as an office, a playroom, a gym, bathroom and three attic bedrooms.

The house includes a reception hall, magnificent drawing room with a raised gallery, an elegant music room, a well-equipped kitchen / dining / living room, study, utility room, boot room, eight bedrooms, three of which have en-suite shower rooms and a large family bathroom.

In addition there is a large basement with a store room, wine cellar and boiler room. Adjoining the house is a useful outside store with a further room above which offers potential for development (subject to obtaining all necessary consents).

The rooms on the second floor were previously used as a separate flat by the owners of the hotel, however, they are now

“This is a magnificent property in the Scots Baronial style and one of the most beautiful houses in Moray. The chance to own such a property is rare and there

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

Braelossie House staircase

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

is a real sense of arrival as you enter the grounds,� Rod Christie of Galbraith, who are asking for

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offers over ÂŁ715,000.

The mansion is in excellent

condition and has many fine period features including some highly decorative cornicing and

the main staircase.

The drawing room with its raised

level gallery and bay window, the music room with its impressive fireplace and the master bedroom

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

plasterwork, fireplaces with wood burning stoves and a magnificent stained-glass window overlooking

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

are particularly impressive rooms.

Outside, the house sits in grounds extending to about 1.9 acres, including areas of lawn

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and mature woodland which provides great privacy and seclusion. There are also various garden stores and log sheds.

The property is situated in a quiet residential area close to the centre of Elgin, home to a noted 13th century Cathedral, shops, restaurants and amenities whilst

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

the surrounding area offers some excellent opportunities for leisure pursuits including golf, walking and fishing.

Located about 20 minutes’ drive away is the ‘jewel’ of the Moray Coastline, the historic village of Findhorn with its sheltered bay providing excellent sailing and

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

water sports.

For a little less than twice the price Sandwood House, near

Sandwood House

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Nairn is on the market at offers over ÂŁ1,250,000.

This imposing grade B-listed

country house, complete with gate lodge, was designed in the style of renowned Scottish architect W R Davidson and dates

The property enjoys a high level of privacy, being surrounded by

garden grounds and mature Pine woodland extending to about 9 acres, and boasts a wealth of original features, including high

ceilings, ornate cornicing, central ceiling roses and traditional open fireplaces.

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

back to 1907.

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

The impressive entrance hall and staircase features part timber panelled walls and completing

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the timber staircase is a carved handrail and balusters.

The house is perfect for entertaining guests. The magnificent drawing room and

and French doors leading out to a patio area. There is a total of four reception rooms and eight

bedrooms with the master suite comprising a dressing room and bathroom.

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

adjacent sitting area are both wonderfully light with large windows overlooking the garden

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

Two separate properties are also included in the sale – The Gate House Lodge and The

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Cottage. The Gate House Lodge as suggested, is located at the entrance of the driveway to the

main house. Both properties enjoy their own enclosed garden space, have three bedrooms and

“Sandwood is a very attractive country house surrounded by delightful private grounds

and within easy reach of the mountains to the south and the sea to the north. Having retained

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

offer charming accommodation over one storey.

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

many original features, the house exudes period charm and offers fantastic living space for a large or extended family. There is the added benefit of being able to utilise the gate house and cottage for further accommodation for visiting guests, elderly family members or as a business rental opportunity be it long term residential lets or holiday accommodation,� said Rod Christie, residential partner at Galbraith in Elgin.

Rural yet easily accessible, Sandwood is only seven miles from Inverness Airport, offering daily flights to a number of European destinations including London, Dublin and Amsterdam.

fine cornicing, panelled doors, part-leaded windows, decorative fireplaces and a carved wooden staircase.

principal bedroom with ensuite bathroom, three further bedrooms, single bedroom/study, two bathrooms.

The property provides light and bright, well-proportioned rooms including drawing room, dining room, sitting room, breakfasting kitchen, utility/boot room, pantry,

About six acres of grounds including pretty, established garden with lawns, rockeries, elevated decked terrace and a woodland knoll.

Further south, Beechwood, a delightful Victorian house with a literary connection to J M Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, is up for sale for offers over ÂŁ950,000.

The magnificent mansion has many original features, including

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Beechwood House

house is in a secluded position on the edge of Strathtay village and commands outstanding views

over the beautiful grounds and rolling hills beyond.

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

There is also a paddock and an outbuilding providing potting shed, log store and garaging. The

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

Pebble Coast Cottage

For around a third of the price being asked for Beechwood the

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stunning Pebble Coast Cottage in North Erradale, Gairloch is up for

sale for offers over ÂŁ325,000.

features an open plan reception room, three bedrooms and

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

This stunning home in a spectacular coastal setting

a beautifully appointed contemporary interior.

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

Excellent thermal efficiency with air source heat pump, heat

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recovery system, and solar panels gives the property a very modern

appeal.

direct access to a pebble beach and coastal walks creates a

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

Stunning views to the Isle of Skye and Outer Hebrides coupled with

wonderful escape.

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

Makalu

Similarly, Makalu at Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire has a fabulous

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elevated position with far reaching sea views and wonderful

established landscaped gardens.

dining room, kitchen, sitting room, and three of the four bedrooms

all benefitting from superb sea views.

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Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

Most of the living accommodation faces the sea with drawing room/

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

There are delightful terraced secluded landscaped gardens,

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which are abundantly stocked with spring bulbs.There are

pathways and seating areas all cleverly positioned from which to

Living Scotland - Beautiful homes and spectacular views

enjoy the view.

Makalu is on the market for offers over ÂŁ560,000.

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