Scottish Field Scottish Field

Scottish Field is joined by three special guests in this week's podcast.

Our web editor Kenny Smith chats with Scots actor, comedian and writer Sanjeev Kohli, as they discuss how he became a performer and writer, as well as being a voice of a Couch to 5K, the Electric Brae and much more.

Then, we preview the forthcoming Boswell Book Festival, an event in Ayrshire celebrating biography and autobiography, and we speak with husband and wife actors Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres. 

We've got whisky and writing in the 43rd episode of the Scottish Field podcast.

We're just over two weeks away from the return of the Spirit of Speyside whisky festival. This year, there will be more than five hundred events within the Festival, which runs from 27 April to 2 May.

This year, there's a new chairman at the helm, as George McNeil has taken on the post, and he joins us now, on the Scottish Field podcast.

You can find the Spirit of Speyside whisky festival website at www.spiritofspeyside.com

Our second guest this week is a man who featured on our second-ever podcast, way back in March last year. Now, author D V Bishop is back, to tell us about his new novel, The Darkest Sin, the sequel to the outstanding City of Vengeance.

You can find his website at www.dvbishop.com

In this week's Scottish Field podcast, we're crossing the Atlantic to find out about the New York City Tartan Day parade, when tens of thousands are expected to attend this weekend's event.

The New York City Tartan Day parade came from humble beginnings. In 1999, two pipe bands and a small but enthusiastic group of Scottish Americans, led by Grand Marshal and Academy Award-winning actor Cliff Robertson, marched from the British Consulate to the UN in the first New York City Tartan Day Parade. Since then, the annual NYC Tartan Day Parade has brought together thousands of people from across NYC, the United States, and Scotland by providing meaningful connections through the celebration of Scottish heritage and culture. 

This year's event will seeaward-winning Scottish actress Karen Gillan, famous for Doctor Who, Jumanji and Guardians of the Galaxy star Karen Gillan, as Grand Marshal.

The event, entering its 24th year, will be held in midtown Manhattan on Saturday, April 9, 2022, returning in person for the first time since 2019. Karen  will helm the parade, followed by a lively procession of Pipe & Drum bands, Highland dancers, Scottish family clans, Shetlander Vikings and more. The annual celebration of Scottish heritage and culture brings together a rich tapestry of participants along with many thousands of spectators. 

Kyle Dawson. President, National Tartan Day New York Committee,  spoke with Scottish Field about it.

You can find out more at www.nyctartanweek.org

We're joined by a  second guest this week, in author Charles E McGarry. He is the co-author of The Road to Lisbon.

More recently, his Leo Moran series of psychic detective fiction is published by BackPage Press. The Ghost of Helen Addison and The Shadow of the Black Earl were published to rave reviews. The third in the series, The Mystery of the Strange Piper, was released late last year. 

Glasgow's Burrell Collection has reopened this week following a £68.25m refurbishment - and we've been along for a look.

The museum, which opened in Pollok Park in 1983, has been closed since October 2016, but as of this week, visitors can view items and collections which have not been seen for decades.

The collection - which includes objects from Europe and Asia, as well as closer to home - was donated to Glasgow by art collector Sir William Burrell in 1944. 

We visited the collection before it reopened, and met with David Scott, who is Glasgow Life's digital media manager, about bringing the exhibition into the 21st century.

You can find out more and visit The Burrell Collection website at www.burrellcollection.com

Every month Scottish Field bring you the best of all things Scottish - heritage, interiors, antiques, gardens, wildlife, motoring, whisky and country news, as well as interviews with famous Scots names.

In the April edition we put our magnifying glass on beautiful Perthshire.

The artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre talks with SF about her creative plans for the future, while Perthshire artist Claire Harkess shares how she crafts her beautiful paintings of flora and fauna.

Astrid Wilson goes on a trip down memory lane by revisiting Perthshire, the place she fled to from Estonia.

Just before The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant earned its first Michelin star, the Mystery Diner was treated to a world-class meal, and they share their thoughts.

In our other features, award-winning crime writer Denise Mina speaks of her latest release and her obsession with all things historical, while in our Credo column, leading stage star Maureen Beattie talks of her love of Scotland, then explains why 1Direction singer Harry Styles is her hero.

Landscape and natural history photographer Duncan Fraser seeks to conserve Scotland’s wilderness, while in wildlife, Cal Flyn explains how we can all take action to protect our country’s bumbling pollinators.

And the Bad Girl Bakery’s Jeni Iannetta shares some scrumptious recipes from her new baking bible.

The April edition priced £4.75 is now available in shops and online, and can be purchased from HERE.

Scottish Field chief sub-editor Rosie Morton and web editor Kenny Smith go through the April 2022 edition of the magazine and present their highlights. 

They look at Perthshire, which features heavily in the magazine, with the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, the Bad Girl Bakery and much more.

And Kenny presents a chat with one of his acting heroes, Paul McGann, who was in Scotland on Sunday for Hippfest, the silent film festival at the Hippodrome Cinema in Bo'ness. The fact he played Doctor Who is an added bonus for Kenny!

Series six of Outlander is currently showing in the UK on STARZPLAY, starring Sam Heughan once again as Jamie Fraser.

Last year, Scottish Field's chief sub-editor Rosie Morton had a lengthy chat with Sam, and this week, we've compiled the best bits of her chat with Sam into one episode!

So, sit back, relax and enjoy!