Bass, Cello, Organ Continuo, Timpani 1, Timpani 2, Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2, Trumpet 3, Trumpet 4, Trumpet 5, Trumpet 6, Trumpet 7, Trumpet 8 and Violin 1
Welcome to Rufflets Country House Hotel by St. Andrews, a lovely 4 star small luxury hotel on the outskirts of St. Andrews yet only a few minutes to the centre.
Rufflets is one of Scotland's very special country house hotels, it has been in the same family since 1952. There have been many changes over the years however the charm and fantastic atmosphere of the building has remained throughout.
What makes Rufflets so special? The welcome, the staff, the attention to detail, professional service, great food, the most comfortable of bedrooms, all that but more, there is a knack to making guests feel truly comfortable in a hotel and Rufflets so has this knack.
Rufflets offers a superb range of different bedrooms as well as three self contained self catering lodges in the grounds, making the hotel a favourite for families for weekend and short breaks.
Seasons at Rufflets the new restaurant at Rufflets Country House Hotel opens daily for lunch and dinner and traditional Sunday lunch, overlooking the beautiful gardens the new restaurant offers a sleek and contemporary dining space to enjoy wonderful food throughout the seasons. Making great use of the kitchen gardens Chef David Kinnes has created a menu that showcases the finest ingredients from Fife and across Scotland.
Stenton goes back to the 1500’s where it was, and still is, an agricultural village made up of large pieces of farmland. Ever since 1681 Stenton has been agriculturally inclined, focusing mainly on cattle and sheep, which were sold at the markets held every week. If you head on over to the East Green you will see the remnants of items, like scales and Mercat Posts, that were used in these farming markets.
In 1969 Stenton village was given the grading of an Outstanding Conservation Area due to the village’s history and its well-preserved buildings and architecture that can still be appreciated till today. A lot of these lovely old buildings have been built using sandstone with a lovely mauve coloring and roofs tiled with orange pantiles that were also often used for paving.
Like in many of these small villages you will always find a cathedral or church of some sort where many of the locals gather to worship. Here in Stenton there is the Gothic Parish Church, which was built in 1829 by a gentleman by the name of William Burn. The Parish Church has some of the finest stained glass windows from the late 19th century of various scenes.
Stenton Gallery provides art lovers and visitors a great opportunity to admire art works and crafts from around the country. Opposite the Gallery is the 18th century Mitchell’s house, which was originally made up of two separate buildings. One side of the building was a milk business that would deliver all the residents with their daily milk requirements and the other side was a schoolroom.
A visit to both the Rushlaw House, which dates back to the 17th Century and the Whittingehame House, which was more recently built in the 19th Century is a must. In the mid-nineteenth century through to the mid-twentieth century these two buildings were home to Arthur Balfour, the British Prime Minister during that time, and his family.
Scotland’s colleges have come under fire for “squirrelling away” almost £100 million of cash in arms-length bodies at a time of widespread cuts to budgets and student numbers.
The money was transferred to the “foundations” after a change in accounting rules which could have seen the money reclaimed by the UK government.
It’s shocking that millions of unspent college funds have been squirrelled away into arms-length foundations
Teaching unions and student leaders say the money could be put to “better use” at a time of swingeing cuts in college courses, staff and student support.
The EIS union’s general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “At a time when lecturer and support staff jobs have been cut, courses have been withdrawn and student places and support have been slashed, we must question if these cash reserves could have been put to much better use to support learning and teaching across Scotland.”
Scotland’s college system has undergone widespread cost-cutting mergers in recent years which has seen the number of institutions fall from 37 to 20 in order to save £50m a year. The number of students has also fallen by 130,000 in recent years after a drive to slash part-time courses. More than 600 teaching staff have also been axed. Student numbers now stand at 238,000 which is down by 36 per cent from 371,000 six years ago.
The £99m placed in arms-length bodies by 19 institutions was uncovered through a freedom of information request by the EIS. It comes against total college funding in 2013-14 of £582m. There is no guarantee colleges will be able to reclaim the reserves, although its use will be limited to their general ­activities.
Gordon Maloney, NUS Scotland president, said: “When college students don’t have enough financial support to make ends meet, it’s shocking that millions of unspent college funds have been squirrelled away into arms-length foundations.
“Our colleges are right to demand more funding to ensure they can carry on their great work, but there’s no excuse for colleges and government not working together to ensure this money was spent.”
The colleges said the move was to ensure that they didn’t lose the money, much of which is already generated from commercial activities. This is because they can no longer hold cash reserves after being reclassified as public bodies. The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council agreed to the move.
Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said: “If colleges had continued to spend the reserves then this would have resulted in the Scottish Government reducing its funding to colleges by this amount.”
Gangs from Easterhouse in Glasgow hand in their weapons during a police-organised 'knife amnesty' in 1968. Picture: TSPL
The number of street gangs in Scotland is declining as more teenagers opt to stay indoors or pursue organised activities instead of congregating outside.
Changes, such as the rise of social media and improved community policing, are among the factors cited by researchers to explain the fall.
Remaining gangs are often a way of expressing territorial pride, rather than facilitating criminal enterprise or ­violence.
Youth crime is at an all-time low, with offence referrals to the Children’s Reporter falling 84 per cent since 2006-7, according to research by Professor Susan McVie of the University of Edinburgh.
The number of 16 and 17 years olds sentenced by courts has fallen by 60 per cent since 2006-7, while the peak age of offending for men in Scotland has risen from 18 to 23 in the space of a generation.
“I think Scotland has changed dramatically,” said Karyn McCluskey, director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit.“The gangs that we talk about have vastly declined and our young people are less likely to be in the criminal justice system.
“The efforts of communities, schools, third sector and criminal justice agencies across the country have transformed the outcomes for many of the young people I would have ­previously bumped into in hospital with stab wounds and injuries.
“The problems are not gone, but the scale of them has significantly reduced. Working with schools and employers now to help young people into work is the surest method of driving this down even further.”
A new book by Dr Alistair Fraser, a lecturer in criminology and sociology at the University of Glasgow, found that while territorial gangs have a long history, from the industrial era onward, they have changed and adapted according to broader social and economic trends.
The academic worked as a community youth worker and secondary school tutor in an unnamed district of Glasgow, which he describes as a “microcosm” of the city, while researching Urban Legends: Gang Identity in the Post-Industrial City.
“I did expect to see more young people out in public spaces,” he said. “Street life and street culture has always been a very important part of social life in the century, going back more than a century.”
While street gangs have not disappeared altogether, Dr Fraser said they now offered a source of identity in a world that was constantly changing.
“Gang identification is different in former mining communities, for example,” he said. There’s an embedded territorialism that might not be as amenable to changes as in cities.”
Dr Fraser continued: “Historians have found that gangs evolved into more organised units during severe economic hardship, like the Beehive Boys in the 1930s.
“Today we are seeing fewer young people on the streets due to the growth in technology and things like gentrification of public space, so the ‘street culture’ that gangs are part of has also been diluted.”
He added there remained a “tension between street masculinity and job opportunities in an post-industrial ­economy.”
Chief Superintendent Barry McEwan, of Police Scotland’s violence reduction unit, confirmed there had been a marked decrease in gang-related activity across Scotland.
“Prior to the creation of Police Scotland there were a number of successful initiatives driven by the police, the national Violence Reduction Unit, like Includem, which contributed to this reduction by providing alternatives which divert young people away from offending behaviour,” he said. “Violence is a priority for Police Scotland and we focus on being in the right places at the right times and tackling the right people, to prevent violence in local communities.
“Our taskforce monitors the emergence of violent individuals and groups. It deploys to support local divisions by focusing their attention on locally identified individuals and groups, whose behaviour poses harm within communities.
“The taskforce will take appropriate action and interventions, working with local officers to address the negative impact violent behaviour has on local communities.”
We offer three main kinds of tweed, which we present separately as each has its own unique character. All are the highest quality tweeds of their kind in the world. So which you choose will depend on your own needs and tastes.
Harris Tweed is loved all over the world for its distinctive character that is unlike any other fabric. Indeed it is so unique that its production is regulated by a special Act of Parliament, which allows it only to be woven in the cottages of the Islanders themselves.
Over the centuries a wonderful heritage of patterns and natural colourways has evolved, usually woven in the distinctively coarse yarns for which the islands are known. The very recognisable quality of Harris Tweed is very much inspired by the wild nature of the islands where it is woven.
A few years ago this wonderful heritage seemed destined to be lost, when one businessman bought and ‘rationalised’ almost the entire industry down to a handful of designs. Thankfully this threat has now passed and we are again able to supply almost any traditional pattern.
We are delighted to be helping the revival of authentic Harris Tweed, by supplying fabrics produced by resurgent independent weavers. Every piece you buy helps this wonderful tradition to survive, whilst you enjoy a fabric that is literally like nothing else on earth.
Highland Tweeds are produced for us by a range of local mills, all producing to the highest standards using top quality woollen yarns in the traditional manner.
Like our other tweeds, Highland Tweeds can be woven either as plain or twill weave, and can include have a range of traditional tweed patterns such as check, herringbone, or overcheck. Subdued, interesting colour effects (heather mixtures) are obtained by twisting together differently coloured woolen strands.
The mills may be in the Highlands or Islands of Scotland, or even in the Borders or elsewhere in the British Isles. The name refers to the Highland Estates for which tweeds were mostly originally woven.
Highland Tweeds tend to be more regular and finely finished (though each fabric has its own unique character, so this is just a generality) and are typically used for tweed garments or furnishings where a sophisticated feel is desired.
Islay Tweed is another unique tradition, with a distinctively untamed character not unlike that of Harris Tweed, but with a charm and feel all of its own.
First established in 1883, and still using old Victorian looms, our Islay Tweed mill designed and produced plaids for many Hollywood blockbuster movies, including Braveheart starring Mel Gibson (the Braveheart Plaid fabric is available to purchase) Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks, Rob Roy starring Liam Neeson, Far and Away starring Tom Cruise, and many more.
The reason for this popularity where the material’s evocative quality is all-important is the unique old-fashioned character of the tweed the Islay Mill produces. We are delighted to offer Islay Tweed fabrics both as cut lengths and also ready-made (to order) as a wide range of unique products.
Where but Scotweb would you find a fabric as authentically pastoral as traditional tweed, but woven in the finest and most exclusive natural fibre in the world, pure Scottish cashmere? It is of course undeniable that cashmere tweed is probably not for for those on anything but the most generous of budgets. But if your tastes run to the the very best available, while wishing to cut a distinctive sartorial dash in the certainty that no one else you meet will be wearing anything remotely as good, here is the fabric for you.
Sumptuously soft, in striking distinction from the typically robust wools in which tweeds are normally woven. And available in a range of historically accurate and utterly beautiful patterns. And of course it feels just fabulous too.<