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
Massive congratulations to Dunfermline High School’s Head of Art Nerine McIntyre who last night was crowned Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year. Nerine, from Dysart, is a gradutate of Edinburgh College of Art and was the standout talent throughout the series. She receives as her prize a £10ooo commission which will be added to the National Trust’s permanent art collection. Well done Nerine!
Eden Mill distillery and brewery has signed a Chinese distribution deal that means their Fife gins will be sold in bars and hotels throughout China. The company, which is based just outside St Andrews, already has some experience of the Chinese market after launching their craft beer business there two years ago. All five gins are part of the export drive; oak, hop, love, original and golf and Eden Mill
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.
If you are bookish, hungry, thirsty or still have a thing for John Gordon Sinclair as Gregory, the following Book Week events may be for you. On 24 November, novelists John Gordon Sinclair and Frank Muir talk about their work at Beer, Book and Burger at Rothes Halls, Glenrothes. The event will be hosted by acclaimed crime writer and critic Russel D McLean and, as the event title suggests, you can
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
A lovely walk for this time of year is to set out for Lower Largo from the Promenade at Leven. You can walk the whole way on the beach so it’s an easy, flat saunter of just a few miles. Once you’ve passed the links of Lundin Golf Club and reached the edge of Lower Largo, head into the village and enjoy what feels like a well deserved glass of