Home Comment Perthshire Blogs

It’s all about the economy...stupid!

I WOKE on Sunday morning to a Radio Scotland news piece backed by the refrain 'Darling is a Charlie, a Charlie, a Charlie….' Quite.Read

Time for Wine: Touch of quality in Rosé wine

ROSÉ has for a long time been seen by wine purists as something of an inferior product.Read

Summer spectacular is a feast for the senses

AFTER reading Angela and Robert Stott’s letter in today’s PA, I’m ashamed to say that I’m a bit guilty of taking Perth’s magnificent floral displays for granted.Read

Recipe: Cumin Spiced Chantenay and Lentil Salad with Mango Chicken

THIS dish is designed to serves four people.Read

Recipe: Strawberry and Orange Scones

THESE tasty scones contain pieces of fresh strawberry. Makes: approx 10. Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 12 minutes.Read

Recipe: Salmon with crispy crumb topping

DEAL for a dinner party, this delicious recipe serves four. Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes.Read

Serious side to agricultural shows

WELL, the weather may not have been kind, but that has not deterred the many fantastic outdoor events around Perthshire this summer.Read

Peach and Raspberry Crumble

Fruit fillingRead

Opinion: Meals on Wheels

lBOTH PKC and WRVS have taken me to task over a story I ran in last week’s PA suggesting that their new frozen meals plan might include a £2 levy for microwaves for some users.Read

Welfare State reform enters the next phase

YOU may have seen from the news that the Labour Government at Westminster is looking at reforming the welfare system here in the UK to reward responsibility.Read

Alzheimer’s treatment is on verge of breakthrough

SO, which do you want first? The good news or the bad news? Over the last week there have been two huge announcements with the potential to affect millions of people and in both cases will certainly affect many, many people in Perthshire.Read

Scotland’s ever-changing health agenda

HEALTH is one of the most difficult portfolios for any Scottish Government Minister to be in charge of. Apart from the medium to long term strategy there is the almost insatiable demand for new funding. But health above all others is a department where events can conspire to make life difficult.Read

Time for Wine: Wine legacy of Bordeaux

WHEN Henry II of England married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, a huge area of France, including the Bordeaux region, was put under English control for the next couple of centuries.Read

Wild Sea Trout with Dauphinoise Potatoes

THIS recipe comes courtesy of Jason Henderson at the newly-opened Knock Castle Restaurant in Crieff. Check out www.knockcastle.com for the current menu.Read

By-election result was an earthquake too big to register on the Richter scale

IN my last article for the PA, I talked of the mood at the Glasgow East parliamentary by-election, which was driven by public concern over the effect of the rise in fuel prices on all walks of life. Well, we certainly know that now!Read

Kids have it far too easy!

A FRENCH friend yesterday told me how her niece is all set to visit her Perth home for a couple of months to improve her English.Read

Nats’ victory finally breaks Labour’s nullifying stranglehold on West Coast

WELL, what can you say about that by-election win in Glasgow last week? It sometimes seems like all the superlatives have been used up. Spectacular, stupendous, a political earthquake, etc, etc, and all these descriptions are right. After Glasgow East, things will never be the same again. You can almost feel Labour’s nullifying West Coast stranglehold and suffocating hegemony slipping away. It has happened before and it can happen again. In the 1950s the Conservatives became the only party to secure over 50% of the vote in Scotland, yet were totally wiped out in 1997. Labour’s ongoing denial about their precarious position in Scotland could see the same thing happen to them.Read

A vibrant Perthshire needs leadership to promote the vital ‘can do’ mentality?

PERTH 800...the interest in city status for Perth...and the Ryder Cup are just three examples of a vibrancy about Perthshire.Read

Taste of summer – fresh raspberry shortcake

EVEN though we can often buy fresh raspberries at other times of the year, the imported fruit pales into insignificance when compared to that first taste of East Perthshire raspberries – their flavour is far superior and the pleasure of eating them is even greater when we know that they haven’t clocked up thousands of Food Miles to arrive on our plates!Read

Let's Go Outside: Follow the Tay estuary on this easy Errol walk

IF you don’t like hills or stiles, this is the walk for you. It crosses the pancake flat agricultural fields to the southeast of Errol and meanders through woods beside the reed beds of the Firth of Tay. The only climb is near the end, when you go back up a short incline into the village. Although I’ve always thought of the Carse of Gowrie as being completely flat, the village of Errol is actually built on a low hill – a fact that becomes apparent when you see it from the perspective of the Tay.Read