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The Next Summer of Love?
It’s been more than year since we’ve experienced summer festivals filled with live music, face paint, and muddy boots. Now there’s hope that festivals such as TRNSMT could return in September 2021. Some are anticipating that the return of nationwide festivals will create a Third Summer of Love. So, I wonder, could the return of […]
Off the Beaten Track: Elgin
Elgin is a historic town dating back to the 12th century roughly a 1-hour drive from Inverness. In many ways, it is the heart of Moray and the rolling pastures which enshroud the south bank of the Moray Firth. Intimately involved in the real-life of MacBeth (before Shakespeare brought him fame) there is history everywhere […]
Go Outside: Explore Scotland Now That We Can
This week, Scotland eased its restrictions and started edging its way out of lockdown. I err on the side of caution, and my behaviour hasn’t changed much since Friday. However, despite not really craving getting a haircut or sitting in a crowded beer garden there is one freedom we gained this week that I’m absolutely […]
There Is Always Light: How Poetry Holds The Torch
America’s first national youth poet laureate. The youngest poet given the honour of delivering the presidential inaugural poem. Amanda Gorman. Not only was she able to craft and perform an exceptional poem, but she also did what English teachers have spent years trying to achieve. She made people who don’t like poetry, actually like poetry. […]
From One Adoptee to Another
“Where are you really from?” and “Do you want to find your real parents?” are questions almost every adoptee faces at some point growing up. As two adoptees from China, we both have experienced these awkward discussions with classmates, teachers and random people on the street, even though we grew up in different countries, Sweden […]
Why We Love the “Good For Her” Film Trope
(A fair warning, there are spoilers for Gone Girl and Midsommar, so if you’d rather be surprised, don’t read ahead!) Not long ago, I read Gone Girl, devouring it in a couple of days and immediately watching the movie, which was just as good, and I can now admit that I am one of those […]
Can You Name a Female Artist?
Can you name a female artist? Perhaps you know the name Georgia O’Keefe, Barbara Hepworth or Tracey Emin? Or maybe not. How much faster does it take you to name a male artist? Is it instantaneous? I’m sure it’s a much more comfortable question, you could name anyone – everyone knows the famous ninja turtles […]
Books Around the World
Recently, I’ve been trying to read more books from around the world, and I’ve ended up finding some which I’m now constantly recommending to people. If you’re interested in travel, want to find books from authors outside of the UK, or even if you’re just looking for something new to read in lockdown, here are […]
Gardening
Over the past fews years, my mom and I have built up an impressive vegetable and flower garden in our backyard. Being able to walk outside and have access to a fresh and gorgeous garden is a luxury that I have missed since being at university. The quaint, cozy flats around St Andrews are incredibly […]
Artist of the Month: Islamic Tiling
First of all I’ll begin this article with an apology. Last month’s article was so full of doom and gloom I must really have been down in the dumps when I wrote it! Nevertheless, we move onwards and upwards. March is the heralding of springtime, there are fresh flowers growing everywhere, baby animals being born, […]
Different Types of Fiction
Books let us escape into other worlds and see other perspectives. Through books we can learn about ourselves and others. We can experience the past and the future to an extent. So, I’m going to tell you a bit about some of my favourite genres within the world of fiction. Ghost Stories This is one of my favourite genres! I love a […]
Star Wars: Battlefront II – The Fault In Our Death Star
This week, Morgan takes his rage out on a massive corporation, which will never care about his problems nor even know his name. Fans of Star Wars, I feel like there’s been a wedge driven between you and I. I know that everyone’s been treating it like a live nuke that will obliterate society as […]
Reading Is The Best Hobby
Reading is such a rewarding past-time! Since lockdown started, I’ve had more time to get back into books and I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s a wonderful form of escapism. It helps us understand ourselves and others. It broadens our minds and develops our perspectives as well as teaching us about other places or cultures. It […]
A Poem by Aarushi Malhotra
she sits in a bar, a beautiful dame, her eyes red as the blood her father bled: years of guilt. her mother cried pints of sorrow. now, she sits with an Irishwoman’s gloom over her head, hands hanging like misery’s allegory: the perpetual sin, the Irishwoman says, drunk in the light of her own melancholy […]
A Trip to Wales?
It is becoming an ever growing realisation that I and (I assume) a great many others are not particularly well travelled within the UK. This is no doubt thanks to the ease of travel to the European mainland through the medium of easyJet or Ryanair, where we can immerse ourselves in great culture, whether it […]
Off The Beaten Track: Glasgow
Whilst Edinburgh may seem like the most attractive option for a quick fix of bagpipes and novelty tartan shops, Glasgow is a much better vision of what 21st century Scottish life. Where Edinburgh is full of castles, gothic churches and monuments, Glasgow is a much better city for enjoying Scottish culture. Primarily, this is because […]
The Power of Colouring
Art takes many forms and one of those forms is colouring. Art helps us understand who we are and how we see the world. Adult colouring books have become more popular in the last few years. They have become especially relevant during the lockdowns as we find ourselves with more free time than we all previously had. Colouring is beneficial for a multitude of […]
Frank Lloyd Wright: A Closer Look
The beginning of the twentieth century: mechanization perpetuated modernity. The world was moving toward machinery and industrialisation, prompting varied responses and feelings. Leading up to WWI, the world was churning with innovation in art. Modernity was internalized and responded to in western society in many different ways. So where does an architect from Chicago fit […]