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BOOKS Fans of all things Scotland should keep ’em peeled for Pete Irvine’s latest edition of Scotland the Best (Harper Collins, £15.99), due out on Thu 8 Dec. Whether it is the best walks, B&Bs, beaches or far more beyond, Irvine selects Scotland’s finest. Look out too for new sections boasting information on glamping, specialist shops and best stop-offs for afternoon teas.

MUSIC Watch this space for T in the Park announcements as we have them; in the meantime, check out tinthepark.com for Early Bird tickets and more. In other happy news, music fans, the mighty Arab Strap are set to reunite to play Nice’n’Sleazy’s 20th Birthday celebrations on Thu 17 Nov. To grab email 17thnovember2011@gmail.com. See Five Things, page 9. tickets,

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S H O P Big congratulations to Scottish fashion blogger Jonathan Pryce, who sees an exhibition of his photography work hit Paris this month. The Les Garçons de Glasgow exhibit will appear at Jim Haynes’ Atelier. For more information, check out lesgarconsdeglasgow.com. THEATRE It’s been a fine year for the National Theatre of Scotland and things are looking just as bright for 2012, with news that their Fringe success Beautiful Burnout will tour Australia and New Zealand in 2012, while their Long Gone Lonesome show will tour the USA in February. Closer to home, next year Greg Hemphill and Donald McLeary will bring their own brand of creativity to the much-loved

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The Wicker Man, with music theatre piece An Appointment with The Wicker Man, which is set to tour throughout Scotland in early Spring. Elsewhere, in the capital Queen guitarist Brian May will perform as part of a charity gala for the opening night of We Will Rock You at the Playhouse on Thu 1 Dec. Things are looking equally interesting nearby, down in Leith, thanks to Edinburgh-based theatre company Siege Perilous. The eclectic troupe are partnering with Ocean Terminal to present a show in one of their vacant retail units. Catch Simon Jackson’s thriller Turning to the Camera in the View area of the centre, between Mon 28 Nov and Sat 3 Dec. Call 0131 554 3005 for tickets and more.

to V I S U A L A R T The Scottish National Gallery have acquired two new pieces to their national collection. Entrance the Cuiraing, Skye (1873) by Waller Hugh Paton (1828-1895) has been purchased for the collection by the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland, while Portrait of Jean- François Regnault (1815) by Jean- Baptiste, Baron Regnault (1754- 1829) has been acquired for the nation courtesy of a private donor. And finally, as huge NVA fans, Team List were more than a little excited about their plans to light up the capital next year. As one of only four projects in 2012, Edinburgh’s Arthur’s Seat will take centre stage in August for Speed of Light, a project which will see thousands of runners scale the hillside in specially- designed light suits, each night for three weeks. We cannot wait.

DISPATCHES FROM THE SOFA, WITH BRIAN DONALDSON

When Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant set about their next major BBC project, they must have wondered whether to go for the docu-drama fakery of The Office or the celeb-heavy naturalism of Extras. In the end they squashed the two together for Life’s Too Short (BBC2, Thu, 9.30pm). Warwick Davis may have appeared in Star Wars, the Harry Potter movies and, um, Willow, but by and large his career hasn’t reached the heights he would have wished. His mini-fame limbo status allows us to comfortably believe that he could be bullied by a local news reporter (Tim Key) or be used as a guinea pig for movie research by a Hollywood legend (Johnny Depp). Meanwhile, both Gervais and Merchant sit regally behind a desk, Apprentice-style, trying hard to get shot of their pesky hanger-on.

The Davis character is essentially a dwarfed-up David Brent with the second episode’s disastrous impromptu best man’s speech straight out of Wernham Hogg. After an opening half hour in which there are too many self- conscious glances to the camera (by Davis and Gervais) whenever anyone is saying or doing something appalling, part two gets the show moving with Depp and Key both excellent in their cameos and poor old Shaun ‘Barry’ Williamson tragically plummeting to the role of errand boy. As easy as it would be for the anti-Gervais cynics to pray that this fails, it looks like Warwick and his little helpers won’t fall short.

Beautiful Burnout will tour Australia

and New Zealand

in 2012

Size matters 17 Nov–15 Dec 2011 THE LIST 11