Though I do work for Liam, I would recommend his skills and services to anyone! He is always very…read morepersonable and he will try to go the extra mile to make sure our customers get the perfect ring or pedant. Because he specialize in custom made jewellery he makes everything in the back of the shop and can give it that attention to detail that every piece should have. I will continue to recommend Liam to my family and friends with any jewellery issues!

Drummond is a business dealing with sewing machines. But rather than just selling the manufacturing…read moredevices, it also doubles up as an old fashioned haberdashery, packed to the brim with balls of yarn and spools galore! Admittedly, they specialise in sewing and knitting machines (which are all displayed splendidly) but since I can't afford one of those bad boys I stuck to the supply section. They had pigeon holes stuffed with wool of all shapes, sizes and varieties (including pom pom wool to knit yourself a bubbly scarf!) Towards the back, they stock knitting and sewing guides, patterns, along with hundreds of good quality spools. Here you'll find everything you need to start your crafty business, including an ample supply of pin cushions, pins, glue, hem guidelines and Wondaweb for those of us who like to cheat *cough cough*. I would like to move away from using Wondaweb to begin stitching clothes up the right way, and Drummond is great for lending inspiration. The staff were exceptionally friendly and made me feel at ease, even though I baltantly didn't know where to start. With their attentive natures, I felt like I was being taken care of. I want to start making dresses out of old skirts and tops I find in charity shops, and in here I saw loads of accessories and shiny thread you could embellish a tired outfit with. It's great for experts as they have a ton of supplies, but equally useful for beginners like myself who don't know their Singer from their...well, to be honest I can't even think of another machine maker! But with the helpful staff and plethora of stock, Drummonds is a good place to start.

Disclaimer here is that I'm really rating this shop as a knitter, not as a sewist. I understand…read morethat their products and services relating to sewing machines are very good and people travel to them specifically for this. However, as a knitter... I go to this shop fairly often because it is right near work for me, but if it weren't, I would NEVER go. The staff hover and constantly ask if you need any help - I usually spend about 5 minutes in the shop and am asked if I need any help 2-3 times. It's very off-putting. I'm convinced they think I'm going to nick something. They're a little condescending as well - "put your debit card away safe now" when I finish paying, etc. (Possibly a natural reaction of the kindly granny staff to a person under the age of 40?) The wool selection is limited. It seems very much geared towards grannies knitting either big aran sweaters for their menfolk, or cute little baby things. There is a decent selection of affordable sport/DK baby wools, a few sock wools, cones for machine knitting, and huge 800 gram balls of Wendy aran, but no smaller aran balls. I was looking for some aran for children's mittens, but was told that "we don't have those dear, the smaller balls work out too expensive". Um. Well. Thank you, I guess? I'll just go to a different shop then... My advice: come here if you need your sewing machine repaired, if you're a knitter over the age of 65, or if you're planning to make large projects in neutral tones. Otherwise, go to MacAree Brothers.

Brilliant free taster session organised by Qype in Edinburgh at at John's church on the corner of…read moreLothian Road and Princes Street. We were treated to a stunning demonstration by two ladies that literally reverberated through the entire body. Then it was our turn.! With trepidation we approached the big drums having been taught how to hold the batchi (sticks). The training built up rhythms in bite-sized chunks then gradually added more and more chunks until we were really getting the hang of it. It needed our whole bodies and intense concentration, but we started to sound pretty good. The drums have an amazing sound and the feeling of bashing them is very satisfying after a hard day's work at the computer. The satisfaction level went up a further notch when we were told that they normally cover the same ground in twice the time. The finale was a further stretch that made most of us look as if we doubted we could do it, before we tried. But there we were, chasing each other round the drums, playing an individual bite sized chunk on one drum before springing to the next drum to play the next bit, and so on, for the whole sequence. WE DID IT!!! The next class: a regular session, filtered in as we were leaving and they were enthusiastic about their course. We left with big grins on our faces feeling at peace with the world. Brilliant!

Situated in a prominent position within the towns Kinsgate shopping centre this jewellers carries a…read morelarge range of watches and ladies jewellery. they also have a good range of pens. they offer a jewellery repair service which has a fast turnaround service. I took a ring to be repaired and re sized. The actual repair took only a few days which i thought was very fast considering that the repair was not done on the premises. the only complaint that i had was the resizing. my finger was measured before the ring was sent away but on collection I tried the ring on and it was two sizes too big. this resulted in it having to be sent away again for the error to be corrected. this aside i woudl recommend this a a good place for a good choice of jewellery

ABRACADABRA is a great mix of good clean family and adult fun with the emphasis on having a fun…read moretime !from ballerinas to fairies to belly dancers to talented musicians all entertainment spheres are catered for is great value for kids events and corporate work-- I can highly recommend the Flamenco !!!

Art that feed the soul…read more Located in a grand Georgian building surrounded by greenery, the Dean Gallery is a wonderous art gallery that was opened in the late nineties. Owned and run by the National Gallery of Scotland, it showcases a selection of permenant and touring contemporary art. There's a selection of spacious rooms spread over two floors and I've had the good fortune to see some incredible art for free or nominal admission. Earlier this year, I was blown away by the Diane Arbus exhibition showcasing some of her seminal black and white photos from the 1950s and 1960s alongside provocative personal projects. The thing I'll never forget however, is seeing Tracey Emin's wooden rollercoaster and beach hut on stilts exhibited alongside her legendary quilts, polaroids and sketches. Art that feeds the soul indeed.

Dean Gallery (or as it is now known, Modern 2) is the smaller sister venue to the Modern Art…read moreGallery that is just across the road. The outdoor lawn is dominated by the 'There will Be No Miracles Here' permanent installation but inside the gallery it is usually home to temporary exhibitions - I was there for the MC Escher exhibition which is probably the largest collection of his work that has been seen in the UK - it's a pricey £9 but you don't often get to see so many of his works of art. There is a small cafe in the gallery where you are overlooked by a huge Paolozzi statue which we didn;t use this time. It is quite small but if it is too busy you can always cross the road to the Modern Art Gallery.

This particular branch of Barnardos is dedicated to books and as such has an amazing selection. On…read moresunny days there are usually boxes of books displayed outside to entice bookworms in and it certainly did the job for me. Unlike other charity shop, this one if very well categorised and organised and it makes it easy to browse for the type of books that you're into. I spotted a few German books which I was seriously considering buying so I can brush up on my grammar but that's just nowhere near as fun as the cookery books that I spied. There were tonnes of cookery books from quick meals, elaborate gourmet dining recipes, cake recipes and many more mouth watering recipes on offer. Prices are very reasonable considering what many of the books would have cost brand new and most of them are in excellent condition, plus it's for a great cause.

This Barnado's store is their book shop, selling a huge variety of books at very reasonable prices…read more- generally around £2-3 a book. The staff are generally friendly and helpful and often quite knowledgeable. The fiction section to the left has a wide selection of books both old and new - a great place to pick up that latest bestseller or an unknown book by your favourite author. The shop is sensibly laid out with sections for science fiction, crime, biography, travel, Scottish books and children's books as well as by subject area. A real gem of a charity shop, you could easily spend a good hour and a great deal of money in there!

Just at the point of a phone call I found dealing with them a negative experience . The two…read moredifferent people who took the enquiry seemed to have some ego issues . They were not capable of having a two way interaction . I enquired about their drum options , the first guy tried to disempower me but failed , cause I did not pronounce the word Pearl in a way that suited his inflated sense of being. However I used the word Pearl in two unrelated conversations earlier in the day and in one latter with proper Scottish people and one person from Yorkshire they understood my use of the word. However it was not down to that one bone of contention , the person I refer to at colour sounds was not friendly and when I asked if they can put the cymbals on before a session he said most drummers know how to do it and made similar negative passive aggressive comments , His tone was silly and pretensions. Not many can afford an acoustic kit so if I've been practising on electrical kits or other more affordable compact kits that are appropriate to use in economic standard modern build accommodation . But I guess I should get out until I learn how to put cymbals in and off . I asked for what I state cause I was going into a unfamiliar environment , dyselxic and did not want to go trial and error with other peoples equipment . The second guy when I tried to ask if all the kits avaliable at the time would be pearl could not give a straight answer then finally said just all you need to do is turn up and be here. The he said everyone is a pearl when the other guy said some are pearl others are cheap . That was after he made his big I don't know what your on about attempt.\ He could have just answered the question without needing to get his jock strap out . I ditched the booking as I did not like the guy believing he had some form of authority over me . As a perspective paying customer I make enquries and I decide . I don't just go along with some aspiring jobsworth if they iratate me I just work harder to keep building a home studio and save for the accoustic . With reharsel spaces like Banna Row and Colour sounds I get inspired to work faster and harder to get that done. I'm not surprised less and less young people are drawn to forming bands and dealing with pretensious staff at studios . How don't have any great power over the market in fact they are lucky to cling on as home recording and a wider availability of good recording tools and practice kits that can be played so as not to disturb others in the home environment win out .

I use this studio every week to practise with my band, we love the space, the very helpful staff,…read morethe equipment is great and the location is brilliant. This studio is a well-hidden gem for musicians wanting to practice and record in Edinburgh without a doubt! I totally recommend it and so do the tons of bands that practise there every week.