Scotland may be best known for whisky, gin and Irn Bru. But there is a new drink in town - Scottish vodka. Its popularity is rising and there is a surprising variety of flavours and brands to try.
By James McKean
With the craft beer market long since saturated, and the craft gin scene gradually abating, distilleries the world over have...
Sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll. Rock stars promote it, but only one bar truly epitomised the hedonistic lifestyle adored by so many. Bullets in the walls, hundreds of bar fights, and with a reputation for female customers dancing on bar tops, the Hungry Duck earned its infamous standing in history. But what brought the downfall of Moscow's most infamous bar?
By...
Where once, popping round for pot of tea was the norm, nowadays few of us view it as such. Social etiquette has reversed and now, a surprise visit between friends and family is regarded as being both rude, and an inconvenient nuisance. Have we marred social civility by disregarding this quaint tradition? And what are the new etiquette rules...
The Runrig farming system was once common system of land tenure across Scotland, especially in the Highlands. It was a fair system that sustained large populations in an adverse climate. So why did it end?
By James McKean
Runrig, sometimes referred to as rig-a-rendal, was a form of rotational land tenure that once dominated farmlands in the Scottish Highlands and Islands,...
This ordinary ship from the Clyde has had an extraordinary life - from rescuing survivors at Dunkirk in its early years to its final resting place where it now features as the backdrop to the most photographed beach in Europe. This is the story of the MV Panagiotis.
MV Panagiotis – From the Clyde to Zakynthos
By James McKean
Constructed on...
Fair Isle is officially the most remote island in Britain – it can also be challenging to reach and is totally bereft of pubs and restaurants; and yet, tourists flood to this slight island, positioned between Orkney and Shetland, annually in their hundreds. So, what is it about the isle that draws globe trotters towards this seemingly insignificant island?
By...
Japan is currently facing a housing crisis, with one in seven homes in the country completely vacant. With thousands of empty properties situated across the country, Scotland finds itself following in Japan’s footsteps. What can Scotland learn from the Japanese Akiya Crisis, and its numerous ‘ghost’ homes?
By Andrew Cook
In Japan there are approximately 60 million houses, however around eight...
We are officially ‘Over the Hump’! It is Wednesday, and the downhill slope to the weekend starts here!
Our highlights from across where-i-live.com this week include :
Electric Brae- It has attracted visitors from far and wide, including US presidents. Stop your car, release the handbrake and get the very odd sensation of starting to roll uphill. Over time, this oddity...
Electric Brae- It has attracted visitors from far and wide, including US presidents. Stop your car, release the handbrake and get the very odd sensation of starting to roll uphill. Over time, this oddity made Croy Brae hill famous, though under its more usually applied name of Electric Brae, a name first given by someone who presumably thought that...
East Germany forged an infamous reputation. With overpowering displays of totalitarianism, the German Democratic Republic employed it’s secretive State Police Agency, the Stasi, ruthlessly and overzealously. Yet LGBT freedoms eventually rivalled, and even surpassed many other countries. But what was behind the Stasi’s pro-LGBT policies?
By Andrew Cook
November 9th, 1989. The Berlin Wall came crashing down. After 40 years of...
