Scotsman.com - Scotsman Magazine Feed

Restaurant review: Lychee Oriental, Glasgow

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:06:58 GMT

MORINDA citrifolia (aka the dog dumpling) smells like cheese when ripe, resembles an obese caterpillar, and is especially attractive to ants and fruit bats. Then there’s the durian, which gives off an odour like turpentine and has a custard-textured pulp.

TV preview: Case Histories | The Last Days of Anne Boleyn

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:05:15 GMT

ADAPTING crime novels for TV is a notoriously hit-or-miss business. With a fraction of the space a book can give to fleshing out suspects and setting up false trails, perhaps having to condense several hundred pages into an hour of drama, the results can come across as shallow.

Travel: Stobo Castle, Perthshire

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:03:43 GMT

AS we tootled along the country roads from Lanark in the general direction of Peebles on our way to Stobo Castle for a day trip, the chat was already high octane.

Travel: White Island, New Zealand

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:02:40 GMT

DWARVES, elves and orcs, wizards and warrens full of hobbits – New Zealand is Middle-earth these days, Peter Jackson’s films providing a marvellous showcase for the country’s awesome natural landscapes.

Gardens: Inspiration rife at country’s biggest show

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:00:59 GMT

FOR gardeners who have been struggling with the unpredictable weather, expert help will be on hand at Scotland’s biggest horticultural show.

Gardening Scotland, which is being held at The Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh from 31 May-2 June, provides access to the most experienced professionals from the world of horticulture.

Interiors: Logie Country House, back from the ashes

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:59:13 GMT

LIKE a phoenix, Logie Country House has risen from the ashes to become a five-star retreat – complete with a ghost.

Cream o’Galloway is a family trip with decadent flavour

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:33:33 GMT

I CAN still remember the first time I tasted Cream o’ Galloway ice-cream. It was love at first slurp, so when we found ourselves in the south west of Scotland there was one place on top of my visiting wish list; the farm where this creamy cold nectar is produced.

Janet Christie: ‘Scouring for moustaches on paintings’

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:32:21 GMT

“BY the way,” says Eldest Child as the other two and I step over the threshold for a weekend away, tripping over inflatable mattresses, duvets and plastic bags stuffed with snacks, “I’m having a couple of friends round.”

Roger Cox: ‘Socialising at Tarbert is legendary – so is the sailing’

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:20:20 GMT

AS regattas go, the Scottish Series has it all: a stunning backdrop for the racing courtesy of the dark, densely forested hillsides that surround Loch Fyne; a stretch of water blessed with consistent winds and minimal tides; and a legendary party atmosphere courtesy of the picturesque little port of Tarbert – so busy when the sailing circus comes to town that boats often have to tie up two, three and four abreast beside the pontoons.

Geraldine Howard on aromatherapy, her new product

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:59:12 GMT

WHEN aromatherapist Geraldine Howard was diagnosed with cancer she turned to the power of essential oils to get her through the darkest days

Designer John Rocha on his new range of glasses

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:51:47 GMT

CORRECTIVE lenses make it simpler to see a gap in the fashion market, so designer John Rocha was well-placed to create his first collection of glasses.

Texas’ Sharleen Spiteri on the band’s comeback

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:46:00 GMT

PART tomboy, part rock chick, part soul siren and complete Glasgow girl, Sharleen Spiteri and texas are back. And after 25 years in the business, she’s still got plenty to talk about.

Travel: Channel your appetites at Jersey’s food festival

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:40:05 GMT

Think of Jersey and what immediately springs to mind is sunshine, cows, potatoes and – I’m just going to get it out of the way – Bergerac.

Travel: Florence versus Venice

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:31:34 GMT

DAN Brown’s forthcoming novel, Inferno, is set principally in Florence, and already the city is gearing itself up for an even greater influx of tourists than usual after the book’s publication on Tuesday.

Saddle up for the Borders Festival of the Horse

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:07:32 GMT

THEY say you have to be mad to live in the Borders. Mad on rugby and mad on horses.

Golden moments: Panning for gold

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:03:42 GMT

THERE’S gold in them thar hills,” or so the saying goes. So it would be foolish not to try out a family leisure activity that offers the potential for economic enrichment.

Janet Christie: Replacement hips, broken backs and hernias be damned

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:01:50 GMT

IT’S my annual family get-together with almost 20 of us in a farmhouse in the North Yorkshire Moors.

Krav Maga: The no nonsense self defence class

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:59:09 GMT

GET her on the ground!” is what I hear from the sidelines as I grapple with a stranger who’s grabbing my face like a bowling ball, his fingers almost in my eyes.

TV preview: The Fall | Frankie | The Suspicons Of Mr Whicher

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:44:17 GMT

HELLO. Is that J. Jameson Spotlight, big-shot representative of famed actress Gillian Anderson?”

Gardens: ‘I was asked if I had anybody strong to do the digging’

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:33:13 GMT

MENTION a trip to Arbroath and most people will connect it with the Declaration of Arbroath signed there in 1320 following the Battle of Bannockburn.