Craig Millar@16 West End Restaurant, St Monans, Fife

Craig Millar@16 West End Restaurant, St Monans, Fife

On a clear sunny day, the terrace at Craig Millar’s restaurant, 16 West End, St Monans, Fife feels like it’s overlooking the Mediterranean rather than the Firth of Forth. The short brasserie menu had three fish choices, including fish pie, haddock and chips or cod on a saffron and gnocchi broth and the two meat options included slow cooked ox cheek, all of which around were around the £15 mark,

Happy birthday Ella Fitzgerald!

Today is the birthday of the great Ella Fitzgerald who  managed to progress from an orphanage, by way of being a teenage lookout at a brothel and a Mafia numbers runner to being the undisputed First lady of American song. Ira Gershwin said, ‘we never knew how good our songs were until Ella Fitzgerald sang them.’

Mackerel California-style; recipe from the Fyfe Smokery

Here is our latest recipe from Elaine Hardie at the Fyfe Smokery, Bruce Street, Dunfermline. Mackerel is a sustainable choice of oily fish, found all around the coast of Scotland and is abundant in health benefits and flavour. Try this Californian style recipe, made with common store-cupboard ingredients, and dream of sunshine…. Mackerel California-style Serves 2-4 2 fillets of mackerel 115g butter 2 tsp paprika 1 ½ tsp salt ½ tsp

Woodland florist Tupelo Tree branches out

What started as a flash of inspiration at the end of a tipsy night out has for, talented illustrator and florist Natasha, become a highly successful woodland floristry business. Tupelo Tree has since been featured in Italian Vogue as well as other top publications and Natasha has brought her unique vision to many gorgeous weddings at venues such as the Byre at Inchyra, The Edinburgh Botanics and Harburn House. In her

Ardal O’Hanlon at Fife Comedy Festival

Father Ted fans will be delighted to see that Ardal O’Hanlon is performing this Friday 22 April at the Carnegie Hall as part of the Fife Comedy Festival. For the full programme,organised by Fife Cultural Trust, go to OnFife.

Olga Krasanova puts the wind up Dunfermline’s architecture

Here is a fascinating opportunity to look at a work in progress by one the most talented artists working in Dunfermline. Olga Krasanova is originally from Siberia but has become fascinated by the ample heritage and varied architecture of her new hometown and is inspired in particular by the actual wall and brick patterns of Dunfermline. The Central St Martins graduate says, ‘It might strike as an odd idea but

The night surfers of Cornwall; atmospheric photos in the moonlight

Every May there’s a night time surfing event at Fistral Bay, Newquay in Cornwall. The two-day competition takes place under the fluorescent light of floodlights set out along the beach. In 2015, London documentary photographer Liam Aylott captured the surfers as they prepared for the contest: ‘The build-up to the competition was great – many surfers and their families and friends would gather round to share fish and chips, and

Anna Jensen: psychological landscapes that are both funny and sad

We are delighted to count among our readers the brilliant American artist Anna Jensen, whose vivid and caustic work you can see here. Anna says, ‘My paintings are psychological landscapes and emotionally complex narratives. I combine references to art history, pop culture, natural science and personal chronicles to represent the conflicts of life.’ Anna is originally from Atlanta Georgia but now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can find out

Lebanese Wine, by Paul Rudge, Reubens Wine Store

Here is the latest feature on wine from our wine columnist, Paul Rudge of Reubens Wine Store in Dunfermline, Fife. This week he writes about Lebanese wine. Lebanon is said to be the ancient home of the vine and it is quite certain that wine production has played an important role in the indigenous culture for centuries. Lebanon is a paradise for grape growing with its limestone soils, high altitude

Michele Daykin: turning stone and brick into silver

Fife designer maker Michele Daykin draws on her previous studies of Stitched Textiles at Edinburgh Telford College and Jewellery Design and Manufacturing at Dunfermline Carnegie College to create innovative jewellery designs which combine silver and batik fabric. Michele says, ‘Inspirations for my designs come from surfaces; the repeat markings on Glasgow pavements, the chisel markings on Edinburgh walls along with aged and weathered brick and stonework. I work predominantly in silver, I treat