17 h. ago California Schemin’ review – James McAvoy’s directorial debut is an unlikely rap tale

Toronto film festival: the actor makes for a hit-and-miss first time film-maker with the undeniably involving true story of Scottish rappers who pretended to be AmericanAt the start of the century, a struggling Scottish rap duo decided to overhaul their image in extreme fashion: they began posing as two Americans from California, and managed to secure themselves a record deal with a label in London. Eventually the hoax was revealed, and one of them released a memoir about the charade. That wild story has now been adapted into a film, California Schemin’, which marks the alternately confident and unsteady directorial debut of actor James McAvoy.McAvoy is a son of Scotland himself, and perhaps feels some kinship with rappers Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, who found the cultural tastemakers of the south to be indifferent or even hostile to Scottish artists. Though McAvoy has fared just fine as an actor, Bain and Boyd – who would come to be known as Silibil N’ Brains – had a much tougher go...

Politics

5 d. ago V&A Dundee: Fashion house Dior's takeover of Scottish castle gardens to feature in new Catwalk exhibition

The exhibition at the V&A Dundee will feature Dior’s takeover of Drummond Castle Gardens in Perthshire.

Politics

2 w. ago 15 photographs of 1980s Scottish fashion that will make you feel nostalgic

These pictures are a blast from the past.

Culture

2 w. ago 14 photographs of Scottish fashion in the 1990s that will make you feel nostalgic

The 90s were a decade to remember.

Culture

2 w. ago Scottish beauty influencer's iconic make up popup store returns to Scots shopping centre

VIEVE's latest pop-up at Buchanan Galleries will officially open very soon, marking its fifth year in Glasgow

Economics

3 w. ago Blockbuster, board games and boredom: why everyone’s parenting like it’s 1999

Nostalgic millennial parents are increasingly keen to replicate their own childhoods. But were the 90s as blissful as we remember?When I look back on my 1990s childhood, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic. We roamed for miles without supervision, riding our bikes, building dens and swimming in streams. After school, we did crafts or played board games and, though the internet existed, my parents would boot me off to use the landline. Media was tangible – tapes, CDs, VHS – and often consumed as a family. I still recall the thrill of going to the video shop to choose a film.It’s normal to feel like this, especially once you have babies of your own, and the social media algorithms know it. In the three years since I had my son and started writing the Guardian’s Republic of Parenthood column, I’ve noticed a huge upswing of interest in “90s parenting” and, this year, the trend seems to have exploded. Former 90s kids are in the thick of it, trying to work out how to parent our own children. ...

Politics

3 w. ago Can’t pay, won’t pay: impoverished streaming services are driving viewers back to piracy

As subscription costs rise and choice diminishes on legal sites, film and TV fans are turning to VPNs and illicit streamers, with Sweden – home of both Spotify and The Pirate Bay – leading the wayWith a trip to Florence booked, all I want is to rewatch Medici. The 2016 historical drama series tells of the rise of the powerful Florentine banking dynasty, and with it, the story of the Renaissance. Until recently, I could simply have gone to Netflix and found it there, alongside a wide array of award-winning and obscure titles. But when I Google the show in 2025, the Netflix link only takes me to a blank page. I don’t see it on HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, or any of the smaller streaming platforms. On Amazon Prime I am required to buy each of the three seasons or 24 episodes separately, whereupon they would be stored in a library subject to overnight deletion. Raised in the land of The Pirate Bay, the Swedish torrent index, I feel, for the first time in a decade, a nostalgia for the hi...

Politics

3 w. ago Fashion brand Lucy and Yak announce plans to open first Scottish store in Edinburgh

Lucy and Yak have announced they will open their first Scottish store in Edinburgh.

Politics