Scottish Executive Budget Plans

The updated spending plans for the Scottish government over the next three years were announced this week. The announcement was made on the last day before the summer recess and so the changes will not be debated until the autumn. They show that the decision to fund personal care for the elderly who are in nursing homes will cost £200 million. To cater for that and the extra money required to fund the 23% increase in teacher's salaries, there are budget cuts for transport, environment, prison system and enterprise and lifelong learning. While there were cheers in the Parliament when the earlier decisions were made, the impact on other budgets inside a finite spending total have only now become clear. Even so, Scottish public spending will rise to a record level of £20 billion by 2003 (the date of the next Scottish parliamentary election), in line with an overall rise in UK government spending.

90% Short of Target

Over the last seven years Scottish Enterprise has spent £140 million on its efforts to encourage the formation of new small businesses in Scotland. But according to a study carried out by the Fraser of Allander Institute (a subsidiary of Strathclyde University) they only managed to create 2,124 new start-ups; the target was 25,000. Between 1993 and 1999 the birth-rate fell from 30.4 to 27.5 per 10,000 of adult population using Value Added Tax registration data. The equivalent UK rate also declined, but to 38 per 10,000 population.

MSPs Leave Behind Spin - and Slice and Hook

With the parliamentary session over, Members of the Scottish Parliament went head to head with the members of the press - at a charity golf match at Gleneagles. Ministers and their parliamentary opponents joined forces to do battle with members of the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists' Association. The contest ended in a diplomatic draw - which allowed the MSPs to retain the trophy they won last year. The question is, how do they get time to practice?

£300 Million Needed for Rural Pathways

A group of Scotland's biggest land management organisations accused the government of trying to provide public access to the countryside "on the cheap". They claimed that the Land Reform Bill would not work without providing finance of £300 million over the next ten years to provide the rural pathways in Lowland Scotland. They say that public access to farms where crops are growing and livestock are roaming needs well managed paths and that landowners cannot be expected to create them. The Executive say that £13 million has been provided over the next three years for this.

Tourist Board Directors All Dismissed

All six senior staff at visitscotland, the former Scottish Tourist Board, have been forced out as part of an overhaul of management in the troubled organisation. Recently, they had the embarrassment of having to withdraw an offer of employment to a new chief executive when it became clear that he would not give up his part-time post with an air freight company. The six, whose combined salaries totalled £360,000 a year, are being replaced by three new directors, one of whom will not join the organisation until September.

Luxury Weekend Holidays in Scotland for £10

100 short breaks to Scotland at four and five-star luxury hotels went on sale in London this week for only £10. Visitscotland, the former Scottish Tourist Board, launched the promotion in a bid to boost the number of visitors from the south-east of England.

Scottish Business Leaders Against Euro?

An anti-Euro currency lobby group which was set up 15 months ago claims that it has a membership of 1,000 Scottish business leaders. They say that a poll of business opinion shows a 70-30 split against the UK joining the European single currency. It is now looking unlikely that a government referendum on the issue will be put to the British people in the near future. An assessment of the economic tests (which have to be positive before the government would recommend joining) will not be completed until at least the spring of 2003.

£800 Million Redevelopment for Ravenscraig?

Plans for the development of the former site of the Ravenscraig steel works in Lanarkshire, which closed ten years ago, were announced this week. The largest "brownfield" site in Britain is to be converted into a new town with 3,500 new homes, a retail and leisure complex and an industrial park. There will be a new train station and large areas of parkland. Although the whole scheme will take 20 years to complete the first houses could be ready by 2003.

Restrictions on Mobile Phone Masts

The general public will have more say on the erection of mobile phone masts as a result of regulations which will be brought into force next month. Until now, ground-based masts under 15 metres did not require planning permission. Now they will require full local authority planning consent and masts on buildings will also be greatly restricted. It has taken the Scottish parliament two years to consult with all the interested parties - during which time masts have been erected and expanded at frantic speed by the mobile phone companies. The government say that they have sought to achieve a balance between differing viewpoints on the issue of planning controls on mobile phone masts so that telecommunications companies can still develop their networks and continue to serve the growing demands of customers.

Windfarms May Be Shot Down By Royal Air Force

Plans to build two windfarms in Moray may be vetoed by the Royal Air Force as they are near to areas in which pilots practice their low flying skills. The locations overlook Speyside and the output from the 55 wind generators would have been enough to power half the homes and businesses in Moray.

Airline Gets Rivals Hopping Mad

Highland Airways, a tiny company which provides an air service between Inverness and destinations such as the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland and (over the summer months) to three Irish airports, is undercutting the fares charged by multinational giant British Airways by £60. A no-frills service between Inverness and Stornoway will cost £110 return; the alternative BA flight costs £170. There will be only four seats available on the Jetstream 31 aircraft as the rest of the aircraft is used to carry newspapers and other cargo. The airline is calling the service the "Island Hopper" which is likely to annoy the sea ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne which calls its service by the same name.

Shetlands Airlines Takes Off Next Year

A new airline is being formed to fly from Sumburgh on the northern Shetland Islands, Inverness and Aberdeen to a number of European destinations in Scandinavia and Iceland. The cost per mile of the current air service between Shetland and Aberdeen is high but the new airline is planning to compete with increased numbers of flights and improved services rather than enter a price war with the existing airline (a subsidiary of British airways).

Gleneagles Timeshare Plan Rejected

The proposed development of a timeshare village of 41 homes in the grounds of Gleneagles Hotel was rejected by the Perth and Kinross Council planning committee this week. Residents in the up-market estate next to the site were delighted. They claimed that timeshare owners would have taken a short-cut through their gardens to reach the Gleneagles Hotel complex. They accused the Gleneagles Hotel of looking for a quick profit which would have jeopardised the bid to stage the 2009 Ryder Cup golf tournament at the world famous course.

Two Years To Replace Public Phone Box

While there may be many benefits in living on remote Hebridean islands, communications with the mainland can sometimes be a problem. This was brought home to the residents of Tiree when a car accident demolished a public payphone at Crossapol two years ago. It has taken British Telecom two years and shoals of letters from local residents to get the facility replaced. Last year the telephone box was replaced - but without a phone. But last week a phone was finally delivered - but locals then found it was not connected. British Telecom promised to get it operational next week. They claimed that there were other payphones on the island but Crossapol residents say that theirs is the only one for many miles.

Bank and Hotel Group Join Forces

The Bank of Scotland and Sir Rocco Forte have signed a £290 million deal to expand Sir Rocco's RF Hotel chain which includes the five-star Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. The plan is to build or acquire nine luxury hotels in the next five years. Bank of Scotland is already a partner with MacDonald Hotels in its 47-property UK Heritage portfolio. Sir Rocco Forte bought the Balmoral Hotel from Bank of Scotland five years ago when the bank took over the property when its previous owner went bankrupt.

Bank Chief Robbed at Automatic Teller Machine

Sir George Mathewson, chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, was recently drawing cash from one of the bank's through-the-wall automatic teller machines when two thieves approached from behind. They noted the personal ID number which he keyed into the machine and as the card was being ejected from the machine, they tapped him on the shoulder and told him he had dropped a £5 note. As he bent down to check, they leaned over and grabbed the card before running off. But the multi-millionaire bank chief lost no money - he immediately notified his bank who put a stop on the card.

Training Programme For Steam Train Drivers

The company which runs 1,000 charter trips each year for tourists and enthusiasts on steam trains has highlighted the lack of drivers for such locomotives. Most of its pool of drivers and firemen are in their 50s and so they are launching a nationwide training scheme to recruit drivers experienced in diesel and electric trains. The older steam train drivers will pass on their knowledge of steam engines to their younger colleagues.

First Canadian Degree in Piping

The local College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts and the University of Prince Edward Island have joined forces to provide the first Bachelor of Arts degree in piping in Canada (and only the third such course in the world - the others are in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Glasgow, Scotland). The announcement was made by university president Wade MacLauchlan, decked out in the MacLauchlan tartan.

Return Visit - After 107 Years

Bird-watchers flocked to the coast of Aberdeenshire this week to see a bird which was last recorded in Scotland 107 years ago. The Whiskered Tern had strayed many hundreds of miles north of its breeding grounds in southern Spain. At least this bird was only being shot at by cameras - the stuffed remains of the last visitor is on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

It's All Nessie's Fault

It's amazing the waves of interest Nessie creates! An Italian geologist has now suggested that at least some of the sightings of the Loch Ness Monster could be due to the Great Glen Fault and the ripples it creates as the two pieces of the earth's crust slide past one another. Luigi Piccardi presented a paper on the subject this week to the Earth System Processes Conference in Edinburgh, organized by the Geological Society of London and the Geological Society of America. He suggests that the seismic activity generates a roaring noise and release of underwater gas which creates the disturbances on the surface. Researchers at the Loch Ness Project at Drumnadrochit were unconvinced, however, saying that while the unexplained rough water could be due to the slip fault, it did not explain the reports and pictures of a long-necked monster.

Weather in Scotland This Week

After a brighter start, sunshine was in short supply this week though temperatures remained mild. Glasgow and Edinburgh were in the range 18/22C (64/72F) with Aberdeen reaching only 13C/55F in the middle of the week. On Tuesday night, there were spectacular thunderstorms with sheet and forked lightning across the sky as a warm front from North africa clashed with a cold front from the Atlantic. The storms hit Glasgow and continued northwards into Aberdeenshire. Thousands of homes in the north-east were left without electricity as the storm hit power lines.

The paeonia in this picture was found growing in the walled garden at Rouken Glen Park in Glasgow on Wednesday - in one of the short periods of sunshine that day.

Fountain Repaired for Nothing

A historic landmark in Possilpark, Glasgow has been restored and repainted, free of charge, by Glasgow-based Heritage Engineering. The MacFarlane Fountain stood at the corner of Saracen Street and Balmore Road but the ravages of time and vandalism took its toll on the wrought-iron Victorian canopy. The restoration work was done by the company in exchange for permission to create a replica - for Cardiff in Wales. Glasgow has ben busy restoring many of its old fountains - a number of them in the public parks but this is the first time that a piece of street furniture has received this treatment. However, although the iron work has been fully restored and repainted green and gold (the colours of Glasgow City Council), no water will flow - and local children are already using it as a climbing frame.

Was General Custer an Orcadian Descendant?

General George Custer made his legendary Last Stand with 200 officers and men of the US 7th Cavalry against the Souix and Cheyennes at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. Two months before the battle he received a letter from a businessman in Orkney who told him that he was convinced that Custer was an Orcadian - the name Cursiter (pronounced Custer on the islands) is well known there. Custer wrote to his wife about the letter - and appeared to believe that the information was correct. Two of the Cursiter family are believed to have emigrated to New York and later moved West. One of the brothers is believed to be the ancestor of General Custer who was born in December 1839 in Ohio. While there is no specific evidence, the Custer Association of Great Britain says that the Orkney connection cannot be ruled out. Other historians believe that Custer's ancestors emigrated from the German Rhineland in the 17th century.

St Blane's Fort Found After 1400 Years?

St Blane was said to be able to raise the dead and make lightning leap between his fingers. But nobody has been able to pinpoint his ancient stronghold (the fort gave Dunblane its name). But recent aerial photographs of the Holmehill area of the cathedral town have revealed shadow marks outlining a fortified settlement which may be the "dun" or fort of St Blane. The saint was born on the island of Bute and died a martyr around 635AD.

Holyrood Architects Bid For Carpet Factory

The Scottish architectural firm RMJM, who are partners in the project to build the new Scottish Parliament, are now involved in a bid to redevelop the former Templeton Carpet Factory near Glasgow Green. The historic building, designed to look like the Doge's Palace in Venice, is currently being used as a business centre for around 40 small firms. Scottish Enterprise, who own the building, expect the landmark building to be converted into flats. RMJM are not the only company likely to make a bid but they will be one of the front runners - they are also the architects for the second phase of the award-winning "Homes for the Future" project which is also near to Glasgow Green.

Mackintosh Panel Saved for Glasgow

A gesso panel designed by Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh, wife of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, is to be purchased for the city of Glasgow with the aid of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and public subscriptions. The panel is sculpted plasterwork on a linen backing which is then painted and decorated with beads. The theme is a Rosetti poem "O ye, all ye that walk in Willowwood" and the panel was a centre-piece of Miss Cranston's Salon De Luxe Willow Tearoom in Sauchiehall Street at the end of the 19th century.

This Week in History

• July 1 1782 - Proscription Act Repealed, thus allowing again the wearing of tartan and the carrying of weapons (banned as a result of the 1745 Uprising in support of Bonnie Prince Charlie).
• July 1 1815 - Union Bank of Scotland opened.
• July 1 1824 - Lachlan Macquarrie, "Father of Australia" died in London.
• July 1 1940 - Birth of Craig Brown, manager of the Scotland football (soccer) team.
• July 2 1266 - Treaty of Perth, Norway renounces claim on the Hebrides.
• July 2 1903 - Birth of Lord Home of the Hirsel, former Foreign Secretary and UK Prime Minister.
• July 2 1971 - Erskine Bridge over the River Clyde opened.
• July 3 1728 - Architect Robert Adam born.
• July 3 1883 - 124 people drowned when Steamer "Daphne" sank during its launch on river Clyde.
• July 3 1928 - John Logie Baird transmitted first colour television pictures.
• July 5 1746 - British Linen Company (later Bank) received its Charter.
• July 5 1847 - Final run of the Edinburgh to London mail coach (trains had taken over).
• July 5 1940 - A convoy of gold bullion worth 1,800 million pounds sails from the River Clyde.
• July 6 1747 - John Paul Jones, hero of the US Navy, born Kirkbean, Dumfries.
• July 6 1919 - Airship R34, constructed by Glasgow's Beardmore Engineering Co., landed Long Island, USA after the first Trans-Atlantic airship flight - from East Fortune, East Lothian.
• July 6 1988 - Explosion aboard North Sea oil rig Piper Alpha, 166 lives lost.

For the other 51 weeks in history and a chronology of Scottish events see the Scottish Timeline.

Kelvingrove's Blueprint for the Future

The Museum and Art Galleries at Glasgow's Kelvingrove are due to close this autumn for 18 months to allow for a £25 million renovation to the Victorian building which will bring the well-loved and well used facility into the 21st century. When the building opened in 1901, it attracted 13 million visitors in its first year (twice the number who went to the Millennium Dome in London last year). In recent years it has been the most popular free visitor attraction in Scotland. The planned refurbishment will result in the reworking of 23 exhibition areas, expand the exhibition space by a third, create a new children's area with interactive exhibits, have a Battle of Britain spectacular with a City of Glasgow Squadron Spitfire suspended from the ceiling and recreate Charles Rennie Mackintosh's "White Dining Room".

1,000 Join Parade

The streets of Glasgow exploded into a riot of noise and colour as 1,000 adults and children participated in the Lord Provosts's Parade through the centre of the city. There were drummers and belly dancers, horse-drawn carriages and floats in what was billed as the biggest ever event of this kind in Glasgow. A huge Forth and Clyde canal barge, with 22 children dressed as pirates on board, had to be carefully manoeuvred round street corners. Strathclyde Fire Brigade brought out some old fire engines which added their bells and sirens to the cacophony. A number of bands and acts later entertained the crowds in George Square for five hours on a specially erected stage.

Glasgow Science Centre Opens - At Last

The £75 million Glasgow Science Centre complex on the banks of the river Clyde in Glasgow, which was forced to close after one day because it breached conditions in its entertainment license, had to remain closed for most of this week after a site visit by the city councillors on the licensing committee. Comparisons with the Millennium Dome on the river Thames in London began to strike home - the riverside location and the rounded shape of the building had already given rise to such analogies. At least (so far) the Glasgow centre has been built to budget. The GSC marketing people claimed that only 2% of the exhibits were not ready (a figure no doubt calculated on the number of exhibits not available - the large planetarium and space theatre will not be ready until the autumn). But by the end of the week, special authorisation was given which allowed the centre to open at the weekend. However, the 400ft high Millennium Tower will not be operational until next month.

Celtic Announce £25 Million Share Issue

In order to strengthen the team in the season ahead and in the European Champion's League, Celtic have announced a share issue of £25 million. Some of the cash will be ploughed into the youth training facilities and providing higher quality videos on the club's Web site. It is hoped that if the club can build on the success of last season they will be able to create stronger revenue and higher profits. In recent years, purchases of top class players has increased the club's level of debt and reduced profitability. The new shares will pay an annual dividend, though the amount of this will vary depending on the success of the club in the Champion's League.

Celtic Lose Stubbs and Johnson

Celtic defender Alan Stubbs is on his way to Everton as a free transfer under the Bosman ruling. He has already bought a house in Southport and will sign for the side managed by former Rangers boss Walter Smith. 30-year-old Tommy Johnson is also out of contract and has turned down an offer from Celtic and a number of clubs have expressed an interest in the player.

New Name for "Jam Tarts"?

There were cries of outrage this week when it was revealed that a director of Heart of Midlothian Football Club (formed in 1874) was proposing to change the name to just "Hearts FC". The club may have a rhyming slang nickname of "Jam Tarts" but the traditional name is dear to the hearts of the clubs supporters - including the former leader of the Scottish National Party, Alex Salmond, who said it was "absurd". The name Heart of Midlothian was originally applied to the town jail. The site of that building is marked by a heart-shaped crest built into the cobblestones.

Amoruso Still at Ibrox

When the football season finished at the end of May this year there were six players who were expected to leave Rangers during the summer. Five have indeed left but surprisingly Italian defender Lorenzo Amoruso was not one of them. He turned up for training this week with new boys Christian Nerlinger and Claudio Caniggia. Last season he lost the captaincy of the team and more than one transfer deal fell through. To his credit, he continued to play as the true professional and ignored the criticisms sometimes levelled at him by the Rangers fans. At the end of the season he was given a warm ovation by those same fans - who thought they were waving him goodbye. But after spending the summer in his native Italy, expecting a phone call from a top club offering him a job, nothing happened. He is now back training with Rangers, with a year left of his contract. Rangers manager Dick Advocaat is said to have told Amoruso that he will be a regular player in the first team.

Clubs Queue Up for New Stadia

Scotland's bid for the Euro 2008 Football Championship requires another two stadia with a capacity of at least 30,000. With the prospect of additional central funding, a number of clubs are scurrying to produce proposals which will be attractive to the Scottish Football Association. Aberdeen, for example, are known to be involved in talks with Grampian Enterprise and the local city Council about a new ground to the west of the city. Tayside rival clubs Dundee and Dundee United are also said to be having preliminary talks on a joint bid. Inverness Caley Thistle are also considering a bid while Edinburgh clubs Hibernian and Hearts are looking at the possibilities.

Scotland Beat Fiji

In their first match in the qualifying rounds in Canada for the finals of the Cricket World Cup in 2003, Scotland beat Fiji after knocking out the Pacific island team for only 41 runs. Scotland reached the required total for the loss of four wickets. Scotland's next match in their group is against Canada, followed by UAE, Singapore and Holland.

Magazine Section

Flowers of Scotland

Springtime Flowers in Scotland
Over 100 good-size photos of flowers of Scotland taken this spring. Dip in via the thumbnail pages or take the grand tour!

Scottish Humour

Scottish Poetry and Song

Places to Visit

Note that the places to visit which have been highlighted here each week have been gathered together into a Places to Visit Web page with more information and illustrations.

Reid's Palace, Madeira
Madeira? This world-class hotel on a Portuguese island in the Atlantic was created in the 19th century by an enterprising Scot. The high standards he set remain to this day.

Coul House
Near Strathpeffer, this magnificent mansion is now a get-away-from-it-all country house hotel.

Scottish Recipes

Note that the recipes which have appeared here each week have been gathered together into a Traditional Scottish Recipes Web page.

Sea Bream with Tomatoes and Artichokes
Here's a recipe from Reid's Palace, Madeira, featured above.