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The Herald Scotland
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
TV chef to host 'unique' dinner to raise funds to rebuild Crannog
Only 25 tickets are available for the event during which diners will be taken back to prehistoric times and treated to a four-course meal using ingredients which would have been available to those living locally nearly 2,500 years ago. The menu will include a root vegetable broth with wood sorrel, trout and spelt, followed by a tasty stew of venison, pork belly, barley and wild mushrooms and will be served from Iron Age inspired cauldrons over a wood fire. The event is part of a new campaign to fund the next phase of reconstruction after the centrepiece of the site was destroyed by a fire in 2021. The centre reopened on an enlarged site on the opposite side of the former one on Loch Tay last year. A specialist build team of experienced craftspeople and apprentices is constructing a new crannog using sustainable, locally sourced materials. The target for the crannog's completion is £80,000. The public is being asked to donate £50,000 via JustGiving with a further £30,000 being sought from private sources. Tony Singh said: 'This is the first time I've taken on a challenge like this. 'It's been fascinating visiting the Crannog Centre and learning about how our ancestors lived and what they ate. 'Diners really will get something totally different in a truly spectacular setting and, as always, I will be adding a touch of my own flavour to the dishes.' Read More Mike Benson, the Director of The Scottish Crannog Centre added: 'Tony Singh is a real force of nature and phenomenal chef known for his creativity and eclectic fusions. This meal will be a once in a lifetime experience for those lucky enough to secure one of the limited seats at the table and it's all for a really good cause - the construction of our new crannog. "We're asking people to help us raise the crannog above the waters of Loch Tay once again, to maintain our link to Scotland's past and to celebrate traditional building skills of crannog dwellers. The crannog is a marvel and a major landmark, and by donating you will be part of its creation.' Tickets for the Iron Age supper are available for a donation of £175 or more and can be bought via this link.
Winnipeg Free Press
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Blue Bombers excited to be back on field as training camp kicks off
The first day of training camp holds a little more weight as Mike Benson gets older. It's often said that the first practice session serves as a clean slate. There's a sense of renewed opportunity that looms over the field as players flip the page to a new season. Even in his 12th training camp, the same could still be said for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' 37-year-old long-snapper on Sunday, but perhaps this year represented something bigger for some of the team's longest-standing players, including Benson— the beginning of a collective ride into the sunset. MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Blue Bombers take the field for the first day of training camp Sunday morning at Princess Auto Stadium. 'Who else would you rather be with? Who else would you rather ride off with?' said Benson, who begins Year 5 with his hometown club. 'If that's how you're going to do it, if that's how you want to put it, there's no one else I'd rather ride off with than these guys.' Benson wasn't certain he'd be back this season. It took him months to get over last November's Grey Cup loss to the Toronto Argonauts, a game he still hasn't watched back and maybe never will. He was visibly distraught after falling in the championship game for the third year in a row, and as he sat in his locker stall, entered the thought that he might've played his last down. 'It was a lot longer. This loss took a lot longer to kind of figure out, go through, think about it,' he said. When many players arrived two days later to clean out their lockers and speak with media for the last time, Benson stayed away from the cameras, chatting with teammates elsewhere in the building before breaking for the offseason. That time was important to him, he said, as guys are usually in a hurry to go home after a loss. Within a few weeks, after the initial shock had settled, he could still feel the competitive fire burning and started leaning toward a return. By Christmas, Benson was all in for another run. MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS Blue Bombers long-snapper Mike Benson chats with kicker Andrew Mevis during training camp Sunday morning. Benson, 37, is attending his 12th training camp and is one of the Bombers' longest-standing players. 'I was just like, 'I don't want to stop, I want to keep going. I want to keep rolling with these guys,'' he said. 'The friends that you make… you want to keep putting it on for them, and talking to a bunch of guys in the locker room, you got to kind of figure out who's coming back, if there's gonna be a big core group of guys coming back — some of my best buds, Grey Cup being here, I was like, 'Yeah, I want to keep going. One hundred per cent.'' Benson is one of several players who could be playing in their final season. Quarterback Zach Collaros, left tackle Stanley Bryant, defensive end Willie Jefferson, defensive tackle Jake Thomas and right guard Patrick Neufeld are usually mentioned in the same breath— each of them pillars in the locker room and on the field. Those are the teammates Benson returned for; they're why training camp has the same buzz around it now as it did when he was a rookie. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'Day 1 of training camp, I still get those nerves,' he said. 'I still get anxious. But (you're) excited to see all your boys again. You get excited to see all your friends. Get excited for that first warm-up. You see everybody rolling through medicals, you catch up about the off-season. It's like, yeah, it's here. You can smell it. You can feel it in the air.' Chris Streveler is also counting his blessings more than usual. For months, all the 30-year-old pivot could think about was how he would've done anything to be in the position he's currently in, running around in training camp eight months after tearing three of the four major ligaments in his left knee. 'My goal was to be ready by Day 1 of camp. That's what I said when I left here, and that's what I set my mind on. And I'm big on setting goals. I've been through a lot of injuries, and I just believe if you have a goal and a positive mindset and you work your tail off, you can get there,' he said. MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS Quarterback Chris Streveler throws the ball during training camp Sunday. Streveler suffered a season-ending injury last season, after tearing three of the four major ligaments in his left knee. 'Honestly, I just have a new appreciation for getting to be out here after going through that last year.' Streveler's knee will be put to the test a lot in next month's season opener, a game he's expected to start with starting pivot Zach Collaros serving a one-game suspension. That he's practising already doesn't surprise head coach Mike O'Shea in the slightest. 'He's got that wolverine blood. He just seems to heal fast, and then I think more importantly, how hard he works at it,' O'Shea said. 'He is fully engaged in every step of that process. And then, obviously our medical staff is really good, so it all works in our players favors and Strevy just happens to be a guy that, I don't want to discredit and say, 'He just heals fast,' he works his ass off. We've seen it other times, too. You look at the Grey Cup run, it was very impressive.' This rehab required a certain mental toughness that Streveler wasn't even sure he had, having never gone through it. This wasn't a broken bone. There were days when he felt like he was right on schedule, and others that were downright painful, physically and emotionally, as his knee didn't respond as he'd hoped. 'It's one of those things where you see it happen to so many guys, and you just don't ever think it's gonna be you, and then it is you, and it takes a minute to wrap your mind around (it). There is a period of time where you're a little miserable to be around and maybe feeling a little sorry for yourself, but for me, I'm big on, 'How quick can I turn the page and focus on what's next?'' He said. There were external sources that kept the dual-threat pivot attacking every day. In January, he became a father to a baby girl named Sunny. In March, he proposed to his girlfriend Taylor. MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS Blue Bombers Willie Jefferson runs drills during Bombers training camp Sunday. Beyond family, he was trying to set an example for others on the comeback trail. Streveler, who works with young quarterbacks in Arizona, trained two up-and-comers who were also rebounding from torn ACL's this winter. 'To not only preach the mindset of things, but to walk the walk and talk the talk, show and set the example of 'Hey, this is where I'm at, this is the way I'm attacking my process. How are you attacking your process?'' he said. On Sunday, motivation was all around him. He was back on the field with his teammates, preparing for one more year. 'There's just so many facets of what was motivating me,' he said, 'I'm just thankful for all those things, because it gave me perspective.' Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Daily Record
28-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
Ancient cloth which lay at bottom of Perthshire loch for thousands of years goes on display
A rare piece of fabric that lay buried under silt at the bottom of a Perthshire loch for nearly 2500 years has gone on display. It was found in 1979 when an Iron Age loch dwelling house, the Oakbank Crannog, was excavated on Loch Tay. The woven piece of cloth is believed to be one of the oldest of its kind in Britain and dates back to the early to middle part of the Iron Age. It is now on show for the first time - within a climate controlled cabinet – at The Scottish Crannog Centre's Iron Age village, visitor centre and museum, near Kenmore. The textile had previously been thought too fragile to display, but it will be a permanent exhibit at the centre following a painstaking stabilisation and conservation process, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland. Experimental archaeologist and volunteer at the centre Maureen Kerr said: 'The exciting thing is that there's nowhere else in Scotland, and very few places in the rest of the UK, that has a textile of this size and age. 'The weave on this fine textile is called a 2/1 twill which is really unusual for the time in southern Britain and northern Europe as most twill weaves were 2/2. 'This sheds considerable light on the technologies society had in the Iron Age. 'Twill weaves, which this textile is part of, is a dense, flexible fabric, very similar in appearance to our modern denim weave. It has been made, we think, on a two-beam loom, or a warp-weighted loom. 'This, combined with the fact that there are the remnants of a possible hem indicating that it could have been part of a piece of clothing, makes it a rare and special discovery.' Crannogs – dwelling houses built on stilts or stone over water – usually had a bridge connecting them to the shore. Very few exist outside of Scotland and Ireland. The first crannogs in Scotland were built on lochs from Neolithic times. The Scottish Crannog Centre director Mike Benson commented: 'We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite the public to come and see this amazing find. 'This piece would have been made by a whole community, from the shearing of the sheep, to the processing and dyeing of the wool to the weaving of the textile. 'Our Centre today is very much about community and the one thing that unites all of us is our common humanity through the ages.' The 'Oakbank Textile,' has been analysed by University of Glasgow archaeologists who have radiocarbon dated the material to between 480 - 390 BC. University of Glasgow senior lecturer in archaeology Dr Susanna Harris said: 'There are very few early textiles of this date and we think this is the first one of this type, of 2/1 twill, in Scotland. Wool was such an important material in Scotland it's been exciting to analyse this piece. 'It's great that the Scottish Crannog Centre has taken this step. It's really important finds like this go on display. It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles.'
Daily Record
23-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
Ancient Scottish textile hidden under a loch for 2,500 years to go on display
Discovered in 1979 at the Oakbank Crannog, the textile is thought to be one of Britain's oldest surviving woven fabrics A remarkably well-preserved Iron Age textile is going on public display for the very first time after being hidden beneath Loch Tay for nearly 2,500 years. The ancient fabric remnant was found back in 1979 after lying undiscovered for millenia. Believed to be one of the oldest surviving pieces of woven fabric in Britain, the textile was discovered during excavations at the Oakbank Crannog, a reconstructed Iron Age dwelling that was perched on stilts above the loch in Perthshire. Natural preservation by silt at the bottom of the loch kept the rare find intact over the centuries, but until now, it was considered too delicate to exhibit. Thanks to a meticulous conservation and stabilisation process, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland, the textile can now be safely viewed by the public. It is being showcased from Wednesday at the Scottish Crannog Centre, where it has taken pride of place in the Iron Age village, visitor centre and museum on the shores of Loch Tay. The precious relic is housed in a climate-controlled cabinet to ensure its protection for future generations. Mike Benson, director of the Scottish Crannog Centre, said: 'We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite the public to come and see this amazing find. 'This piece would have been made by a whole community, from the shearing of the sheep, to the processing and dyeing of the wool, to the weaving of the textile. 'Our centre today is very much about community and the one thing that unites all of us is our common humanity through the ages. 'We're really looking forward to finding out what people make of this rare textile, which is part of our past but also a hugely important part of our present and future. We hope people will be drawn to see this exhibit, and the rest of our extensive collection, for years to come.' Archaeologists at the University of Glasgow have dated the Oakbank Textile to between 480 and 390BC using radiocarbon analysis. Dr Susanna Harris, senior lecturer in archaeology at the university, said: 'There are very few early textiles of this date and we think this is the first one of this type, of 2/1 twill, in Scotland. 'Wool was such an important material in Scotland, it's been exciting to analyse this piece. It's great that the Scottish Crannog Centre has taken this step. "It's really important finds like this go on display. It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles.' Crannogs, ancient homes built on stilts or stone over water, were once a common sight across Scotland, typically linked to the shore by a wooden bridge. These unique dwellings date back to Neolithic times, with very few examples found outside Scotland and Ireland. The Scottish Crannog Centre's own reconstructed crannog was tragically lost to a fire in 2021. But in a major step forward, the centre reopened last year on a larger site near Kenmore. The team is now well underway with building a new crannog, using traditional and sustainable construction techniques to honour the site's historical roots.
The Independent
23-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Fragments of Iron Age textile found in loch go on show for first time
A rare piece of Iron Age textile which lay buried in a loch for nearly 2,500 years is going on public display for the first time. The woven fabric, believed to be one of the oldest of its kind in Britain, was found in Loch Tay in Perthshire where it was naturally preserved by the silt on the bottom. It was discovered in 1979 when an Iron Age loch dwelling house, known as the Oakbank Crannog, was excavated. It is now on public display for the first time at the Scottish Crannog Centre's Iron Age village, visitor centre and museum, on the banks of Loch Tay. The textile was previously thought to be too fragile to go on show but it has now gone through a painstaking stabilisation and conservation process, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland. It is on display from Wednesday and is being housed safely in a climate-controlled cabinet. Mike Benson, director of the Scottish Crannog Centre, said: 'We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite the public to come and see this amazing find. 'This piece would have been made by a whole community, from the shearing of the sheep, to the processing and dyeing of the wool, to the weaving of the textile. 'Our centre today is very much about community and the one thing that unites all of us is our common humanity through the ages. 'We're really looking forward to finding out what people make of this rare textile, which is part of our past but also a hugely important part of our present and future. 'We hope people will be drawn to see this exhibit, and the rest of our extensive collection, for years to come.' The fabric, known as the Oakbank Textile, has been analysed by archaeologists at the University of Glasgow who have radiocarbon dated the material to between 480 and 390BC. Dr Susanna Harris, senior lecturer in archaeology at the university, said: 'There are very few early textiles of this date and we think this is the first one of this type, of 2/1 twill, in Scotland. ' Wool was such an important material in Scotland, it's been exciting to analyse this piece. 'It's great that the Scottish Crannog Centre has taken this step. It's really important finds like this go on display. It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles.' Crannogs were dwelling houses built on stilts or stone over water and usually had a bridge connecting them to the shore. The first crannogs in Scotland were built on lochs from Neolithic times and very few are said to exist outside of Scotland and Ireland. The centre's reconstructed crannog was destroyed in a fire in 2021. Last year the Scottish Crannog Centre reopened to visitors on a new and enlarged site near Kenmore and the team are well on the way to completing a new crannog using sustainable and historical construction methods.
