The rosy cheeked and elegantly coiffed image of Robert Burns as portrayed by Alexander Nasmyth is the one that has come to be universally accepted – but how close is it to reality? Has the old familiar image prevented us from seeing the real man? Using forensic technology, a 3D model was recently created at Dundee University to show Robert Burns ‘as he really was’. Apart from having Burns look
When the great Argentinian writer Jorges Luis Borges said he imagined ‘that Paradise would be a kind of library’, he was probably picturing something much like Innerpeffray Library. Often described as a ‘literary jewel’ this discreet gem, nestling in a tranquil setting near the River Earn in Perthshire, was actually Scotland’s first free public lending library. It was founded by David Drummond, 3rd Lord Madertie who, in 1680, made 400
Vitaly Raskalov and Alexander Remnov call themselves skywalkers. Skywalking, which consists of scaling structures without safety equipment and then uploading the pictures to social media sites, appears to have originated in Russia and has gained popularity over the last year. Some of the highest buildings in Moscow and some other cities in Russia feature including the top of the Russian Academy of Sciences (where the boys are doing the plank) or a turret
Not sure this is the most straightforward way to get from from Edinburgh to Skye but it is certainly impressive. Stunt cyclist Danny MacAskill heads home to Dunvegan on his bike to the accompaniment of Loch Lomond and The Jezebels in this superb film by Dave Sowerby. The film’s not new but is always worth watching.
Famous until now as the location for Bill Forsyth’s Gregory’s Girl, Cumbernauld is now the site for a luxury global brand. These beautiful coats, which are sold in Tokyo, Seoul and New York, are handmade in Cumbernauld. Two former Mackintosh employees, Daniel Dunko and Gary Bott, set up the company Hancock, naming it after Englishman Thomas Hancock. Although his name is little-known he worked with Charles Mackintosh to patent the
Innovative Polish architects KWK Promes have come up with ultimate in home security: a house that can transform itself into a featureless dark grey box. Located on the outskirts of a small village near Warsaw, the stunning house was designed by Robert Konieczny for a private client and completed in 2009. The reason for the massive, wall wide external television screen (see bottom of post) is unexplained. Perhaps it’s to keep
Edinburgh (above and below) Television journalist David Cowan has recently seen his creative hobby develop into a popular sideline. Scotland in Detail is a series of montages of Scottish cities and towns focusing on small, often unnoticed elements. ‘They say the devil’s in the detail,’ says David, ‘and he may well be hiding somewhere in these photomontages. Many of the images are decades old; names of long-forgotten landlords, chimney sweeps, hat makers and
At 32 Jeremiah McDonald filmed this conversation with his 12 year old self. Does make you ask yourself what you were doing at 12 years old. Were you already planning a film career like Jeremiah?
‘Not every craft project looks like Martha made it’ are the wise words on the CraftFail site. Quick to spot that Pinterest and other craft sites were begging to be satirised CraftFail along with Pinstrosity and Pintester do just that. Pintester’s strapline is ‘fucking up pinterest pins so you don’t have to’. Despite their apparent lack of crafting skills some of the publishers seem to be actual crafters. CraftFail was started