Now here’s a challenge. Is it possible to buy all your Christmas presents locally? Many people might try to buy local the rest of the year but probably assume it can’t be done at Christmas. In Fife, like many parts of the country, there are interesting shops, food and drink producers, artists, designers and makers that can help you with your Christmas list. Over the next couple of weeks Avocado
Artists at the Fire Station Creative in Dunfermline, Fife opened their studios to the public and welcomed over 1,000 visitors to the venue over the weekend, 27 November-29 November. The organisers clearly wanted to create a sense of occasion to welcome the general public. On the first opening night, Friday 27 November, live music played while canapes were served by the cafe. Gin and vodka tastings were sponsored by Arbikie,
Over forty artworks make up PRINT 15, an exhibition of carefully handmade, original prints on show and for sale in Dunfermline from today 27 November. The work showcases a variety of methods including etching, linocuts and screen printing as well as hand-finishing techniques such as gold leaf and collage. All of the pieces have been printed by the artists themselves taking days, if not weeks, to produce. Artist and Chair
Fire Station Creative, the new gallery and cafe in Dunfermline, is holding an open studios weekend on the 27, 28 and 29 November. Normally the studios are closed to the public. There are 20 studios in total which are home to 27 artists including painters, graphic designers, jewellers, illustrators, textile artists, uphosterers, tailors and photographers. Featured artists include Clive Ramage (below), whose work is the subject of the main current exhibition
This amazing footage of the three Forth Bridges was recently shot for a Japanese TV documentary about UNESCO World Heritage sites. LA Media, based in Drummond Street, Edinburgh used a drone piloted by a two man crew. Music is by their in-house composer, Mike Jameson.
The Bankhead Farm Shop is popular with men according to the owner, Nancy Wishart. There’s no cafe, no gift shop and no supermarket crowds and no temptation for impulse buys, so, as Nancy points out, ‘you can’t overspend’. That’s because Bankhead, near the villages of Crombie and Cairneyhill in Fife, is very much a working farm, that just happens to have a shop, not a destination cafe or lifestyle shop
With absolutely no fanfare whatsoever Belle and Sebastian pitched up in Dunfermline and played to a packed Alhambra last night. Stuart Murdoch, who sang pretty well despite struggling with a cold, acknowledged that the band seldom travelled to the ‘east coast’ but gave no explanation as to why this gig was happening, unheralded and sandwiched between major international dates. Backed by a string quartet and playing brilliantly on instruments borrowed
Where do you go if you want a pint with a nice view? The Ship Inn in the waterside village of Limekilns is worth considering for its views across the Forth of Firth. It may not have the dramatic proximity to the Forth Rail Bridge that the bars and restaurants in South Queensferry have but the village has attractive Scottish stone-built cottages plus the streets are less manic so it’s
Shieldbank Coffee Shop Monday – Closed Tuesday – 12pm until 6pm Wednesday to Sunday 10am until 6pm Shieldbank Coffee Shop is a small country coffee shop one mile outside the picturesque village of Saline within the grounds of Shieldbank Riding and Vaulting Club. They specialise in home-made soups, home baking, various light lunches, coffee and locally blended teas. In the warmer weather the terrace is open. You can watch the
Interested to know what people think of this. Plan to Work On is Kay Mander’s 1948 government-sponsored film about the planning for Dunfermline’s post-war reconstruction. It was originally intended for a specialist audience of architects and planners but is now a fascinating record of mid-20th-century town planning and, for locals, full of great shots of post war Dunfermline. It was made with help from James Shearer , the architect behind Dunfermline’s