Events

GET TO KNOW EDINBURGH

Edinburgh seems like two separate cities – the 18th-century new town’s elegant Georgian terraced neighbourhoods from the old town’s narrow lanes, steep staircases, and hidden passageways. It’s the perfect mix of the old and new and has lots of firsts!

THE ROYAL MILE

This steep street in the old town really does capture the soul of the city with historic monuments everywhere you look, including St. Giles’ Cathedral, Holyrood House Palace, and Edinburgh Castle at the top of the hill. Scattered in between, there’s souvenir shops, quaint pubs, and a hive of activity. Joining a walking tour is the best way to find out about this areas fascinating history.

CASTLE ON THE HILL

Edinburgh Castle looms over the city from its tactical location on top of Castle Rock. It’s one of the oldest castles in the UK and like a lot of Edinburgh’s history, it’s both fascinating and gruesome! You can take a tour through the castle and learn about daring night sieges and fierce battles against the English. The Great Hall has held countless royal ceremonies throughout the centuries, and as you walk through the grand drawing rooms, you can feel the sense of stature. Lunchtime’s sees the famous One O’clock Salute from Half Moon and the impressive Scottish National War Memorial and National War Museum, and the stunning collection of Crown Jewels housed in the Royal Palace.

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

Have a laugh at the stand-up comedy show at this festival during the month of August. It’s one of the leading arts and comedy festivals in the world and features up-andcoming artists, and is known for unearthing the next generation of talent. Comedy gigs and live shows are held in lots of venues around Edinburgh from pubs to pop-up tents, and events on the streets.

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH

Founded in 1670 – this garden is the second oldest garden in Britain. It’s also one of the largest, and has over 13,200 different plant species. With 70 acres devoted to a herbarium, as well as Britain’s

biggest palm house, a tropical house with exotic orchids, alpine house, terraced moorland garden, heather garden and arboretum with rare giant trees from the Himalayas, North America, and China.

PRINCES STREET

This is the new town’s main thoroughfare, and is almost a mile. It’s lined with colourful gardens on one side and elegant shops on the other including Jenners of Edinburgh, which was founded in 1838 and is one of the world’s oldest department stores.

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY & PORTRAIT GALLERY

Founded in 1859, this gallery is the country’s second major art collection and displays Scotland’s biggest collection of European paintings and sculptures. Its collection includes works from the Renaissance period right up to the Post-Impressionists. The highlight of the gallery’s is a huge processional frieze showing Scotland’s most famous personalities, including Robbie Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Sean Connery, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Stuart, and Bonnie Prince Charlie, among others.

THE MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD

This isn’t just for children, the museum has a wonderful collection of old toys, including model trains, dolls, and games from around the world. The museum was the first of its kind when it opened in the early 1900s and explores the facets of growing up and looks at schooldays, trends, and fashions. There’s a rather special recreation of a Victorian streetscape finished with outdoor toys and an opportunity to dress up in period costumes and play the kinds of games our ancestors enjoyed.

I FT GUIDE G THE GREA T

BRITISH CHRISTMAS Find the perfect present foe everyone o your Christmas list, no matter what your budget is!

GIFTS FOR HER

Elegant and romantic, and made from an exquisite blend of roses and 100% soy wax £24 | Rose Candle | www.bristolfragrance.com This stylish vegan clutch is the perfect, practical accessory when you need to carry just the essentials. It comes in six gorgeous colours including mustard. £59 | Vegan Leather Multi-function Clutch | www.themorphbag.london

Handpicked selection box of hand scrubs is perfect for sampling a number of blends or sending something special to a friend to try. Just choose the four blends you would like! £16 | 4 x 25g mini pots of body scrub with little wooden spoon and blend leaflet www.tammason.co.uk

This hand and body wash and lotion contains aromatic blend of citrus and spicy herbal oils in this energising duo. Skin is left clean fresh and healthy. £27 | Plant a Meadow - Sweet Marjoram & Citrus Gift Set www.beegood.co.uk

A trio of oils that complement each other and will soothe, calm and uplift and have a balancing effect on hormones and menopausal symptoms. £25 | Nourish and Brighten Face Oil, Flaxseed Oil, and Ylang Ylang Essential Oil www.trineoils.co.uk

PERFECT PRESENTS FOR HIM

Beautiful hand stitched men’s oak bark tanned-leather belt created from bridle leather from the last oak bark tannery in the UK. £80 | Oak Bark Leather Belt www.lgleatherworks.com Treat him to this beard grooming set that has creamy vanilla notes. It’s handmade in small batches from 100% natural ingredients. £50 | Bedfordshire Beard Co. Vanilla Beard Set www.sirgordonbennett.com

This luxury leather personal organiser in green will fit your iPad mini and charging cables or A5 notebook, safe and organised with its bookstyle opening. £98 | Leather Organiser www.katieleamon.com

Inspired by Art Deco, the Eltham Fusion razor from Wilde & Harte is an elegant addition to his daily or weekend wash bag. The razor features a superior 5-blade Fusion razor cartridge system from Gillette that offers a very smooth, close wet shave. £170 | Eltham Fusion Razor www.wildeandharte.co.uk

This guitar stand is made from solid oak, and is perfect for displaying a treasured electric or acoustic guitar on the wall safely in style. Handcrafted by MijMoj Design and engineered to hold most securely symmetrical guitar sizes as well as banjos and ukuleles. £44.95 | Guitar and Plectrum Stand www.mijmoj.co.uk

ECO-FRIENDLY reusable Christmas crackers

rubbish contents? We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with our families and friends again this year. When the presents are bought and the tree decorated, it's time to plan our festive tables. For most, it wouldn’t be complete without Christmas Crackers. But how do we feel about all the waste they create, not to mention the

‘Keep This Cracker’ has the answer – a reusable cracker you can pull. Keep This Cracker is a small business based in Manchester, run by Bea Thackeray. A packaging designer with a long history of creating products for various High Street retailers, she has worked with manufacturers in the UK, as well as Fair Trade producers across the Developing World. I've been passionate about supporting local makers and manufacturers since I launched my first reusable cracker designs back in 2013. It's a pleasure to work with our favourite suppliers who “ care and understand the needs of the business and our customers. I’ve never understood the need to ship single use disposable products half way across the planet! - Says Bea ”

Bea creates her cracker designs from her studio, and a carton maker who is based in Cambridgeshire makes them. The other component parts and packaging are also made in the UK; including the ribbons which are woven with yarn made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. The products are then packed in-house.

As well as being UK-made, there are plenty of other benefits to these reusable crackers. They come flat-packed in handy reusable card wallets, so you can store your crackers away for another time. And there’s no need to worry about cheap plastic contents, as you're free to choose your own personalised gifts. The crackers are quite roomy with plenty of space for chocolates, toiletries, jewellery, gadgets or small toys, as well as gift cards or theatre tokens – the choice is yours. The area for the gifts is 5.5cm x 5.5cm x 11cm. The crackers are 28cm long when made up.

Each cracker comes with an ecosnap® your pets will appreciate too. The crackers pull like normal just with less noise. But of course, if you like your crackers to go bang, 'Keep This Cracker' will work equally well with standard (noisy) snaps.

So how do you reuse these crackers? You simply remove the broken snap and replace it with a new one by threading it through the cracker and the slots at each end. Each pack of six crackers comes with printed instructions. The reusable crackers are also fully recyclable and the ecosnaps are compostable too. Replacement ecosnaps and standard snaps are available to buy in packs of 12.

See the full collection online at www.keepthiscracker.com

GIFTS IDEAL FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

These quirky and educational collective noun key rings feature beautiful animal illustration designed by Jan Morley. There are lots of different designs to choose from, so something for everyone. £3 | Collective Noun Key Rings www.perkinsandmorley.com Colourful A5 Notebook and Sketchbook sets that will help children (and adults) engage with nature and learn about pollinators. They’re printed with eco-friendly inks on 100% recycled paper, and make great stocking fillers! £12 | Ladybird/ Bee Note & Sketch Book Set www.urbee.co.uk

Little girls will love this reversible dress with gorgeous jungle print of cheeky monkeys swinging through the trees, colourful parrots and rich pinks on an a deep emerald green cotton and the reverse a fuchsia pink needlecord. £34.50 | Reversible Jungle Dress (6 months to 4 years) www.roundaboutchildrenswear.co.uk

Little ones will cherish this cute elephant from the Little Pickles collection. He is perfect to play with at home and to take on fun-filled adventures and large enough to hug tight at night. £39.95 | Little Pickles - Elephant www.hellomrpickles.com Stylish set of three handpoured concrete tealight holders that will burn any standard tealights. Stack on top of each other or on top of any of our other C&W holders. Each sits upon a smaller natural cork foot creating a floating aesthetic when placed directly on a surface, or a snug connection when stacked. £42 | Tealight Trio - All Teal www.concreteandwax.com

Gorgeous stuff for dogs

GIFTS YOUR PET WILL LOVE!

Brighten up a dreary winter’s day walks with one of these print bandanas. Featuring lovely cotton prints, they add a fun touch of colour to your hound. From £10 | Winter Dog Bandanas www.slumberinghound.com Your dog will love this super-soft faux fur blanket. It’s the perfect accessory to use as a throw throughout the home or when travelling. These blankets are reversible and fully machine washable. £128 | Faux Fur Dog Blankets www.berkeleydogbeds.co.uk

This gorgeous reversible bow tie or pretty flower for your dog to wear is available in a choice of beautiful fabrics. It attaches to the collar with elastic so are easy to pop on and off to suit his/her outfit and mood. £22 | Luxury Dog Bowtie (Gargrave Lilac) www.hettie.co.uk

Fashion conscious and designer home enthusiasts will love these animal print snugbums beds and so will your four-legged best friends! £45 | Luxury Zebra Pet Bed www.snugbums.co.uk Buy a subscription for the woman who loves her dog – there is something for both owner and dog! £28 | Monthly Subscription Box www.bitchesandbooze.co.uk

Discover the countryside with Perkins & Morley. Original, designled gifts and homeware come alive with vibrant, and sometimes quirky, illustrations and paintings from this established British design house - all of which they’re are proud to say are made in the UK!

Mugs £15 Brooches £11.99 Tea Towels £9.99 - £14.99 Chopping Boards £48.00

PERKINSANDMORLEY.COM

DELICIOUS GIFTS TO EAT AND DRINK

A Conker full house with four 5cl miniature bottles all packaged up in a beautiful plastic-free box. Perfect for trying out the range or gifting for the gin lover in your life. £22 | Conker Minis Gift Box www.conkerspirit.co.uk This gift set is the perfect stocking filler for foodies and 100% of the profits go to the Campaign to End Loneliness. The cracker contains ManiLife’s award winning peanut butter and the new Rich Cocoa Smooth Peanut Butter, which will be available from 1st November 2021. £9.99 | ManiLife Rich Cocoa Peanut Butter Cracker Gift Box www.mani-life.com

This storage jar includes 24 gorgeous Christmas shaped biscuits that the children will love. The jar contains biscuits in the shape of penguins, polar bears, stockings, stars and gingerbread men and each has been hand iced. £40 | Jar of Christmas Cookies www.honeywellbakes.com

Hydro-herb kits contain all you need to your chosen herb using a recycled wine bottle to construct the body of the system. Each contains enough organic hydroponic fluid for you to be able to grow your herbs for approximately two years. All you need to do is select your favourite herbs! £20 | Hydro-herb Kits www.hydro-herb.co.uk

Choose from Mint, Turkish Delight, Kinder, Biscoff/Caramac and Orange. These chocolate bars weight 160g and can be personalised with the name at the top of the bar and ‘love from name’ under the scratch off sticker. £6.50 | Scratch Off Choc Letter Box Belgian Chocolate Bars www.cocoaandpaper.co.uk

Handmade in our studio in Wales Prices from £12.50 to £29.99 Fast dispatch—Free gift wrapping

JEWELLERY GIFTS

A gorgeous set of four slim stacking rings in silver and rose gold that look so stylish worn together. Wear everyday to remind you of the sparkling bubbles in your pink champagne on New Year’s Eve or those glamorous Oscars party dresses! £29.50 | Silver & Rose Gold Vermeil Stacking Ring Set www.abigail-jewellery.com Handmade in Wales, this pretty bracelet is made with porcelain beads, Agate gemstones and silver-plated spacer beads. Wearing Agate encourages positive vibes and the toggle fastening is hypoallergenic. £18.99 | Hibiscus B3 Bracelet www.roninjewellery.co.uk

Get back to nature with these organic, simple solid silver earrings. Based on a linden seed collected from Tattershal Castle and cast from life and hallmarked by the Sheffield Assay Office. £55 | Linden Seed Half-Loop Earrings www.sufrancedesigns.com

Stunning 3D printed geometric contemporary statement necklace for any occasion that features a black 3D print that has an almost leather like texture with brass catches the light! £90 | Vibe Circle Necklace VB07 www.elsiemjewellery.co.uk These pendants are made from copper and enameled in rows of different colours to create a stripy effect. Great to wear as your everyday jewellery and hung from a sterling silver 24in chain £22 |Stripy Enamel Pendant www.maisyplum.co.uk