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!

The Scottish Field podcast is this week joined comedian and farmer Jim Smith, to talk about his first foray into TV presenting, on Loggerheads. Jim, a farmer in rural Perthshire, is the host of Loggerheads, a new BBC Scotland show, which takes us into the great outdoors and around the Scottish countryside.  It pits two teams against each other in a timed competition to create something spectacular from their freshly felled timber in just 24 hours. As Jim tell us, to get the feel of it, think of The Great British Bake Off... but with chainsaws! 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. Our current issue is still in the shops for a couple more days, before the new one is released. If you've not got a copy yet, you'd better hurry down to the shops!

We're joined this week by a Scots actress who has been nominated for a prestigious award. Tracy Wiles grew up on Islay, the daughter of a gamekeeper, is nominated in the Autobiography/Memoir section of the Audio Publishers Association, as the finalists for the 2022 Audie Awards programme was recently revealed, celebrating the best titles in audio publishing and spoken-word entertainment, honouring a varied group of actors, musicians and politicians, ahead of the Audie Awards Gala on March 4 in the USA. Industry professionals will determine the winners across 25 different categories. Nominees include Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey. Fits and Starts: A Memoir of Living With Epilepsy was written by Franziska Thomas, and is narrated by Tracy and Franziska. It is published by Almost Tangible, and we have a brief clip from this, courtesy of Almost Tangible. In the History/Biography section, Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other has been shortlisted, which was written and narrated by Outlander stars Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, with a foreword written and narrated by Diana Gabaldon The latest Scottish Field is still in shops, priced £4.75. To find out more about how to subscribe, just visit www.scottishfield.co.uk/subscriptions

The best of Scotland is at the heart of the March 2022 edition of Scottish Field, which we discuss in our new podcast - and chat wthcomedy legend Mark Thomas. Our chief sub Rosie Morton and web editor Scottish Field chat their way through their highlights of the edition. Rosie tells us about when she met Gordon Ramsay, as the straight-talking multi Michelin starred celebrity chef and TV star talks about his new restaurant and why he always loves coming home to Scotland. JJ Fenton is a Royal Marine turned photography aficionado, and he shares some stunning snaps of Scotland, including the charming coo that graces our cover this month. We also look at the stories of inspirational Scots who have seen an epic challenge and jumped in head first. Kenny also speaks with Mark Thomas about his latest show 50 Things About Us, which combines his trademark mix of storytelling, stand-up, mischief and really, really well researched material to examine how we have come to inhabit the United Kingdom - and asks how united it really is in 2022. Mark will also be bringing the highlights of his TV show The Mark Thomas Comedy Product to Scotland, in which he looks back at the best moments from the Channel 4 programme which exposed arms deals and other corruptions in public lift.  Please note: this chat briefly includes some very strong language. The March edition priced £4.75 is now available in shops and online, and can be purchased from HERE.

Scottish Field has two guests in our 35th  podcast episode.  Our first guest this week is a John Savournin, who's directing a new Scottish Opera Highlights production, which is touring to 18 venues around the country this spring.  Starting on February 8 at Websters Theatre in Glasgow’s West End the tour visits Birnam, Midmar, Fochabers, Tain, Wick, Harris, North Uist, Isle of Barra, Ardfern, Lochranza, Cove, Newton Stewart, Melrose, Lockerbie, Troon, Killin and finishes at Cumbernauld Theatre on 19 March. John directs a cast that includes Scottish soprano Monica McGhee, former Scottish Opera Emerging Artists Margo Arsane and Shengzhi Ren, who were both in Così fan tutte earlier this year, and Dan Shelvey (The Gondoliers 2021). This is a great chance for audiences to see Margo and Shengzhi perform in Opera Highlights, as they were originally scheduled to take part in the tour last year, before it was cancelled because of the pandemic. Mark Sandon joins the singers as pianist and Music Director. The Edwardian-inspired production, designed by Janis Hart, is an opportunity to hear a whole range of music in just one evening, and curated by Scottish Opera’s Head of Music Derek Clark. audiences can enjoy much-loved classics including Hansel & Gretel, Die Fledermaus and La bohème, as well as lesser known gems. The production also features the world premiere of a new piece by Scottish composer, Lucie Treacher. The quartet, entitled ‘To the Lighthouse’, weaves together scenes from the 1927 novel by Virginia Woolf. Tickets are on sale now for the new vaudeville-inspired show at www.scottishopera.org.uk Our second guest is someone who's represented his country on the football field. The board of Walker’s Shortbread Ltd last week announced that Nicky Walker has been appointed managing director with immediate effect. Nicky had a career as a footballer, which started in Leicester, took him to Motherwell, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Dingwall, playing in goal for clubs including Motherwell, Rangers, Partick Thistle, Hearts, Aberdeen and Ross Country, before retiring in 2002 after a spell with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Nicky joined the family firm 25 years ago, was appointed to the Board in 2007 as production director and has been instrumental, working alongside his late father, Joe, in developing the company’s world-class facilities in Aberlour and Elgin. But, of course, Nicky had a career of his own before joining the family firm, which was founded in 1898 by Joseph Walker in the Speyside village of Aberlour, with the ambition to bake ‘The World’s Finest Shortbread’. Walker’s products are now sold all over the world and the company bakes the most extensive selection of pure butter shortbreads available, as well as producing a wide range of other Scottish delicacies. The company employs over 1400 people across its sites in Elgin and Aberlour and holds a Royal Warrant for Shortbread & Oatcakes, by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen. You can order the latest Scottish Field, priced £4.75, or subscribe, at www.scottishfield.co.uk/subscriptions