Keep an eye out for all sorts of shows by independent performers: comedy, magic, fire, etc.. The…read moreEdinburgh Festival Fringe is a joyous annual event that happens every August. Short street performances are spread throughout the city, particularly centering around the Royal Mile. We were unlucky with the weather in that it was pouring rain the day we visited. And so it was difficult to find shows as well as for the entertainers who had to stall until a large enough crowd had gathered. For the ones that we did stop to watch, they were quite enjoyable.

I happened to be visiting Edinburgh for a college reunion during the time of the Fringe Festival,…read moreso after meeting up with my friends at the airport, we all headed to the Royal Mile (which I fondly started calling the High Mile on account of its elevation and because so many people were high on life, drugs or alcohol!) to soak in the atmosphere. And what an atmosphere it was! Full of buskers, mimes, musicians, and eclectic acts - from Japanese pop to American tap dancing to an Eastern European theatre group performing a moving play about Jewish children interned at a Nazi concentration camp. It was a warm and sunny afternoon and the crowd was out in force, and I could clearly see the shimmering blue waters of the Firth of Forth in the distance. After stopping by for a wonderful meal of haggis and salmon and IPA at the Whiski Bar and Restaurant (different review for that one), we plunged back into the creativity and madness, enjoying the magical experience that's the Fringe!

I had the opportunity to take part in the preview night of the Best of the West Festival, and I…read moremust say I was really impressed by what I heard and tasted in West on the Green this Wednesday night. Upon arrival, we received a few beer tokens, followed by a very welcoming introduction. First to the beer: West's beer is advertised with the slogan "Glaswegian heart, German head" and it is possibly the best sentence you sell me beer with - Munich Red and the Hefeweizen are both very good in their own genre, and I'm sure that you could say the same about the rest, too. Loch Fyne's oysters gained popularity quickly for a good reason, and the smoked salmon was brilliant as well. Luss Smokehouse's salmon paté and the trout are definitely a must try when you're at the festival, I always get surprised how great simple snacks such as oatcakes, paté and a bit of salmon can be. And now comes to the absolute highlight of the night for me - the cheese selection! J.R. Fine Foods exhibited several creamy cheddar variations from chilli and tomato to various whiskeys (including Laphroaig) and my personal favourite, the Old Smokey that has a somewhat unusual, but very harmonic and unique taste. One decision I made that night is that I have to change the fact that the Yelp business page has no reviews as of now, and I am likely to do that pretty soon. All this accompanied by delicious home made cup cakes, good music and last but not least, even most importantly, the people who I had the joy of sharing this evening with - I am really happy I could make it. As far as the food is concerned, I can only recommend visiting the festival. You won't be disappointed.

Attended the Feastival on Saturday and had a great time. The…read moregreat weather and a few drinks in a local beer Garden set me up nicely for tasting all the food that was on offer. I managed to try 4 different offerings by sharing each of them with the "better half". Everything I had was good - Kimichi Cheese Burger - First time trying "Kimichi" and it was lovely, very spicy. Pulled Pork Roll and Corn on the cob - Very nice. Slow Roasted Caribbean Chicken and rice - Really enjoyed it, although I had wanted the Jerk Chicken but they had sold out within a couple of hours. Fish and Chips from the Finneston - Amazingly fresh and tasty. So all in the food was great, Glasgow needs more events like this and hopefully it will be coming back soon. I had never been to the venue before and was really surprised by it even being there to be honest, it felt strange coming out after all that food and beer into the middle of the Barras. My only negative on the day would be the beer side of things. - Beers were a bit overpriced in my opinion, had to queue for a beer token and then queue again for an actual beer - Then told the beer was off for 15 min. To be honest though it did not impact massively on a great day and event and the real aim of eating lots of great street food.

We came on Sunday after winning two free meals via Yelp! We had the 3 year old in tow but were told…read moreby Kiltr it was very child friendly and there would be face-painting and other activities. We arrived a wee bit early before it opened at 4pm (odd time for a Sunday right?) but had to wait even longer as they didn't open the doors until 4:15. When you are waiting with a 3 1/2 year old not ideal. We went in and had a look around and decided to try places we couldn't normally book a table to eat in. I went for Smokey and the Bandit pulled pork and NBH had a Kimchi burger from Kimchi Cult. We would have gotten chips from The Finnieston for Blondie Boy but they weren't ready. It was a bit shocking to see stands not ready when doors opened late if I'm honest. That being said NBH loved his burger and I enjoyed my pulled pork but would have liked some BBQ sauce on it. We couldn't see any face-painting which when you've told your child they can get their face painted and then they can't is kinda a big deal. If I'd not been told it would be there specifically I wouldn't have missed it. All in all it was a good event that can be improved on in the future.

Well worth a turned ankle…read more Bungo in the Back Lanes is one of the better Glasgow get togethers. Organised by the Strathbungo community, it has something for everyone. There are Beer gardens which are literally in back gardens, live bands, cake gardens that are open to all, bouncy castles have been placed up alleyways and tombolas are more than prevalent. Based up the back cobbled lanes of this South Side area across from Queen's Park, it has the feel of a proper community fete and it's massive, attracting thousands! There are almost two acres of back lanes to explore and you'll get lost without the handy map on offer. Everyone seems to open up their back gates, set out their stall and sell their wares - whether it's home baking, barbecued burgers, beer, bbq paella, craft goods, face painting, play areas, ice cream, plants or junk from their attics, it's all there. You'll not get anywhere fast though. Trying to navigate from one beer garden to another, or from the pakora man to Mr Thomsons cake garden will take a wee bit of time as you try to evade the throngs of pushchairs struggling up the potholed cobbled lanes. And it's no wonder paramedics are on call with the risk of turning an ankle or two. Well worth it though :-)

Art and very good Art it is…read more You forget these Vaults quite easily on Market Street as they just merge into the city backdrop. They don't get used like this so it's a great way to use a space and i hope it's the start of something special for artists. The musty vaults host a series of arts and entertainment. I fell in love with two particular artist's work - David Martin and Miriam Mallalieu apart from the bit where I almost crapped myself going into Miriam Mallalieu's "Charnel House for Roadkill"!! We went in the daytime so know real entertainment to hear, but to see there were plenty of cool artists!

It's an exhibition - it's a party - it's a wonderland it's…read moreall of these things. And more. Every year Edinburgh's art scene opens the Vaults on Market Street and turn them into a world of its own. Sculpture, Fine Art, film, music, installation art and performances will take hold of you as soon as you step in. You will forget your everyday life for a couple of hours and feel like floating in a creative aquarium. I forgot that I was still in Edinburgh. the tickets at 10- 15 Pounds seem expensive but you'll be able to see several bands and DJ's and judging from their Opening Night yesterday, it's spectacular and I would (and will) happily spend it again. And they are a charitable fund! Oh and if you are too busy at night: the exhibition Vaults are open during the day - for free.

I loved this the first time I came with my little pal Erik. Fantastic line up! Great scenery!…read moreFantastic people! NO queue in NO queue out!!!!! Gotta be worth a few stars just for that :-) This year however, someone thought it would be a good idea to allow a bus GIVING away Muller Rice! Not only did the muppet on the tanoy start shouting about it at 9am on the Friday morning (OMG) but because nobody ever disposes of the empty or partially empty pts, the whole area stunk of cottage cheese by Friday afternoon! Mr Muller Rice The most hated man at T in The Park 2008

This is the biggest music festival in Scotland and popular UK wide. It takes place on a disused…read moreairfield in Balado, near Kinross. Since it began in 1994 this has grown to a capacity of 85,000. The festival takes place over three days between 10 and 12 July 2009 and will feature more than 120 acts. Camping tickets for 2009 have long sold out, however, there are still tickets available for individual days. 2009 sees the return of the Killers on the main stage and new acts such as Lady Ga Ga and the Script. The mighty Kings of Leon are headlining on the Friday and Seasick Steve will be on the main stage on Sunday. Blur and Snow Patrol will be playing on Sunday also. The atmosphere is always electric with lots of things to see and do. The food stalls are amazing and there is always plenty alcohol to go round. This is a fantastic experience and everyone should try it at least once. Just bring wellies and a mac just in case. Even though it's in the summer, it's still Scottish weather that rules!

I went to the first connect in 2007 and it's understandable that there may have been a few teething…read moreproblems that year. As a whole though I would say that this was a fairly enjoyable experience although it's not quite on the mark. I drove there and while it is a lovely drive it took the best part of two hours to get from Glasgow to Inveraray on the Saturday morning, a lot of the road is single carriageway and if there are any problems on the road, land slips a possibility, it can mean a long de-tour. We arrived in good time to face the car park, large uneven grassy fields with some boarding down to stop it getting too muddy, where fortunately I was directed to park in a space fairly near the festival site end, but if it had been at the far end I would have had a bit of a trek. I had brought walking boots and wellies with me, thankfully I decided on the wellies for mud was the order of the day, I was warm and water resistant and ready for the 20-minute walk uphill along a very muddy path. I was walking fairly quickly up something that could pass as mudslide, along the way I passed a lot of people who hadn't realised they were going to the west of Scotland in early autumn, people with daft shoes and dragging trolley cases though the mud. Once at the festival site, passing the campsite on the way, the ground didn't seem too bad, but this is the Duke of Argyll's garden so I think he's got the drainage sorted. The main stages are quite far apart but and there is plenty of space to wander about, with the remaining ground punctuated with other smaller attractions, tents and the all important food stands. The food here was fantastic such a good range and pretty good quality too; there were that many choices and virtually no queues.

This first ever Connect Music Festival was held in the grounds of Inverary Castle at the end of…read moreAugust 2007. The lineup boasted big names like Bjork, Primal Scream and the Beastie Boys along with a lot of smaller and more 'leftfield' acts. This resulted in an enthusiastic crowd that were there for the music rather than the ned fest that T in the Park has become over the years Food was also a big hit at this festival with stalls being staffed by local producers selling oysters, mussels and organic burgers. Much better than your usual festival filth for much the same amount of cash. Camping was hit or miss depending on where you got your pitch. It was a pretty wet summer The week running up to the festival was no exception and the ground showed it. Whilst we stayed relatively dry others complained of camping in a bog. It's also worth pointing out that the hike from car park to campsite is a good 15 minutes up hill. Start your training early if you are planning on taking a big carry out. All in all a great success for this wee festival in its first year. I've deducted a star due to their move to a slightly more commercial line-up for 2008.

Game Fair's are one of those things most people will never go to, ever, in their lifetimes, and…read moreit's such a shame because it's such a great family day out! And with so much to see and do my review probably won't do it justice, but I'll give it a whirl... The Scottish Game Fair is undoubtedly Scotland's largest Game Fair and rocks up at Scone the first weekend in July each year. Set with the stunning Scone Palace on one side and the River Tay on the other, it's setting alone makes it worth a visit. On the day entry is £19 for an adult, children are £5 or having just checked, £40 for a family ticket, so not the cheapest but worth it in my view. Heads up, you can usually buy online in advance with a few ££ knocked off. Okay so first off, there's actually LOADS for kids - trampolines, inflatable castles, crocodiles and octopuses (I kid not, wish I'd taken a pic now!), archery, climbing, segways and mini-carts to name but a few. For grown-up kids, try your hand at clay-pigeon shooting, the air rifle range (glad to see my shooting had improved since last year's attempt!) or the off-road 4x4 course for a white-knuckle ride! Aside from the activities, there is easily over 400 traders selling everything from fishing and shooting supplies, clothing (expect to see a lot of tweed and barbour on show!), jewellery and crafts or even treat yourself to a new car if that's what you fancy. The Food Hall stocks a plethora of local produce, most with free samples, and this year also included cookery demo's from Flora Sheddon (of GBBO fame (and also a local lass)) and Three Sister's Bake **TIP ALERT** Make sure you're not on driving duty...gin samples are definitely a highlight in here! Outwith the food hall, there are plenty of food trucks for refuelling (Tomintoul Venison a must-try!) and a beer tent for a cold one or 5 ;-) As if all that wasn't enough...(gutted you missed it now huh!)...the main ring has demo's varying from birds of prey to duck herding (highly entertaining!) and features everything from pipe bands and tug o war to terrier racing! Other activities to watch or take part in include fly-casting, the dog scurry (dummy retrieval) and the gundog working competition so get training now for next year! Oh and one last thing, being a game fair a lot of people bring their dogs so if you're not doggy-minded, this maybe isn't the place for you. I however, was in doggy heaven!