The Heartland Buzz Issue 7

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HIGHLAND

SAFARIS

December 2015 | Issue No.7 | FREE

YOUR

FREE

MONT MAGAZHLY INE

APPROACHING 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS

Lonely Mountain Skis BIRNAM BASED, MICRO SKI COMPANY

Archie McLaren

Landscape Photographer

THE JOY OF ARCHITECTURE ROBIN BAKER ARCHITECTS

EAST HAUGH HOUSE Hotel & Restaurant

Georgia Crook

40 Hibernatorzzzzz 46 Empty Landscapes 50 Towards a Zero Waste Community 60 Letters from the Orchard

FROM THE EDITOR

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

Boreland Loch Tay

THE

Welcome to The Heartland Buzz

PERFECT STAG PARTY VENUE

hat a year 2015 has been for both The Heartland Buzz and my journey in creating the magazine.

Before I stepped out into the great wide open, this time last year I was tucked away in an office down in Ayrshire working for a design agency dreaming about where The Heartland Buzz may take me. After taking that leap into the unknown, the future is looking bright.

After making the journey back home to Perthshire and leaving the world of full time employment behind to go it solo, it was safe to say the worries of going it alone, did bring a little sweat on!

The magazine was founded on a shoestring budget with a few advertisers helping back an idea which has grown every single month and will continue to grow in 2016.

I would like to give huge thanks to all our advertisers that have supported the magazine throughout 2015 and especially the advertisers that supported the magazine when it was at the beginning of its creation and was merely an idea. The

W

FROM

1IG8 £ T! AN H

Surrounded by some of Scotland's most beautiful Munros and Highland attractions, Boreland Loch Tay is the perfect getaway this winter.

NEW THIS MONTH! LETTERS FROM THE ORCHARD. PAGE 60.

fact that you backed the magazine from the very start, without actually seeing a physical copy of a magazine was really amazing and without you The Heartland Buzz would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank everyone who has helped the magazine on it's way including monthly contributors, distributors, proof readers, and everyone who has lent a helping hand, both paid and unpaid!

This month we welcome Ian & Fiona Hulbert to the magazine who will be contributing on a monthly basis with ‘Letters from the Orchard’, turn to page 60 to read more.

The Heartland Buzz will be taking a little longer than normal break in-between magazines and the next issue will be out in the first week of February. We are looking to put some of our great ideas into action and the extra break will allow us to do this.

Have a great time over the festive season, we will see you all in 2016 and as always, enjoy the magazine.

Colin

Magazine Deadlines Jan/Feb | Issue No.8

March | Issue No.9

April | Issue No.10

18th JANUARY

26th FEBRUARY

4th APRIL

Distribution dates start approx.

16 days after the deadline date.

Want to talk?

If you are looking for further information, or need any assistance, you can contact us during office

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Receive a free case of champagne when you book our bunkhouse for Hogmanay!

hours Monday to Friday 9.00am - 5.30pm. Alternatively you can email us anytime or visit our website.

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01887 840 736

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07850 991 254

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CONTENTS

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Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

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ART & CREATIVITY

LOCAL BUSINESS

LOCAL BUSINESS

WILDLIFE & NATURE

EXPLORING THE CREATIVE TALENT OF LOCH TAY BASED ARTIST

Lonely Mountain Skis

Robin Baker Architects

Hibernatorzzzzz

BIRNAM BASED, MICRO SKI COMPANY

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THE JOY OF ARCHITECTURE

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50

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BY LOUISE MEDINE

Towards a Zero Waste Community

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ART & CREATIVITY

Archie McLaren

Mel’s

HILLTOP DIARY

FOOD & DRINK

Thyme TO TASTE

LOCAL GROUP OF WRITERS

The Jotters

KENMORE BASED LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER

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READ THE BUZZ ONLINE You can now read all our previous issues online! issuu.com/theheartlandbuzz

IN THE GARDEN

FROM GLEN LYON

WE HAVE REDUCED OUR ADVERTISING PRICES! VIEW OUR RATES ON PAGE 62

45 LOCAL WRITING

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WE NO LONGER CHARGE VAT

COMMUNITY

16 Georgia Crook

CONTENTS

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

Growing with Rosie POINSETTIAS

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Pick Up Points Aberfeldy Audrey Slorance Gallery, Delight Deli, Habitat Cafe & Breadalbane Community Library.

Pitlochry Honest Thistle, Tourist Information Centre, Cafe Calluna and Melt Gallery & Cafe.

Strathtay Strathtay stores. Kinloch Rannoch The Country Store. Ballinluig The Post Office & Rivers Meet Cafe. Kenmore Karelia House, The TISING ADVERTES Courtyard Shop.

RA Dunkeld Going Pottie. Blair Atholl Heart of Atholl.

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NEW THIS MONTH! ART & CREATIVITY FOOD & DRINK

East Haugh House Hotel & Restaurant RECIPE OF THE MONTH

LOCAL BUSINESS

Highland Safaris

APPROACHING 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS

Empty Landscapes THE WORK OF ARTIST MALIZE MCBRIDE

Letters from the Orchard

A PARTRIDGE AND A PEAR TREE

Going Green

Stay Social!

Our paper is sourced from well-managed forests.

When you are finished with our magazine, help us keep our planet green and please recycle.

Find us on Facebook and keep up to date with latest buzz, our magazine pick up points and all our latest adventures!

BESPOKE TWEEDS

We can make any of the following to your specifications: • Jackets & Waistcoats • Plus Twos/Fours • Shooting Waistcoats & Coats • Dress Business Suits • Ladies Skirts & Jackets • Kilts in any tartan • Kilt Jackets & Waistcoats • Hats & Caps • Tweed by the metre The shop is well worth a visit, as the back drop looks directly over the burn. All customers can come in and relax in very comfortable surroundings having a coffee, or maybe even a wee nip, while they look through tweed, tartan or worsted suit samples.

I offer a wide range of styles and a huge range of lining colours, depending on how daring you would like to go.

I will happily give advice and guidance throughout the whole process and make your visit to Perthshire Estates Ltd not just a day out, but a wonderful experience. As well as suits, jackets and shooting attire I also offer a full made to measure service for kilts and kilt jackets.

Within our retail store in Aberfeldy we have in stock a wide range of tweed bags all made in the town. Country check shirts and shooting hose are always in stock.

We would prefer if you could visit our shop in Aberfeldy to be measured, to allow you to experience our full customer service and enjoy browsing through our vast range of swatch books. This would also give you the chance to relax in our new surroundings.

If it is not possible to visit us in Aberfeldy, we may be able to come to you to show you some samples and take all your measurements. (Terms & conditions apply

please call or email for further details)

Chap reet el St

We are here... n Bur

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Perthshire Estates Ltd, Burnside, Aberfeldy, PH15 2AU

Bank Street

27 A8

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side

Tel: 01887 822644 www.perthshire-estates.co.uk

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ART & CREATIVITY

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

ART & CREATIVITY

www.georgiacrook.co.uk

I prefer to mix materials. I use a lot of clay, willow and paper."

Georgia

CROOK

HELPING CREATIVES STAY CREATIVE!

live half way along Loch Tay, near Lawers, on a farm called Tombreck. I’ve been in the area for about 11 years, moving from the Mid Argyll/Islands area. I’ve got a degree in History and Archaeology, but I preferred a much more hands on, than academic route. When I lived on Mull, where my family is now based, I worked for a Community Development charity and had my own craft business too, using willow. It worked well in a way. I made enough to live on, got featured in a few well known magazines and even got some work commissioned for the National Collection, which was nice, but island life was all a bit limited. Eventually I moved off to the mainland, working as the Education Officer at Kilmartin Museum. Here I began to indulge my fascination for using a wide variety of materials and craft techniques. I even

I

got to go out to Iceland and Denmark to trade techniques with craftsmen there doing historic reconstruction work.

That was a lot of fun! By 2004 myself, my husband and our children had moved to Tombreck and begun a house building project. Andrew, my husband, has also built a small workshop and that is where my work has been developing since our youngest went to school.

The Work I prefer to mix materials. I use a lot of clay, willow and paper, which is where most of my experience lies.

Mixing materials allows more scope for exploring new ideas. Occasionally, I will use just one material, eg for the recently commissioned Ryder Cup golfing figures, which were all willow, but this is fairly unusual. The work usually revolves around environmental or cultural heritage themes. For instance, I produced a Polytricum moss man for

an exhibition on Flanders Moss near Stirling a couple of years ago and, this year, a 6ft dragonfly for Loch Leven Nature Reserve. A few years ago I exhibited a large piece at the John Hope Gateway in Edinburgh, called ‘Bea Too’, which explored the beauty of repetition within nature. I have begun exploring this theme again in the ‘Colonies’ series. Recently though, I have been producing ‘Skyboats’, which you may have seen locally at the annual Fortingall Art show and in ‘Artisan &’ gallery in Aberfeldy. There is so much scope for experimentation within the Colony and Skyboat theme, it is sure to keep me occupied for some time! As well as making work for retail sale, exhibition and commission I am also asked to facilitate a lot of workshops for a wide variety of groups. School groups, college groups, disability groups, holiday/ birthday groups, all sorts!

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ART & CREATIVITY

How did you come to gain experience and learn your creative techniques?

There is nowhere you can formally learn any of the techniques I use. Willow techniques I have acquired through practice and years of skills exchange with other practitioners.

I was never really interested in using the skills traditionally, but more interested in how I could combine them with other methods to produce contemporary work, relevant to a contemporary market. From this perspective, the wider your experience of techniques the better, you never know what's going to come in handy! For the boats I use a combination of methods drawn from fibre arts, basketry and bookbinding.

The wider your experience of techniques the better, you never know what's going to come in handy!"

ART & CREATIVITY

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

In a world that is becoming

more and more stressful, do

you feel more people are

trying to establish themselves

creatively and move away

from their original professions?

No, I don’t think more people are trying to establish themselves creatively and the world isn’t necessarily more stressful than in the past either. Working as a creative practitioner is certainly not stress free. The economic value of the creative industries is vast and although people sometimes have a rosy spectacled view of it as a non-essential, easy going option, I would argue that it is. It has always been an essential part of human activity and, as such, it comes with its own rigours in the modern world. I certainly regard my daily activity as work, in the same way that a plumber, or a banker, does for example. It's definitely not an escape from the stresses of other jobs.

Where do you take your inspiration from?

I am inspired by many things, fine workmanship/craftsmanship, mastery of time honoured skills, but in terms of the creative element within the work, it's often themes which link us all to the rest of nature, organic forms etc, but also universal themes

which trigger the imagination can be exploited in a more human cultural sense too. I hope that the physical suspension, movement and exaggerated, but recognisable, forms of the skyboats from the onlooker to ‘drift off’ into their own thoughts of memory and inspiration.

What is your favourite creation to date?

The Workshop & other outlets at Christmas time!

My favourite creations are always the most recent ones, when I’ve made a new creative discovery.

I work from the studio at home and available most of the time.

To be sure I am in, drop me an email through my website or phone first perhaps, just to be sure.

I try to keep a small stock of work available to view in the workshop,especially on the run up to Christmas and just occasionally it overspills into the neighbouring Loch Tay Community Building, The ‘Big Shed’. To make it easier for less planned visits I also have occasional Workshop Open days.

For details of exactly how to find the workshop, take a look at my website www. georgiacrook. co.uk This Christmas, work will also be available to view at ‘Artisan &’ in Aberfeldy and at The Birnam Arts Centre, Dunkeld.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

All the best, Georgia

I think if you were choosing to live on an island of the west cost you must accept its limitations, as well as the privileges it offers. To make the most of it, make sure you are able to get on and off the island regularly!

Is it important for you to incorporate locally sourced and organic products into your creations?

I can't think of a practical reason why you wouldn’t incorporate local organic material if it was there! I am lucky enough to have the space for a coppice and to be able to grow my own willows. I do value the knowledge that they are not covered in insecticides and have not travelled hundreds of wasteful miles for them to get to my workshop.

How does living next to a loch compare to living next to the sea?

What would you hope anyone interested in your workshops would learn and take away with them?

When people come to my workshops I assume they have their own imaginative approaches ( which they ALWAYS do, whether they THINK they do or not ). When I teach, I am hoping that I am providing the confidence and physical skills to help participants use their own approach. Often people achieve so much more than they thought, by using very simple techniques.

There is no right and wrong way of doing anything in my work, so what people take away with them is different every time. I have developed my own style, so why shouldn’t everyone else?! It's often a skills exchange, I get some great ideas in workshops, they are very inspiring!

What advice would you give to someone looking to start a creative career?

If you are looking to start a creative career, get plenty of techniques under your belt and always remain flexible in how you approach it. Don’t assume that you are the one in the know, there are hundreds of different situations in which to develop new ideas. You don’t know until you try which facets you will enjoy.

Living by the Loch is very important to me. I may have moved inland but at least I’ve got a bit of water to look over. I really do enjoy tootling about in my kayak when I get the chance, there is a real sense of space. Of course the coast has the open vistas, sea light and endless coastline, but loch and sea are both beautiful spaces.

For anyone thinking about leaving Perthshire for an island on the west coast, what advice would you give?

FIND OUT MORE The Mill House, Tombreck, Lawers, Aberfeldy. PH15 2PB w: georgiacrook.co.uk

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

LOCAL BUSINESS

Lonely Skis

Lonely Mountain Skis is a micro ski company based in Birnam, Perthshire. We build hand made custom skis, which are a blend of traditional and modern materials and techniques. We currently have five ski shapes in our library and we also do bespoke ski commissions.

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

LOCAL BUSINESS

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

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Website Coming Soon

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had my first go at ski making after watching a Ray Mears episode, where a Swedish ski maker made a ski from dead standing pine. I was studying Product Design at Dundee University at the time and had the perfect workshop environment to prototype some of these simple wooden skis. They were very basic solid pieces of redwood pine,

steam bent at the tips and coated in pine tar.

It was incredibly satisfying to ski on these traditional skis, even if they were a little out of control over the Scottish ice. I then based my honours project on sustainable materials in skiing and made the most high performance and sustainable ski I could, as a showcase of natural materials in a modern ski.

Two and a half years of prototyping

later and our skis now have an eight layer laminate, in which there are natural and synthetic fibers bracing a laminated hardwood core. The bases of the skis are a racing sintered 7000 ptex and the whole ski is capped in a one-of-a-kind hardwood veneers. The result is a beautifully honest and well crafted product, which will perform as well, or better than anything you can buy off the shelf. The wood and natural fibers do an amazing job absorbing

any shock and vibration and make a really smooth ride.

We want to make skis that will last a lifetime and be beautiful enough to hang on the wall once you have finished with them.

We are inspired by the terrain of the Scottish highlands. Two of our models are particularly inspired by the back country ski touring scene in Scotland. The Crua and the slightly wider Sneachda have been

designed with Scottish skiing in mind. To be light enough to climb up the gullies and Munros and stable and fun through variable snow conditions you may find on the way down.

Our workshop is in Unit 6 Birnam Industrial Estate, on Station Road in Birnam. Please stop by for a look at our range, a ski service and some of our home brewed Lonely Mountain craft beer.

FIND OUT MORE j_kunka@hotmail.com facebook.com/lonelymountainskis instagram.com/lonely_mountain_skis lonelymountain.ski (coming soon)

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

LOCAL BUSINESS

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

the

JOY

of Architecture Robin Baker Architects The Office Team

Kinlochlaich Treehouse The Birks Cinema

his year I fulfilled a life-long dream - a pilgrimage to visit ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, some of the oldest wooden structures in the world that have survived over six centuries in an area of volcanic and earthquake activity.

The journey I have taken as an architect over the last 40 years has been shaped and formed by people and place, tradition and fine craftsmanship. As I share some of this journey you might understand why architecture has, and always will be, a great joy in my life.

A child of the 50’s & 60’s, I grew up in Knebworth during the days of love and peace and music that reflected big social change. I watched as Stevenage New Town advanced across the fields towards our village and saw how rapidly towns can change and communities grow.

This was a time when architects were respected, like teachers and doctors. By the 70’s, when I was a student, they were

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The Birks Cafe

tainted by some failures of the New Towns, particularly high-rise flats, but recently architecture seems to be valued once again as an art form.

Of the many who influenced my education, there were a few who really inspired me to want to become an architect.

Community projects give me the greatest pleasure and best of these has certainly been the renovation of the Birks Cinema ."

Firstly, Jane Priestman, friend of my parents for over 50 years, lived in a cottage transformed into an exciting modern space.

Jane showed me the value of good design and how it could dramatically improve the quality of peoples’ lives. This year I was delighted that she received the inaugural Ada Louise Huxtable Award for being a

visionary client, having commissioned both Stanstead Airport & Waterloo International Station.

Secondly, Howard Liddell, whom I met one day in 1972 when I drove a friend to his interview at the Hull School of Architecture.

On that day I decided that architecture looked far more interesting than engineering, which I was already studying at Leeds University. The Hull School was a really exciting place at that time, being led by a former head of the Architectural Association, who invited visiting lecturers from all around the world, including Buckminster Fuller.

Twenty years later Howard offered me a job in Aberfeldy, designing a new swimming pool for Ullapool - a huge achievement in pre-Lottery days for that remote Highland community, where few adults could swim.

Have you tried swimming off the Scottish coast?

Because I had studied Housing Co-ops, and also worked for a Housing Association in Leeds, I was delighted to have the opportunity to design a new block of 18

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

robinbakerarchitects.com

Pinecone Viewpoint

Corbenic Workshops

David Douglas Pavilion

Corbenic Workshops Opening

LOCAL BUSINESS

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

flats for the Fairfield Housing Co-op in Perth - a project that still gives me great pleasure as I pass by it on the train.

Howard showed me the value of designing buildings that really respect the environment and enable healthy and vibrant communities to grow.

As a student in Yorkshire I had visited Botton, a Camphill community of about 250 people, occupying the head of two valleys.

The residents, who have learning difficulties, live in large family households and work on the farms and in various skilled workshops, such as glass engraving.

Years later, when my wife Claire & I saw that Corbenic, the Camphill Community near Dunkeld, were advertising for house parents and trustees, we applied. So began a happy association with this very special community, where people are valued whatever their level of ability.

(See photo of John Swinney opening the new workshops in 2009) Have you visited the amazing Poetry Path yet? It is open to the public and a delightful walk around the Corbenic estate.

Before leaving Yorkshire I had the good fortune to work on the restoration of a former Methodist chapel, while working for another Hull tutor, Ian Tod. Square Chapel, in Halifax, which is now an Arts Centre, was built in 1773, but was so derelict in 1985 that it was sold for only £25.

When built it contained the longest single span roof trusses in England, made from massive sections of Baltic pine, transported along the recently constructed canal.

Square Chapel awoke a fascination in me, with large timber structures. So when I was invited by the Scottish Plant Hunters Garden, in Pitlochry, to design a modern pavilion celebrating David Douglas and Scottish Forestry, I was delighted to work with skilled Canadian carpenters who told tall tales about the 1,000 year-old Douglas Firs on Vancouver Island, a place I still hope to visit one day.

Other timber structures followed: Pinecone Viewpoint at Craigvinean Forest, for the Forestry Commission, and the Viewing Tower at Flanders Moss NNR, for Scottish Natural Heritage. Probably the most fun, however, has been Kinlochlaich Treehouse at Appin. Working again with skilled carpenters and visionary clients to create an extra special place for romantic holidays, it has proved to be hugely popular.

My architectural office in Birnam depends upon our many and various domestic commissions, resulting in new houses, conversions, alterations and

extensions for the delightful people who I am lucky to meet through my work.

However, community projects give me the greatest pleasure and best of these has certainly been the renovation of the Birks Cinema in my hometown of Aberfeldy.

The Birks is illustrated in the National Review of Town Centres as an example of an abandoned & empty town centre building being

the former Co-op building into community ownership.

I fully support the formation of an Aberfeldy Community Development Trust that could support this and other community-led development projects in the town.

See the links below for information on CDTs and how to make town centres more attractive, active and accessible: www.dtascot.org.uk/content/what-is-adevelopment-trust www.pinterest.com/creativeplaceSG/ town-centres

brought back into use."

We are very fortunate to enjoy this stateof-the-art cinema, which is the envy of many other towns, and was only achieved by a huge effort, sustained for years by Charlotte Flower and a core group supported by the many friends in the wider community.

It is heartening now to see the cinema is so busy and has become a major attraction bringing new life and vibrancy into the town centre and encouraging investment in new businesses, restaurants and hotels.

Town centre regeneration is the focus of much recent Scottish Government policy and initiatives.

The Birks is illustrated in the National Review of Town Centres as an example of an abandoned & empty town centre building being brought back into use. This has led on to the Town Centre Action Plan and the Town Centre First Principle that was agreed between the Government and local authorities. Perth & Kinross Council should be applauded for their application of this principle in commissioning the Design Charrettes for Aberfeldy, Crieff & Auchterarder and encouraging the possible transfer of

FIND OUT MORE Robin Baker Architects Tower Buildings, Station Road Birnam, Perthshire PH8 0DS t. 01350 728116 e. info@robinbakerarchitects.com w. robinbakerarchitects.com

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Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

ART & CREATIVITY

HELPING CREATIVES STAY CREATIVE!

Kenmore Photography Archie McLaren is the talent behind Kenmore Photography, capturing stunning landscape imagery from Highland Perthshire and beyond.

rchie was born in Kenmore in 1973 and went to school in Kenmore Primary and Breadalbane Academy, Aberfeldy.

At the age of sixteen he was anxious to find immediate employment and was pleased to be offered a post as Assistant Greenkeeper at Taymouth Castle Golf Course (which at the time was reckoned to be the best course in Highland Perthshire). This was exactly what he wanted, an outdoor job in which machinery was involved, he would have hated being cooped up in a office. He was, himself, quite a good golfer, but did not play golf competitively –

A

just as enjoyable exercise.

He always loved machinery or gadgets of any kind and enjoyed driving cars or tractor and, later, heavy good vehicles – he holds a HGV licence. Archie loves to go to some of the tracks, such as Knockhill, where you are allowed to drive racing cars.

In 2005 he married Pauline Sweeney from Muthill and as a wedding present he was given the use of Taymouth Castle ballroom for his wedding reception.

Pauline was already working in Kenmore as a Classroom Assistant, as well as being the driver of the school bus. In 2007 they has a son Ethan, who at present attends Kenmore School and is deeply involved in Breadalbane Strathtay YFC 2006. He features in much of his father’s photography.

Archie has always loved tricky little gadgets of any kind. His love of gadgets and his love of Scotland’s scenery met in the world of the camera. The hobby

also captures another facet of Archie’s character – his love of Scotland and its beauty. This, of course, centred upon Loch Tay and its environs; but it also spreads to Harris in the Outer Hebrides (where one branch of his family still live) and to the coastline of Forfar and Aberdeenshire.

It was, therefore, no surprise that when the internet was available to all, Archie would be attracted by all its possibilities. It was really through the

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Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

ART & CREATIVITY

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

FIND KENMORE PHOTOGRAPHY ON FACEBOOK

internet that Archie’s skill with the camera became well known. He was surprised to note the number of people who showed interest in his Facebook Page, Kenmore Photography, currently around 1600 likes, and many of these have also contacted Archie, to let him know how much they enjoyed his

photography.

“Visit Scotland” and “Scottish Field“ are also pleased to use his work. His name was already known in Tayside; but now to “Tayside” we have to add “Worldwide”.

Let me at this point wander on to a personal note. On the wall of our main

room we have one of Archie’s photos.

It measure approximately three feet by two feet. It is a beautiful seascape of the Hebridean Isle of Scalpay. Visitors who are themselves knowledgeable about photography have passed the same comment: “It is amazing that one small photo could be blown up to this size. Only a photo of real excellence could be enlarged to this degree without suffering in the process”. It is a wonderful thing to have that gift of seeing beauty in so many things, if one looks at them in the right way.

After a firework display in Kenmore, Archie and Ethan were busy picking up his equipment when a visiting lady came acoss them. She said, “Ah! You must be Kenmore Photography”. She was dead right.

FIND OUT MORE View more of Archie's photography by visiting kenmorephotography.co.uk

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FOOD & DRINK

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

East Haugh House

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

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uilt originally as part of the Atholl Estate some 350 years ago, East Haugh House was lovingly converted into a personally run hotel & restaurant in 1989, by Neil and Lesley McGown.

The beautiful 17th century turreted stone house boasts twelve individually designed bedrooms, including three deluxe fourposter rooms (one with its own fireplace) with jacuzzi baths.

Found just off the old A9 road, the Hotel, & restaurant, is perfectly situated with beautiful woodland walks and riverside rambles surrounding it, or why not have a leisurely browse around the fabulous shops and cafes of Pitlochry, our favourite is the Honest Thistle, which sells some really beautiful Scottish made gifts.

Award-winning Head Chef and Proprietor, Neil McGown, leads a team of very talented chefs, Head Chef Chris, who has been with us for seven years now, along with sous chef Patrick and chef de partie Stephen, are all cooking with real passion for producing the most delicious food in the area. All ingredients are locally sourced, where possible, and everything is freshly cooked to order. Our restaurant & bar is recommended in the UK's Michelin Guide 2015. We had decided to run a specials menu that was totally dedicated to game meats for the month of October and our customers

Intereste the Recipd in the Monthe of ?

GE

T IN TOUC H!

absolutely loved it, some had never tried game before, so it was a real education for them, as well as tasty! We do still have game dishes on our menu all year round.

We also do a fab “Fish and Chip” night on the last Thursday of each month, which is great fun, wrapped in newspaper like the old days for £13.95pp, including a drink.

Our Christmas menu runs from the 1st December to the 20th December and is £20pp, including a glass of Prosecco on arrival. Please do visit our website to see the menu.

FOOD & DRINK

We also have the dishes featured here on the menu too.

The McGown's have a new addition to the family - General Manager Rob Seddon has come on board with his 4 legged friend Jackson the springer to take over the running of the bar and restaurant, be sure to pop in and make him feel at home!

Set in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, this award-winning 4 star hotel can also be the perfect base for your fishing or shooting holiday. Regional winner at the Good Shoot Hotel Awards 2014/15 and Fishing Hotel of the Year for seven years' running, East Haugh House offers a total package for the discerning field sports enthusiast.

With access to some of the very best fishing on the Rivers Tay and Tummel, we can book salmon fishing days, enabling you to (hopefully!) catch that fish of a lifetime!

Be it for romance, culinary indulgence, fishing, shooting, hunting, or simply to escape the stresses of everyday life, use our access to the stunning surroundings of Perthshire for a unique weekend, short break or holiday.

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Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

FOOD & DRINK

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

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S SERVEPLE 6-8 PEO Rob's Wine Choice...

Chateau Les Platanes Bordeaux in France There is one wine on our list that stands up to the onslaught of flavours and that's the Chateau Les Platanes.

Sophie's Wine Choice...

Sophie Te Blanche

A young wine, but a smooth and flavour packed wine. I pick up lots of caramel from this wine, not a huge amount of mouth drying tannins and a mild toast flavour hidden away at the back of the cupboard of dark berry rich flavours.

South African Sauvignon Blanc This is a fab white and has enough depth to take on the rich parfait flavours! This is also stonking with seafood and shell fish.

Perfect Party Parfait

Slow Braised Shoulder of Lamb

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

CHICKEN LIVER PARFAIT

PARFAIT Melt the butter and leave to one side.

500g slightly salted butter

Add 200ml of red wine, 50ml of brandy, 1 shallot, 3 cloves of garlic and 2 bay leaves, along with a sprig of fresh rosemary into a pot and start to reduce, until you are left with around 30-40ml of a slightly thick liquid.

1.5/2kg whole boneless flat Lamb shoulder - you can request it like this from your local butcher – We use Dunkeld butcher, they have truly the best lamb in Perthshire.

STOCK Take a large pot, one big enough for your lamb to fit in and put on the heat. Chop up the carrot, rosemary, celery, onion and two garlic cloves into rough chunks, add to the pot. Take your red wine and add the whole bottle to the pot as well. Leave to simmer until you are ready to add your lamb.

2tblspoons of ground cumin

If you happen to have any lamb bones to hand, please do feel free to add these to the stock pot as well.

Our chicken liver Parfait here at East Haugh House has been one of our signature dishes for quite some time; some people just pop in for a slice at lunch time and so many people ask for the recipe!

500g of chicken liver – you can use almost any liver, but we find that duck or chicken livers are the best flavour.

5 medium free-range eggs 1½ teaspoons of pink salt 1½ teaspoons of ground white pepper 200ml red wine 50ml brandy 1 shallot 3 cloves of garlic 2 bay leaves Sprig of rosemary

RED ONION, CHILLI & CINNAMON JAM

Put your reduced liquid, butter and livers into a blender and blend until smooth. Take your parfait mix out of the blender, take your sieve and start to pass it through into a bowl pushing it through with the head of a ladle to help.

Take a medium sized, rectangular bread tin and line it with cling wrap so it comes over the edges. Pour your mixture into the tin and fold the cling wrap over the top. Place the tin into a deep dish filled half way up with water the cover everything with tin foil.

Place in the oven at 1400C for 45 minutes.

Take out of the water and leave on the side to cool. Once cool you can lift the parfait out using the cling wrap and tapping the edge slightly to help you. Using a sharp knife dipped in hot water, cut a slice approx 1inch thick and serve with oatcakes, crusty bread, toast or brioche.

2 large red onions, finely chopped 2-4 chillies (more, if you’re brave!), deseeded and finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 75g jamming sugar 80ml red wine vinegar Pinch of cinnamon

JAM Place a saucepan over a medium-low heat, add a splash of olive oil, add the onions and sweat them for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add in the garlic and chilli and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Now add the cinnamon and cook out for a minute or so then add the sugar, vinegar and season well with salt and pepper.

Turn the heat down to low and leave to bubble away gently for 4045 minutes. It should be sticky and jammy.

Spoon into a warm sterile jar and leave it for a few days before opening for the flavour to intensify. Once opened, keep in the fridge.

CHEF’S TIPS

M

ake sure to take your eggs and liver out of the fridge so they are not cold when making the parfait. This will help you when you are passing the mixture to make it super smooth.

This is a fabulous dish to cook for your friend, serve with some creamy minted mash, winter root vegetables and fresh peas. This is not a quick dish but it so worth making!

2tblspoons of olive oil 2 sprigs of rosemary Sprig of thyme 2 good pinches of salt & pepper to taste

WE LOVE JAM! Chutneys and jams have so many uses and, of course, go perfectly with our “Perfect Party Parfait”.

Our jam is easy to make.

The effort is pretty minimal and the hob does most of the work as the ingredients bubble down into an oozy, sweet and sticky lava like jam. Try making this and you’ll wonder why you ever bothered to buy the jarred stuff.

Cooking string x5, 16inch lengths each 1 bottle of red wine

GRAVY Once you have taken the lamb out and it is cooked, you can start to make your gravy with your amazing stock! Simply put the stock on simmer until it reduces by half and goes in to a thicker consistency. Once it looks like this, take off the heat and pass through a sieve until all the bits are out and it is smooth. Now this will be utterly delicious!

3 cloves of garlic 1 large carrot 1 large celery stick 1 white onion

PREPARING YOUR LAMB Lay the lamb shoulder out flat on your work surface fat side down and start by rubbing the olive oil, cumin, chopped garlic, salt & pepper and the rosemary and thyme into the meat. Once this is all massaged in nicely you can start rolling the bottom end of the shoulder up to the top, just like a Swiss Roll.

Take your cooking string and start in the middle, go under the rolled lamb and tie in a knot, then a double bow. Do another 2 each side, making sure it is tied tightly.

You now want to place the rolled lamb into the stock pot and bring to the boil. Once brought to the boil you will need to turn the heat down to a simmer, for at least 8 hours. Once it is ready take out of the stock and leave to cool down so it is still warm, but not hot. Once it is warm you can now cut off the string, Place a layer of cling wrap on the work surface and put the lamb at one end, start to roll the lamb up making sure you do it tight and do this 3/4 times. This will set it all into place. Put in the fridge to cool over night.

Take out the fridge when you are getting ready to prepare for your dinner party and, with the cling wrap still on, take a very sharp knife and cut however many portion you need for your guests.

Take the cling wrap off from the edges and gently sear each side of the lamb portions until crispy, now place in the oven at 220C for 5 minute.

Pour some of the gravy over the top before serving to give it that glossy finish!

P

lease do tell us how you got on and don’t forget to post your finished lamb shoulder on our Facebook and Twitter.

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WINE OF THE MONTH

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

USE THE CODE

WINE OF THE MONTH

“BUZZ” FOR A 10% DISCOUNT

PAUL JABOULET AINE SECRET DE FAMILLE COTES DU RHONE 2014

S

ince the early 19th century Paul Jaboulet Aine has been synonymous with quality wine in the Rhone. In 1834, Antoine Jaboulet (18071864) started working the land in this region, creating a lasting link between the Jaboulet name and the Rhone over the generations.

In 2006, this famous Rhone Winery was bought over by the Frey Family, owners of Chateau la Lagune in Bordeaux. They brought with them renewed energy to this corner of France.

Jaboulet’s most celebrated wine is its Hermitage La Chapelle, named after the chapel that overlooks this most celebrated of vineyards. Jaboulet have owned the chapel since the end of the First World War. It’s an icon of this part of the Rhone valley and it marks where the best vines are grown.

Since the takeover, Caroline Frey has successfully transformed the entire range, putting more emphasis on greater fruit expression and dramatically reducing the amount of new

oak. The only way is up for this transformed domaine.

The Secret de Famille is a lovely blend of classic Rhone Varietals - Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Viognier & Bourboulenc. These combine together to create a medium bodied wine, with spicy pear & jasmine aromas. It has a long refreshing finish and is a wonderful accompaniment to Christmas Turkey.

Available online at £10.99

Why not try...

VAPORETTO PROSECCO NV

T

his Italian Prosecco is fresh and pleasant, with delicious flavours and aromas of fruity apple, light hints of apricot, lemon sherbet and citrus.

Perfect for all your Festive Celebrations.

Price £8.99

THE PADDOCK SHIRAZ

A

brilliant, easy-drinking Shiraz from Australia. Rich fruit including plums and berries, this friendly and approachable Red is not too heavy on the palate or pocket!

D’ARRENBERG THE NOBLE WRINKLED RIESLING

A

delicious pudding wine that could be described as Liquid Gold – oozing sweet marmalade, raisin and honeysuckle flavours, it also has a zesty vibrant finish which is cleansing and most definitely moreish! Delicious with Cheese or Rich Christmas Pudding.

Price £6.99

The House of Menzies was established in 1999 and has built a strong reputation for stocking and selling an eclectic range of New World Wines not readily available on the High Street. In 2013 we expanded our range to include a small selection of traditional Old World Wines, so we truly have something for everyone - our ethos has always been, if you enjoy it drink it!

Wines start at £5.99 and are available online, by phone or email. Delivery in The Heartland Buzz area is free and complimentary glasses are available for parties and functions.

Price £11.99

The House of Menzies, Castle Menzies Farm , Aberfeldy. PH152JD e: t:

info@houseofmenzies.com 01887 829666

www.houseofmenzies.com

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

t. 01887 840760 info@theinnonthetay.co.uk www.theinnonthetay.co.uk The Inn on the Tay, Grandtully Perthshire, PH9 0PL

On The Moors £65

£59 The Laird

A Festive Delight Awaits...

Join us in our warm, cosy snug bar or sit in our river view restaurant and enjoy our carefully selected festive menu, which has been created using the very best of the season. Available 5pm with last orders at 8.45pm, BOOKING ESSENTIAL. STARTERS

Soup of the Day & Ciabatta (V) Cauliflower and Nutmeg Velouté with Parsnip Crisps and Red Amaranth Smoked Haddock and Chilli Gratin with New Potatoes and a Parmesan and Herb Crust Smoked Chicken, Tarragon and Pink Peppercorn Terrine with Spiced Prune Chutney Confit Duck Leg Bon Bon with a Blue Cheese and Chestnut Baked Fig, Crispy Kale, Candied Orange Zest and Star Anise Jus MAINS

Carved Turkey Ballontine stuffed with Sage, Red Onion and Apricot Stuffing, Rosemary Roast Potatoes, Bread Sauce Purée, Streaky Chipolatas and a Red Currant Jus Poached and Roasted Monkfish Fillet with Sage and Onion Stuffing, Spring Onion and Brown Shrimp Mash with Cranberry Dressing and Micro Coriander

1 Choose from a pre-selected range of hampers

4 Free delivery on all hampers £59 or over (normal delivery £8.50)

2 Create your own bespoke hamper from a wide range of Scottish products

5 All products are grown or made in Scotland.

3 Deliver anywhere on mainland Britain right up to 22nd of December

6 No expensive wicker trays just chill boxes full of delicious food.

www.rannochsmokery.co.uk

Roast Marron Chestnut and Wild Mushroom Pithivier with Buttered Large Leaf Spinach, Red Pepper Coulis and Baby Vegetables Individual Venison Wellington with Butternut Squash Purée, Fondant Potatoes, Winter Greens and a Damson and Fig Jus

The Deerstalker

DESSERTS

£45

£150

The Syndicate

Winter Berry Pavlova with Chantilly Cream, Fresh Mint and a Black Pepper Syrup Traditional Christmas Pudding with Frosted Red Currants and a Brandy Anglaise Assiettte of Scottish Cheese with Kenmore Oatcakes, Quince Jelly and Festive Chutney Boozy Chocolate Fondant with Cherries in Kirsh and Vanilla Ice Cream

2 courses for £22 3 courses for £25 Available 11th until 24th December Festive lunch menu is available, booking essential.

01887 840760 www.theinnonthetay.co.uk

BAR | RESTAURANT | ROOMS

The Courtyard Deli and Gift Shop, Kenmore 01887 830 756 www.taymouthcourtyard.com info@taymouthcourtyard.com

s a m t s i r Ch er Menu n n i D

Avail 1 st to abrle Decem23 d ber

For Christmas Dinner Bookings Phone: 01887 829995

www.robinbakerarchitects.com info@robinbakerarchitects.com 01350 728116

£25 for 3 courses / £22.50 for 2 courses Festive Lunches available on request. Booking essential.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Cheese Shortbread (v) ***** A Plate of Hot Smoked Salmon Correctly Dressed ***** Jambon Persille - Ham Hock & Parsley Terrine with Oatcakes & Hot Gooseberry Chutney ***** A plate of Smoked Venison with Garlic Mayonnaise A Ballotine of Turkey Crown Stuffed with Chestnut & Pork Belly Sausage Meat, wrapped in Bacon Or Roast Aberdeen Angus Sirloin Both served with Pickled Red Cabbage (Sweet & Sour), Roast Potatoes, Honeyed Parsnips, a Panache of Carrots & a Jug of Rich Roasting Juices ***** Coquilles St Jacques Scallops & Shrimps in a rich Cheese Sauce topped with Creamed Mashed Potato, served with Ratatouille and Garlic Bread ***** Chestnut Roast (v) Served with a warm Gazpacho Sauce, Roast Potatoes & Seasonal Veg Iced Tiramisu Parfait with a Coffee Crème Anglaise ***** Apple & Mincemeat Tart Tatin with a Christmas Pudding Ice Cream ***** My Nanny Bundle’s Boozy Sherry Fruit Trifle ***** A Highland Cheeseboard Tea or coffee & a Turkish Delight

Stuff the Turkeys... let us take the festive strain www.townhouseaberfeldy.co.uk

Breadalbane Terrace, Aberfeldy, PH15 2AG

Together we can create your dream project

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MEL’S HILLTOP DIARY

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

MEL’S HILLTOP DIARY

FOOD AND DRINK

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

THYME TO TASTE

by Melanie Bonn

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THYME AT ERRICHEL - TASTE. EAT. CELEBRATE.

Welcome to my occasional diary. I’m a mother of two and a reporter with the Perthshire Advertiser.

My husband Jason and I have a B&B in Glenlyon with just enough land round it to indulge in a bit of the Good Life. We’re on a constant journey to make the best of our beautiful surroundings.

W

e’ve been craving comforting recipes to banish the early December blues.

Recently Jason had it just right when he made the family a lovely pork in ale casserole using some of our home-reared pork cooked with a bottle of Bass. (It was so good it disappeared before I could get a picture, but I’ve included the recipe below.)

In the interest of farmyard harmony we culled the two youngest members of our guinea fowl flock, knowing the older pair would breed again next year. So job done, last Sunday we settled down to crispy roast guinea fowl.

The sizzling birds came out of the oven smelling heavenly. Jason had added our diminutive red and white onions to the roasting tray and studded the breasts with garlic cloves and rosemary.

While the meat rested and the tatties boiled, we sent the children to find a savoy cabbage to offset the rich sauce.

We were delighted, except

for the wine, everything else had come from the croft.

Not wanting to throw away the eye-catching spotty feathers, these got turned into some unusual Christmas cards.

A whole lot of exciting new food ideas have come from people who’ve moved into the glen.

Recently my Swiss neighbour Susan got chatting about wanting to make Alpine-style salami. So thinking this would be something I’d like to try, I shared my stash of beef middles (the natural casing used for salamis) with her.

A few days later Susan proudly showed me pictures of the little spicy salamis air-drying in her porch, so now I’m really hoping she’ll treat us to a couple of those when they’re done.

Another Glenlyon friend, Nikki from the Hague, shared her family’s penchant for ‘appelstroop’, the spread made from apples everyone eats in Holland.

Jersey is the only place in the UK where people make something similar. With Normandy cider orchards just across the water, there’s an island tradition of making ‘black butter’.

Nikki let me sample the thick toffeelike goo on toast and I wondered why shops don’t stock it. Now I was hooked I promised to make some appelstroop here in Glenlyon.

Sometimes we go out gathering berries for sloe gin, but it hasn’t been a great year.

Blackthorn and wild cherry both blossomed at exactly the same time and both suffered because of the never-ending cold and wet

Thyme FOR FIGS

in April. Still, we got enough sloes for a couple of demijohns and damsons were really plentiful in the garden.

Happy Christmas!

Casserole Pork in Ale Sometimes on a winter evening we just want comfort food.

Here’s something delicious and easy to cook - just serve with creamed potatoes and shredded steamed cabbage.

• 500g cubed organic pork loin chops off the bone • 500ml local 5% ale • 150g vegetable stock • 1 teaspoon of pepper seeds • 2 teaspoons of honey • 1 medium chopped onion • Salt and pepper to taste Saute the onion with the pepper seeds, add all the ingredients, and simmer for 45mins.

For me there’s nothing more Festive than delicious figs. If you combine them with a delicious Bourbon, good friends and a roaring open fire it’s the perfect recipe for a fantastic evening.

I’ve recently discovered a delicious Bourbon; Hudson Baby Bourbon.

When you take the Hudson New York Corn Whiskey and store it in a first-use charred American Oak barrel, out pops the Baby. The barrel aging process gives this spirit a light sweetness and deep amber colour. This 100% corn bourbon has a bright,defined taste and a warm finish with notes of marzipan and roasted corn.

Here’s an interesting wee fact about figs… fig trees have no blossoms on their branches. The blossom is inside of the fruit! Many tiny flowers produce the crunchy little edible seeds that give figs their unique texture.

Figgy Pudding • 25ml Fig Syrup (recipe below) • 25ml Hudson Baby Bourbon • 5ml Maple Syrup • Dash of Orange Bitters • Orange Twist to Garnish

To make Fig Syrup • 12 fresh figs, halved • 75g sugar (granulated) • 100ml water Preheat your oven to 250°F. Arrange fresh figs on a parchmentlined baking sheet and cook until figs are slightly shrivelled and have released some juices, about 40 minutes.

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat.

In a medium heat proof bowl, carefully combine oven-dried figs and warm simple syrup. Steep at room temperature for 3 hours. Use a hand held blender and blitz for a couple of minutes.

Strain though a fine mesh sieve. Voilà Fig Syrup.

Errichel House & Cottages, Thyme at Errichel Restaurant, Errichel, Crieff Road, Aberfeldy, PH15 2EL t: 01887 820 850 m: 07483 352 123 www.errichel.co.uk

To make the Figgy Pudding Cocktail Place all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice.

Shake until well chilled. Strain into a bowl shaped glass or Martini Glass, garnish with Orange Twist.

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

S I R SAFA

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

2016 will be an exciting year – as our 25th year! We hope to launch some exciting new ideas, so as they say, watch this space! ”

HIGHLAND

e caught up w , ss e n si u b in r a ye roaches its 25th from small p n p a w s ro ri g fa s a a S h d s n ri la fa Sa As High t how Highland u o b a t u o d n fi ! with Donald to winning business rd a w a n a to in beginnings

ighland Safaris has grown from Donald’s passion for, and knowledge of, everything that makes up our natural environment.

Although born in Glasgow and educated in Edinburgh, Donald’s family’s roots are very much in Highland Perthshire.

H

How did you go about turning your passion for nature into a business?

I often reflect on how incredible the journey has been. I never imagined in the early days with my old Series 1 Land Rover and some home produced promotional leaflets promoting “Glenlyon Wildlife Safaris”, as it was then, would one day support us as a family let alone employ so many other people over the years.

I think that I have been so very lucky in so many ways. Lucky to have had such loving parents and brothers who were,

and are, great nature people who taught and encouraged me. Lucky to have had great friends like young Innes Smith, who encouraged me to take people out into the hills and to actually charge them! I have to say extremely lucky that one of my earliest customers became my wife, Julie – more about that later I think. Lucky to have had the support of businesses’ and landowners who let me access their fabulous hills and to have met truly inspirational people, who took the time and care to make suggestions and offer help as we grew the business. I have to say that it is obviously also all about seizing the moment, persevering and hard work too and of course never loosing that passion for what we do.

What is your greatest pleasure in running Highland Safaris?

The greatest pleasure has got to be being part of something that is all about giving people a great experience doing something that you love to do too. We have always had

fabulous people working with us - they have all really helped make Highland Safaris what it is today and have been great fun to work with. Our aim as a company is to provide our visitors with an excellent customer journey, every step of the way and it’s great to see the young and not so young, Scots or visitors from far afield coming to Highland Safaris and enjoying the beauty of Highland Perthshire.

Who and what has inspired you along the journey?

Apart from Julie who has been my greatest inspiration, we have also had lots of help from friends who have acted as kind and clever critics. One of my early customers were a lovely couple from a place called Highlands in North Carolina. We made a visit there and went out with another company called (guess what?) Highland Safaris! It’s so helpful to look at what other people are doing well; loads of inspiration and sources of ideas. It’s funny the way difficult times inspire new ideas – Foot and Mouth in 2001

LOCAL BUSINESS

A day in the hills

was nearly a catastrophe for us, having just invested in a second Land Rover and developed a new reception area. We had to think differently and develop new products and experiences and reach new markets and they have worked well for us ever since.

What is the most memorable sighting you had on a Safari?

We see so many sights it is difficult to say which is the most memorable, but probably a pair of Golden Eagles training their offspring to hunt and using a herd of Red Deer as their prey. The young Eagle had shed off a Red Deer calf from the herd and was diving down onto it. Probably the most dramatic view though was the `Brocken Spectre` we witnessed with Matt Baker, whilst filming for Countryfile.

My first in 30 years. Every day, however, I am reminded by how fortunate I am to live in such an overwhelmingly beautiful area.

What is your favourite season?

Every season quite literally has a new magic! However, Autumn with its spectacular colours, showing this amazing landscape at its most dramatic is very hard to beat. Add to that the rutting season, with the roaring of the stags resonating around the hills, and you have something very primal, unique and unforgettable.

Having the chance to share this with visitors to the area is a privilege we don’t take for granted.

Why do you think tourism is so important to Highland Perthshire?

The impact that tourism has on this area is absolutely critical for the entire community.

Tourism is everyone’s business, not just those in tourism and visitors love to get a flavour of the area from anyone they meet.

To ensure that visitors want to return, we

Julie getting ready for a busy day

all need to make it our business to improve the customer journey – huge strides have already been made including increasing quality across the board to satisfy the ever

increasing expectations of visitors. We also have a fantastic food offering in the area and using local quality produce is essential, it's what visitors want to sample.

You and Julie have worked together since you got married in 1992. How easy is it to work and live together?

Well maybe you should ask our daughters Islay and Diana that question - They probably put up with quite a lot over the years! Actually we enjoy working together, well - mostly! Julie’s parents always did and so it was entirely normal for her and actually a lot of our friends do too. Sometimes work and personal life just merge and that’s ok too, especially if you enjoy what you do. For example, it’s actually exciting planning a new experience or event together – we probably have different strengths and that usually works well. Julie is good at strategy and I am the finisher! She keeps me right though and the adage “If at first you don’t succeed... do it the way your wife

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

LOCAL BUSINESS

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

If at first you don’t succeed... do it the way your wife told you to!”

At home with the herd

told you to” applies! We both love this area and cannot think of anywhere we would rather be.

You employ people year round at Highland Safaris, what are the most valuable qualities in your team members?

We have an amazing core team of 14 local people who are employed year round, with another 12 part time during the busy months. We also have extra Land Rovers and drivers who we can call on for large corporate groups. One person really stands out who is our friend and a person who is so versatile, practical, loyal and who has helped us build Highland Safaris from the start and that’s our Family Fun

Operations Manager, Andy Reed.

Winter on the hi ll Just don’t ask him to tell a joke!

We can’t thank them all enough for their passion and dedication.

Have All the team have a desire to exceed you had any famous customer expectations, a genuine interest people out on the hill? in people and pride in what they do. Our Yes, we have been so lucky and have had Safari Rangers are so versatile and are many celebrities out with us, including often seen helping out in the café at busy the Archbishop of Canterbury, Judith times. Great dish washers too! Highland Chalmers, Matt Baker, Natasha Kaplinsky, Safaris has Visit Scotland 5 Star grading Chris Packham and Cain Zachariah – I had and a Gold Green Tourism award and these no idea who he was either! We also had are the benchmarks that we operate to.

Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood up on the hill filming and Mr Bill Wrigley – of chewing gum fame! All lovely to meet, great fun and some good for PR, but you couldn’t beat the thrill of hosting beautiful weddings out on the hill or a couple getting engaged on safari or families celebrating special moments. Now that is really special.

Where do we go from here?

2015 has been a year of consolidation after buying the customised Pinzgaur safari vehicle and building our new Red Deer Centre. But you can’t stand still for long - someone once told us that if a business isn’t moving forwards then it’s moving backwards! 2016 will be an exciting year – as our 25th year! We hope to launch some exciting new ideas, so as they say, watch this space!

Someone once told us that if a business isn’t moving forwards then it’s moving backwards! ”

FIND OUT MORE Highland Safaris is open year round 9am – 5pm (only closing on Mondays from November to March). t: 01887 8200716 e: info@highlandsafaris.net w: highlandsafaris.net

Andy with Ossian

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WILDLIFE AND NATURE

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

WILDLIFE AND NATURE

ALL IMAGES

BY LOCHVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY

Footprints left behind from a red squirrel

z z z z z r o t a Hibern e MedineNGER/NATURALIST

By Louis ST FOR SCOTLAND RA NATIONAL TRU

s the days draw shorter and the temperature drops, our local woods and rivers appear quieter. Some of our wildlife survives the winter by sleeping through it, others head off to warmer climes, but many are still out and about. With the leaves off the trees and feeding clues left behind, the winter months can be a good time for spotting wildlife.

One animal often thought to hibernate is the red squirrel, but they can be seen throughout the year. During the winter months they are less active and spend time sheltering in their dreys (nests) during inclement weather. Red squirrels will come out when it is milder and look for food that they cached earlier in the autumn, like seeds, nuts and fungi. If we get snow, look for footprints they have left behind. They are similar to those left behind by rabbits and hares that move with a similar hopping motion, in that the larger hind paw prints are found ahead of the forepaw prints. Look closely and you will see that they have four fingers and five toes, as in all rodents.

Also look out for pine cones and hazelnuts left behind after a squirrel has finished feeding. A hazelnut shell will be split

A

cleanly in 2 by the squirrel’s sharp incisor teeth. If you find a hazelnut that has had more of a hole gnawed into it, then the likely culprit is a vole or mouse.

Even in freezing temperatures you never know what you will see. A few years ago, when we had temperatures dropping below -100C, we spotted an otter fishing in the River Braan at the Hermitage, near Dunkeld. The ice that had formed on the river provided a raft for it to slide into the freezing water to search for small fish and invertebrates. They can hold their breath under water for around 30 seconds and their dense waterproof fur helps keep them insulated from the cold.

Out of all of our mammals in the UK, only three go into true hibernation – bats, hedgehogs and dormice (not found in Scotland). During hibernation, a lower body temperature, rate of breathing and metabolic rate means the animal can save energy when food is scarce.

Bats will find a nice sheltered winter roost, which may be an attic, a hole in a tree or in a cave – somewhere that is cool and dry with a constant temperature. Before going into hibernation, bats will mate in the autumn, but the female doesn’t become pregnant straight away! She will store the sperm and doesn’t become pregnant until

Out of all of our mammals in the UK, only three go into true hibernation – bats, hedgehogs and dormice.” the spring.

Hedgehogs will also look for somewhere sheltered, often under garden sheds or hedgerows. They roll themselves into a ball and make a nest using dry leaves. Their heart rate will drop from around 200 beats per minute (bpm) down to 20bpm and their body temperature drops by around 250C. They usually only breathe once every few minutes.

Come the spring, as the days become longer and milder, our sleeping bats and hedgehogs will begin to stir - heading out to feed and build up those important fat reserves that they will have used up during their hibernation. www.nts.org.uk

FIND LOCHVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY ON FACEBOOK

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WHAT’S BUZZIN’

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

Broughton-Stuart Jewellery

What’s Buzzin’ All the Latest News, Events, Sport & Gossip!

Aberfeldy Rugby

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER I missed the first of these games, being on holiday. The Team travelled to Campbeltown, to play Kintyre. The day was good, as was the rugby, Aberfeldy winning convincingly by 43-5. Tries were scored by Niall Ramsay, Lachlan Menzies, Hamish Brown, Paddy Barbour and Lewis Lambie.

I was in Inverness for Halloween, so travelled down for the match on the first, through fabulous Scottish scenery. The game was at one o’clock in Kenmore, when the sun had burned off the mist and the amphitheatre for a rugby game was just fine. About eighty folk came along to support, getting comfort from the Rotary bar and coffee shop.

From the first, Aberfeldy were in charge. After five minutes, Duncan Menzies stormed over for a try, which he converted himself. There were several penalties given away for handling in the scrum by the home team, but Kintyre couldn’t capitalise.

We were given a fist class display of robust running by the back

Aberfeldy & District Probus Club Facts, fotos and fun; wit and wisdom.

However you wish to put it, our last two speakers did an excellent job, as I knew they would and had said in our last report. Now we are heading for our Christmas Lunch and indeed by the time you read this it will probably be passed – so you have missed more Festive Fare, fun and fine entertainment. After that we will have a break until the Coffee Morning on the 20th January. Our next speaker

row, linking well with the backs, allowing tries by Lewis Lambie, Hamish Brown, Lachlan Menzies (2),Bruce Blackley, Angus Broad and another for Duncan Menzies.

While bringing the ball back from a conversion, there was a serious pitch invasion by a small dog and its large Labrador friend.

Referee Laurie Skuodas, from Newtonmore showed the dog a red card, and it was taken off in disgrace. All this was before half time.

In the second half, the scoring continued, with tries from Nial Ramsay, Joe Summers, George Briton, Lewis Lambie, Laurie Harrison and Hamish Brown. One

by Rory Menzies was disallowed because of a forward pass.

Kintyre managed a try, to give a final score of 92-5. A one-sided game is often a bit disappointing, but the crowd took great pleasure in seeing the fitness, strength and improved rugby playing by the Aberfeldy team. Next game is in three weeks, when Islay come to Kenmore to take on this impressive team.

on the 3rd February will be John Low of the John Muir Trust. His topic will be just that, and having just returned from East Lothian I will be particularly interested in that – try to find a road or path that is not a John Muir Way in East Lothian! Those who know Mr. Low, a previous Rector of Breadalbane Academy will know what I mean when I say that he will be telling us some tall stories. I was just thinking that the coffee morning in January may be a more relaxed, informal meeting for you, so why not make us a New Year’s Resolution and we’ll see you there.

More information as usual from Stan Pirie on 820487 or David Parmley on 829503.

25 Atholl Street, Dunkeld PH8 0AR

Snow White to help restore Auld Kirk The ongoing efforts of Aberfeldy Drama Club to restore and develop the old Kirk in Chapel Street, which houses the Community Thrift Shop and Drama facilities, continues with the December production of Snow White.

The enduring and ever popular Pantomime has been adapted to be set in the Birks of Aberfeldy from a script by the top Scottish writer and actor, Alan McHugh. The production involves significant contributions from all sections of the community, including local teachers, professional artists, musicians and entertainers.

The show will be performed in the community owned Town Hall and any profit will raise vital funds for the renovation of the Thrift Shop premises.

Over 40 local charities and non-profit making organisations use the Thrift Shop for one week each, throughout the year to raise funds for their causes and over £350,000 has been raised this way for these groups.

Director and Drama Club Chairman, David Roy said “The show has proved to be enormously entertaining for the cast to rehearse and should really appeal to anyone who enjoys a traditional pantomime, packed full of local references and suitably silly gags.

There can surely be no better way to raise money for the community than through an evening of laughter and singing amongst friends and neighbours.”

Snow White will be performed on 10th, 11th, 12th December in Aberfeldy Town Hall; tickets available (Oh yes they are!) at Wade’s newsagents or at the door.

Aberfeldy Drama Club has been performing in the town for over 100 years; owning, maintaining and restoring the Auld Kirk on Chapel Street since 2004.

T: 01350 727888 www.broughton-stuartjewellery.co.uk

LOCAL WRITING

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s our work. read and discus to th on m a ce We meet on ovide it. Enjoy. p of writers. are happy to pr ou e gr w d al an , rm th fo on l, in e each m We are a smal y to print a piec Buzz are happ d an rtl ea H e Th

Jotters the

November

by Bec Cameron

A soldier reads

5th November 1915 153rd Infantry brigade, 1/6 Black Watch, Sector G2. Front line trench near Authuille, Somme Valley Notes for report At 7.40 PM the bursting of three handgrenades was heard immediately to the left of the Hammerhead, followed by sharp bursts of rifle fire and the throwing up of many flare lights by the Germans.

Enemy’s transport heard between 9 PM and 10 PM and again between 12 midnight and 1.30 AM in direction of Thiepval. (writes to complete the entry) “Instructions to keep up sniping by sentries were repeated and sniping was continuous on our front all night, but enemy fire was practically nil.”

do you know, but the sixth battalion was chosen to present. All of us that could took part in the parade; and I saw him, Ma; right far away, but I could see it was him, with the beard and the gold. I thought you would be pleased to hear about that.

Since he left, it’s been dreich here; today is still, and misty. (stops writing and reminisces aloud) “I suppose all the leaves have gone now, off the trees on the braes behind Chapel Street.

All October they are yellow and brown and deep red, till the winds come and bite off all the leaves. Mind I used to roll and kick them up in the air, enjoying the smell of the earth, and get a skelp from you, for bringing them into the house, and getting glaur on my shorts.

You’d put me in the bath in front of the stove and I’d roar as you poured boiling water in; I’d get my feet out the way quick and howl to get out. These days, Ma, I’d beg to stay in for hours, scrubbing away at the skin with your rough soap.” (writes)

(pauses to drink tea. Then takes up new piece of paper and writes)

I hope you are keeping well Ma, that your cough is better.

There has been flu here too amongst the lads as winter comes in.

“Dear Ma,

(stops writing and reminisces aloud)

-------------------------------------------

I’m snecking the chance to write, in a quiet moment. It’s very cold here now, but we’d rather that, than the heat of summer.

The King himself came last week and what

“You used to let me sit with you till bedtime and then I’d skleter upstairs to warm in bed before the cold sank in. I’d listen to the

growing silence as Chapel Street settled into the frosty night; with just a shout or two from the Square, and the odd horse going by.

It’s strange how colder nights always seem quieter, eh?

In the morning you hung my clothes by the fire to take the damp off, and then you’d shout up that they were roasting nicely, and to stir myself. The buttons were hot on my wrists, and the shirt smelled crisp clean. You told me to mind my scarf and gloves, and not to lose them at school, or let the other lads take them. I mind how I used to run out into Chapel Street and the winter air to meet the other lads, looking up in hope of snow clouds, without a fear in the world, except Headmaster Grieve, if we were late.” (writes) I look forward to the time when our work is done, and I will see you again. Meantime, say hello to all on the Street from me.

From your loving son

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ART & CREATIVITY

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

ART & CREATIVITY

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

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Empty

Landscapes The work of artist Malize McBride

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t has been a busy autumn for landscape artist Malize McBride, whose exhibition, 40 MILES WEST, opens in Pitlochry in early November at the Wild Space Visitor Centre of the John Muir Trust.

She was one of the contributing artists to the annual Fortingall Art exhibition in August, her month-long solo show, Stonescapes, at the Birnam Arts Centre,

Snowstorm, Quinag.

Oil.

by Dunkeld, closed on 24 September and in September she also took part in the annual Perthshire Open Studios.

Malize, who has lived in Aberfeldy for 40 years, took her first degree, in modern languages, at St Andrews University, but after raising her family returned to school at Breadalbane Academy, to take Higher Art, then continued to study painting through the Open College of Art for six years. In 2009 she began a Masters course at Edinburgh College of Art, gaining an MFA in 2011.

Her first solo shows were at the Watermill Gallery, Aberfeldy; “Ice and Light” in 2006 and “Australia: the red centre” in 2008. She is drawn to remote and empty landscapes and Antarctica

Gerlache Strait.

Icebergs.

Watercolour, 80x50cm

Oil, 35x25cm

and central Australia certainly exemplify two extreme examples!

“Ice and light” led on to a show of paintings of Antarctica at the Scott Polar research Institute in Cambridge in 2007.

She has since then taken part in group shows in Scotland, Greenland, Denmark and Japan, drawn always by the landscapes of the North.

Kata Tjuta.

Oil, 45x40cm

Stac Lee. Oil. 30x40cm

FIND OUT MORE 40 Miles West; images of St Kilda opened on 5th November and will continue into the New Year.

Leaving Boreray.

Oil. 91x61cm

The work in her “Stonescapes” exhibition was inspired by her interest in geology, resulting in a series of semiabstract watercolour landscapes based on graphite rubbings of the local rock and in monoprints referencing geological processes.

In the last two years, Malize has returned to oil painting in a series of Scottish landscapes, mainly of the north and

west of Scotland and the forthcoming show at the John Muir Centre in Pitlochry has been inspired by her trips out to St Kilda in 2011 and 2015.

“I consider myself extremely lucky, first of all, to live in such a beautiful area of Scotland and secondly to have had not only the chance to retrain as an artist but also the time and opportunity to pursue this as a second career.”

The Wild Space Visitor Centre is open every day except Tuesday from 11am to 5pm, and 11am to 4pm on Sundays. John Muir Trust, Station Road, Pitlochry PH16 5AN. t.01796 470 080 or visit www.johnmuirtrust.org Malize McBride t. 07754 859 484 e. malizemcbride@gmail.com w. malizemcbride.com

WHAT'S BUZZIN'

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

What’s Buzzin’ All the Latest News, Events, Sport & Gossip!

Malcolm Appleby

Designer, Engraver, Silversmith, Goldsmith

Celebrating over half a century of fine metalwork

Christmas Shop 2015 Open from October 26 10-5 (not Sundays) Please telephone 01887 840 484 for further information Aultbeag, Grandtully by Aberfeldy PH15 2QU swapp@dircon.co.uk

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Atholl & Breadalbane Ploughing Society The Atholl & Breadalbane Ploughing Society recently held their annual match at Pitnacree, Strathtay, courtesy of Mrs Sheriff and Messers D & J Thomson. Despite a damp start making ploughing conditions a little greasy, a successful match was had with 19 ploughs taking part in the 2 classes. Judges for the day were Donald MaKay, Ted Rose and John Fraser. Eric Wilks judged the tractors.

Reversible results: Throw out: G Sinclair, Feering 1st: M Henderson, 2nd:J Marshall, 3rd: G Sinclair Ploughing 1st: G Sinclair, 2nd: J Marshall, 3rd:A Marshall, 4th: M Henderson, 5th:S Wilson, 6th:S Kennedy, 7th:S McCrone Finish 1st:J Marshall, 2nd:S Wilson, 3rd:G Sinclair Straightest Rig: G Sinclair, Ins & Outs: A Marshall Best rig ploughed by a non-medal winner: G Sinclair

Conventional class: Throw out: C McWilliam, Feering 1st:M Kennedy, 2nd:W Grieve, 3rd:C McWilliam Ploughing 1st: C McWilliam, 2nd: W Grieve, 3rd: M Kennedy, 4th: H Harrison, 5th:W Robb, 6th:T Campbell, 7th: J Stewart, 8th: R Marshall, 9th: W Henderson, 10th: A Cameron, 11th: A Robb, 12th: M Smith Finish 1st: W Grieve, 2nd: C McWilliam, 3rd:W Henderson Straightest rig: W Grieve, Ins & Outs: C McWilliam Best ploughed rig by a non-medal winner: H Harrison RHASS Medal winner: C McWilliam Best kept tractors: W Henderson and C McWilliam The committee would like to extend their sincere thanks to all the companies and individuals who helped make the day a success.

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COMMUNITY

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

Perth and Kinross is among the top performing council areas in Scotland for recycling and composting."

Towards a Zero Waste Community

COMMUNITY

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

for rural households who do not receive a brown-lidded bin collection for food and garden waste. Waste electrical equipment was collected for recycling during “WEEE amnesties” and local schools collected a total of 400 kilograms of broken equipment, like hairdryers, stereos, Sky boxes and straighteners – that’s the equivalent weight of a fully grown gorilla!

Another highlight of the campaign has been the Aberfeldy Farmers Market in October - where freshly-baked banana bread

The children of Kinloch Rannoch Primary School each drew a picture about recycling

week furniture upcycling course (yes, free to attend!) where participants can turn a tattered old chair into an individual, personalised and modern piece worthy of their home.

Other events being planned include a (free!) four-week “Food Lover Families” course, with cookery demonstrations from a local chef. Participants will keep a food diary to track their food waste and will receive a kitchen starter pack to help them store food and use-up leftovers. At the end of the course they’ll be able to measure any reduction in

, reuse, ce u d re p el h to e ir sh th er P Events across Highland local volunteers. recycle – with the help of Kinloch Rannoch primary kids at the Zero Waste launch event.

he vibrant palate of Autumnal colour that came sweeping across the tree-lined hills and glens of Highland Perthshire in October and November may have given way to a more dormant and wintery landscape, but the area remains energetically vibrant in terms of both community and creativity.

To harness that, new funding from the government-body Zero Waste Scotland is enabling Perth and Kinross Council to recruit volunteers to help deliver a programme of events aimed at helping households reduce, reuse and recycle, sending less waste to landfill.

Although Perth and Kinross is among the top performing council areas in Scotland for recycling and composting – 56.6% of

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our waste was recycled or composted in 2014/2015, far higher than the national rate of 42.8% – there is still lots more that can be done.

Food waste for example currently makes up around 30% of the average green-lidded general waste bin. As food decomposes in landfill, greenhouse gases are released, so reducing this waste stream is vital for the environment. In fact, if everyone in Scotland stopped wasting food that could be eaten, the benefit to the planet would be the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.

But that’s not the only reason to cut down on food waste. The average household in Scotland wastes £470 a year on food which is thrown out, but could have been eaten – money that could be better spent elsewhere. And it costs the Council money

too: nearly £100 per tonne of rubbish sent to landfill.

Then there’s clothes, electrical equipment, toys, bikes, glass, plastic, batteries, paper, card, metals… the list of waste streams is endless. But so is the opportunity to reduce, reuse and recycle.

In response to this potential, Zero Waste Highland Perthshire was launched in September at Kinloch Rannoch, Glen Lyon, Grandtully and Kenmore, with events hosted by the Perth and Kinross Council Waste Services Team. A newly appointed Zero Waste Volunteer Coordinator has been assigned to this campaign and is based at the Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy.

These events have so far included school talks, information stalls, litter picks and the introduction of a composting scheme

using slightly-brown bananas, donated by the Aberfeldy Co-operative store, was given away to provide a sweetener to engage with the community about food waste.

Events will continue throughout the winter months, including a series of fun (and free to attend!) upcycling workshops, hosted by local artists, including Georgia Crook, to help participants turn something old into something new, like recycling paper to make decorations, turning textiles into jewellery and upcycling envelopes into notebooks.

In the New Year, Perthshire Open Studios participant, Cornelia Weinmann, will lead a six-

their food waste – and how much money they’ve saved.

Bike maintenance classes will be held with the help of Perth Bike Station, so keen cyclists of all ages can come along (for free!) and learn how to do simple repairs to their bikes, like maintaining their brakes and tyres.

And sewing classes will demonstrate how easy it is to mend or alter our clothes, instead of throwing them away and buying more when they get worn, or don’t fit anymore.

It all adds up to reducing the amount of items thrown away, working towards Scotland’s Zero Waste targets and saving

households money in the process.

But none of this will be possible without the help of passionate volunteers and community champions to help deliver the programme. If you’re skilled at upcycling, an expert sewer, keen on bikes, or composting or cooking; if you like talking to people or like the thought of writing in our newsletter, or if you’re just enthusiastic about reducing the amount of rubbish we throw away, we want to hear from you.

Even if you only have an hour or two to spare every month, you have an important role to play in encouraging the community to reduce, reuse and recycle. You will receive training on local and national waste campaigns; then you can get out there and spread the message of waste reduction – and share your skills - with neighbours and friends, community groups and at events.

The participation and enthusiasm of local primary schools has been a big feature of the project so far - the children of Highland Perthshire are entirely engaged in the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle and they will continue to play a part in the project in the coming months. Join them in playing your part - the more people involved in the project the greater the legacy will be for the future.

If you live in the Highland Perthshire area and want to sign up as volunteer or just want to find out more about the project, contact Fiona McBain, Zero Waste Volunteer Coordinator, on 01738 475289 or at FMcBain@pkc.gov.uk.

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HEALTH & FITNESS

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

LADIES, LUNCH & LUNGES by Samantha Weir

hand gripping and rotation movements.

How Contrary to belief it is not just tennis players who get this (many don’t despite the name).

Main cause – repetition of movement.

Inflammation builds up in the muscles that carry out the actions of gripping and rotation, causing micro-trauma. Things like using a mouse, hammering, sewing and the list goes on.

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ith having practiced in Remedial massage for almost 16 years, I have seen various musculoskeletal problems and up there in my top five would be tennis elbow, or on the odd occasion, golfers elbow.

To say this is debilitating for some is a bit of an understatement. And usually they come to see me when then can no longer make themselves a cup of tea.

This condition is a pain that comes from the outside of your elbow (lateral epicondyle) and inhibits the use of your

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Sometimes it can be caused by a direct trauma; trip, fall or being hit by something.

I have seen many people try various things; special grip bands, cream, injections or get told it will go away itself.

In my experience, remedial massage provides a fantastic healing environment in order for the muscle to mend.

All of which support the process of treating tennis elbow at the root cause. Many people are quite happy to put up with pain, what I would say to that is your body is then constantly dealing with the injury in order to keep you going. If you continually have to fight infection or injury, you have to take from somewhere else in the body, and in turn, weaken your immune system because pain can affect a multitude of body systems, one being your sleep. So if pain is affecting you during the night, your physiological and psychological repair times are being disrupted and the vicious circle continues.

When your body expresses pain – listen and take the appropriate action. Little things like tennis elbow can cause big disruptions to everyday life.

To your health and happiness, Sam.

By using massage you can: Improve circulation Increase mobility Reduce pain Relax muscle Facilitate repair

Thyme at Errichel Restaurant & Rooms December Restaurant please call 01887 820850 Murder Mystery Evening - £45pp Friday 4th December - 4 courses & Cocktail Flight.

Special accommodation packages available.

For more info please contact myself on 07834279446 or sam@ ladieslunchandlunges.co.uk ladieslunchandlunges.blogspot.co.uk Find us on Facebook

THE NATURAL CLINIC ith Christmas on our doorstep, Emma Ardblaster our Health & Wellbeing Coach, has answered a reader’s question, with some really useful tips, for taking the stress out of Christmas. These tips are really simple, yet effective, why not give them a try.

Next issue, Brian Ahern our Registered Osteopath at the clinic, will be answering any questions you may have.

Please email me at deirdre0711@ gmail.com, if you want some advice from Brian. Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and good health in the coming year.

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Christmas Menu - 2 courses £29 / 3 courses £35 Running throughout December

(Discount available for groups of 8 or more on the £35 menu)

Hogmanay Dinner - £65pp, 6 courses Collection & drop off service available (pre-book, small charge) Special accommodation packages available.

January 2016 Celebrating Rabbie Burns February 2016 Valentine Weekend Call for more details

To book telephone 01887 820 850 or email fionasloan@errichel.co.uk

www.errichel.co.uk

Stay Dine Celebrate Create Shop

HEALTH & FITNESS

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

Ah... ‘Tis the Season to be Jolly and Andy Williams tells us “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” but for many, Christmas is anything but a jolly time.

Heartland Buzz readers have asked me the simple question,” What can I do this Christmas to reduce my stress levels?”

Staying 'light and twinkly', I’d like to share my five top Christmas “feel good” tips.

1. Breathe! Breathing is good and I recommend you do it often! Place your hands onto your chest, over your heart centre. Notice the sensations of your hands on your chest and take three deep

breaths, in and out. It’s easy to do and stabilises your energy system.

2. “Time out” Have a leisurely bath, immerse yourself in a book for 10 minutes, watch a favourite comedy, whatever! Make a list of your own feel good activities and pin the list where you’ll see it every day. Make a promise to yourself that you’ll enjoy one of those activities every day.

3. Move! Get up and move around.

Moving shifts energy which changes your perspective. Go for a brisk walk, put on your favourite music and have a boogie – alone, with a significant other, with your children/ grandchildren, the dog... even just having a good old shake down from top to toe will shift energy – and energy shifting is always good!

4. Delegate! All I’ll say is does EVERYTHING have to be done by you? If you struggle with this, get in touch!

5. What do you need more of right now?

Calm, energy, tolerance...? If you don’t yet know Positive EFT you can breathe in what you need using Tip 1. With your hands on your heart (or chest) breathe out whatever you want to get rid of – maybe stress or overwhelm - and breathe in whatever you’re in need of.

To help you sparkle this Christmas, contact

me for your Positive EFT session, 10% discount to all Heartland Buzz readers! Sessions available at the natural clinic, by phone or via Skype.

by Emma Arblaster Health & Wellbeing Coach, MODERN Stress Management Facilitator, Energist t: 07810 472247 e: emma@zest4life-coaching.co.uk w: zest4life-coaching.co.uk

Deirdre Barron The Natural Clinic, 4 Comrie Street, Crieff, PH7 4AX t: 07774 546 384 f: facebook.com/scottishnaturalclinic w: scottishnaturalclinic.com

Send us your questions!

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HEALTH & FITNESS

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

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e h t n i t i g n i t t e G

K C NE

CHIRO CORNER

by Patricia Waite DC, MCSP

e carry our very heavy head around without thinking about it until something hurts in the head, neck, arms and possibly the upper chest and back.

The seven neck vertebral bodies are stacked up, divided by thick, strong discs, creating a fibrous joint with a small amount of movement. Attached to the vertebral body is an arch, through which the spinal cord (the main cable to and from everything) runs. The arch has a joint each side – the facet joints - which allow our neck to bend, extend, rotate and tilt.

Between the facet joints and the discs are gaps allowing the spinal nerves to branch out to the upper body. Disc bulges, or joint inflammation, can disrupt the freedom of these nerves and may result in pain, tingling, numbness or weakness relating to the area supplied by that nerve. The movement of the neck will be restricted, and painful as a result.

All of the nerves are surrounded by strong fibrous tissue which connects right

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through from the brain covering to the nerves to the tips of the toes. Very strong ligaments attach the neck to the skull, and each vertebra.

On top of that there are many layers of muscle, not just for support and movement, but containing nerves which act as sensors to help us keep our head in the right position for balance, along with information from the feet, the spinal joints, eyes and inner ears. Nerves and blood vessels have to find their way up and down this narrow column too.

Chiropractors, osteopaths and some physiotherapists who have done further training, use manipulation to treat some neck problems. Thorough training, both theoretical and practical, is required for such an important and sensitive area of the body. Full information is required – old injuries, however long ago, will play their part, and a careful medical history should be taken, along with examination.

If in any doubt, or the symptoms imply any spinal cord, or severe spinal nerve involvement, further investigation will be needed, such as an X-ray or scan, and maybe a neurosurgical opinion.

In other words, manipulators have to be careful, but neck treatment is very rewarding. In most cases the pain ‘came on’ for no apparent reason, or a gradual decrease in range of movement becomes more obvious. ‘I can’t turn enough to see when reversing the car’, ‘I can’t get my head comfortable on the pillow at night’, or ‘I had difficulty in looking up to change the light bulb’. If the upper spinal joints are jammed, the balance can be affected and, occasionally, relate to tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Dizziness, headache, shoulder pains, numbness or tingles in the arms and hands may be coming from the neck.

It is not surprising that the body rebels when folk sit scrunched up in front of a com-

puter for hours, chin poked forward, watching the screen and the mouse operating shoulder slightly hunched. Long drives in bad weather can be a trigger. The ageing process plays a part as our discs shrink a bit, and so the joints each side are jammed closer together, compounded by postural change.

The whiplash injury or neck sprain can be treated at various stages according to severity. It is a hidden injury and may not be apparent immediately after an accident, but about 43% of patients can suffer long term effects according to a large survey done at Bristol University. A more recent study of 70 patients found that the injury caused impaired blood flow to the brain, giving rise to irritability, altered sleep patterns, loss of will, mental dullness, neck and skull pain. This ‘post-concussion syndrome’ was not well understood and often dismissed as psychosomatic. It has been shown that chiropractic and osteopathic approaches using gentle traction, some soft tissue work and manipulation can be of great help in the majority of cases.

Look after your neck with good posture.

Activity and relaxation are equally important.

Yoga, Pilates and the Alexander technique will help your body awareness, strength and mobility. If you can, dress for the weather and get out walking – good for the brain and the body.

Truly holistic.

CONTACT PATRICIA Offizone, Kenmore Street, Aberfeldy. Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday by appointment only. t: 01887 820 050 (Home) m: 07808 223 960 (Office)

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THE BOOK CLUB

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

THE BOOK CLUB

These and the best of new books are available from the Aberfeldy Watermill.

by Aberfeldy Watermill Mill Street, Aberfeldy, PH15 2BG t. 01887 822896

The Lady in the Van Alan Bennett

Chance Developments or Stories of Love

Spirit of Place Charles MacLean

Alexander McCall Smith The true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who 'temporarily' parked her van in Bennett's London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years. Their unique story is funny, poignant and life-affirming.

This lovely gift book, produced to coincide with the film, includes an introduction with diary entries by Alan Bennett, his original memoir and the screenplay for the film.

This edition includes numerous illustrations

by David Gentleman, who sketched on-set throughout filming and a colour platesection including behind-the-scenes photographs and stills from the film.

It is said that a picture may be worth a thousand words but an old photograph can inspire many more. In this beguiling book, Alexander McCall Smith casts his eye over five chanced-upon photographs from the era of black-and-white photography and imagines the stories behind them. Who were those people, what were their stories, why are they smiling, what made them sad?

What emerges are surprising and poignant tales of love and friendship in a variety of settings - an estate in the Highlands of Scotland, a travelling circus in Canada, an Australian gold-mining town, a village in Ireland, and Edinburgh. Some will find joy and fulfilment - others would prefer happier endings. Each of them, though, will find love, and that is ultimately what matters.

£14.99 £9.99

A wide-ranging and evocative portrait of Scotland's distilleries, with text by renowned whisky expert Charles MacLean and photographs by Lara Platman and Alan MacDonald. This fascinating book describes the 'cultural terroir' of the country's sixty greatest distilleries; the ingredients, practices and traditions that result in such an exquisite range of whiskies. Specially commissioned photographs capture the texture of the surrounding landscapes and communities through the changing seasons, as well as portraits of those craftsmen who work there, and the fabric of the buildings themselves. Spirit of Place is a unique addition to the literature on Scotch whisky, from the world's greatest expert on the subject. The perfect gift for anyone planning a tour of Scotland's distilleries, a souvenir for anyone who has visited them, and simply the perfect companion to a dram at home.

£25 WHAT'S ON AT THE WATERMILL Sunday 20th December 2pm-3.30pm Music, Free Festive Music in the Watermill cafe with Douglas Craik & Linda Dewar. Audience participation welcome!

Tuesday 22nd Dec 11am Storytelling, Free Children’s holiday storytime - half an hour of festive and favourite stories, for 4-7 year olds

Wed 23rd , 2.30pm Music, Free Dougie Law plays festive and traditional favourites in the Watermill cafe

Mon 28th, 2.30pm Music, Free Dougie Law plays festive and traditional favourites in the Watermill cafe

Tuesday 29th Dec 11am Storytelling, Free Children’s holiday storytime - half an hour of festive and favourite stories, for 4-7 year olds

No need to book – just come along.

We’re open 10am-5pm (11am Sunday) every day except December 25th & 26th & January 1st

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IN THE GARDEN

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

here are lots of tempting Poinsettia plants for sale at this time of year. These very popular houseplants (Euphorbia pulcherrima) come from Mexico and there’s a great deal of folklore associated with them.

The Mayan Indianans believed that the plants were creatures more powerful than themselves from another world. The Aztecs believed that the plants were a symbol of purity. While a Mexican legend says that a little child was walking along the side of the road; she couldn’t afford a gift for Christ so she picked up some weeds and brought them into the church and as she entered they blossomed into red and green flowers. The plant was named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US ambassador to Mexico, who first

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introduced the plant to the USA in 1828.

They come in white, pink, marble effect, burgundy, orange and apricot, as well as the traditional red these days.

How much success do you have growing this plant?

Can you keep it growing for months or does it end up in the compost bin before New Year? Each morning do you pick up the leaves it has dropped during the night so by 25th December it’s just a few red bracts at the top and nothing but a lonely green stem below? If your plant suffers from these symptoms then you are in good company but maybe this year all might be different if you follow these tips!

Buying the right Poinsettia Don’t buy a plant that is sold near a

draughty spot in a shop or outside a florist’s door. Poinsettias hate draughty spots and they will show their disapproval very quickly.

Look out for nice dark green leaves on a well-balanced plant with leaves that go down right to the base of the plant. If the plant is still in its plastic sleeve, try to roll down the sleeve to check the condition of the leaves at the lowest level and don’t buy a plant that is droopy, or has lots of yellow leaves. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to have the plastic sleeve around the plant as it’s giving the plant a little more protection from the cold… just not for too long. If a plant has been left in its plastic sleeve too long the ethylene gas builds up and it makes the leaves start to curl and drop off too quickly. Some suppliers have holes in the sleeves to try to prevent this from happening. If the plant is wilting in the shop and it has soggy compost… leave it well alone!

Try to buy a plant that has been grown in the UK as it will have had less stress during transportation. These plants are usually that little bit more expensive than the imported ones, but usually you are buying a stronger more robust plant.

Poinsettia flowers (cyathia) are tiny as all of the colour is in the bracts (leaves). If the poinsettia is in full bloom then all those little yellow flowers will have opened out, so try to buy a plant that has many of them still to open. Checking the flowers is a good way of telling if the plant is past its prime.

If you are getting your poinsettia gift wrapped in the shop as a present, make sure the assistant doesn’t completely cover the plant with gift wrap. The plant could droop after 48 hours inside the well wrapped cellophane if it’s going to be a few days before you give the gift to the recipient.

Once you have bought your plant don’t leave the shop without it being placed in a plastic sleeve with a bag over the top, to protect it from the cold. Make sure that you don’t leave the Poinsettia in the car for long (never in the boot) and get it home as quickly as possible. Leave your poinsettia purchase as the very last item on your shopping list that day.

Looking after a Poinsettia

Poinsettias

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Look out for nice dark green leaves on a well-balanced plant with leaves that go down right to the base of the plant.”

Keep it away from draughts - you would be surprised at how many people want to grow theirs in a cold porch!

The plant won’t like strong sunlight… though I doubt that’s going to be a problem for us in Perthshire at this time of year!

Don’t let the bracts (leaves) touch a cold window pane for any length of time, as they will get damaged and black marks will appear on the bracts.

The Poinsettia needs the room to be kept at a minimum of 13 -15 °C (55-59 °F). Any colder than this at night and you

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might have to place a couple of layers of horticultural fleece over the plant.

If the curtains are closed at night time, take the plant into the room away from the window sill. Any rapid temperature fluctuations will cause premature leaf drop.

Keep the plant away from heated appliances, tv’s, computers and radiators.

Take the plastic sleeve off the plant so that the roots can breathe and gases can’t build up.

Place the plant somewhere that has filtered light during the winter months and keep an eye out for bugs as the weeks go by.

Poinsettias are not poisonous, but you do need to be careful with them. You will notice that there’s a white sap which seeps from the slightest wound in the leaf or stem. Always wash your hands after coming in contact with the white sap and never let it near your eyes or mouth. 8% of the population have an allergy to latex and out of that 8% 40% of those people have an allergy to poinsettia sap.

Watering and Feeding Check for water every day and when the top surface of the compost is very dry to touch it’s time to water. It’s best to water in the mornings, rather than the evenings, so that the plant isn’t sitting in wet compost overnight. Make sure that you give the plant enough lukewarm water so that the compost is evenly moist and let some of it run out the bottom of the pot. Drain away the excess and don’t leave it sitting in a saucer of water.

Sometimes the plant might droop if it has been kept too dry - normally there’s a window of opportunity here, if you catch it quick enough. Place the plant in a shady spot sitting in lukewarm water for a few hours and it should revive itself. I’ve done this on many occasions and it works but the plant will probably drop a few of its leaves in protest at being left too dry. If it’s drooping and the compost is soggy… sorry but that plant is only fit for the compost bin.

The plant will like a little bit of humidity so lightly mist the plant each day to keep the leaves looking fresh or keep it on a gravel tray.

Feed once a month, using a general purpose houseplant fertilizer, or else use a Poinsettia drip feeder.

Hopefully this year your Poinsettia won’t be a challenge and will brighten up a corner of your room well into the New Year.

by Rosie Nixon Rosie can be found writing about her own Perthshire garden at leavesnbloom.com

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ART & CREATIVITY

Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place! The Heartland Buzz

Letters from the

Orchard

The Heartland Buzz Highland Perthshire’s Hive of Activity all in One Place!

the early summer to allow it to continue to dry in the wood sheds. Often stacked a year in advance, there is no worry about running out of wood during the winter.

As of yet, our regular little red legged partridge visitors are not roosting in the Longueville pear trees. But they do find the bird feeders and are not shy in helping themselves. I wonder how long it will take them to find the pear trees? We were very pleased with the large basket of pears we picked this year, the most to date. We picked the pears as the clocks went back and they have been turned into beautiful golden and ruby coloured poached pears: all nicely bagged up and preserved in the freezer.

Enough for a tasty treat until Easter. This year I decided it was not worth eating the pears fresh, as they were as hard as turnips and flavourless. If you do want to eat pears that you grow yourself, it is best to store them in a cool dark place for several months.

However, more often than not, when you do eat them they are often floury and musty from the inside out. This year, however, I spent a lovely afternoon with pots on all available cooking areas soaking up the most

I moved out to Balhomais with my husband and family seven years ago and built our home in the grounds of the former farm Orchard. We have now restored the orchard with traditional Scottish varieties of apple trees. We keep hens, bees and raise rare breed pigs. We keep a productive kitchen garden including fruit and we are developing a flower garden. We have two cats and a cocker spaniel.

A Partridge and a Pear tree his is the warmest and cosiest time of the year; at least inside. Well sometimes!!

The very first Christmas we spent at the Orchard was not warm and cosy. That was the winter when the temperatures hit 12 degrees minus, if not lower. The snow glistened as it hung in drifts from the rooftop and

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windowsills. The smoke from the chimney suspended like fog in the freezing air. Except, in our partly built home, there was no fire and there was no smoke!

The pressure was on to get the wood stove in and the chimney pipe up. For us all, we needed heat, but for the children the fire needed to be in so that letters to Santa could be thrown up the chimney. Christmas Eve activities that year involved climbing ladders,

lying flat out on the roof, steadying ladders, passing chimney pipes up to the brave roof climber, hot chocolate and gleeful faces as the very first fire was lit and the smoke went up the chimney. We were burning the offcuts from the wood left over from building our house. The wood burned fast and furiously and it soon became warm and cosy.

Now, six years on, every time I light the fire, I am so thankful. And it is true what they say, chopping wood warms you twice. The wood was chopped and stacked long ago in

delightful aromas of poaching pears. Half were poached in a traditional spiced red wine mix, while for the rest I wanted to try out an old recipe using a medium sweet cider. I used cider made from Katy apples as we have several of this variety in our 40 strong apple orchard. Our apple trees are not producing enough apples to make cider yet, but who knows? The pears turned a most delicious golden colour and they taste fresh and light in comparison to the thick and warm red wine spiced pears. Nevertheless, both are equally divine and will most definitely be enjoyed over Christmas.

Our four year old nuttery, includes two walnut trees and many hazel and cobnut trees. They have not produced any nuts yet, but that does not stop us from

experimenting for the future. Our hens have the run of the nuttery, while our beehives are close by. We loved the very delicate honey taken from our bee hives this summer and I am sure that there are traces of lavender to be found in the honey. While cutting bunches of lavender this year the lavender flowers were covered in honey bees. I stood back and watched the bees on the lavender, desperate to find out if any of them were our bees. I watched with delight as they took their return flight to our hives. So with a few jars of this delicate honey I decided to make Nuthoney. Not Nutella, but Nuthoney. I used bought hazelnuts this year and whizzed them in the food processor and mixed them into the honey until the mixture was thick. The result was a most delicious spread, topping for yoghurt or ice-cream. I will now be speaking sweetly to our nut trees all winter.

Everything is work in progress, our minds filling with ideas and plans for next year already."

With Christmas drawing closer, my husband is to be found searching for the recipe for his favourite Christmas ham. A large Wiltshire home cured ham from our Oxford Sandy and Black pigs will be boiled, studded with cloves, rubbed with honey and then baked. The question remains whether he will bake it in hay or not this year? The hay acts as an insulator to achieve an even, slower bake with added sweetness from the

THINGS TO SEE

hay. With the new addition of a meat slicer gifted to us from our dear Italian cousin, we look forward to thinly sliced succulent ham.

My husband is also in charge of making the stuffing for the turkey from our sausage meat, herbs and apples, but he is still deciding which secret ingredient to include this year to keep us guessing.

December is a quiet month for outside jobs except for feeding the hens and checking the bees. But we don’t forget to plant the garlic cloves so that they get a good frosting and plant up the sweet peas in the greenhouse for next year. We take refuge inside beside cosy fires reflecting on what the year has produced, developed and begun. Everything is work in progress, our minds filling with ideas and plans for next year already. They have not reached list status yet, but as we delight in what we have achieved and savour the results of our hard work, a calmness settles and we can make decisions and prioritise how next year will begin.

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CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE Celebrate And Have Fun! JOURNEY THROUGH & DISCOVER OUR CHRISTMAS NATURELAND:

REINDEER VS RED DEER Close cousins revealed in our festive, Red Deer Barn! Come face to face with these magnificent, iconic Red Deer & the mystical Barn Owl.

Don’t miss our magical, light filled Discovery Trail…

Saturday 21st November to 3rd January 2016 Daily from 1200hrs-1600hrs (Except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day) Closed Mondays but open 21st & 28th December.

CAFÉ • GIFT SHOP Christmas Gift Vouchers Available!

Aberfeldy Perthshire PH15 2JQ Tel: 01887 820071 www.highlandsafaris.net info@highlandsafaris.net