Page 37 - James Pirie News

Great Scot! – The Edinburgh Tattoo in China

Edinburgh Spectacle Goes on Its Hols

Now you and I might be forgiven for thinking that the August Tattoo is a strictly Scottish and indeed Edinburgh affair, but its organisers are not of the same cast of mind. Those in high places are hoping to send the tattoo across the world to across Asia, the Middle East and North and South America. The Edinburgh Tattoo...

Dark Knight Director Turns to Our Darkest Hour –

Dunkirk and Dumfries

I just went to see the new film about Dunkirk and was reminded of how Dumfries and the Battle of Britain and the great evacuation were linked. It is always seen as Britain’s Darkest Hour. The film doesn’t have a lot of dialogue and focuses on the personal stories of some of the survivors and of course stars Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy...

A Whale of a Time –

Scotland One of the Best Spots to See Giants of the Sea

Avid readers of this blog will know that I live by the sea, but unfortunately not where I can whale watch, not even on porpoise. But the west coast of Scotland is to be said to be one of the best places in Europe to see whales. And now the government has put its money where the whales are and has awarded a grant of almost £20...

Florist Gump and Tree Wise Men Versus James Pirie –

What’s In A Name?

In the drive to get noticed and of course to get more customers many retailers get inventive with their names. It’s all just to grab your attention, and maybe irritate you the thousandth time that you see the sign There is  Bonnie Tiler, Florist Gump and of course the Cod Father among those trying to stand out from the throng...

Just a Wee Deoch an Doris, Before we gang awa’ –

One for the Road

If you like old films there is a terrific video of the legendary Sir Harry Lauder singing his signature tune, which is about ‘one for the road.’ The subject of the song is the old phrase a deoch-an-doris which in  modern usage would mean a drink at the door, that is to say on your way out to go home and it would involve the quaich...

“Please Take Care of this Bear. Thank You.”

The Bear from Darkest Peru

The bear we all love most isn’t Winnie the Pooh, despite decades of Disney filling our eyes and ears with mushy sentimentality, it is a little lost bear from Peru called Paddington. And for my kids it was a friendly and slightly dense friend who was always in trouble of a mild but baffling kind of way. Paddington gets his name from...

Scotland’s Food and Drink Exports Grow by More than 10 Per Cent -

As I Get Waylaid by Indian Runner Ducks at Highland Show

I started off with an uplifting story of the exceptional increase in Scottish food exports, including our national drink, but in the way of it all I got sidetracked by the Quack Commandos at the Royal Highland Show. I wanted to tell you about the export of food and drink worth...

 Antarctic Find from Scott Expedition –

Hidden under Penguin Doo Doo

Now I’ve always had a fascination for the Antarctic and way back when I was 16 I even volunteered for the British Antarctic Expedition, they told me to write back when I had some skills to offer. I was a schoolboy and part time butcher’s boy at the time. So I was fascinated to read about  a museum finding a 118-year-old  watercolour...

Environmentally Friendly Shopping at Home-

Scotland’s Renewables Power Us Ahead

The windy weather of the last month, April 2017 have proven a boon to the good folk providing energy via wind - the ultimate renewable  power sources. In April wind power alone was sufficient to give energy enough to power 95 per cent of Scotland’s domestic electricity needs. This extraordinary feat was a huge 20 per...

The Train Now Leaving Platform 2 Is Late Again!-

 Delays hit Edinburgh-Glasgow Line

The new electric service between the capital and Glasgow will be a year late, if we are lucky, according to the people at Network Rail. So if you are a regular traveller you’ll be missing out on those new smoother trains for quite a while longer and still have to endure the delays that electrifying the service means...