Last year, we reported on a tiny little elephant rescued by Elephant Havens. They gave the young calf the name ‘Sandy’ and started a dialogue with our own Alexander (‘Sandy’ for short) and with many of you, his readers. Alexander was moved by their wonderful work which found its way into the novel, How to […]

Alexander McCall Smith CBE has been getting ready to receive the prestigious Edinburgh Award 2020. Impressions of the internationally-admired author’s hands have been cast in clay, pictured, by Leigh Bradley of the Colin Braid Stone Workshop, ready to be carved into stone. The handprints will be gilded and laid outside the City Chambers next to the prints […]

This weekend we mark the Spring Equinox and International Day of Happiness on Saturday (20 March), and World Poetry Day on Sunday (21 March). It has been a tough year since these dates last came round with humanity united by the challenges of a global pandemic and the urgent need for rapid scientific advance that might bring release from […]