The 'Cumbernauld mermaid' and other sad tales

DEAR READERS, thank you for your letters, interest and kind response since Christmas. I am encouraged by your words and very pleased that you have clearly grasped how any attempt at visual art is instantly recognisable for what ...

An artist's running diary: Winter Light

YESTERDAY there were a number of short snow showers which arrived on a strong North Westerly wind. They were thick with snow at times, but the broken sky returned to blue quite quickly and the snow ...

Art is not about bright colours - tonality is far more important

OVER CHRISTMAS I stayed with my kind friends Tom and Carolyn. I went early on my birthday, but Tom has a new dog and I could not walk the one-to-two hours with my weak foot in the slippery ...

Yangtzeshire hotpot – or Lancashire Hotpot made in a Chinese furnace

AWAY FROM politics my other real love is authentic cooking, especially from central China. If you fancy a twist on an old favourite then try this yourself.

My family is very much of ...

Stage Formula 1 in Scotland and show we are still in Europe

BREXIT, Europe, EU, Remoanians, immigrants, Single Market… I don't think I'm the only one believing this debate is becoming somewhat stalled. An avalanche of cliches and acronyms gives that away.

Scotland has ...

A Christmas journey

IT WAS my birthday and it felt doubly special, despite the early Scottish weather, on the journey down to Durham and my friends Tom, Carolyn and Deborah, for Christmas this year.

It ...

Jackie Anderson's Christmas recipes: Making your own Advocaat

Making your own Advocaat

I have been making my own Advocaat at Christmas for as long as I can remember and the family always loved it. It can be sipped neat or ...

Jackie Anderson's Christmas recipes: Royal Icing' your Christmas Cake!

NOW that your marzipan has dried nicely it's time to make your Royal Icing and decorate the cake.

ROYAL ICING

Ingredients

1lb of sifted icing sugar ...

The pursuit of excellence and the Turner Prize

I SHOULD like to ask this time, for you the reader to please seriously consider those questions of art and culture that our modern media does not address for us. For this week we all saw and heard ...

Jackie Anderson's Christmas recipes: Marzipan-ing your Christmas Cake!

THIS NEEDS to be done at least a week before you ice the cake so that the marzipan dries and is not too moist. Otherwise you will have to buy ready made marzipan.

MAKING ...

Jackie Anderson's Christmas recipes: Bake your cake now before it's too late!

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING to do this weekend? Why not make your own Christmas cake? After this weekend you will not have long enough to feed it!

This is the cake I have made ...

Allan Stewart – an appreciation

I KNEW Allan Stewart not only as the man who taught me basic economics (or Political Economy as it was then) at the University of St Andrews, but also as a Conservative activist (and parliamentary ...