Page 47 - James Pirie News

The Great Fire of Glasgow –

Mackintosh’s Immense Creation Set for Re-Birth

If you saw the great fire of Glasgow in 2014 you’ll know that the national treasure that was the Glasgow School of Art went up in smoke when a carelessly left light set fire to the building which was just about totally destroyed.  After which there was a dreadful hoo-ha about whether to rebuild this, the work of Scotland’s...

Whut! Sunburned Dolphins and Scotland to Host Alternative Olympic Games –

Global Warming Headlines Gift Olympics to Scotland

‘Whut! I cannot believe it!’ In the words of Victor Meldrew it seems that the world has gone mad. Now I knew of a young dolphin that they called “Spirtle was in trouble,” no doubt because it had to go to ‘hos-spirtle,’ he he he. When the little thing was stranded out of water...

Andy Murray Needs a Rest –

He said it Himself

I was off on Saturday to a friend’s fiftieth birthday and twenty- fifth wedding anniversary, but I couldn’t go until I had factored in the Davis Cup semi final with Argentina in Glasgow. As you probably know I am a huge Murray fan and I was agog, yes truly agog, to see the matches especially after Andy lost to Juan Martin Del Potro on Friday. This was a...

“Freedom an' whisky gang thegither! Take aff your dram!” Robert Burns –

Whisky Sales on the Up After 3 Year Decline

But First a Toast to Go with the Dram.

Lord keep our pots distilling weel
Lord send the excise man to the de’il
Lord bless our couthy meal
Amen

The water of life is on the rise again after a short period of slowing in international sales. An incredible 533 million bottles were shipped...

Not Many Things Hold a Candle to These –

New to Us and Made in Scotland

If you’ve been keeping up with the series Victoria on ITV you’ll know that in Buckingham Palace the used candle business is a vital perk to the butler Penge, played beautifully by Adrian Schiller, and part of the intrigues upstairs and downstairs that keep us all fascinated. Meanwhile the lovely Jenna Coleman, AKA QueenVictoria...

Not Balsam for the Soul –

Nastiest Weed Since Japanese Knotweed Invades Royal Dee

The banks of the royal river the River Dee are today a battleground as an alien invader is wresting great swathes of land from the indigenous locals. And it is mostly the fault of Storm Frank which struck last December and caused chaos on Royal Deeside. As well as the enormous flood damage to houses and businesses the...

Bake Off Is Offski –

The Show That Launched a Million Brownies Leaves BBC

Mel and Sue aren’t going for the dough and Paul and Mary haven’t risen yet. A fact which leaves Great British Bake Off fans desperate to know what the future holds now Channel 4 has prised the show off the BBC.  We are all holding our breaths, but baking fans in Scotland had their very own Cake Fest to celebrate the magic of...

Two Men and a Kayak -

Paddling Their Own Canoe

 Two men have just followed an old Eskimo or should I say Inuit kayak route to Scotland all the way from Greenland, a journey of some two thousand kilometres or twelve hundred of our Scottish miles. But in case you haven’t heard we don’t call this people Eskimos anymore, not the word unless you are in Australia and want somewhere to cool your tinnies...

Annual Braemar Gathering Gets Royal Presence –

This Year in Aid of Storm Frank Victims

 Royal Deeside saw The Queen once more in attendance at the 201^st annual Braemar Gathering the largest of the Highland Games. She has been coming since she was 7 years old in 1933 and she always has the September event in her diary, along with lots of other members of the Royal family.

Storm Frank Floods

The whole...

Border Fine Arts,  More Than the Sum of Its Parts-

Over Forty Years of Affordable Arts

I wanted to write a poem in the style of my beloved William Topaz McGonagall to mark the passing of that fount of craft and art that is and will soon be no more Border Fine Arts, but I thought some things are too sad to commemorate in doggerel verse, but will instead tell you a few facts about this remarkable set...