Explore!

Explore! Our articles cover anything and everything to do with West Lothian, West Edinburgh and Falkirk.

A selection of what goes into print is published here.

Browse the archives below or use the archive menu to sort by category, or use the search bar to find a specific reference.

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ONLINE LIBRARY

African soul, crafted in Scotland: Gold medal-winning rum from Matugga Distillers

Editor

Apr 10, 20204 min read

African soul, crafted in Scotland: Gold medal-winning rum from Matugga Distillers

You might think the ingredients for gold medal-winning rum is all in the molasses and copper pot stills. But you’d be only partially correct

Craigshill Good Neighbour Network (CGNN): Neighbours helping Neighbours

Editor

Mar 12, 20203 min read

Craigshill Good Neighbour Network (CGNN): Neighbours helping Neighbours

Operating from a base in Craigshill, but open to people from all around West Lothian and beyond (“we wouldn’t be good neighbours if we...

Alderstone: Plague-watching duties, muster and civil war

Editor

Mar 8, 20204 min read

Alderstone: Plague-watching duties, muster and civil war

A time-travelling resident of the Livingston area from the 15th century would recognise almost nothing if they visited today; it would be...

Editor

Mar 4, 20203 min read

Allison Poulter, Cat Sitter

It’s an unusual occupation, one born from a passion for cats. Allison Poulter is a home-visiting cat sitter. Or Cat Whisperer. Or...

Editor

Jan 31, 20203 min read

Musically Active Dudes

A class with an energetic dance vibe and great music, from a DJ who regularly spins the discs at Boteco do Brasil in Edinburgh and...

Editor

Dec 16, 20194 min read

Howden Weir: The UK's Largest Rock Ramp

It looks like a natural rock fall in the river, but is actually a sophisticated piece of engineering work. In the River Almond at Howden...

Editor

Nov 8, 20194 min read

The Laird o' Livingston's Legacy

In return for military service, de Leving, a Flemish nobleman invited to Scotland by King David 1, was given a grant of land. In what is...

Re-engage: Tackling loneliness in West Lothian with tea and company

Editor

Nov 6, 20192 min read

Re-engage: Tackling loneliness in West Lothian with tea and company

Loneliness is one of the most invisible but debilitating issues in society today, but all across West Lothian volunteers are working to...

Editor

Nov 1, 20195 min read

Our Own X Files

Rounding a corner of a woodland path on Dechmont Law, a forester going about his job in November 1979 entered a clearing and came upon a...

Coffee Direct, West Lothian's premium coffee roastery

Editor

Oct 6, 20193 min read

Coffee Direct, West Lothian's premium coffee roastery

The smell of good coffee; a roasting machine; bags of different coffee beans and lots of coffee paraphernalia greets you as you walk into...

Editor

Jan 3, 20193 min read

Livingston Mill

The noise of mill machinery grinding grain, of water from the River Almond swooshing over a huge waterwheel and of the periodic...

Editor

Dec 5, 20183 min read

Dignity Boxes

“I’d like people to be able to have essential toiletries and personal hygiene products without having to ask, and without needing to...

Editor

Nov 27, 20182 min read

Smack me Down, Win 500 Francs

Even in 1848 when the first wrestling troupe was formed in France by Jean Exbroyat (who issued the headline challenge) the name of the...

Editor

Nov 9, 20182 min read

From Small Acorns...

There's a yawning gap in my sporting experience - I've never launched a netball ball in anger or joy; in fact, I've never even held a...

Editor

Sep 1, 20182 min read

Ask 100 people...

...who is the greatest sportsperson of all time? And three will answer Cassius Clay, 96 Muhammad Ali and one ANother, for example...

Editor

Jul 2, 20183 min read

The Livi Lions Rollercoaster

Every Livingston Football Club entrance ticket should be supplied with a free travel sickness pill to counteract the up and down, North...

Editor

Nov 6, 20163 min read

West Lothian Eagles

The West Lothian Eagles are Scotland's newest Aussie rules football team! Unlike the famous West Coast Eagles in Australia, players and...

Editor

Apr 5, 20155 min read

The White Lady of Caputhall Bog

Caputhall today is the site of the busy Deans Industrial Estate – Caputhall Road loops around the estate and there are industrial units...

Editor

Jul 4, 20124 min read

There's a coach coming in!

West Lothian’s varied travel history includes a 90 year period when stagecoaches ruled the roads. Between 1760 and 1850, stagecoaches...

Editor

Mar 3, 20123 min read

A Carmondean Character

For the last 12 years, Tuesdays to Saturdays, rain or shine, Daniel Priester (Dan), has been selling his popular, char-grilled hot dogs...