Tag Archives | D C Thomson

                         Scotland has produced many Olympic athletes down the decades but, for sheer consistency, it’s hard to ignore the success of the country’s curling teams since the sport gained Olympic status in 1998. With Great Britain consistently among the world’s top seven, much of the focus […]

                         Most people’s idea of an archaeologist is unlikely to have them wearing diving gear, but Dr Nicholas “Nick” Dixon OBE would beg to disagree. “Scotland has an immensely rich underwater heritage,” he insists. “It is often with regret that I have concentrated my efforts in […]

           It may be hindsight, but some writers appear destined to write particular books. Take, for example, Robert J Harris and his new novel The Thirty-One Kings, which brings together several of Scottish author John Buchan’s most popular characters—including Richard Hannay of The Thirty-Nine Steps—in a new adventure set during the early part of […]

          For a writer who had three shows running during this year’s 70th anniversary Edinburgh Festival Fringe, theatre didn’t feature that much in his life when Leith-born Irvine Welsh was growing up. “Apart from panto at the King’s Theatre—Stanley Baxter, Ronnie Corbett and all that—it was never a big thing for me,” he says. […]

To the Cunard board that had commissioned her, the new liner was simply designated Q4, the fourth class of “Queen” to join the Cunard passenger fleet. At John Brown’s Shipyard, Clydebank, where some 3,000 men spent two years constructing the 58,000-ton liner, she was “No 736 express passenger liner”. Neither, of course, were destined to […]

March 15th was a special day for Mary McCluskey. Not, we hasten to add, because she found herself speaking with The Scots Magazine; the date marked the 25th anniversary of her becoming Artistic Director of Scottish Youth Theatre. That said, Mary’s involvement with the company actually goes back even further—her first job was as part […]

Few writers—certainly living writers—have their name attached to three different shows on this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Irvine Welsh, however, does. “Yes, it’s crazy,” Irvine says. “It’s a bit like buses, you know? You wait for ages and they all come at once.” “They’re all very different in their own ways,” he adds. “Trainspotting Live […]