L’Esslemont has found the perfect recipe for a modern kitchen. Take an empty historic building – in this case, the former Esslemont and Macintosh department store at the top of Aberdeen’s Union Street – and turn it into a mood-lit bar and restaurant. Pay homage to the building’s haberdashery past with a scattering of sewing […]
Like most of us, I have become very aware of my mental and physical health as we navigate the complex stages of life through this pandemic. I know I’m not alone when I confess to being scarred by it all and, living alone and in my 60s, I consider myself one of the lucky ones […]
When news of a new restaurant was opening in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, I was all ears. Not just because I like to know all about the latest restaurant openings, but because I spent much of my childhood and teenage years living in the suburbs. The city has seen many places open and then close, but more […]
It was my first visit to Dunfermline, although anywhere that spawned Andrew Carnegie, Iain Banks and the Skids will always beAgree by me. We toured the town in search of antiquities, although we could easily have spent our time there on an architectural and cultural trail – the ghost of Andrew Carnegie features prominently and, […]
Another year, another anniversary, makes it seem like they come faster every year. My workplace thinks no one should be working on their birthday and that’s why they give everyone their birthday – it’s fabulous! My friend very kindly offered to take the day off to celebrate with me so we decided to take a […]
Je Plimsoll is a pub on a side road in Finsbury Park, North London, doing a buzzing trade serving burgers and more, who knows exactly what it is. It’s not remotely a gastro pub. It’s not an old exorcised, shiny floor boozer with its heart dragged, replaced by a heavily styled guinea fowl on white […]
As a ferry bound for Shetland made its way gently out to sea from the port of Aberdeen, passengers waved goodbye in the early evening gloom. We waved back from our table at The Silver Darling restaurant on the quay as they passed. The restaurant has been a familiar landmark to countless sailors at the […]
Throughout the various lockdowns, my son and I met his friend and dad for a football game every Saturday morning, rain, hail or shine. On our way home, we pass the Atholl Hotel. Already starved from our athletic endeavors, the smells emanating from the kitchen make us groan in equal measure of pleasure and frustration […]
“Tossing and turning in the widening gyre. The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things are falling apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is unleashed upon the world.” The Second Coming – William Butler Yeats. I’ve often wished I was the kind of person who sits in a cafe for hours, maybe reading a little […]
It was a perfect winter day. Cold, but not cold enough to pinch your toes and nose, but bright and sunny. The kind of day that asks you to step away from the fireplace and get some fresh air. Just before the recent holiday season, we decided to take the car for a run in […]
With the celebrations now a distant memory and the tree decorations tucked away in the shed, I kept two rose-shaped garlands of lights inside the house, their faint amber glow offering a touch of festive comfort to those days of darkness and squall. I hate January. I mean, what’s there to love? The stores are […]
It is said that moving is one of the most stressful times of your life. I can definitely tell you after doing it recently, it most certainly is. A change like moving house is extremely exciting, but with that excitement comes the nerve-wracking, emotional ball of anxiety that has settled in the pit of my […]
Edgar Gamez grew up hearing about the days when his mother and grandmother would sell their homemade tostadas after the sun went down in the plaza of a small town called La Yerbabuena in Mexico. Gamez explains that his grandmother, Maria, made tostadas during the day and sold them at La Plaza at night. As […]