Gabriella Bennett

It may be the next big Scandi destination, but sheep still outnumber people on the Faroes where Gabriella Bennett discovers glorious landscapes, fascinating stories and delicious cuisine ...

AT a time where food has become so complex that we deconstruct, spherify and be-foam our suppers as a matter of course, going back to basics is increasingly relevant. Freshly-cooked crabs, halved to reveal pink and brown meat marbling into each other at an open-air fishmonger. A peppery radish plucked from a bunch of its pink-bodied buddies and eaten to test its freshness at a food market. Brittany, France’s most north-westerly province, has got the simplicity down pat.

Rab Florence has never eaten an oyster. He admits this without fear, but also without curiosity or any form of desire, as he squints at one in the dark of a restaurant's belly.

It only happens once every five years - a fact welcomed by politicians' spouses and berated by bookies - but it's impossible to deny the effect the general election has on our cultural landscape.

For the Royal Highland Centre's bi-annual antiques fair is set to return to Ingliston, offering visitors another weekend of discovering, haggling, and downright merry-making.

The five monthly markets will take place throughout the summer and include live music, work from local crafts-people, food and drink from Balgove Larder and a selection of other producers.  Beer on-tap will also be available from local brewery Eden Mill.

The alleged healing quality of the wet stuff at Lourdes. Niagara Falls being deemed worthy of world wonder status. The ingenious marketing idea of companies selling bottled water - you know, that free liquid - at an extortionate mark-up.

The city's top beauty and spa experts are uniting to get residents ready for summer, offering over 1000 free treatments, tutorials and makeovers, across two packed weekends at St Andrew Square (23-24 May) and the West End (30-31 May). 

Until May 3, the Grill Room at 29 will provide a counselling hotline whereby those looking to bury the hatchet can book a make-up meal with the steakhouse which is offering two-for-one on steak frites.

Gordon Castle was awarded a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits competition, the largest and most influential international spirits competition in the world.