ROYAL BRITISH LEGION The Royal British Legion Scotland offers a free war pensions advisory service which assists Veterans to claim a pension or gratuity for injuries or medical conditions that have resulted in disablement and which are attributable to, or aggravated by, their former military service. You do not have to have served in a war to submit a claim. For further advice telephone 01310 557 2782. www.rblscotland.org.uk

 

ST ANDREWS St Andrews hosts the only regular festival dedicated to poetry in Scotland, StAnza. Founded in 1998, it is an opportunity to engage with a wide variety of poetry, to hear world-class poets reading aloud in a variety of venues. Each festival focuses on two themes. The first for 2011 is Timepiece, engaging with the dynamic between verse and the recorded and unrecorded past, seminal moments from poetry and the daily routine of nations and communities. As part of this, in the 100th anniversary year of the birth of Somhairle MacGill-Eain (Sorley MacLean), there is a focus on the Gaelic language. The second theme, The Poets’ Ark, will set loose around St Andrews a whole menagerie of animal poems, looking at the contribution of our fellow creatures to poetry past and present. www.stanzapoetry.org

BLAIR CASTLE Blair Castle’s attics await discovery! Hidden from view in the maze of attic rooms and corridors are many strange and interesting artefacts. The tour culminates in a climb to the castle rooftops for breathtaking panoramic views of the castle grounds. Open every Sunday from June 5 at 2pm until the end of October, £15 per person, including the full castle tour. Book in advance by phoning 01796 481207. Blair Castle also offers tractor and trailer tours around its grounds and the surrounding farmland during selected dates in June, July and August. Find out more about the organic sheep and cattle reared there, see the Highland ponies and watch the red deer. Adults £5, children under 16 £3; advance booking is recommended. www.atholl-estates.co.uk

 

ST ANDREWS St Andrews British Golf Museum’s exhibition How Did They Get Here? Amateur Success In The Modern Game showcases the men’s amateur game from 1946 until the present day. It features the early careers of renowned professionals such as Colin Montgomerie and Jack Nicklaus. Also covered are the careers of players who have excelled in the amateur ranks and those who have gone on to become top-class professionals. It highlights the thriving amateur scene, covering a range of championships and international matches, from the Amateur Championship to the Jacques Leglise Trophy. Special display items include the original Eisenhower Trophy and medals won by Scotland at the 2008 event, medals won by five-time Amateur Champion Sir Michael Bonallack and the putter used by Peter McEvoy during his victories in the 1977 and 1978 Amateur Championship. This exhibition will run all year. Telephone 01334 460046

EDINBURGH Edinburgh's National Gallery Complex’s major summer exhibition is a retrospective of the work of Elizabeth Blackadder from July 2 to January 2. This exhibition combines a selection of some of the artist’s most popular work, including still-lives, portraiture and landscapes. The influence of travel on her work is also explored from her early sketches of the Italian landscape in the 1950s, to her trips to Japan which inspired her exploration of colour and pattern. Elizabeth Blackadder was born in Falkirk and studied, then taught at Edinburgh College of Art. She is the first female member of the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy in London, and has been the Queen’s Painter and Limner since 2001. www.nationalgalleries.org

 

PORTSOY Glenglassaugh Distillery near Portsoy offers The Ultimate Tour conducted by distillery manager, Graham Eunson. You will see the filling store and the spirit receiver vat. There will also be an opportunity to visit the bottling facility and take a peek into racked warehouses 2 and 3. This distillery is a highly-regarded single malt Scotch whisky distillery founded in 1875. Visitors on The Ultimate Tour will also help to decide on exclusive future bottlings by nosing and tasting. A tutored tasting at the end includes a choice of two of the spirit drinks, the award-winning 26 year-old and 30 year-old single malt whiskies, plus the trophy-winning 40 year-old single malt. £80 per person – booking essential. Telephone 01261 842367

EDINBURGH Harvey Nichols' shop in Edinburgh is one of the outlets for Bubble Tea, one of the new cult drinks in the UK. Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan in the 1980s and with a red or green tea base, it has a delicious juice infusion and is served in either fruit or milk flavours. Pop along to the store and try this new new craze. For more information www.bubbleology.co.uk

 

STRATHPEFFER Strathpeffer’s seventh Strathpuffer for keen mountain bikers will take place in early January 2012. Entries for solos, pairs and quads will open on November 5 and close at midnight on December 31. The Strathpuffer started in 2005 and is now a national event. Register now – see www.strathpuffer.co.uk Also in Strathpeffer is the Pavilion's annual Art Fair, a voluntary effort from the Friends of the Pavilion. The Art Fair is by far the biggest event of the year held annually since restoration in 2004. Among previous exhibitors who have already agreed to take part this year are Esther Armstrong, Frances Baxter, Clare Blois, Kirstie Cohen and James Hawkins. Artists exhibiting for the first time include Caroline Simmill and Katy Spong. The dates and times of this year’s event are November 24-27. Margaret Macdonald on 01997 420124.

EDINBURGH Edinburgh’s non-stop celebrations to welcome in 2012 feature four lively days of events from December 30 – theatre, music, dance and street extravaganzas. Scottish rockers Primal Scream are to headline the Concert in the Gardens. Following last year’s sell-out event, the Indie legends will perform their seminal 1991 album Screamadelica in its entirety, for the last time as part of its 20th anniversary year. This will be followed after the bells with a greatest hits set spanning three decades.From the opening Torchlight Procession event, 80,000 revellers dancing into the New Year at the Edinburgh's Hogmanay Street Party and the 1000 hardy souls who throw themselves into the freezing waters at the Loony Dook, Edinburgh's Hogmanay is a unique New Year festival. www.edinburghshogmanay.org

 

EAST LOTHIAN East Lothian’s National Museum of Flight at East Fortune Airfield is where a Supersonic Science Show can be sampled at weekends this month. Join in this workshop starting at 2.30pm to find out about the amazing science behind flight. What makes aircraft fly? How do they stay in the air? Get the answers to these questions and more. You will also experience a sonic boom! Shows will take place during weekends and school holidays. Ask a member of staff for more information on your arrival. Cost is included in museum admission. And at noon on Saturday December 17, the Museum of Flight invites the younger members of your family to a Supersonic Christmas event at noon onwards. Tell Santa all your Christmas wishes in the shadow of the iconic Concorde. Cost: child £5, adult included in museum admission. www.nms.ac.uk

SINGING KETTLE Irvine, Glenrothes, Glasgow, Perth, Dunfermline, Stirling and Livingston are where you can be entertained by The Singing Kettle during December. Cilla, Artie, Gary and Kevin return this year with a sensational Christmas Fancy Dress Party and everyone is invited! Superb audience participation, non-stop favourite songs and amazing costumes offer the perfect treat to get everyone in the festive spirit. Some lucky children will join in the excitement on stage and there’s even a visit from a very special guest with a white beard and wearing a red suit. A Christmas Medley will round off a fantastic festive treat that will have you rocking with laughter and singing all the way home. Remember to “wear fancy dress to the show!” www.singingkettle.com

 

GLEN COE Glencoe’s Clachaig Inn offers lots of seasonal entertainment from December 27- January 2, including the lively Hogmanay Hoolie to end the year and welcome in 2012. There is always a great atmosphere and good craic on offer throughout the week. Why not make time to join in the full programme of live music and sample a wide selection of home-grown cask ales, as well as plenty of Uisghe Beatha on the top shelf? Music can be enjoyed every evening in the Boots bar from 9pm. The Inn has three bars and good food is served throughout the day. www.clachaig .com

GRANTOWN ON SPEY Grantown on Spey welcomes you on Hogmanay! One of the highlights of the year, eagerly looked forward to by locals and visitors alike, is the Grantown on Spey Hogmanay Party in the Square. Bring in the New Year in great style with one of the largest Hogmanay crowds in the Highlands. From 11pm until 1am enjoy music, dancing, mulled wine, watch the Millennium Beacon and the midnight flares. Each year the town makes an attempt to beat the Strip the Willow World Record. As many dancers as possible are needed to join in the post-midnight fun, so if you know how to dance Strip the Willow, Grantown would like to hear from you in advance – you are needed to help those who are new to the dance! David Elder 01479 872260

 

SCALLOWAY Scalloway Fire Festival is an annual torchlit procession and galley burning, with music, dancing and performance in various venues. It takes place on January 13 and is the first Viking-themed fire festival in Shetland’s annual fire festival season, similar to the well-known Lerwick Up Helly Aa. The Scalloway Fire Festival has a procession of torch-bearing guisers, accompanying a Viking longship through the village. After the galley has burned, the festival moves to a variety of venues in the village and the surrounding area where the party continues well into the night. www.visit.shetland.org

 

GLASGOW Glasgow is where to find Celtic Connections (January 19-February 5), Scotland’s premier winter music festival, a showcase for the best in Celtic music, where hundreds of famous and up-and-coming stars from Scotland and around the world join forces in a musical extravaganza.Programme highlights include Béla Fleck and the original Flecktones, The Aaron Neville Band, Bruce Hornsby and guests, Jack Bruce (Cream) with Lau, a Woody Guthrie Centennial, Orchestra Baobab, The Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band, Song for Ireland, a one-off reunion gig with Glasgow’s The Big Dish, and Floating Palace featuring KT Tunstall. Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Cedric Watson, Moussu T, Pura Fé and John Trudell will add a touch of soul, gospel and blues. www.celticconnections.com

DUNDEE Dundee’s Caird Hall invites you to waltz back in time to the ballrooms of 19th-century Vienna on January 5, with a mix of music, song and dance from the Strauss Family and friends. David Juritz will direct from the violin in the traditional Viennese manner and the Johann Strauss Orchestra will be joined by the Johann Strauss Dancers. Tickets £23.50/£19.50. www.cairdhall.co.uk

 

STRATHPEFFER Strathpeffer’s Strathpuffer 24 (January 7 and 8) – “probably the hardest mountain bike race in the world” – follows the traditional 24-hour mtb format with laps of a c.11km course. Open to solos, pairs and teams of four, the event starts at 10am on Saturday morning. Competitors must start their last lap by 10am on Sunday morning and complete it by 11am. Over the years there has been every possible type of weather – gales that blew away the marquee, icy roads, 2ft of snow the week before one event, temperatures of minus 10 degrees, rain, hail and yes, even sunshine! But if we insist on staging a 24-hour event in the Highlands in the middle of winter what do we expect? say the organisers In 2009 The Puffer Lite – a far more chilled affair – was launched to give riders a chance to enjoy the wonderful trails in the area during summer conditions. www.strathpuffer.co.uk

BURGHEAD Burghead’s annual Burning of the Clavie this month will see the rekindling of ancient traditions. Pictish, Celtic, Viking or Roman in origin, the Burning of the Clavie is one of the most unusual of our Hogmanay festivals. This event now takes place on the night of January 11 (the original Hogmanay before the calendar changed in 1660). The clavie is a half barrel filled with tar and wood shavings and in the past, it would have been a herring barrel. Today, iron-hooped whisky barrels daubed with creosote are used. The barrel is nailed onto a carrying post – the same nail is ritually used every year – which is then hoisted onto the shoulders of a local villager. The clavie is then lit, traditionally by a peat from the hearth of an old Burghead Provost and from there carried by the elected Clavie King. www.hogmanay.net

 

GLENROTHES Fotospace Gallery, situated in the Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, is organised by Fife Foto Group with the support of Arts and Theatres Trust Fife. Fife Foto Group is a small, dedicated group of enthusiasts, who are all involved with photography – some working commercially, some in education. Members aim to promote the exhibition of photography and to encourage the enjoyment and practice of photography as a cultural, educational and leisure pursuit to the benefit of the community. The Magic of Polaroid, an exhibition running in the Fotospace Gallery until January 12, is a selection of work by Perth-based photographer, Sheila Borthwick. The images on display explore her fascination with colour and light, texture and text, the enigma of abandoned spaces and obsolete artefacts. All the work is made with Polaroid instant film and as such are unique objects. The images are from Sheila’s travels and include photos taken in St Monans in Fife. This photographer’s work is influenced by the work of the Russian Constructivists and the Polaroid work of photographers Andre Kertesz and Walker Evans. www.fifefotospacegallery.org

INVERNESS Inverness Fiddlers’ Rally takes place on February 25. This year the Fiddlers will once again be joined by fellow enthusiasts to form an orchestra of around 100 players who will perform a varied selection of traditional music. The special guests joining the Inverness Fiddlers this year are renowned accordionist Sandy Brechin and Gaelic singer Eilidh Mackenzie. Sandy grew up in West Lothian, and has been playing the accordion for 20 years. Over the years, he has played in many groups but is probably best known for his work with the Scottish bands Burach and Seelyhoo. Eilidh Mackenzie was born into a family of singers, and was raised on Lewis. Along with two of her sisters, she is a member of the vocal harmony group Mackenzie and in the 1990s was a founder member of the group Mac-talla. She won the ladies’ Gold Medal at the National Mod in 1987 and in 2010 was awarded the MG ALBA Scots traditional music award – Gaelic Singer of the Year. 01463 234234 www.invernessfiddlers.org

 

EDINBURGH Edinburgh’s National Museums Scotland in Chambers Street invites you to discover the extraordinary life of Scotsman and naval adventurer Admiral Lord Cochrane in Admiral Cochrane, The Real Master & Commander, a free exhibition which runs until February 19. The inspiration for several classic books and films of high seas adventure, Cochrane’s life story is as incredible as anything ever written in fiction. He was a brilliant tactician, a hero of the Royal Navy in the age of Nelson, a bold politician, a far-sighted innovator and a man of action who took risks. His headstrong character made his name a byword for controversy, but no one could argue with the skill that made him a champion of the new nations of Chile, Brazil and Greece. Explore Cochrane’s life and times through a fascinating collection of personal possessions and dramatic paintings – a hoard of treasures that have never before been seen together. www.nms.ac.uk

KILMARTIN Kilmartin House Museum, Argyll, offers an evening of contemporary Scots music with Ken Campbell and Linsey Aitkin on February 4 at 7.15pm. Singer/songwriter Ken Campbell is joined by cellist/vocalist Linsey Aitkin to provide an evening of unusual entertainment in Kilmartin Museum café. The music can be sampled on www.theideabandscotland.co.uk Tickets include a glass of wine, cheese and biscuits, £10 per person. 01546 510 278

 

PEEBLES Peebles’ Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre presents Kings, Covenants & Consequences on February 14 at 7.30pm, (£5). This talk will cover some of the historical information about Peebles and Tweeddale discovered during researches for Ronald Ireland’s book, The Bloody Covenant (The History Press), focusing on the religious order before and after the Reformation, the signing of the National Covenant and the Bishops’ Wars during the first half of the 17th century and the Covenanting period. The author is chairman of the Peebles Civic Society and a member of Historic Scotland. www.eastgatearts.com

RAMBLING Scotland’s Ramblers Groups invite you to join them in 2012. The health benefits of regular walking are well documented and Scotland has a wide range of walking possibilities. With hundreds of walks to choose from each year, members can select the walks that suit their level of fitness and interest. Here is a selection from Forth Valley, Fife and Tayside: • Kirkcaldy Group: Auchlinsky Hill/ Glenquey Reservoir (Ochil Hills) – a moderate walk of 8 miles on Saturday February 4. • Glenrothes Group: Valleyfield Snowdrops Walk (Fife) – an easy 7-mile walk on Saturday February 18. • Dundee Group: Errol Circular – a 4-mile walk on Thursday February 23. • Brechin Group: Arbroath to St Vigeans Circular – an easy 7-mile walk on Saturday March 17. • Dalgety Bay Group: Pentland Hills from Carlops – a strenuous 10-mile walk on Saturday March 31. Non-members are welcome to come on a couple of walks to get the feel of walking with a group. Members can walk with any Ramblers Group. For full details of Led Walks see www.ramblers.org.uk or contact Ben Douglas, Area Secretary, Forth Valley, Fife and Tayside Ramblers; email bendoug@tiscali.co.uk

 

KINGUSSIE Kingussie’s fifth annual Food on Film festival runs from February 2-5. This event celebrates the world of food with a feast of local food, celebrity chefs, short films, documentaries and feature films to make you laugh, make you think – and, of course, to make you hungry! Founded in 2008, this festival was the brainchild of French chef Lydie Bocquillon, John Tracey, Head Teacher at Kingussie High School, and film maker Helen Graham. The films have a strong food theme and there is something delicious to eat at each screening as well as an indoor food hall. The centre piece of the festival is the Cairngorms Food Hall in the Badenoch Centre where the best of Highland produce is showcased and a celebrity chef will give a cooking demonstration. Films are screened throughout the four days, all with a strong food theme, and there is something delicious to eat at every screening. Among the venues hosting events in 2012 are the High School, the community hall and several hotels. www.kingussiefoodonfilm.co.uk

ORKNEY Orkney’s Papay Gyro Nights Art Festival – February 6-13 – is an international contemporary arts festival (mainly experimental film and video art in connection with visual art, performance, music and architecture) taking place in unique settings of extreme remoteness on the island Papa Westray, and in the time of extreme winter weather conditions. The idea of the festival has originated from the ancient Papay tradition of the Night of the Gyros (or Gryla, or Grylur as it is known in other Nordic countries), which until the beginning of the 20th century was celebrated on the island during the first full moon in February. This festival is a reflection on the folklore, the island’s landscape and heritage as well as interpretation of tradition and ritual through new developments in art, music and architecture. www.papawestray.org