Search results for ""Birlinn""

In this modern age the regional and national boundaries which define Scotland seem fixed and permanent. But of course this has not always been so. In this book Alistair Moffat looks at the shifting political shape of the land long before its modern borders were created. In doing so he brings to vivid life the half-forgotten kingdoms that came and went during Roman times, the Dark Ages and the early medieval period. This is a fascinating journey into a tantalisingly little-known period of our history, yet one which is crucial to our understanding of who we are and where we came from. 'Moffat's tireless reasearch ... and commanding knowledge bring these forgotten peoples to life' – Scottish Field

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Angus Watson's Gaelic dictionaries are now established as some of the most popular and useful dictionaries available for learners of Scottish Gaelic. This volume, condensed from his essential Gaelic-English English-Gaelic Dictionary is a fantastic resource for users at all levels, and in all contexts. Its generous coverage of vocabulary from fields such as business and IT makes it a valuable tool for all those who require an up-to-date reference work. It contains a large amount of explanatory material, numerous examples of usage and idiomatic phrases and expressions. Many registers and styles are sampled, from the familiar (and occasionally the vulgar) to the formal and the literary. Cross-references draw the user to related words and expressions.

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For nearly forty years John Wilson travelled the length and breadth of Scotland as a school inspector. From orkney to campbeltown and Jura to Dundee, he visited hundreds of schools and met thousands of teachers and pupils. In these memoirs, first published in 1928, he paints an insightful yet humorous picture of life in the country’s schools after the 1872 education Act, which brought free schooling for all Scottish children between the ages of five and ten.

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This is the story of a part of Scotland that has played a huge role in the nation''s history for thousands of years. The hunter-gatherers, who first discovered the bounty of the ancient Wildwood, the Celtic warlords, the Romans, the Northumbrians and the Reivers, who dominated the Anglo-Scottish borderlands for more than three centuries, have all had their part to play in the constantly evolving life of the area.It is the people of a place who make its history. Alistair Moffat''s acclaimed book is a testament to those who have made the Borders their home and who have created the traditions, myths and romance that define it so strongly.

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Shortlisted forthe Orwell Prize 2023As seen in The Times, Sunday Times, Spectator, and on Tonight with Andrew Marr (LBC)Under President Xi Jinping, China''s global ambitions have taken a dangerous new turn. Bullying and intimidation have replaced diplomacy. Trade and investment, even big-spending tourists and students, have been weaponised. Beijing has strengthened its alliance with Vladimir Putin, supporting Russia''s aggression in Ukraine, and brooks no criticism of its own flagrant human rights violations against the Uyghur population in western China.Leaders in the West say they don''t want a cold war with China, but it''s a little late for that. Beijing is already waging a more complex, broader and more dangerous cold war than the old one with the Soviet Union. And it is intensifying.This thought-provoking and alarming book examines this new cold war''s many fronts - from Taiwan and the South China Sea to the Indian frontier, the Arctic and cyberspace. In doing so it proclaims the

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By re-imagining how we plan and use our gardens, we can all do our bit to support local wildlife, improve our health and help tackle the climate crisis. Positive steps, no matter how small, can really make a difference. This is a practical, easy-to-use guide for anyone who wants to boost nature in their patch and make the world a little greener. Illustrated with specially commissioned drawings, it contains essential information on many topics, from planting nectar-rich borders, native hedgerows, trees and wildflower meadows to creating rain gardens, green roofs and ponds. These activities, together with providing homes and feeders for birds, mammals, amphibians, bees and other insects, will encourage many kinds of native wildlife to thrive in your garden, whatever its size. Expert advice is also provided on sustainable gardening approaches to fruit and vegetable production, making compost and the propagation of new plants.

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Let your children discover all of the most iconic Scottish animals with this remarkable magic painting book! Discover the majestic red deer, playful otter and the amazing Highland cow with the magic paint brush! Go on a journey through all the animals, big and small, in this exquisite and stimulating book that will entertain children of all ages. Just dip the brush (included with the book) in water and apply directly to the page to bring the illustrations to vibrant life!

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The Great Tapestry of Scotland is an outstanding celebration of thousands of years of Scottish history and achievement, from the end of the last Ice Age to Dolly the Sheep and Andy Murry’s Wimbledon victory of 2013. More than 1000 stitchers spent a total of 55,000 sewing hours on the 160 panels that make up this extraordinary work of art. This book shows in full colour all the finished panels of the tapestry – one of the biggest community arts projects ever to take place in Scotland – together with descriptive and explanatory material on each panel and lists of all the stitchers involved.

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On the brink of the First World War, Scotland was regarded throughout the British Isles as 'the workshop of the Empire'. Not only were Clyde-built ships known the world over, Scotland produced half of Britain's total production of railway equipment, and the cotton and jute industries flourished in Paisley and Dundee. In addition, Scots were a hugely important source of manpower for the colonies. Yet after the war, Scotland became an industrial and financial backwater. Emigration increased as morale slumped in the face of economic stagnation and decline. The country had paid a disproportionately high price in casualties, a result of huge numbers of volunteers and the use of Scottish battalions as shock troops in the fighting on the Western Front and Gallipoli - young men whom the novelist Ian Hay called 'the vanished generation'. In this book, Trevor Royle provides the first full account of how the war changed Scotland irrevocably by exploring a wide range of themes - the overwhelming response to the call for volunteers; the performance of Scottish military formations in 1915 and 1916; the militarization of the Scottish homeland; the resistance to war in Glasgow and the west of Scotland; and the boom in the heavy industries and the strengthening of women's role in society following on from wartime employment.

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Mull and Iona are two of the most visited islands in Scotland, and have played a central role in the history of the country. As the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, Iona has been a place of pilgrimage for almost 1,500 years and was a beacon of intellectual light during the Dark Ages, when magnificent works such as the Book of Kells were crafted by the monks of the abbey founded by St Columba. This book provides a full and engaging history of the islands from the time of their earliest human inhabitants to the present day. The gazetteer lists all the places of interest from all periods in the islands’ history, from the world-wide renowned churches, crosses and grave slabs on Iona and the magnificent restored Duart Castle on Mull, seat of the clan Maclean, to the planned village of Dervaig, the townships in the Ross of Mull and Ardmeanach which were cleared during the nineteenth century and the mausoleum of Lachlan MacQuarrie, the much esteemed 18th-century Governor of New South Wales.

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Opened in 1980, the West Highland Way was Scotland’s first Long Distance Route and remains the most popular, with more than 15,000 walkers tackling it each year. It runs from Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow, to Fort William. The 152km route passes along the east of Loch Lomond, the largest expanse of fresh water in Britain, and across Rannoch Moor, Scotland’s grandest wilderness, through some of the finest scenery of mountain and stream, woodland and moorland, that Scotland has to offer. This eleventh edition of the Official Guide has been fully revised and updated to include new information and photography and a new full-colour folding map prepared for this edition by Nicolson Maps, all packaged in a weatherproof plastic wallet.

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From the early fourteenth century to the end of the sixteenth, the Anglo-Scottish borderlands witnessed one of the most intense periods of warfare and disorder ever seen in modern Europe. As a consequence of near-constant conflict between England and Scotland, Borderers suffered at the hands of marauding armies, who ravaged the land, destroying crops, slaughtering cattle, burning settlements and killing indiscriminately. Forced by extreme circumstances, many Borderers took to reiving to ensure the survival of their families and communities, and for the best part of 300 years, countless raiding parties made their way over the border. The story of the Reivers is one of survival, stealth, treachery, ingenuity and deceit, expertly brought to life in Alistair Moffat’s acclaimed book.

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This 100k (60 mile) walk was opened in 1996 and has rapidly increased in popularity, with thousands of walkers walking all or parts of it every year. Visiting a number of places closely associated with St Cuthbert’s life, the journey is full of historical interest and natural beauty. It can be tackled in its entirety, or sections can be walked separately, making an ideal day or weekend outing. Today’s pilgrims travel from Melrose in the Scottish Borders to the Holy Island causeway at Beal. In the right conditions, the path across the sand here makes a superb finale to the walk. This completely revised edition of the Official Guide adds an entirely new full-colour folding map, prepared by leading Scottish cartographer Nicolson Maps for this edition, and packaged with the Guide in a weatherproof wallet. It is illustrated in full colour with photographs throughout and new maps (also by Nicolson Maps) at the opening of each section. Full of information about the historical and natural features of the route, the Guide also covers appropriate equipment for walkers, way-marking, car parking, accommodation and the Country Code. After the walk, the Guide makes a wonderful souvenir of one of Britain’s most evocative long-distance ways.

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Tir a'Mhurain is a collection of photographs that reflects the impressions gathered by Paul Strand and his wife Hazel during their 3-month visit to the Hebrides in 1945. Juxtaposing people and landscape, Strand's beautifully sequenced photographs depict the perfect complicity he saw between nature and habitation in their wild terrain. Whether it is a view of the rocks and the sea or a grinning shepherd boy; scuddling clouds hanging over seaside house or the wrinkled face of an old lady framed by a knitted shawl, Strand's images transcend the ephemeral. This extended portrait captures the essence and complexity of a singular place. This is a true masterpiece of photography.

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This sticker atlas is a stimulating and fun way to introduce children to the various regions of Scotland and introduce the immense variety of the country’s landscape, flora and fauna, and places of cultural significance. Ben Blathwayt is renowned for his beautiful and detailed illustrative work, which is ideal for this medium.

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The Highland Clearances stands out as one of the most emotive chapters in the history of Scotland. This book traces the origins of the Clearances from the eighteenth century to their culmination in the crofting legislation of the 1880s. In considering both the terrible suffering of the Highland people as well as the stark choices that faced landowners during a period of rapid economic change, it shows how the Clearances were one of many 'attempted' solutions to the problem of how to maintain a population on marginal and infertile land, and were, in fact, part of a wider European movement of rural depopulation. In drawing attention away from the mythology to the hard facts of what actually happened, The Highland Clearances offers a balanced analysis of events which created a terrible scar on the Highland and Gaelic imagination.

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Mary Contini grew up in East Lothian on top of her family's Italian Cafe. She is the best-selling author of numerous books about Italian life and cooking, including 'Dear Francesca', 'Dear Olivia', 'Valvona & Crolla: A Year at an Italian Table'. She is a Director of Valvona & Crolla, the renowned Edinburgh restaurant, delicatessen and cookery school. Bob Dewar was first published nationally when he was sixteen, and his work has appeared in numerous book and magazines regularly since then. He has had exhibitions in Edinburgh and Italy, and for fifteen years did political and social commentary for 'The Scotsman'.

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Jim is ready to take part in the rally. Follow him as he skids round corners, speeds through the forest and races towards the finishing line.Benedict Blathwayt's award-winning illustrations are full of detail which are guaranteed to stimulate the interest of very young children (ages 0-5) and help develop their powers of observation.

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'A gripping high-octane masterpiece' – Andrew Child To make the perfect Spanish whodunnit cocktail, take one dead gangster, mix in six shifty expats, add one ruthless baddie and garnish with a suspicious police officer . . . Daniella Coulstoun has recently moved to the Costa Blanca. When the dead body of a prominent London gangster is discovered in the cellar of her bar she quickly becomes the number one suspect. With the police closing in, the local expats turning on her and a psychotic rival to the dead gangster in the background, Daniella knows she needs to nail the real killer, and fast.

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In August 1970 Elton John achieved overnight fame after a rousing performance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles; over the next five years he was unstoppable, scoring seven consecutive number 1 albums and sixteen Top 10 singles in America. But behind his outre image and comedy glasses lay a desperately shy individual, conflicted about his success, his sexuality, and his narcotic indulgences. In 1975, at the apex of his fame, John attempted suicide twice yet, after announcing his retirement in 1977 at the age of thirty as well as coming out as a gay man, he gradually found his way back to music. Captain Fantastic is an intimate look at the rise, fall and rise again of John's fame-and-drug fuelled decade, with a final section bringing his life up to the present.

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Gillian Galbraith was an advocate specialising in medical negligence cases and was the legal correspondent for the Scottish Farmer magazine. She has also written on legal matters for The Times. Now a full-time writer of fiction, Gillian lives with her husband, young daughter and assorted animals and bees near Kinross.

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Malachy Tallack has written for the New Statesman, the Guardian, the Scottish Review of Books, Caught By the River and many other publications, online and in print. He won a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust in 2014, and the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship in 2015. He is from Shetland, and currently lives in Glasgow.

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Alexander McCall Smithis the author of the highly successfulNo. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyseries, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the44 Scotland Streetnovels, first published as a serial novel in theScotsman, theIsabel Dalhousienovels, theVon Igelfeldseries and theCorduroy Mansionsnovels.

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Introduced by Alan Johnson. ‘All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.’ Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organised to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten. And something new and unexpected emerges . . . First published in 1945, Animal Farm – the history of a revolution that went wrong – is George Orwell’s brilliant satire on the corrupting influence of power.

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This notebook features a beautiful cover illustration by acclaimed nature artist Jane Smith. It contains 176 pages of lightly lined paper, head-and-tail bans, a ribbon marker and band to keep it securely fastened.

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This notebook features a beautiful cover illustration by acclaimed nature artist Jane Smith. It contains 176 pages of lightly lined paper, head-and-tail bans, a ribbon marker and band to keep it securely fastened.

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This notebook features a beautiful cover illustration by acclaimed nature artist Jane Smith. It contains 176 pages of lightly lined paper, head-and-tail bans, a ribbon marker and band to keep it securely fastened.

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LONGLISTED FOR THE MCILVANNEY PRIZE 2019 When reporter Rebecca Connolly is told of Roddie Drummond’s return to the island of Stoirm she senses a story. Fifteen years before he was charged with the murder of his lover, Mhairi. When he was found Not Proven, Roddie left the island and no one, apart from his sister, knew where he was or what he was doing. Now he has returned for his mother’s funeral – and it will spark an explosion of hatred, bitterness and violence. Defying her editor's wishes, Rebecca joins forces with local photographer Chazz Wymark to dig into the secrets surrounding Mhairi's death, and her mysterious last words of Thunder Bay, the secluded spot on the west coast of the island where, according to local lore, the souls of the dead set off into the after life. When another murder takes place, and the severe weather that gives the island its name hits, she is ideally placed to uncover the truth about what happened that night fifteen years before.

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