City Guides

Edinburgh: Roller Derby

We meet the Auld Reekie Roller Girls

10 Sep 2009

‘This is not a roller disco!’ yells the coach, as a blur of fishnets and emerald green flies past. I’m here to meet Edinburgh’s roller derby squad, the Auld Reekie Roller Girls, if I can catch one … If you haven’t yet heard of roller derby, your days…

Edinburgh: International Storytelling Festival

With the literature celebration coming up, we explore why everyone loves a good story

10 Sep 2009

There are few people who can turn down an intimate offer of: ‘Can I tell you a story?’ They can be fanciful, creepy, true-to-life or utterly ridiculous tales – but, then, it’s not so much the content we thrive on, it’s the physical and emotional act of…

Glasgow: Paolo Nutini's Top Spots

The solo star takes us around his Glasgow

10 Sep 2009

Becoming a global music star is hard work on the way up. When The Midgie tracks down Scots singer Paolo Nutini he’s just waking up in a hotel room in Indianapolis, midway through a punishing summer-long touring and promotion schedule of the States which…

Glasgow: Glasgay!

From politics to partying, the history of the LGBT festival

10 Sep 2009

There aren’t many arts festivals that could celebrate Maw Broon (one of the most traditional of Scots comic strip characters in Dundee’s DC Thomson stable, which also produces The Beano, The Dandy and Oor Wullie), take on board a diverse programme of…

Glasgow: Merchant City Festival

The celebration of cutting-edge Scottish arts, music and live performance

10 Sep 2009

The Merchant City is all of Glasgow in a few square blocks. At its most north-westerly point, as it merges into the city centre around George Square, it’s all about opulent buildings, trendy boutique shops and a range of desirable restaurants and delis.

Edinburgh: The Bowery

Our guide on the capital's innovative new art bar

10 Sep 2009

Buzzing away in the basement of an old church, at the heart of the old Roxy Art House, the eager city explorer might find discovering The Bowery an adventure in itself. Whilst, like at the end of every treasure hunt, there awaits an irresistible reward…

Edinburgh: Riding of the Marches

History on horseback

10 Sep 2009

There are many areas of the city that you can easily walk by without really realising their historical importance. But if a great big shiny-maned horse was to suddenly step into view and offer to teach you something about Edinburgh’s history, you’d…

Glasgow: Things To Do

Escaping the regular way of city life

10 Sep 2009

Akhe & Derevo, Arches Live, Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, Winterfest

Glasgow: Bonfire Night

Fireworks on Glasgow Green

10 Sep 2009

Those of you who’ve seen the V For Vendetta film might be forgiven for thinking that the design of the lead character V was an original piece of work. In fact, the cape, stovepipe hat and bearded facemask look was borrowed by V’s creators, the…

Edinburgh: The Illuminated Car Parade

Pimping that ride

10 Sep 2009

We all get car envy every now and again: cars that are extra shiny, ones with futuristic looking lights or those extra special ones that are two-tone and seem to shimmer like diamonds. But the ones on show at Edinburgh’s first Illuminated Art Car Parade…

Edinburgh: Food From Home

Where to get your country's culinary treats

10 Sep 2009

If you’re feeling homesick, there’s nothing like one of your favourite foods from home to perk you up. Anna Docherty tells you where to find them in Edinburgh. A&W Root Beer, Mike and Ike, Cola Cao, Biltong

Glasgow: Food From Home

Where to get your country's culinary treats

10 Sep 2009

Gjetost Cheese, Mithai sweets, Hershey's Kisses, Pierogi

West End Festival

1 Jun 2009

The West End of Glasgow is currently gearing up for its yearly festivities. David Pollock meets the festival’s founder and finds out what’s new for 2009.

Days Out: Beaches in Edinburgh

1 Jun 2009

Long summer days mean that there is plenty time to escape the city and head for sandy beaches and salty shores. Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside… Here’s our guide to Edinburgh’s best beaches.

Beer Gardens in Glasgow

1 Jun 2009

Summer is all about the great outdoors, so there’s nothing sweeter than enjoying a pint in the sunshine. Here’s our guide to the best beer gardens in Glasgow.

Beer Gardens in Edinburgh

1 Jun 2009

Gardens and beer, two words we like for themselves - but we like them even more when they are put together. So, in honour of summer, here’s our guide to Edinburgh’s top beer gardens.

Days Out: Glasgow

1 Jun 2009

Escape the regular way of city life and head to one of these scenic destinations or unique outdoor events. Much more fun than chips on a park bench.

Ghost Hunter

1 Mar 2009

As travellers to our fair shores may already be aware, Scotland is considered a hotbed of supernatural activity. In fact, it is positively - to use a Scots word - ‘hoachin’ with ghosts, ghouls, spectres, spooks and spirits. This is especially true of…

Ceilidh Culture

1 Mar 2009

Ceilidhs are cool. There, I’ve said it; now it’s a fact. Seriously though, ceilidhs do seem to be slowly creeping into popular culture and are no longer regarded as something twee and refined to the Highlands and rickety old village halls, with triangle…

Travel around Glasgow

1 Mar 2009

Buses Bus services in Glasgow are owned by Stagecoach (www.stagecoashbus.com) and SPT (www.spt.co.uk). Yet the biggest provider is the First Group (www.firstgroup.com), with a fleet of around 1000 buses. Service and timetabling information can be…

5 things to see and do in Glasgow

1 Mar 2009

1 SNO!zone After the winter that Britain has just ‘enjoyed’, most of us will be glad to see the back of the snow. Not the staff and customers at Braehead’s massive indoor ski centre SNO!zone, though, one of the company’s three sites in the UK…

Aye Write!

1 Mar 2009

Now in its fourth year, Aye Write! 2009 promises to be the biggest and best instalment of the Glasgow-based literary festival yet, and - as the name boldly hints - one which continues to blend an appraisal of the wider written world with a strong spine…

St Patrick’s Day

1 Mar 2009

As the saying goes, ‘everybody wants to be Irish on St Patrick’s Day’. Although this green-clothed and shamrock-festooned celebration of all things associated with the Emerald Isle is meant to be a patriotic event, it’s indulged in vigorously the…

Hinterland

1 Mar 2009

Glasgow is widely acknowledged as one of the best places in the UK to hear live music, due in no small part to its consistent production of high-quality new bands. In Britain, only London and Manchester can challenge Glasgow’s heritage, so it’s about…

Live Music

1 Mar 2009

As you’ll know from reading the feature on Hinterland festival elsewhere in this mighty organ of Midgieness, it’s going to be an even more exciting spring than usual for Glasgow’s musical scene. But hold on, you’re travelling and you’re on a budget…

Inverness

1 Mar 2009

The Market bar ‘Regarded by some as the stinky jewel of Inverness, The Market bar is always my first port of call for a pre-gig snifter. It’s a cool and alternative venue, offering something different to the mainstream. I love playing to the Market…

Travel around Edinburgh

1 Mar 2009

Buses Edinburgh offers an extensive bus service and every stop has a full timetable and schedule. The number 22 is a favourite for its quick, direct route down to the bar and cafe-lined shores of Leith. Also, the numbers 12, 26 and 31 will take you…

Dundee

1 Mar 2009

Campbell Town Pub ‘I’d recommend that people start in The Campbell Town pub’, says guitarist Pete Reilley. ‘Aye, start in the Campbell Town’, they all chip in. It seems to be a popular choice. And if it’s popular with The View, then it’s popular with…

Aberdeen

1 Mar 2009

Carmine's Restaurant ‘Located in the heart of Aberdeen, Carmine's is a truly unique wee restaurant. Open for a few hours over lunch and again at dinner (last orders are usually taken around 7.30pm), this tiny restaurant serves excellent pasta and…

Sweet treats

1 Mar 2009

It nearly caused the untimely end of Augustus Gloop ‘the greedy great big nincompoop’ in Roald Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and it’s the downfall of many a good-intentioned diet. We are of course talking about chocolate. There’s…

Stirling

1 Mar 2009

Le Weekend festival ‘This is probably one of the most important events in Stirling’s arts calendar for me - and I’m not just saying that because I work on it! Le Weekend is a music festival that aims to challenge musical boundaries and was effectively…

Cheap dates

1 Mar 2009

Whisper sweet nothings No matter how hardened the heart, there are few that won’t be melted by some tender Scottish poetry. At the Scottish Poetry Library, you can while away a few hours, reading to one another. Perhaps some Carol Ann Duffy could set…

Polish Cultural Festival

1 Mar 2009

We all like to think we’re a bit cultured and sometimes wistfully view life as an exercise in collecting wisdom. But being able to say ‘hello’ in more than three languages and knowing your way around a subtitled film isn’t quite going to win you any…

Ceilidh Culture - A Beginner's Guide

1 Mar 2009

‘The steps always come flooding back’, my angel-voiced instructor ensures me. Well, if this is the case, then I am seriously questioning the meaning of the word ‘always’. For where within the nuances of this word, does it allow for my complete cranial…

Hinterland - The best new Scottish bands at Hinterland

1 Mar 2009

Come On Gang! ‘Indie power-trio from Edinburgh, whose drummer Sarah Tanat-Jones provides surprisingly folksy vocals. www.myspace.com/comeongangmusic Copy Haho Louche young indie-rockers from Stonehaven (just outside Aberdeen) in the Sonic…

Franz Ferdinand Recommend

1 Mar 2009

The Doublet Bob Hardy: ‘This is what a real pub should be like, with lots of wee nooks you can sit in to hide away and while away the hours.’ 74 Park Road, Glasgow (C1), 0141 334 1982, Tue–Sat 11am–midnight, Sun 12.30pm–11pm, Mon 11am–11pm.

Free Glasgow: A One-Day Stand

1 Dec 2008

Although not generally looked upon as matching Edinburgh in terms of scenery or the finer arts, Glasgow is a youthful and vibrant city whose local music, clubs and pubbing scene is as vibrant as any outside London – if not more so, when you take into…

Biffy Clyro: 'Mon the Biffy

1 Dec 2008

Ben from Biffy Clyro takes us round Glasgow and explains the influence the city and his suburban hometown, Kilmarnock, had on the band’s music.

One day itinerary: A One Day Stand

1 Dec 2008

It's one of Britain's most expensive cities and to hard-up new arrivals, Edinburgh could seem impossible to enjoy without a six-figure bank balance. But we say, why buy a cow when you can get the milk for free? Scotland’s capital positively heaves with…

Aberdeen

1 Dec 2008

Scotland’s third largest city is both a thriving, youthful university town and a prosperous, grown-up centre thanks to the North Sea oil industry. The people here are by nature industrious, proud and uncompromising. Inevitably, their conversation…

Stirling

1 Dec 2008

The Settle Inn The Settle Inn is a quaint little pub tucked away on the back streets of Stirling. Its location looks as if it would be a place best suited to a quiet drink but don't be fooled, good banter is guaranteed, and the weekly quiz draws quite…

Dundee

1 Dec 2008

Speed Dating at The Old Bank Bar Do you want to guarantee yourself another present under the Christmas tree? Speed dating can help. You have four minutes to talk to that prospective stalker, sorry partner, before moving on to the next. And it’s worth…

Celebrity Stalker

1 Dec 2008

The Queen The Sovereign Head of State has a plush pad smack in the middle of Edinburgh: Holyrood Palace. It’s morbidly fascinating to observe the hooplah that surrounds Her Majesty’s visitations. Light relief comes in the form of hubby Prince Philip.

Inverness

1 Dec 2008

Leakey’s bookshop Leaky’s is a quirky old bookshop, housed in an ex-church piled floor to ceiling with literature. There is a fire burning hearth in the centre with logs piled all around and a black spiral staircase leading to an overhanging level.

Paddy's Market: The End of an Era?

1 Dec 2008

It’s pretty far from being the most glamorous viewpoint from which to see Glasgow, but for anyone who wishes to view the city in all its bare-bones and often raw glory, Paddy’s Market is worth taking a walk on the wild side for. Set on Shipbank Lane…

Shops: £20 outfit

1 Dec 2008

Edinburgh is a hot bed of little boutiques selling one-off items. They are also often referred to as charity shops and on the £20 outfit challenge they become my best friend, as we bond over woollen knits and dainty brooches. ‘We’ve just had a delivery…

Food: Currying flavour

1 Dec 2008

When the late foreign secretary Robin Cook called the chicken tikka masala ‘Britain’s true national dish’, it was the moment the curry arrived. Until then seen as an ethnic food which had been brought over by Indian immigrants during the 1960s, its…

Food: Something Smells Fishy

1 Dec 2008

There’s a distinct muskiness in the air. It’s the kind of smell that old men often get blamed for. Or for which dogs receive pitying stares. Sweaty, smoky and sharp, the smell of Arbroath smokie envelops the farmers’ market. Iain Spink, the stall owner…

Food: Hitlist

1 Dec 2008

Susie’s Diner It’s got a bit of a ‘school dinner’ canteen appearance, but don’t despair: the grub here will be familiar only if you went to the sort of school that served up home-made vegetarian delights with a hearty selection of hot dishes and fresh…

Free Wi-Fi in Glasgow

1 Dec 2008

The Bank Cafe Bar • 443 Clarkston Road, 0141 637 8461 www.maclay.com, Sun–Thu 11am–11pm, Fri & Sat 11am–midnight. The Arches • 253 Argyle Street, 0141 565 1000, www.thearches.co.uk, cafe/bar open Mon–Sat 11am–midnight, Sun noon-–midnight.