“Fife”-nearing the Children’s Book Festival
The coming autumn season in Fife, Scotland is marked for something special for the children. The Fife Children’s Book Festival will happen from Sunday 12th September to 25th September 2010.
Fife Council Libraries and Museums are the lead organisers of the Book festival. Children’s Book Festival features appearances by best-selling children’s authors, related craft and reading workshops and entrancing book, film, theatre and other entertainment events set in libraries, theatres, public parks and community venues right across Fife.
The lunching day will start with a day of family fun at the Dunfermline Family Book Carnival in Pittencreiff Park from 11am – 5pm. Then it’s a white knuckle ride through 14 days of the most interesting and diverse events you can imagine. For little readers in the early years the festival has special theatre, stories & film events to share and the chance to hear favourite stores come alive from the lips of the writers themselves.
The festival’s mid-primary programme has a wonderful selection of performance poetry and award winning writers to inspire readers and support the curriculum with events that are original,funny, scary and thrilling – with something for all tastes and ages.
Events for Older Primary children have Samurai sword displays, Scottish history, the launch of Cathy Cassidy’s new book and award winning writers galore. The book & film events are a great new idea this time for class reading and the organisers supply the books!
If you are of Secondary School age watch out for American best-seller Michael Grant as he launches his new book in the popular series ‘Gone. Add to this Book and film evenings, a flying theatre and a special CPD event for teachers. The final day of Family Book Carnival will be held in St. Andrews. The event organisers are trying their maximum to make sure that you’ve had the best time at the Best Children’s Book Festival Fife has ever seen!
St. Andrews Open Championship 2010
Taken the fame as the homeland of golf, in Scotland this time St. Andrews takes up the chance to play the game of golf. St. Andrews is the site for this year’s British Open Championship. The championship has already started on 15th July and will end on 18th July 2010. 
The World’s greatest golfers will battle for the famous Claret Jug, won by Tiger Woods at the last two St Andrews Opens – 2000 and 2005. It will see the famous 17th “Road Hole”, possibly the most famous hole in golf, lengthened for the first time in over 100 years.
For Tiger Woods St. Andrews was his favorite course in the whole tour and the world. Phil Mickelson in turn praises the place by saying that he feels some kind of spirituality come over him when he plays here. Although the first few days here has seen inclement weather, once the first player tees off St. Andrews will work its magic.
Long before the championship, St.Andrews hotels and accommodation have faced tough competition for bookings and for rentals.
The costliest seaside towns in Scotland
St Andrews in Scotland has walked away with the distinction of being one of the most priciest cities in Scotland, where the land prices are more than eight times the town’s average salary. The home of golf has thus the least affordable Scottish seaside location for house buyers as per the latest study reports.
The ongoing house prices in St Andrews hovers around £240,660 whereas those in North Berwick was in the range of £268,418. The figures, given out by the Bank of Scotland in its latest seaside towns review has cast gloom over the dreams of many prospective home owners who might be dreaming to own a seaside home.
However, there are many places like Girvan, which still has some of the most affordable seaside homes, with the average cost at 2.97 times local average earnings. For those who are looking for the cheapest of all deals, would find properties in Wick truly irresistible as the average price doing the rounds is only £80,588, which makes it the cheapest of all coastal towns. Some of the other sea side towns where the sale value is under £100,000 included Aaltcoats, Thurso and Stranraer
The house prices in Scotland registered a 37% hike in the last few years. Homes in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, saw the biggest jump in average prices-a staggering 111% from £53,641 to £113,362 in just 5 years between 2004 and 2009.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “Living on the Scottish coast offers many attractions, including a typically high quality of life and attractive surroundings. As a result, property in seaside towns is often very popular with homebuyers.
Though the properties in Scottish seaside towns is more expensive than elsewhere, these make exceptional investment options and a high appreciation value for home buyers.
Golfing- The 2010 Open Championship Theme
For any lover of golf, here’s great news – the 2010 Open Championship at St.Andrews, the most storied and challenging course in Scotland- Golfing is just a few months away. One of golf’s four “Majors”, the Open Championship is the only one hosted outside of the United States. The Open is not tied to one course unlike the Masters and is conducted each year with a different classic course in England or Scotland.
Since 1990, the tournament has been here once in five years with Tiger Woods earning the winning trophy in 2000 and 2009. To be held on 15 to 18th of July, 2010, it is not alone the biggest golf event of the year in Scotland but also the biggest every five years with the most prestigious tournament coming to the most famous course in golf.
No destination quite like Scotland, for golfers and fans of the game to enjoy a great golfing holiday near the Old Course at St. Andrews in Fife, about a 30-mile drive north of Edinburgh. With hundreds of courses across the country, including some of the most famous in the world, there is no other more complete a golf destination than Scotland. With high roughs, unpredictable weather and world class competition, it will be very busy for all golf enthusiasts with loads of time to plan a fabulous Scotland tour.