Laura Webster

FOR years, a fast food outlet on Alexandra Parade lay empty.

EVERYONE has those food places they pass all the time and think “I’ll have to try that some time!”, but never actually make the effort to visit.

WHILE restaurants are reopening on a restricted basis to excited customers, not everybody is ready to return to indoor dining. Despite some of us being anxious to get back to a more normal life, this major change can be intimidating for all kinds of reasons. It is therefore welcome that a number of popular Glasgow eateries are still offering takeaway and delivery services.

I’VE never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day. My boyfriend and I have long agreed that we don’t need to be pressured into taking part in this strange, consumption-driven tradition.

NAMED one of Scotland’s leading young composers, multi award-winning harpist Ailie Robertson’s Celtic Connections performance is highly anticipated. The five-time Mod National Gold Medalist has recently been selected to play as part of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Composers Programme, and will soon complete her PhD in contemporary composition. Edinburgh-based Robertson has performed her critically acclaimed harping style across the globe, introducing international audiences to Scottish, Irish and contemporary techniques. Aside from writing and playing music, Robertson has been curating innovative music performances around the country with her company Lorimer Events since 2014. The musician’s New Voices commission will see her play pieces inspired by Gaelic grief rituals alongside a string quartet and electronic section.

Sarah-Jane Summers combines an eclectic mix of tradition and experimentation within her critically acclaimed music. Growing up in Inverness, Summers was taught the fiddle by Donald Riddell CBE, which gave her a fascination for all things traditionally Scottish. Now based in Norway, the prolific Summers is focused on uniting Norse elements with traditional Scottish techniques.

GAELIC speaker and Dingwall native Innes White lives and breathes traditional Scottish music. Despite his youth (he's 23), White is one of the country’s most sought-after instrumentalists, having played guitar, piano and mandolin alongside the likes of Karen Matheson and John McCusker. In his career so far, White has played the Royal Albert Hall and in 2016 was nominated for Instrumentalist of the Year at the Scots Trad Music awards. White’s performance at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall as part of the New Voices programme will see him play his own compositions with a full band.

CHANCES are you might not have been watching as you think it's the epitome of trash TV. Surely, Big Brother has nothing relevant to say about the big issues of the day - about gender, feminism, and sexual harassment. Well, you couldn't be more wrong. If you want intelligent debate about the role of women in the work-place, wolf-whistling, the complexity of modern sexuality and what it means to be a man in a world where male privilege is being confronted head on, then ironically a reality TV show better known for contestants having sex in public, racial slurs and random bullying is where to look these days.

HEMP, hazelnut, almond, oat, rice, pea, cashew. Not long ago it was almost unheard of to follow these words with ‘milk’. Now, dairy alternatives like plant-based ‘milks’ are the pinnacle of one of the fastest-growing food movements worldwide - a diet free from dairy.