Days out

Halloween Guide: M - S

Yet more spooky goings-on

16 Oct 2009

M is for Movies Perhaps only rivalled by the upsurge in the plastic horn industry around 31 Oct, the annual economic boost for the horror film industry ensures that, every Halloween, there is a fresh crop of dismembered corpse-filled flicks to satisfy…

Halloween Guide: G - L

The next step in our Halloween runthrough

16 Oct 2009

G is for Ghost Vigil Ghost hunting is a serious business – Derek Acorah has proved that. If you fancy busting some ghosts, then this all night Ghost Vigil aboard the Tall Ship in Glasgow is a good place to hone your skills. Conducted by experienced…

Halloween Guide: A - F

All you need to know about October's most haunted evening

16 Oct 2009

A is for Arachnids Eight-legged creatures are making another notorious appearance this Halloween, with Glasgow Science Centre including them as part of the many horrid things in their children’s Halloween event on Fri 30 Oct. The truth is kids love…

Halloween Guide: T - Z

Our final tricks and treats

16 Oct 2009

T is for Tours It’s the eve of Halloween and you’re feeling a bit like an overgrown trick or treater – excited, but not sure what a sophisticated adult like yourself should be doing to celebrate. Chapping on strangers’ doors and singing for sugar…

Songs of Home

We find out about a festival and a screening looking at the darker sides of the Scottish Diaspora

16 Oct 2009

Between the numerous gigs, gatherings and soap carving workshops (we kid you not) squeezing under its umbrella, ‘Homecoming’ itself has become a rather vague concept this year. It’s refreshing, then, that in their 20th anniversary year the Scottish…

Tam Shepherd's Trick Shop

Hunting for the perfect Halloween costume in the Glasgow institution

16 Oct 2009

Halloween costumes have not always been my forte, but I vowed this year not to have a re-run of 2002’s ‘bin bag suit’ or 2006’s ill-advised ‘shadow man’ (head-to-toe black body paint is most assuredly not a good idea). This year I needed professional…

Glasgow Zombie Walk

Colin Armstrong explains the big idea behind his day out for the undead

16 Oct 2009

Colin Armstrong is a man with a dream, a dream to see a large group of mindless, dribbling corpses slowly wandering through Glasgow’s West End. Not everyone’s cup of tea perhaps, but for zombie movie fans this special Halloween crossover from B-movie to…

Hitlist: Around Town

The top events in Glasgow and Edinburgh

15 Oct 2009

Bonfire Night Fireworks Displays Remember, remember … that some nasty Catholics didn’t really want James VI to take the English throne? Or just that there will be loud bangs in the Glasgow Green and Edinburgh Meadowbank areas on a certain day, and you…

Scottish Style Awards

Sophie Ellis-Bextor presents the design awards

15 Oct 2009

It had better not be Murder on the Dancefloor (oh yes, I think you see what we did there) at oor annual fashion awards this year, as angular style icon Sophie Ellis-Bextor takes on the hosting duties, with this year’s lads-most-likely-to, The Phantom…

Diwali at the Square

The Hindu Festival of Light in Glasgow

15 Oct 2009

Never mind the dubious sectarianism of Bonfire Night. Come early November, George Square is going to be submerged in light for much more joyful reasons, with a fire, light and dance spectacular in celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light.

Benedict Allen interview

Talking with the TV adventurer before his lecture tour of Scotland

2 Oct 2009

Having a conversation with Benedict Allen is what I imagine chatting to Indiana Jones is like. After all, not many people, when telling you what they did in the year after university, will suddenly, cheerfully diverge into the following anecdote…

Glasgow's Revitalised East End

Nicola Paul discovers the area's new lease of cultural life

2 Oct 2009

Once a major industrial centre, Glasgow’s East End has long been associated with deprivation. Now, thanks to a cultural boom, the East End is giving the other parts of the city a run for their money. The area is home to some long-standing Glaswegian…

Hitlist: Around Town

The best talks and walks

2 Oct 2009

Beyond the Corporation: Taking Control of Our Everyday Lives, An Evening with Kevin Smith, Gude Cause: Recreating the 1909 Suffragette March, An Audience with Arun Gandhi, Just a Little Run Around the World – Rosie Swale Pope, Scottish Ballet: Outside In

An Evening With Kevin Smith

The cult director talks to Glasgow

2 Oct 2009

Silent Bob only ever speaks when he has something to say, so you can be sure that this evening in the company of his alter ego Kevin Smith will be full of meaningfully-chosen words. One of the only celebrity voices of sense in the recent Polanski…

Big Man Walking

Say hi to the 8-foot blue giant

2 Oct 2009

Take to the streets to welcome The Big Man, an 8-foot blue giant created by Scotland’s own Puppet Lab with support from the Scottish Arts Council’s Inspire Fund. Celebrating Scotland’s ancient Myth of the Giant, The Big Man will walk the streets of…

The F Word: 100 Years Of Scottish Feminism

Celebrating the anniversay of one of the country's greatest Suffragette marches

1 Oct 2009

One hundred years ago this fortnight thousands of women from all over Scotland descended on Princes Street in one of the biggest Suffragette marches the country would ever see. Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst were the keynote speakers and guests of…

The Feminists of 1909

Remembering some of the women behind that 100 year old march

1 Oct 2009

Elsie Inglis Now probably best known for the Edinburgh maternity hospital that bore her name until its 1988 closure, Dr Inglis was one of the first graduates of the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women, and one of the original founder members of the…

Ladyfest

The feminist festival returns to the capital

17 Sep 2009

After the success of last year’s month-long lady-focused extravaganza, Edinburgh’s own feminist festival has gone for a more boutique look this year in the lead up to the Gude Cause event (look out for our feature next issue). Still, they’re packing a…

Glasgow Festival of DIY Culture

Free and not for profit events take over the city

17 Sep 2009

Strange, wonderful, convoluted and absolutely charming. And that’s just the programme. From wonder walks to guerrilla gardening, time-travelling pub crawls to flash jam sessions on the subway, this festival of free and not-for-profit events is trying to…

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival

Still breaking barriers and bigger than ever

17 Sep 2009

It started in 2007, with 40 fairly low-fi events, mostly in and around Glasgow. Two years on, and the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is collaborating with major Scottish artists, musicians and writers, co-running events with the Natioanl…

Hitlist: Around Town

17 Sep 2009

Glasgow Festival of DIY Culture, Be Creative, Ladyfest, GCM Social, Craft Guerrilla DIY Craft Evening, Cafe Improv, Suffragism

Go Ape

Become king of the swingers with this adventure amongst the tree tops

10 Sep 2009

So here I am, standing in front of a group of strangers – a strapping great harness hitched around my nether regions – trying to remember which karabiner attaches on to which safety line and which foot to put where. Welcome to Go Ape, the high-wire…

Glasgow: Merchant City Festival

The celebration of cutting-edge Scottish arts, music and live performance

10 Sep 2009

The Merchant City is all of Glasgow in a few square blocks. At its most north-westerly point, as it merges into the city centre around George Square, it’s all about opulent buildings, trendy boutique shops and a range of desirable restaurants and delis.

A Traveller's Guide to Wales

It's not all just Tom Jones and rugby

10 Sep 2009

Just a short journey from central Scotland, Wales is an ideal spot for those of you who want to do a little bit of exploring without leaving the United Kingdom. Here’s our traveller’s guide of top things to see and do  Bright lights, big city A…

Kilmarten Glen

Visiting one of Scotland's most important historical sites

10 Sep 2009

The Scots do history pretty well. Perhaps you even learnt a little about it at school? But, if you fell asleep during that lesson, let us give you a little re-cap: Scotland’s history is one of immigration, its people forged through waves of invaders…