I had the opportunity to take part in the preview night of the Best of the West Festival, and I…read moremust say I was really impressed by what I heard and tasted in West on the Green this Wednesday night. Upon arrival, we received a few beer tokens, followed by a very welcoming introduction. First to the beer: West's beer is advertised with the slogan "Glaswegian heart, German head" and it is possibly the best sentence you sell me beer with - Munich Red and the Hefeweizen are both very good in their own genre, and I'm sure that you could say the same about the rest, too. Loch Fyne's oysters gained popularity quickly for a good reason, and the smoked salmon was brilliant as well. Luss Smokehouse's salmon paté and the trout are definitely a must try when you're at the festival, I always get surprised how great simple snacks such as oatcakes, paté and a bit of salmon can be. And now comes to the absolute highlight of the night for me - the cheese selection! J.R. Fine Foods exhibited several creamy cheddar variations from chilli and tomato to various whiskeys (including Laphroaig) and my personal favourite, the Old Smokey that has a somewhat unusual, but very harmonic and unique taste. One decision I made that night is that I have to change the fact that the Yelp business page has no reviews as of now, and I am likely to do that pretty soon. All this accompanied by delicious home made cup cakes, good music and last but not least, even most importantly, the people who I had the joy of sharing this evening with - I am really happy I could make it. As far as the food is concerned, I can only recommend visiting the festival. You won't be disappointed.

Truly, one of the most enjoyable castle visits yet - we were the ONLY visitors at this 13th c…read morecastle on an overcast summer afternoon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skipness_Castle) My mom and I had collected an adorable 33 year old Minnesotan backpacker to bring him closer to his next destination at a ferry terminal - he suggested we take a detour to Skipness castle. None of us knew anything about it but headed there regardless -- we were greeted at the gate by a sign that warned of aggressive fowl (see picture) and went up the forested driveway (past some amazying blue and purple hydrangeas) to a giant castle with 3 stories of floors to explore. It had all the usual well signs and well tended grass but no tenders nor tourists were around. The castle was really in fantastic condition for something having been abandoned in the 17th c! We did not encounter any ghosts but at nearby Seafood Cabin we did encounter three daffy dogs AND two cats (our first friendly felines of the entire vacation!) as well as a nice peacock (no tail, wrong time of year).

I bloody love this place!…read more Completely forgot about it until a trip back home saw me passing the front door of the Museum and flooding back came the memories! The Museum and Art Galleries is an absolute asset to the Inverclyde area. The museum itself has some seriously amazing exhibits. Everything from Stone Age artifacts to ancient Egyptian relics and a preserved mummy kept in a climate controlled viewing cabinet! The building also plays host to some beautiful British and Scottish art but my favourite section depicts the history of the Clyde from Shipbuilding to the present day. Wondered what all those place looked like that your grandparents talked about? Well you'll get a good feel of them by seeing all the old pictures, the little bits of history people have kept and by reading the stories as you walk around. The also offer classes during the holidays for school children but these are extremely popular! One or two day events they usually revolve around art and gives your kids the chance to be hands on in a number of different art projects! Highly recommended!

I used to come here years ago when it was mainly a natural history museum in the upstairs part of…read morethe building. It has had a huge face-life and undergone extensive work and now it is a small but beautiful museum with extensive displays of many kinds. There are collections from many cultures across the centuries, industrial, marine and local history, and there is still a fine natural history section too. A nice little shop is found downstairs too where you can buy books on the area, gifts and small toys. There's free internet access as well. Highly recommended. Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQFanSNgg18

I can't believe there's not a review for this already. This is Arran's Eiffel Tower, Blue Lagoon,…read moreForbidden City. It's the cultural and historical landmark that you have to visit if you go to that place. If you've ever been to Culzean Castle across the bay on the mainland, it's very similar, but a bit smaller (Scotland in miniature in everything). It's got a castle with well-maintained historical aritfacts and enthusiastic and educated NTS guides. It's got a walled garden. It's got tons of paths and amazing views. Great for a whole day with the family or just a wee picnic and a whirl round the gardens.

Beautiful Castle. Famous family! They knew the Lady Diana Spencer family. Come here to see the…read morestag's on the wall, the guns, and the beautiful rooms. The docent are very informative. Nice cafe for lunch too! Gardens are beautiful!!!

Having not played since I was in primary school (I guess I would have been 9 years old) I was still…read morevery much up for a game. We briefly debated which of Glasgow's laser tag places to visit before being steered towards the one in Clydebank by recommendations from someone's much younger sibling. The laser tag place is called Planet Lazer. So, y'know, nil points for naming. However, they run a mean laser tag place. They're part of a larger complex that also does go-karting. There's a a little cafe inside where you can get drinks and snacks, or wait to meet people, a few arcade style games and, most importantly, the laser tag room (arena?) We each paid £9 for two games, each game lasting 20 minutes, which felt about the right length of time. It's surprisingly tiring and I was glad to hear we had a 20 minute break between our two sessions, while another group took a turn. It's a lot of fun, and at least with our group seemed to feature a lot of screaming, giggle and personal vendettas. We've all agreed that we want to go back soon, so I guess you can call that a success.

Cannot thank the staff enough at lazer planet in Clydebank especially AIDEN who made my son…read moreStevie's day by playing a game of lazer tag as there were no other customers in at the time my son is 22 and has autism with no speech at all and yet this guy made a brilliant effort to make stevies visit a great success we had driven through from Edinburgh in a snow storm to get there and were really warmly welcomed. I can't thank them enough a bunch of really nice staff and a great place to take the kids (and bigger kids) once again thanks especially to AIDEN for going the extra mile for my son oh brilliant value for money too with affordable prices

This is a pretty area down a hidden alley with lovely colourful studios but honestly that's about…read moreit, I was expecting a lot more but there really wasn't anything to offer. I was expecting little boutique gifts shops but all I found was the hidden lane tearoom which to be fair looked cute, upholstery shop, yoga studios and not much else so I was disappointed, I wouldn't go out your way to visit.

The Hidden Lane has much to offer. Unfortunately, it's also a bit too hidden, so lots of people…read moremiss it, which means that the turnover of the retail businesses is fairly high, as they often don't get sufficient foot fall to sustain their business. The landlord really needs to get his act together, and get some proper signage and lighting. The entrance to it could be really cool - I'm thinking maybe some sort of art installation of neon lights in the lane entrance, or big neon arrows, or something along those lines. When you get into the lane itself, signage would really help with finding the businesses too, as it is a bit of a rabbit warren, and it's hard to work out where things are, even when you know they are definitely there. Signs with numbers would be a great help. Particularly in the winter months, when it gets dark so early, it can be a bit intimidating stumbling about a lane in the dark. Also, cars are allowed to park right in front of the doors pretty much, so even if there is a small sign that the business has put up, it's often easy to miss. Seriously landlord dude, get it sorted. The businesses that are there though, are typically worth seeking out. There is the AWESOME Hidden Lane Tearoom, a vintage style cafe, with beautiful cakes and teas. Currently, the lanes are also home to Paul Tasker Music - cool guitar teacher, A Shore Thing - a guy who makes great things from driftwood - top tip - you'll see a lot of his stuff in some of the pricier west end boutiques at much more expensive prices than if you buy from him directly.There's also the newly opened Sweetheart Creations selling up-cycled items, Dragonfly Boutique selling beautiful jewellery, art, and home-ware items (well worth a visit - they have some gorgeous stuff including items made from beach combed glass), Monday's Child, selling textile home-ware, and Emily Rose vintage. Aside from the retail units, there are also all sorts of people doing really cool things. Sew Confident offer sewing courses, which I really like the sound of, there's Shona Jewellery, who mostly sells online but works from a studio here, Bobbin & Fleck who do furniture restoration and upholstery, and lots more including a picture framer, a laser cutting and engraving place, a landscape architects' studio, and the New Hellfire Club, which is a not for profit record and book shop. Plus there's a recording studio! La Chunky Studios are right at the back left hand corner of the lane, and it's a fantastic place, offering high-end recording facilities for musicians, film-makers and voice over artists. I was lucky enough to have a look about recently, and hidden at the back of their studio there's a massive sunken room for hanging out in - it's so cool. So, The Hidden Lane is a quirky place, fully of brilliant people who deserve a better landlord - one who has the vision to turn this into a thriving hub of creativity and successful businesses. The Hidden Lane is cool already, but it could be utterly amazing.

This year's festival was darn good I tell thee. It was brilliant with so much going on throughout…read morethe whole weekend. It was only through my man who spotted a photo challenge competition online that we found ourselves on the streets of the Merchant City. We both entered the 6x4 Panoptic Challenge that was hosted by Trongate 103. We collected our 6 themes and we only had 4 hours to take 6 photos and in the order of the themes, meaning there was no going back. This was going to be definitely a challenge especially with us going round together. "I spotted that photo opportunity first!!!" Actually having the photo challenge was a great idea as it made us explore the festival even more. We came across many street performers and checked out the many stalls in the Scottish and Continental markets. We went along to Merchant City Square where we had fun at The Festival of Fudge and most delicious it was. We met very interesting characters including policitians from Fudge Poltics to a professor of fudge where I got a history lesson in various fudge of the world. 10 minutes of my life I will never get back. We also headed along to the Britannia Panopticon where they were holding a bazaar with many wonderful goodies on sale. There was an amazing milliner and I just wanted to buy all her hats but alas payday was too far and a MOT was to near. I got her card and with a friend's wedding coming up I think a hat is on the list. Above is only just the Saturday, phew, but ach why not, we headed back along on the Sunday for more and especially as all the photographs were going to be on display at Trongate 103. Unfortunately neither or us won but to be honest we weren't that bothered, it was just so nice to see your work up on display. I saw walking bands, a carnival parade, live bands at the Creation Studios Stage and also some lovely Yelp staff where I got myself some lovely groovy new sunglasses. I've probably missed out half of what we saw as there was so much going on. It's a great weekend and well worth the visit. I cannae wait until next year's already.

Darn it all to hell! OK so this is an update on the festival (2011) and I'm searching for a way to…read moreaward an additional star to the folks... cannie be done... darn it all to hell! Yeah, so they did the unlikely and made it even better this year. More performances, more food, more stalls, more vibe, more moreness (yeah, they even managed to get me to make up a new word... moreness). If you read my review from last year, then you'll gather that this is a festival not to miss. Well, if this year is anything to go by then that statement not only desrves to be stuck to, but shold also be underlined, whacked into bold and maybe even a wee font size increase. Residents and visitors alike. This is a must.

This is a lovely wee treasure trove of handmade, often Scottish themed gifts. It's not your usual…read moretartan twee however. Yes of course there's tartan but it's fresh and bright and used in interesting ways! There's also a lot of Harris Tweed. From art to jewellery, mugs, stationary, cards and candles it is the best place in Milngavie to pick up a card and gift.

I was very impressed by this little shop/art gallery which sells a beautiful range of photo frames…read moreand greetings cards. The gallery at the back of the store displays the artwork. Now my knowledge of art basically extends to I know what I like and I know what I don't like. Some of the paintings in Rowan I liked, some I thought were a bit cheesy. The prices were not on the cheap side but I suppose you pay for good quality.

The Rowan Gallery is definitely hitting the upper crust of Helensburgh's card shop offerings…read more This is partly to do with the fact that it's not technically a gift shop - there is a large room towards the back of the store selling expensive original prints by local artists! The gift shop part is extremely diverse and sells some exquisite ornaments and housey bits and bobs to please someone on their birthday. A lot of the jewellery, prints and housewares are all on a Scottish theme, but would be an altogether higher class of souvenir should your purpose in the Rowan Gallery be to seek out one of those. They sell some unusual designs, including a Warhol esque print of a Tunnocks tea cake on bags and aprons. They look amazing and is a nice touch for locals and visitors alike. A lot of their jewellery displays are dedicated shrines to the local creative contingency and there are some nice, cheap prints of Scotland on offer amongst the scented candles and fancy piggy banks. But the real treat of the gallery is being able to wander unwatched through to the back room to have a look at the local artists. There are a number of them on display here and the names change frequently. You may be able to stumble upon some high profile stuff if you come in at an opportunistic time; or find a new artist to adore and potentially adorn your house with. The majority of the paintings are unaffordable for the average consumer but failing finding an affordable masterpiece, it's still refreshing to peruse the fresh, white washed gallery and maybe pick up a gift on your way out.

Kicked out of Minecraft movie for orgasms...heyshsbshwuegdhwushdhwuqudhdywyeyw I was just trying to…read morehave fun with my friends and had a little organism i couldn't contain it so they kicked me put

Sitting in the Costa coffee shop within the Odeon cinema waiting on our film starting and…read moreunfortunately we were not able to redeem and collect our free drinks - what is that about?