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Day Trips in Scotland: Loch Leven

In London you are never more than seven feet away from a rat. In Scotland it seems you are never more than seven feet away from one of Mary Queen of Scots' prisons.  Although it probably wasn't much of a consolation at the time one of her prisons had beautiful views of Loch Leven; the destination for our latest day trip.   This is the largest of Scotland's lowland lochs

Clootielugs – little birds big on charm

We fell for these sweet little birds, with their washing machine copper wire legs and reclaimed textile bodies, last week at The Pittenweem Arts Festival. At only £10 each, they were flying out of the shop on tiny felt wings.     Jill Kitson is the artist and maker behind the Fife based label Clootielugs. A graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, these days Jill loves

Day trips from Edinburgh; daycations from the Festival

Beautiful as the city of Edinburgh is, you may still want to venture out of the centre, especially during the Festival in August when everywhere is full to bursting.  During August Avocado Sweet will be bringing you some ideas to avoid the crowds as part of its day trip column.  Our first trip is to Portobello, written by Portobello resident Claire Simpson.  Originally from Edinburgh, Claire moved back from her

Free Festival Fun this Weekend

At the risk of sounding like one of those thrifty guides to ‘living a wonderful life with only 20p’,  it’s good to find free entertainment in these straitened times.  Both Glasgow and Edinburgh are hosting free events this Saturday, 23 July, as part of wider festivals with other ticketed events.  The Merchant City Festival in Glasgow has a free event around the merchant city streets on Saturday afternoon.  Visitors walking

The Fife Diet: Working up an appetite for local food

Mike Small started the Fife Diet in 2007, a campaign to eat locally sourced food. Forty years ago he would have had his work cut out; chips, white bread, macaroni cheese pies, scotch pies topped with baked beans and mashed potato, and everything cooked with cloak of  batter or pastry.  Fast forward to 2011 and the Fife Diet is not a sitcom joke but a healthy, tasty selection of organic

Let’s all go to the dogs tonight…

What’s especially likeable about mid price Edinburgh eaterie The Dogs is that it hits the mark between considered style and a forced, concept driven look. It’s unpretentious and simple with just the right nod to the dog concept. There’s a blow up of a crazy looking hound behind the bar and a few quirky canine motifs scattered around but the interior is a long way from being themed. Mismatched wooden chairs and china, scrubbed tables and worn floorboards

No More Than a Mile – photography by Kevin McCollum

Here are some stunning photos from around the world by Kevin McCollum.    It’s tempting to travel the globe to seek out the exotic in your work but one of Kevin’s latest projects, an interesting approach that many artists and designers might apply, is to focus on subjects no more than a mile from where he lives. Easy if you happen to live in Manhattan or Tangiers but more of a challenge for Kevin who lives in