Scotland Today
Since devolution in 1999, Scotland has made huge strides. Our economy is growing, our young people more ambitious for themselves and we are increasingly making our mark on the world.
Scotland's Parliament and its devolved Government are shaping a nation that is ready for meeting the challenges of the 21st century and eager to grasp opportunities whenever they arise. We are a country that welcomes people from across the world, to live, work, visit and do business.
Recently there have been many exciting developments in Scotland like the launch of Glasgow's Commonwealth Games Bid, the approval of Europe's largest wind farm, "Sparkling" growth in manufacturing, further developments in a £20 million visitor attraction for Loch Leven and the unveiling of a monument dedicated to a Scottish novelist.
With only days to go until T in the Park, Scotland is about to enjoy a summer of festivals and exhibitions. We've provided a snapshot of events from within the fields of art and culture, history and heritage and sport and Leisure which will be taking place in the near future.
Recent highlights
Commonwealth Games Bid
Scotland recently launched its campaign for our biggest city, Glasgow, to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. We have already had over 1 million voices supporting the Bid. Please add yours at www.glasgow2014.com.
Europe's largest wind farm approved
Proposals to build the largest single onshore wind farm in Europe were given the green light by the Scottish Executive. Situated at Whitelee, south of Glasgow, the ScottishPower project is claimed to be capable of generating some 322 megawatts (MW) of electricity (when the wind is blowing). It is estimated that the Whitelee facility will save some 650,000 tonnes of CO2 each year and will help to achieve the Scottish Executive target of 18% of electricity generated in Scotland to come from renewable sources by 2010, and 40% by 2020.
www.rampantscotland.com
"Sparkling" growth in manufacturing
Despite soaring fuel costs, manufacturing companies were reporting the steepest rise in total new orders since 1974, with 44% of companies reporting an increase. The volume of domestic orders and export orders in the latest quarter were also growing faster than the UK as a whole. Employment in manufacturing moved upwards at the fastest level for 18 years.
www.rampantscotland.com
£20 million visitor attraction for Loch Leven
As if Loch Leven Castle (from which Mary Queen of Scots escaped imprisonment), lovely Kinross House and Garden, Burleigh Castle, a cashmere wool centre and the wildlife centre and bird sanctuary at Vane Farm was not enough to bring in the tourists, a project has been making progress to create a £20 million visitor attraction, with a huge glass tower, overlooking the loch. The "Leventor - Regeneration of Kinross" project submitted their plans to the Big Lottery Living Landmarks fund and has been accepted for an in depth "Stage 2" investigation. Of course, there is fierce competition for such funding, but it is believed that the creation of a top visitor attraction would not only create jobs but also improve the local infrastructure and significantly boost the economy.
www.rampantscotland.com
Monument to Scottish novelist
Acclaimed novelist Dorothy Dunnett, was honoured with the unveiling of an inscribed flagstone in Makar's Court, outside the Writer's Museum in Lady Stair's Close in Edinburgh.
Dorothy Dunnett, who died in 2001, was described as "the greatest living writer of historical fiction" by the Washington Post and last year her book Game of Kings came second in a competition to find the "100 Best Scottish Books of all Time".
The commemorative stone bears Dorothy Dunnett's name, coat of arms and a short quotation from her novel Checkmate - the last of the famous Lymond Chronicles: "Where are the links of the chain joining us to the past?" The stone lies beside those commemorating Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and many other Scottish literary giants.
www.rampantscotland.com
Event Highlights
Arts & Culture
T in the Park
8 to 9 July, Balado by Kinross
Line up includes The Who, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes and many, many more.
www.tinthepark.com
Glasgow Jazz Festival
23 Jun to 2 Jul, Merchant City
Line up includes James Taylor Quartet and David Holmes.
www.jazzfest.co.uk
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival presents a rich programme of classical music, theatre, opera and dance in six major theatres and concert halls and a number of smaller venues, over a three-week period in late summer each year. Use the facilities at the top of this page to search the 2006 programme by artform, date, keyword or series and press 'go'; or browse the programme here. This year's Festival runs from the 13th of August to the 3rd of September.
The Festival began in 1947, with the aim of providing 'a platform for the flowering of the human spirit'. Right from the start it inspired people to put on shows of their own outwith the official Festival, and soon these grew into the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Since then half a dozen or so more festivals have grown up around it in August and early September, and collectively these are often know as 'the Edinburgh Festival'.
Tickets for 2006 are on sale. You can book online on the site www.eif.co.uk, or by calling Hub Tickets at +44(0)131 473 2000, faxing +44(0)131 473 2003, or visiting The Hub at Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Fringe story began in 1947, when the Edinburgh International Festival was launched. It was seen as a post-war initiative to re-unite Europe through culture, and was so successful that it inspired more performers than there was room for.
Well aware that there would be a good crowd and focused press interest, six Scottish companies and two English decided to turn up uninvited and fend for themselves. We are now approaching the 60th Fringe and it's still young!
Whilst still remaining true to its founding principle of open-access for all performers, the Fringe has come a long way since its organisational beginnings in a disused pub with a leaky roof just off the Royal Mile.
They now sell over 1.35 million tickets worth more than £10m, and employ a year-round full-time staff of 10 which increases to around 120 in August. In 1996 on its 50th anniversary The Guinness Book of Records named the Fringe as the largest festival in the world and it remains unchallenged to this day.
Big names that have been appeared at the Fringe include: Robin Williams, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Jude Law. www.edfringe.com For a full listing of festivals, please click here.
12th Millport Country & Western Festival
12th Millport Country & Western Festival, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae 1st-3rd September 2006
This weekend is an adventure to say the least. They dress the whole front of the bay area in country and western style to resemble Dodge City. The shops and pubs become saloons and they even have a graveyard on the beach where ‘dead eye Joe rests in peace'. There is a parade and various event tents. Townsfolk freely wander along the promenade dressed as their favourite Westerner. The majority of visitors dress in the true Western style and they have shoot outs, live music and dance performances. Everyone is invited to participate in the Grand Parade, which gets bigger and better every year.
The Festival Office
19 Cardiff Street
Millport
Isle of Cumbrae
KA28 0AB
or phone Marion 01475-531106
Email :
festival@wildwest.org.uk
Web :
www.wildwest.org.uk
Piping Live! The Glasgow International Piping Festival
From 7th to 13th August 2006, Glasgow will once again be at the very centre of global piping as Piping Live! The Glasgow International Piping Festival returns for a triumphant third year.
In 2005, audiences of 25,000 people, a third of which came from overseas, watched more than 5,000 pipers perform across Glasgow generating over £800,000 for the city.
Building upon the success of last year’s event, the programme for 2006 will welcome pipers from all over the world including Spain, Bulgaria, France, the U.S, Dublin and England alongside the best of Scotland’s homegrown talent. Showcasing a diverse variety of piping styles from the most traditional Piobaireachd to modern folk combos, Piping Live! will appeal to local fans of traditional music, as well as attracting thousands of visitors to the city.
For details about the full Piping Live! programme and how to buy tickets please visit www.pipingfestival.co.uk or for information on Piping Live! and the World Pipe Band Championships visit: www.seeglasgow.com/piping
Aberdeen International Youth Festival 2nd-12th Aug 2006
The Aberdeen International Youth Festival attracts an large number of applications from groups wishing to participate. The festival, created in the late 1960s, was conceived with the idea of bringing together youth orchestras from all over the world at a festival using music as a unifying bond to promote international understanding.
The festival aims to produce the World's leading participatory festival of youth arts bringing together talented young performers and artists from all over the world to work together and to create and present performances that reflect their different cultures and provide colour, spectacle and entertainment to the wider public of Aberdeen and the North East; to provide opportunities for talented young performers and artists from all over the world to work together and to perform together in a stimulating international environment; to provide opportunities for talented young performers from all over the world to socialise to exchange ideas and to learn about each others cultures through active involvement in an artistic undertaking; and to present and help to develop and encourage work locally and internationally by and with young people that strives for a high level of excellence.
The international reputation of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival enables it to attract the world's leading youth arts groups and to stage one of the world's premier participatory festivals. The Festival boasts a programme of prestigious performances in Aberdeen's major venues such as His Majesty's Theatre and the Music Hall; a touring programme taking performances to rural venues across North East Scotland; a fringe programme in community venues throughout Aberdeen; the Splore – a traditional music summer school; Scotland's leading dance summer school, and Opera Garden, a project bringing together young singers from around the world, to create a full scale opera production in just three weeks.
Website: www.aiyf.org
E-mail: info@aiyf.org
History & Heritage
Mackintosh Festival
www.gsa.ac.uk/mackintoshfestival
The Glasgow Mackintosh Festival offers a chance to experience the legend that is Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the world-renowned architect, designer and artist in his home city. Mackintosh (1868-1928) is considered one of the most creative figures of the early 20th century.
The Glasgow Mackintosh Festival celebrates Charles Rennie Mackintosh throughout 2006 and GSA Mackintosh highlights this summer include:
Tours Of The Mackintosh Building 1 April-30 September
An extended programme of guided tours will take visitors through the Mackintosh Gallery and Furniture museum to finish in one of CRM's most celebrated interiors – the Mackintosh Library 10.30am, 11am, 11.30, 1.30pm, 2pm and 2.30pm
Talk + Book Launch Saturday 19 August 10.30-3.30pm
Monsieur Mackintosh by Robin Crichton
Free: Mackintosh Lecture Theatre
Launch and illustrated talk by the author of a new book on the travels and paintings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh – a visual chronology of his final years in the South of France.
Mackintosh Drawing Study Course 21-25 August
A unique and exciting Mackintosh-themed study course, with art classes in original Mackintosh studios, a series of lectures and tours by Mackintosh experts, a drawing trip to the Hill House in Helensburgh and special access to the School's Collection. 24 Places £350.00
Exhibition 19 August-30 September 2006 Mackintosh Gallery
Speculations on an Architectural Language: Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Architectural Drawings
These rarely exhibited drawings, made for competitions and unbuilt projects, trace the evolution of Mackintosh's architectural language. The drawings will chart the development of this language in his visionary building for The Glasgow School of Art.
Products
For the first time in Glasgow we present a range of products based on the designs of one of the most powerful artists' collectives – the Weiner Werkstatte, a group of like minded artists from Vienna at the turn of the last century with strong links to Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Books, DVD's, covered notebooks, cushions, table runners and much much more. . .
The Glasgow School of Art Enterprises Ltd
Tel 0141 353 4580
mackintoshfestival@gsa.ac.uk
The Lonach Gathering
The Lonach Games and Gathering have been held for 160 years in the rural community of Strathdon, 45 miles west of Aberdeen. Strathdon's most famous resident is international comedian Billy Connolly, who invites showbiz friends like Ewan McGregor, Eric Idle and Steve Buscemi to join him in watching, and even participating in, the ancient gathering.
The Lonach Highland and Friendly Society was founded to commemorate the majority of John Forbes, son of the first baronet. The society was founded in 1822 at a gathering of the tennatry on the estate of Newe and Edinglassie to erect a cairn on the Lonach Hill in commemoration of the coming of age of John, eldest son of Sir Charles Forbes.
Around the cairn – with much drinking of healths – the tenants gathered to found a society for the further commemoration of the same event. The Lonach Gathering is one of the oldest in Scotland, with certain unique traditions and is traditionally held on the fourth Saturday in August.
Contact Secretary, Lonach Society 019756 51233
Photos from Lonach Gathering 2005 – www.photoecosse.fotopic.net/c669720.html
Clan Macpherson Association's Jubilee Gathering 1st – 9th of August 2006
In August of this year, members of the Clan Macpherson Association, under the leadership of Sir William Macpherson of Cluny, will be gathering in Badenoch to celebrate the Association's 60th Annual Gathering.
The Association is one of the largest and most active of its kind in the world, with branches in Scotland, England & Wales, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and an extremely successful and much-visited museum in Newtonmore.
They anticipate that many of those present at the Gathering will be first-time visitors to Scotland, and accordingly, a vigorous programme of activity has been planned to showcase the very best that Badenoch and the country can offer.
For more details, please go to: www.clan-macpherson.org
Sport & Leisure
Masters World Championships
Masters World Championships in Inverness, Scotland, 22-23 July, 2006
Entries are flooding in from male and female contestants from all over the world including USA, Canada, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and Scotland, of course, for the traditional Highland games event.
With an impressive line up of national champions, the event in Inverness is certain to be exciting for everyone. This year's judges will be Kenny MacDonald (Scotland) – Head Judge, Bill Anderson (Scotland) and Greg Bradshaw (USA).
For further details, please click here.
Scottish Rugby Union (SRU)
Scotland won the Calcutta Cup earlier this year with a magnificent 18-12 win over England at Murrayfield. It is the first time that Scotland has held the cup since 2000. As part of the celebrations, the SRU plan to take the cup around schools, colleges and rugby clubs right across the country. Please look out for a rugby feature about the Calcutta Cup in our next edition of Scotland Now.
For further information on Scottish rugby, please go to www.scottishrugby.org
Braemar Highland Games
Each year the village of Braemar, Scotland invites people from all over the world to attend the Braemar Gathering and Highland Games, which is the biggest and most prestigious Scottish Highland Games event. The Gathering is always held on the first Saturday in September and it is perhaps the most famous and finest Highland Games anywhere. It features the finest Pipe Bands, pipers, Highland dancers, and athletes in a beautiful setting surrounded by hills. The patron of the Gathering is Her Majesty the Queen.
While there have been Gatherings of one sort or another at Braemar since the days of King Malcolm Canmore, nine hundred years ago, the Gathering has been run by BRHS since 1832 and by BRHG Ltd. Every Gathering is a memorable occasion and that of 2006 will be no exception. International athletes will be among those taking part in the "heavy" and "track" events.
William A Meston MVO
Secretary of The Braemar Royal Highland Society
Coilacriech, Ballater
Aberdeenshire, AB35 5UH
E-mail: info@braemargathering.org
www.braemargathering.org
Scotland's Golf Events
The Barclays Scottish Open 13 Jul to 16 Jul 2006
Competition Starts on Thursday the 13th, but the event is open to the public from Wednesday the 12th at Loch Lomond Golf Club.
www.barclaysscottishopen.co.uk
Senior British Open 27 Jul to 30 Jul 200
The Senior British Open Championship, presented by Aberdeen Asset Management, will return to The Westin Turnberry Resort in Scotland, from July 27-30, 2006.
Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open 01 Sep to 03 Sep 2006
The Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open will return for the fourth time to Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club in Scotland, from September 1-3 2006.
The Dunhill Links Championship 05 Oct to 08 Oct 2006
The Dunhill Links Championship held over three golf courses – St Andrews Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. This is the golf event to attend if you like to celebrity spot as well as follow the world's best golfers. Samuel L Jackson, Hugh Grant, Jodie Kidd, Michael Douglas to name a few.
Scottish Golf Competitions Everyone Can Play
Senior Ladies British Open Golf Championship 2006 19 Sep to 21 Sep 2006
This event attracts the best amateur senior lady golfers from all over the world, and this event comes to Scotland only every 4 years.
www.lgu.org/championships/senior_amateur_open_2006
Craigielaw Links Classic 09 Jul to 16 Jul 2006
This is an action packed Tournament Week at the magnificent Links Courses of Craigielaw and North Berwick East, The Glen. Let yourself be spoiled by true Scottish hospitality at its best. 7 nights accommodation, 4 rounds of championship golf, cocktail reception, fantastic prizes, visit Glenkinchie Whisky Distillery + tasting, visit Edinburgh, Gala dinner with Scottish music and much more!
Scottish Mixed Foursomes Golf Week 03 Jul to 07 Jul 2006
Alyth, Blairgowrie Rosemount and Lansdowne, Glenisla, Strathmore and Kirriemuir golf courses.
Royal Deeside Classic 24 Jul to 28 Jul 2006
Aboyne, Ballater, Banchory and Braemar golf courses.
www.royaldeesidegolfclassic.co.uk
Troon Golf Week 21 Aug to 25 Aug 2006
