Life & Style

Tattoos

Written on the body

11 Dec 2006

A glorious butterfly is gazing up at me. It has a cutesy, cartoon face and curled lashes. Its larger than life wings are a dazzling explosion of pop-art colour and bubble dimensions. Flowerheads, blasted with vibrant, glowing blocks of green and red ink…

Pick-up techniques - interview with Neil Strauss

31 Jan 2008

IceDragon, Scotland’s number one PUA (pickup artist), is trying to lock me into conversation. However, he’s quickly surrounded. Deep Vertigo has perched at his shoulder and five other members of the Glasgow lair are hovering on the fringes. Chance, 20…

Flavours of the month - Festival Food

17 Jul 2008

Food and Drink editor Donald Reid surveys what’s new in the eating out scene around Edinburgh as the Festival frenzy looms

Hot 100 - 2007's hottest talent

13 Dec 2007

Scottish culture has shone in 2007, and so have Scottish stars. Throughout the year we have been working tirelessly to spot the hottest talent out there. We also invited you to nominate the people, places and events you think have made the greatest…

Nanakusa

28 Feb 2008

There’s no such thing as a Japanese restaurant. So David Wan concluded during a fact-finding mission to the Far East last year – just as he was planning to open up such an establishment in Glasgow. There was no shortage of specialist bars selling sushi…

Vintage clothes in Glasgow and Edinburgh

20 Sep 2007

Throwing out old clothes can be an emotional task and parting with that ripped pair of jeans you wore every day when you were 19 can be hard, but with a little imagination and some creative stitching, rips, tears and pinching waistlines need no longer…

Streets of glory - Edinburgh Rat Race

17 Jul 2008

Edinburgh will be reclaimed by hundreds of scurrying creatures this month. Claire Sawers meets the people behind the Rat Race

La Vallée Blanche

27 Mar 2008

When rationalising business-speak began to creep into the way things were run at étain restaurant in Princes Square a couple of years back, chef Neil Clark knew it was time to pack up his pans. Not one to compromise on his creativity, he left the…

Bella Mbriana - restaurant review

20 Sep 2007

There are, probably, too many Italian restaurants around. Don’t take this the wrong way: Italian cuisine and, perhaps more importantly, the Italian attitude to food, bows to no-one on earth. Yet a month hardly passes without the appearance of another…

WALL-E

Video Game Review

17 Jul 2008

Whatever the merits of the original work, game-of-the-movie titles tend to be rushed to market to coincide with a cinema release for the most cynical of purposes. The multiple development years that characterise genre-defining titles such as Halo and…

Barcelona

10 Apr 2008

Everywhere you look in Barcelona, you see Ronaldinho. Reproductions of the FC Barca hero fill the shelves of each tourist tat-peddling stall and storefront, even in the shadow of Antoni Gaudi’s mighty Sagrada Familia cathedral, which emphasises the…

Play - Super Mario Galaxy

17 Jan 2008

WII (Nintendo) Richard Dawkins, Oxford University’s Chair for the Public Understanding of Science, believes humanity’s ability to understand the world is limited by its interaction. Because of our size, our lifespan, the pace at which our lives…

Secondhand record shops in Glasgow and Edinburgh

1 Nov 2007

Shopping and I have always had a love-hate relationship. But we put aside our differences for record shopping: that ritualistic, solitary activity that’s at once sombre yet exhilarating. Secondhand records possess the same mystique as old books; they…

Female focused sex shops

4 Oct 2007

This week I’ve been spending time in sex shops. Oh, stop sniggering at the back there. I bet you’re thinking of sticky floors and flickering neon, now, aren’t you? Grubby windows and lone, sweaty-palmed gentlemen who can’t quite meet the cashier’s eye.

Nice and easy does it - Côte d’Azur

17 Jul 2008

Richard Moore braves the glamour and the husband hunters of the Côte d’Azur and discovers a wealth of treasures

Mother India’s Café

3 Jul 2008

Monir Mohammed is the quietly spoken, congenial proprietor of six restaurants in Glasgow operating under the Mother India and Wee Curry Shop banners. In a sector grossly overpopulated with long, samey menus, kitsch decor and blandly ill-defined dishes…

Scottish Surfing

10 Apr 2008

Even when the surf’s up in Scotland, chances are the temperatures won’t be. But with advancements in wetsuits over the past few years, it’s now possible to surf the Scottish coastline year-round. Fuelled I suspect by seeing one too many photos of…

Hairdressers

10 Apr 2008

Family of hair Claire Fleming set up Claire Frances in Glasgow in 1997 ‘We’re a family business – our mother has been in the industry for over 40 years, and that’s a lot of hair cuts! I’ve been doing this for 20 years now and I really love my job…

Eat - No 1 Sushi Bar

17 Jan 2008

THE MEAL Stories of fine Scottish wild salmon being caught, frozen and flown to high end restaurants in Japan are closer to the truth than you might think. Why then does sushi remain such niche cuisine in this country? In Scotland, Japanese…

Crime & punishment - breaking the virtual rules

1 Nov 2007

These days, when we talk about crime in the cyber world we’re not referring to the joyriding depicted in Need for Speed or the multiple murders of Manhunt. These are crimes against computer controlled characters within games. This may sound…

Taste Test - Meat Pies

17 Jul 2008

Gregg’s Scotch Pie Gregg’s, various outlets, Scotland wide 70p We couldn’t do a meat pie test without saying ‘aye’ tae a pie – a traditional Scottish mutton pie, that is. The hot water crust pastry is crunchier and more robust than the flakier…

Property special - Sarah Beeny offers some advice

Moving on up

8 May 2008

Sarah Beeny may have flirted with the idea of a different career path but property was definitely in her stars. ‘My father is an architect and I grew up around building sites so they didn’t seem daunting,’ she explains. As her then-boyfriend (now…

Play - Guitar Hero III

17 Jan 2008

XBOX 360/PS3/PS2 (Activision) Guitar Hero is always a joy. As a party game it is unsurpassed, producing some of the silliest sights you’ll ever see. The game’s perfectly pitched balance of piss-take and rock reverence always delights while the…

Trans-Siberian railway

29 Nov 2007

The Trans-Siberian railway is the sort of travel experience that divides people. The idea of multiple nights on a train, sharing a cabin with strangers, no access to showers, dependent on the vagaries of the buffet car for sustenance is many people’s…

Take Three: Striding the Glasgow/Edinburgh divide

3 Jul 2008

Café Andaluz 77b George Street, New Town, Edinburgh, www.cafeandaluz.com Glasgow-based restaurant chain Di Maggio’s opened their first Spanish style Café Andaluz off Byres Road in 2003. A city centre venue followed in 2005, with their first foray…

Old-fashioned sweetie shops

27 Mar 2008

Ever since Topshop’s flagship store in London’s Oxford Circus introduced a pick’n’mix crammed full of sugary treats designed to top up the sugar levers of over-excited teenagers, all the cool kids have known you’re not anyone unless you have a…

Three others to try: Alternative Fitness

27 Mar 2008

Hula Hoopla classes Another blast from the past, this playground game is a great way to tighten flabby waistlines, slim hips and improve your Elvis-pelvis dance moves. Dance Base, Edinburgh ( www.dancebase.co.uk , 0131 225 5525) pay-as-you-go classes…

Retro websites

14 Feb 2008

www.aquarterof.com From Anglo Bubbly and Wham! bars to foiled chocolate cups and Space Dust, this website is a joy to behold for those of us nostalgic for long-forgotten treats. Oh, to return to the days when a two pence Highland toffee was the size…

Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery - review

29 Nov 2007

When you see the word ‘at’ (or the symbol ‘@’) in a restaurant name there’s always a bit of a suspicion that it’s something of a forced marriage. Like a double A-side or joint top billing it’s a rather clunky effort to tempt the public into believing…

Ghostbusters receive call to join new computer game

16 Nov 2007

The original cast of the hit movie Ghostbusters will lend their faces and voices to a new computer game due to be released next year. Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis have signed up for the project, with the latter two - who…

Eat - Oysters

18 Oct 2007

It’s a homecoming, of sorts. The Loch Fyne Oyster Bar in Argyll is revered on the Scottish food scene, in modern times a place much more worthy of the ‘Rest and Be Thankful’ tag than the hill summit a few miles away. The chain of Loch Fyne Restaurants…

Dating - Love is in the air

6 Sep 2007

Not so very long ago, the idea of one of your friends owning up to joining a dating agency would have been unimaginable. Most of us would rather have walked over hot coals or lie on a bed of glass than admit to something which carried such social…

Rome on a budget

The cheap life

16 Jan 2007

The Romans have a saying: ‘you’d need a lifetime to see all that Rome has to offer’. This seemed a laughable notion as my partner and I only had a few days in Italy’s capital. After not having taken a holiday in over three years, I was determined to…

Side Dishes - Food news to nibble on

17 Jul 2008

MAKING USE OF the narrow first-floor space above Brel on Ashton Lane, Serge is a new wine bar serving a menu of snacks and small food, with the extensive beer list and main menu from Brel also available. Chilled tunes and regular tastings feature. Book…

Three to try: adventure sports

17 Jul 2008

Transgression Park Head to the top of Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal for a spin on your BMX, skateboard or inline skates. Not yet a consummate professional? Lessons and equipment hire are available for all three ‘freesports’. There is also a designated…

Chez Pierre

5 Jun 2008

Sometimes we get a bit too serious about food. But then it is a serious business, it’s what keeps us upright, but like any realm of human interest some folk, among them food journalists and chefs, become just a bit too earnest about the whole subject.

Airline announces direct flight from JFK to Edinburgh

8 May 2008

Delta Airline has launched a new direct service from New York JFK to Edinburgh, with its inaugural flight taking to the skies last week. Tourist agency VisitScotland said the move would help raise Scotland's profile as a holiday destination.

Taste Test - Muffins

8 May 2008

Blueberry muffin £1.65 •• Tinderbox, 14 Ingram Street and 189 Byres Road, Glasgow Flatters a bit to deceive this one, with its generous size and nicely shaped top, as well as the purpley-blue interior. When tasted, however, the actual fruit is…

New Restaurant - Pani Solinska

24 Apr 2008

The bright idea. I was standing in the Kirkcaldy sunshine looking at an empty restaurant. I had been made redundant from my job after over 20 years and I felt a little at sea. Slowly the dawning of an old dream came to me. Why not now? A Polish…

The Dogs

10 Apr 2008

There’s a little place I know – great spot for a bite to eat, glass of wine, right in the centre of town, up a staircase, not the most obvious. A little place I know . . . and so does the rest of Edinburgh, despite the fact that the launch party was…

Edge presents: The 100 Best Videogames - book review

13 Dec 2007

If you really appreciate the art of videogames there’s only one magazine that matters: Edge, the serious gamer’s magazine that takes a genuinely adult and considered look at gaming culture. So when they produce a top 100 you know it’s likely to be an…

WWE Smackdown! Vs Raw 2008

29 Nov 2007

XBOX 360/PS3/PS2 (THQ) You know the score by now: lots of grunting, grappling and men in lycra as yet another in the seemingly endless, but always popular, WWE wresting series hits the market. As you’d expect, on the next gen machines this looks…

Fifi and Ally - deli and wine bar review

4 Oct 2007

The List’s restaurant reviews appear in a section of the magazine entitled ‘Life & Style’. If you’ve never fully grasped the connection then you’re advised to book a table at Fifi and Ally’s new restaurant, deli and wine bar, located in what’s vaguely…

Pageant

3 Jul 2008

Summer 2008 A shop. Why ever not? Inspired by trips to Berlin, London and even Glasgow, my friend Anna Stride and very-soon-to-be friend Claire Anderson suggest that we collectively open a menswear boutique in Edinburgh. Despite my retail experience…

Cafézique

19 Jun 2008

If a deli is trying to tempt you to spend a bit more than you might at a supermarket on the basis that their food is better selected, in better condition and better quality, then you’d fully expect a partner café alongside to be operating under similar…

Taste Test - Smoothies

5 Jun 2008

Innocent Mango and Passion Fruit Smoothie ••• RS McColl, St James Centre, Edinburgh, £1.89 for 250ml Mango overload! A tangy, tropical taste is left in your mouth which could be quite refreshing on a hot day. It may be pure but you should expect a…

Made in the Shade @ The Lighthouse

22 May 2008

She wears a frilly apron and teases her hair into a rock-hard bee-hive. She spends her days baking fresh cupcakes and her nights stitching patchwork quilts. According to Carrie Maclennan, she’s ‘the American 1950s housewife mother you never had’, and…

Eating & Drinking Guide Launch Party

8 May 2008

At Cabaret Voltaire, four excellent restaurants received Eating and Drinking Guide Best Newcomer awards, with two more receiving our inaugural Readers’ Awards in association with Taste of Edinburgh. Attendants sipped a range of refreshments courtesy of…

Dumb Waiter - A guide to food terminology

8 May 2008

brochette skewer think kebab, but not that kind of kebab. bruschetta Italian toast, served with olive oil and tomatoes (rather than marmalade). capon castrated cockerel. caponata a Sicilian speciality of aubergines with tomatoes, olives…

Earthy Food Store

8 May 2008

Despite the very best and utterly wholesome intentions to stock up on organic cheeses at the weekly farmers’ market, or to take a drive to the country to buy veg with the soil still hanging off it, sometimes a long lie or a busy week gets in the way.

Winners of the 2008 List Eating and Drinking Guide Awards revealed

24 Apr 2008

The List is delighted to reveal the winners of this year’s List Eating & Drinking Guide Awards, as we launch our 2008 guide, free with the latest issue of the magazine. Now in their sixth year, The List awards highlight some of the best eating out…

Food For Thought

24 Apr 2008

I can’t eat breakfast first thing in the morning. I’ll have a milky coffee when I get out of bed, then porridge with Maldon sea salt mid-morning. If I’m in the restaurant, I don’t normally have a sit-down lunch because I end up tasting dishes while I…

Belfast

27 Mar 2008

St George’s Market on a Saturday morning. High, tented ceilings filling up with barbeque smoke; cheerful art graduates selling hand-printed T-shirts side by side with grumpy, knowledgeable fishmongers and cheese merchants; stalls offering gourmet olive…

A-Z guide to love in the 00s

31 Jan 2008

Al fresco sex Scots are happier than ever to admit doing it outdoors. Whether it’s about getting back to nature, Lady Chatterley’s Lover–style, or something a little more sordid (think Stan Collymore), 69% of us claimed to have had sex in the open air…

Shop - Interior designers

17 Jan 2008

The retro beat of 50s Hollywood is playing in your head. You sit back on your patchwork leather sofa, sip Rennaisance Laudenam elixir and relax in the silhouette created by metallic light clusters and stained glass lanterns . . . Interiors…

Roseleaf - Upbeat pub grub

15 Nov 2007

There’s no doubt that the shake-up of pubs nearly two years on from the introduction of the smoking ban is well underway. Most of us have changed our attitudes to pubs in that time – we’ll go more often, but for a shorter time, we’re more likely to eat…

Ian Rankin's favourite culture snacks

1 Nov 2007

My 15-year-old son and I have a weekly pilgrimage where we go into HMV, Virgin, Game, Game Station and Waterstone’s. He gets his games and magazines and I get my CDs, DVDs, books, magazines, newspapers. That’s all I spend my money on. That and…

Get on course

6 Sep 2007

Dance Edinburgh A vast range of courses from salsa and ballet to breakdancing and street dance are available at Dance Base along with various pay on the day classes. Book before 29 September for the autumn term. Classes run from beginner to advanced…

Three places nearby the Côte d’Azur

17 Jul 2008

Cannes Although most famous for the illustrious film festival that swamps the city in actor-types every May, Cannes' reputation for glamour is evident throughout the year. The main streets are packed with expensive boutiques, but most of the town's…

Food For Thought

3 Jul 2008

I’ll eat anything but I’m not a good cook and so I avoid cooking and food publications at every turn. I only do one dish well, and it’s easy: a salad featuring mozzarella, mint, peaches, lime juice, olive oil, and prosciutto. I like to drink tap water…

Taste Test - Yoghurts

3 Jul 2008

Yeo Valley •••• Organic Strawberry Probiotic Yoghurt, 49p From Somerset, Yeo are now one of the market leaders in organic yoghurts, delivering a noticeably creamy yet light, pleasant tasting product. The sweetness comes from the fruit, and while…

Food For Thought

19 Jun 2008

Breakfast is always the most important meal of the day. If unhurried (rarely), and in the right setting it is also my favourite meal of the day. In fact, Brodies breakfast tea is my favourite non-alcoholic drink . The most important ingredient for a…

North of Bondi

22 May 2008

Nik Biok disgorges the word with evident distaste. ‘It’s not fusion,’ he insists. To the chef-proprietor of new Glasgow venture North of Bondi, the distinction is clear: fusion is a euphemism for ingredients that don’t go together; his place is an…

Food For Thought

8 May 2008

Because of my job, I need to keep fit and flexible. If I ate too many crisps, I wouldn’t fit into my straitjacket anymore. Breakfast is Weetabix Minis and a cup of green tea. I never eat fruit; I’m allergic to bananas, melons and strawberries. If I eat…

Striped Bass

24 Apr 2008

All the best chefs and critics advise that the best way to cook fish and seafood is to keep it simple. Pop it in the pan or under the grill for a few minutes, with just a squeeze of lemon or a drizzle of oil or a scattering of herbs. Don’t over…

Taste Test - Posh pork sausages

27 Mar 2008

British Pork and Fresh Herb £0.56/100g (••••) Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, stores throughout Scotland , www.sainsburys.co.uk Though the promise of ‘fresh’ herbs seemed unlikely and the hint of lemon was a mere notion, this was a surprisingly…

Trampolining

27 Mar 2008

My training for this Olympic sport began at a tender age. I was three years old, and a friend had hired a bouncy castle for her birthday party. Back then I wasn’t really thinking about the cardiovascular favours I was doing my body, or the muscular…

Shopping trips

13 Mar 2008

Blow the budget For every traveller who sees haggling as an integral part of any good holiday there are many more who would happily swaddle their first born in giftwrap and hand them to the next passer-by if it meant they never had to play the…

Retro technology

14 Feb 2008

In some ways Jack Black and Mos Def’s new film Be Kind Rewind (see our review on page 46) highlights the end of an era for old technology such as the VHS. Today it’s hard to imagine DVD disappearing completely and being replaced by Blu-Ray and HD DVDs…

The best chocolate for Valentine's Day

31 Jan 2008

Cocoa Mountain Balnakeil Craft Village, Durness, Sutherland, www.cocoamountain. co.uk, 01971 511233 ‘Summit Collection’ with 20 chocolates £19.50 Plain but neat cardboard box and dividers with a wholesome recycled feel. Classic dusky textured…

Play - Crysis

17 Jan 2008

PC (EA) Did Santa bring you a nice new shiny computer? Is it so powerful you need your own wind farm to run it? Let’s hope so because Crysis demands it. Actually, that’s not fair. The new shooter from the Far Cry team is perfectly playable on a…

Travel - Stavanger

17 Jan 2008

If Disney had designed the streets outside Duncan Robertson’s studio, you’d say it was too Mickey Mouse to be true. Like the view of the sunlit mountains that skirt the edge of the city, the wooden houses of Stavanger’s old town are chocolate box cute.

Wedgwood the Restaurant - review

13 Dec 2007

Edinburgh is a tourist city, and for restaurants that’s both a blessing and a curse. Tourists are hundreds of thousands of extra diners appearing at their collective door each year; look too closely to them, however, and you’ll be disparaged for…

BBC Good Food Show in Scotland

1 Nov 2007

This has been the year of the food fair. Events organisers up and down Scotland have sniffed the air and have, in their droves, turned to food and drink as a way of celebrating local identity and drawing crowds young and old. Numerous towns around the…

Shop - Tam Shepherd’s Trick Shop

18 Oct 2007

I’ve picked the worst possible time of the year to interview Julia Walton. It’s 12.30 on a Sunday afternoon, just before Hallowe’en, and the door of Tam Shepherd’s Trick Shop is constantly jingling. ‘Yes, it’s definitely our busiest time,’ she says…

Ibiza travel feature

20 Sep 2007

If you’re in search of a relaxing holiday, then Ibiza probably isn’t high on your list. After programmes like Ibiza Uncovered in the 1990s followed hoards of football shirt-bedecked British tourists throwing up in the streets of San Antonio’s notorious…

Answer Machine

Shantha Roberts

1 Aug 2007

She’s the face of BBC Scotland’s music programmes, who puts her success down to imagining the camera is a friendly robot. But Shantha Roberts would love nothing more than to be part of a gang of talking wildlife, even if she can’t make up her mind about…

Cocktail kudos

17 Jul 2008

Shervene Shahbazkhani recently won the Scottish heats of the 42 Below Cocktail World Cup in Edinburgh with her innovative cocktail, ‘Bring the Beat Back’. She describes how she made it; ‘I tend to follow what my instincts tell me to make. Most cocktails…

Take three: Fringe firsts - new Edinburgh openings for the festival 2008

17 Jul 2008

Olive Branch Bistro 44-46 George IV Bridge, 0131 226 4155, www.theolivebranchscotland.co.uk This intriguing site has hosted pioneering modern Scottish restaurant Dial as well as Marque Central scion Herbe Bistro. The dining space is one below…

Side Dishes

3 Jul 2008

Urban Angel has opened a second branch on Forth Street in the former Tapas Tree premises just off Broughton Street, Edinburgh. Compared to the Hanover Street original it’s open earlier (from 8am), has more space and is serving much the same local…

Take Three: Delis-cum-Cafés

19 Jun 2008

Valvona & Crolla Caffè Bar, Grassroots Café and Herbie of Edinburgh.

Taste Test - Take-away margherita pizzas

19 Jun 2008

The Italian Kitchen •••• 64 Ingram Street, Glasgow, 0141 572 1472, www.italian-kitchen.co.uk Takeaway only. Pizza Margherita £6.95 Pizza is a simple thing, so getting the basics right is important. This one has a nicely chewy but crusty thin base…

Eco-friendly festival shopping

5 Jun 2008

Never mind Kasabian at Connect or Shaky at Glasto, the real headliner at this year’s festivals is the environment, stupid. The ecological impact of 80,000-odd people producing a huge amount of concentrated waste is immense but festivals are offsetting…

Taste Test - Chicken sandwiches

22 May 2008

Fresssh 51–53 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, £2.80 •• Sweet chilli sauce gives this sandwich a bit of oomph – something it probably needed given the bland cubed chicken and plain bread. The fire in the chilli is under control, which is probably sensible…

Property special

8 May 2008

Though she may have started house-hunting before the credit crunch hit the headlines, it took a quick look at the property market to tell Michelle Davies, 29, a software engineer who had lived in a rented flat since arriving in Edinburgh from Australia…

Hammer on the web

8 May 2008

The internet has irrevocably changed the way we consume media. ‘Instant’ has become standard and even institutions like the BBC have taken to OnDemand in a big way. Access to downloadable films old and new is increasing and, of course, piracy and…

Budget Star Fashion

24 Apr 2008

To hell in a handbag Let’s start with handbags. Celebrities are always snapped clutching the season’s most covetable, whether D&G’s Lily bag or a classic tote by Louis Vuitton. Fortunately, hiring a designer bag is the newest way of saying you’ve got…

City Beaches

10 Apr 2008

The busy beach and Old Port at Barceloneta (head to the bottom of La Rambla and keep walking past Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘Barcelona Head’) is one more reason to fall for Barcelona, although it’s not the only city where visitors can find sand and surf within…

Taste Test - Takeaway lattes

28 Feb 2008

Beanscene small latte, £2.05 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, 0141 352 9800; 99 Nicholson Street, 0131 667 5697 plus other branches across Scotland, www.beanscene.com Lacking any defining taste, this feels more like a watered down milkshake than your…

Taste Test - Hot breakfast sarnies

14 Feb 2008

Sausage & egg sandwich, £4 Always Sunday, 170 High Street, Edinburgh, 0131 622 0667 While Always Sunday’s statuesque, custom-made breakfast sandwich is evidently quality produce, the £4 price tag, and impracticality when it comes to trying to keep…

Food For Thought

14 Feb 2008

I love to start the day with a breakfast of a greasy fry-up from a local café in Holloway where I live. I’m spending a lot of time on the road just now, so lunch is usually a cheeseburger from McDonalds. I’d love to say I eat healthy sandwiches with…

Play - 2000AD

17 Jan 2008

While movies based on superhero comics are still doing big business (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight are coming in 2008), comic books remain as ghettoised as ever. The genre’s mass appeal has been on the wane for 20 years, with comics…

Travel - Excess Baggage

17 Jan 2008

Hurrah! The government has relaxed the restrictions on excess carry-on baggage, something this column obviously feels very strongly about. Following their lead, 22 airports, including Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Heathrow, have relaxed the one-bag…

Pecha Kucha

29 Nov 2007

PowerPoint presentations are really not sexy. Ask anyone who’s ever sat through a wobbly series of badly-punned headlines, dodgy clip art and incomprehensible animated pie charts meant to ‘jazz up’ a sales report or sector growth analysis . . . see…

Merchant City Festival

20 Sep 2007

We’re not short of festivals in Scotland. The months between April and November have begun to feel like one of those Strip the Willows that happen at particularly drunken céilidhs, where you’re buffeted relentlessly between cultural events and…

Drawing Room

6 Sep 2007

It used to be called the Brewery Tap, which was simple. Turn tap on, punters (students, largely) come to drink. Turn tap off, punters leave. Often shambolically. Now it’s Drawing Room, and a bit more complex. There are puns happening, because they…

Overlord

Codemasters

9 Aug 2007

Overlord is somewhat counter-intuitive.

It's playtime

Children's Clothing

1 Aug 2007

Ethical, stylish, alternative, interesting and educational? Kirstin Innes meets the designers behind the saintliest children’s clothing companies in the country

Play - Lord of the Rings Online

3 Jul 2007

How best to describe Lord of The Rings Online? World of Warcraft in the land of Tolkien? Too simple. Perhaps it’s time to find out for certain by setting forth through Middle Earth. So say hello to my character, Snide the dwarf guinea pig. Day One…

Life & Style - Eat & Drink

22 May 2007

The Meal When both YoSushi! and the original OKO shut their doors a few years back, some predicted the death knell for sushi in Scotland. The pair were sprawling joints and probably evidence that the local market for cold cooked rice, seaweed and…