Farewell to 2015 which, for the Avocado Sweet team, has been one of new jobs, travel, studying, babies, puppies and of course lots of interesting things happening locally which we’ve enjoyed sharing with our readers. Big thanks to everyone who has supported the magazine this year. We’re excited to see it continue to grow and have loads of new ideas for 2016. We’re signing off now for Christmas but we’ll be back
Corbie and Cheip, the deli in Auchterarder, which opened on the 16th of September, has now opened as a wine bar and enotheque in the evenings from Wednesday to Sunday. Wine with charcuterie and cheese platters are available 5pm till 10pm. If you’re there during the day, you might spot Andrew Fairlie, the well-known chef from Gleneagles Hotel, who pops into the deli once or twice a week.
Well here we are , it’s almost time for us to sign off for Christmas and we’ve reached the final post in our local shopping guide. Today we are celebrating local heroes, the unique, independent shops, products and experiences to be discovered on our own doorstep. As with each instalment of the guide, the list is not exhaustive but, we hope, enough to inspire you to shop in, support and
In part five of our local Christmas shopping guide we’re looking at fashion and beauty present ideas. Sophie Alexis, who is based in Dunfermline, is usually busy making brides look beautiful on their special day, but your could buy a voucher towards her two-hour make up masterclasses for £35. Or, for the bathing beauties in your life, try Beatitude bath and body oils. Started by Rebecca O’Connor, who is
For many people, a gift for the home is the best type of Christmas present and luckily there are lots of interesting homewares made and sold locally that may just fit the bill. C20 Home is a fantastic new showroom in Dunfermline where collector David Walker sells mid-century classic furniture and home accessories including this gorgeous 1950s Finnish carafe and glass set, 1960s Lotus Pottery bulls, elegant white 1950s china
Instead of buying a ready-made hamper for someone for this Christmas, you could make up your own hamper with foods from Fife. Ardross Farm Shop, near Elie in Fife is a nice place to visit anyway, and their home-made steak pie would be great for a New Year’s Day dinner, or a ham on the bone from Puddledub Pork in Auchtertool (£42) would go down well on Boxing Day. Balance
Unless you’re buying for Alex Salmond, it’s too late to commission a full size portrait of your loved one for this Christmas but all of the artists and makers featured here offer commissions and vouchers for their work which would make an exciting start to 2016 for anyone lucky enough to receive one. Pictured above is a typically vivid piece by celebrated illustrator Jill Calder. Calder is based in Cellardyke
Highly recommended this weekend is the inventive and brilliant Cemetery, an exhibition about Dunfermline artist Alan Grieve’s daily wanderings in a local graveyard: ‘the people I met and spoke to, the things I saw and where my curiosity took me’. Like most Alan Grieve events, Cemetery is somewhere between a performance and an art-form, based on social interaction and trust and featuring stories and objects which help to create darkly funny,
Now here’s a challenge. Is it possible to buy all your Christmas presents locally? Many people might try to buy local the rest of the year but probably assume it can’t be done at Christmas. In Fife, like many parts of the country, there are interesting shops, food and drink producers, artists, designers and makers that can help you with your Christmas list. Over the next couple of weeks Avocado