Still LIfe in Bronze

Morag Farquharson (oh, how she hates the name Morag!) was born and bred in the rolling green hills of Aberdeenshire, a farm factor’s daughter with a keen eye for all the quirky details that shape an animal’s character and individuality: a hare sitting bolt upright, listening intently, ready for flight; ducks marching in step like feathered guardsmen; a scrappy terrier grinning as he bounds after a ball.

Loch Shin

There is a terrible beauty about Loch Shin, the longest and loveliest of the lochs of Sutherland. It’s not just the gnarled and weathered roots of the ancient oaks felled in their thousands to fuel the folly of a failed iron foundry.

The Bagpipes Book 12

In this, the third of a series of articles on the history of the bagpipes,the distinguished Scottish historian and piper, Hugh Cheape, examines the material evidence.

Samuel John Peploe

Samuel Peploe is considered to be one of the most signifi cant fi gures in 20th century Scottish painting. Born in Edinburgh, he worked for a legal fi rm before enrolling at the Edinburgh College of Art in 1894.

New Light on an Ancient Landscape

In Britain and indeed throughout the Commonwealth, Royal Commissions are regarded as one of democracy’s most powerful tools. They are designed to investigate particular issues without fear or favour. Independent and with unfettered power, their task is to dig down through sometimes murky and unpleasant depths, uncover the truth and hold it up for public scrutiny.

Lord Lyon, King of Arms

On the eve of his retirement, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, Sir Malcolm Innes of Edingight, KCVO, spoke with Bruce Stannard about his 20 years of service as the Queen’s Supreme Officer of Honour in Scotland.

Scots Questions and Answers Book 40

Extremes

In the wilds of sub-Arctic Canada, where winter temperatures often plummet to minus 40C and soar above 30C in summer, the indigenous people, the Dene, have for millennia existed at the very margins of human endurance. Having mastered one of the world’s most hostile natural environments, their expression Dè T'a Hoti Ts'eeda (We Live Securely By The Land) neatly captures the essence of this remarkable exhibition in Edinburgh. It’s a long overdue salute to the triumph of a unique indigenous culture.

Scottish Ballet

Scottish Ballet may be the smallest and indeed the youngest ballet company in Europe, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in precious professional and public recognition. With just 36 full-time dancers, Scottish Ballet is only one-third the size of the Royal Ballet in London and yet over the past 39 years the awardwinning national dance company has earned an enviable reputation for innovation, enterprise and initiative that now makes it one of Scotland’s most valued cultural assets.

The Honours of Scotland Book 15

King James V died on December 14, 1542 at Falkland Palace in Fife at the early age of 30. Just six days earlier his second Queen, Mary of Guise-Lorraine, had given birth to a baby girl in the royal palace at Linlithgow. She was named Mary after her mother.