Four easy steps to beating the January blues

Happy New Year! Apologies that I've been a little quiet on the blog recently but I thought I'd change all that in 2014, starting off with a wee blog about four easy steps to beating those pesky January blues, all with a connection to the East Neuk and St Andrews of course!

Step 1 - Enjoy your lovely Christmas presents

I was lucky enough to get this painting for Christmas, which is now brightening up my house with its gorgeous colours:

Boats in Crail Harbour by Robin Forsyth; Close-up of the blue sea

The artist is Robin Forsyth, one of the Cellardyke-based artists who opened his home studio to visitors as part of East Neuk Open Studios (ENOS) in November. 

It's a painting of two cute little fishing boats in Crail harbour, so I loved the subject matter. I was also really struck by the intensity of the blue water, in striking contrast to the pure white of the frame. It's cheering me up in the dark, damp horribleness of January by reminding me of a sunny Summer's day by the sea!

Hopefully you have some equally lovely presents you can enjoy this January. 

Step 2 - Escapism

Speaking of presents, if Santa didn't bring you any reading material to get you through the dark Winter evenings, maybe it's time to get some new books for some blues-busting escapism.

Transport yourself to the life of a musician by reading the excellent "Songs in the Key of Fife". This is DJ Vic Galloway's collection of the intertwining stories of the artists who created a musical revolution from the East Neuk including KT Tunstall, King Creosote, the Beta Band, James Yorkston and more. Listening to some of these locally-raised gems is also a great blues-buster - I particularly love King Creosote's "Diamond Mine" album. Another local up-and-coming artist who is not in the book but is also worth listening to is Lidh, who has the voice of an angel. Check them out on iTunes or, better still, see them live.

(Picture: Vic Galloway at the launch event of the book at Cambo Estate last year; The book itself)

If you're more into to immersing yourself in a gritty crime novel then check out TF Muir's books about DCI Andy Gilchrist ("Eye for an Eye", "Tooth for a Tooth" etc.), who is the Inspector Rebus of St Andrews.

See my local books page for more ideas.

Step 3 - Celebrate our bard

What could be more cheering than a celebration of the bard, Rabbie Burns, and all things Scottish? And where better to enjoy the fun evening that is Burns' Night (25 January 2014) than in St Andrews! You could sample some haggis or other delicious Scottish dishes at The Dolls' House or The Vine Leaf on South Street. The Vine Leaf are offering their haggis neeps and tatties as "a potato basket filled with haggis, thyme poached turnip and drambuie cream" plus an equally tasty dish with veggie haggis too. Or for something a bit more spicy the award-winning Nahm-Jim's on Market Street, which I've blogged about before, offers Scottish-Thai fusions extraordinaire such as "Thai Haggis Bombs" (haggis in crunch pastry with a spicy dip) or the "Nahm-Jim Thai Haggis" (haggis combined with chilli, basil and Thai omelette).

An after dinner drink at the new St Andrews Brewing Company pub on South Street would be an obvious next step - sample craft beer and cider (check out the Thistly Cross Ginger Cider) in cosy, chalet-like surrounds. A special Burns' Night tasting event is being held at 7.30 with tutoring (by Douglas Clement from the Kingsbarns Distillery - more on that below), tunes and tapas (£10 a ticket, available in advance at the bar).

Then burn off some of those calories you just consumed with some lively traditional ceilidh dancing in Forgan's on Market Street (Forgan's are also doing a Burn's Supper event if you wanted to eat there too).

(Picture: Sample of craft beer at The St Andrews Brewing Company pub; Robert Burns biscuits from Fisher & Donaldson confectionary and bakery, St Andrews)

(Picture: Forgan's bar, including one of their inviting bothies in top right, ceilidh band in bottom right and unusual lighting in bottom left)

If you know about other things happening in St Andrews on Burns' Night then let me know. Enjoy!

Step 4 - New year, new social calendar

January is a month of planning ahead so plan your 2014 social calendar and give yourself masses of events to look forward to! To help you do this, check out my handy East Neuk and St Andrews Events Calendar.

The brand newly opened Dreel Halls venue in Anstruther may be the location for some new events this year - I'll keep you posted. 

Something to look forward to later this year is the opening of the Kingsbarns Distillery, which I'm really excited about. I sneaked a peak at the site last year and it is already looking very promising as they convert historical buildings on the edge of the Cambo Estate. They're hoping to open the doors on St Andrew's Day (November) and I can't wait!

I'm also looking forward to more blogging for this blog, the Visit St Andrews website and the Crail Food Festival. In the meantime I hope these blues-blasters lift your spirits!

More information:

www.paintingsilove.com/artist/robinforsyth

www.eastneukopenstudios.org

www.dollshouse-restaurant.co.uk

www.vineleafstandrews.co.uk

www.nahm-jim.co.uk

www.standrewsbrewingcompany.com/thebrewpub

www.forganstandrews.co.uk

kingsbarns.wordpress.com

Copyright Sara Scott 2014

A very arty little neuk - East Neuk Open Studios 2013

After a visit to the Crail Food Festival on Saturday 15 June (see my blog post on this), we decided to check out the other event happening that weekend: East Neuk Open Studios (ENOS).

The event was happening throughout the East Neuk that weekend and the one before. We decided to head to the East Neuk village of Cellardyke (which adjoins Anstruther) to see some of the artists there who were opening their doors to let visitors see their artistic creations in the studios they were made in. 

I can see why petite Cellardyke has so many artists. Its old, narrow streets surreptitiously wind their way into your heart with their quiet, old-fashioned wind and sea-swept charms. Every so often you get an access point to the shore with its beautiful natural rock features and spectacular views out to the shimmering Isle of May. The communal washing lines at the harbour seem to belong to another age yet are still very much in use today. The pretty, well-tended flowers at the harbour speak of a community that cares about its village. So for me a wander around some of the studios was as much about the real life of the place itself as the art. I have to say I seriously envy many of the artists their studios as well as their artistic talents!

Charming Cellardyke - clockwise from top left: "Cosy Neuk" doorway, harbour x 2, rock formations at the shore

We started off seeing Renate Heath's landscapes and learning about her techniques (she mostly paints landscapes from her car!). We admired her uninterrupted Isle of May view and quirky garden and bought some of her beautiful postcards.

Views of the Isle of May: real life (left) and art by Renate Heath (right)

Then we enjoyed Ken Wilkinson's land and seascapes, in an outbuilding accessed directly from the beach! We left with some more cards, in my case of his Cellardyke paintings which I really liked.

Cellardyke harbour with its washing lines: Real life (left) and art by Ken Wilkinson (right)

After that it was Kate Hajducka's beeswax creations and adorable garden with the blue gate onto the shore. Mum was very struck by her colourful, Impressionistic paintings of wild flowers. More cards were purchased - the subject of mine was her garden.

Kate Hajducka's adorable Cellardyke garden: Real life (left) and art by Kate (right)

Last but definitely not least that day was Kate Laundon's more modern prints, which I had been dying to see after she'd tweeted a photo of them earlier that week. I came away with this über cute, quite Japanese-style chaffinch print, which is now on my wall at home. Mum bought another of Kate's cute bird prints and some cards. I could easily have bought a lot more! 

Chaffinch print by Kate Laundon

By this point the boys were weary from their earlier golf match at Crail Golfing Society and were worrying that this was turning into a shopping trip. They were angling to get back to Rose Cottage for some chill out time. So off we headed with our arty goodies. More Cellardyke artists to visit next time though, not least talented illustrator Jill Calder. Even by the East Neuk's high arty standards Cellardyke really is a very arty little village!

Mum and I found time the next day, Sunday 16 June, to visit one of the Crail artists who was taking part in East Neuk Open Studios. We visited the garden studio of Elizabeth Shepherd, who was displaying a series of etchings of East Neuk buildings which she'd been commissioned to do. I was very tempted to buy a print she'd done of Cellardyke harbour (bit of a theme here, isn't there!) but having only recently bought one of Keith Brockie's Isle of May originals my art budget is currently severely depleted! Having said that, one of the great things about ENOS is that is a very affordable way to buy art.

Unfortunately time didn't allow us to check out the other studios that were open in the other villages. Good news then that ENOS is happening again on the weekends of 23-24 November and 30 November-1 December 2013. I'll definitely be back to see more, hopefully with a bigger budget this time!

Text and photos copyright Sara Scott 2013, excluding photos of art works