"Minister for Everything" Quits
Wendy Alexander, the Scottish Executive Minister for enterprise, transport and lifelong learning, surprised colleagues, friends, political commentators - and First Minister Jack McConnell - by tendering her resignation on Thursday. She delivered her letter personally at the First Minister's home in Wishaw early in the morning and then went on to Edinburgh to inform her staff. Regarded by many as the best brains in the Cabinet, her jargon-rich delivery often bemused supporters as well as the opposition. She was a protegé of the late Donald Dewar, who was the first First Minister of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. Ms Alexander was reported to have had an uneasy relationship with both Henry McLeish who became First Minister after Donald Dewar's death and Jack McConnell. Despite being a workaholic, she is said to have had a major row with Henry McLeish when he wanted to add the water portfolio to her brief. She initially stood against Jack McConnell in the election for leadership after McLeish's resignation, but quickly pulled out of the race. She says that she decided as long ago as last December to resign as Minister but continue on the back benches as an MSP. However, she continued over the last four months in order to complete the new transport strategy. But she told nobody in the interim of her intentions. After her resignation, Ms Alexander flew of on holiday, leaving many questions unanswered and Jack McConnell with a gap in his team which will be hard to fill. The First Minister had intended to spend the weekend on Arran but had to cut short his break to fill the Cabinet post.
MSP Quits Party Over "Bullying Behaviour"
The resignation, from the Scottish National Party, of Scottish Member of Parliament Dorothy Grace Elder, was somewhat overshadowed by the resignation of Wendy Alexander the following day. But although she has resigned from the SNP as a result of what she described as "stupid, arrogant and bullying behaviour" of the party leadership, she intends to continue as an MSP until the next parliamentary elections. In recent weeks, she had been under pressure to stand down as one of the party's representatives on the health and community affairs committee - but had refused. The SNP parliamentary group then voted 25-1 in favour of removing her from the committee. An outspoken individualist, she did not always speak from the party hymn sheet and had been seen increasingly amongst other members of the party as a liability. John Swinney, the SNP leader, has now called on her to resign, rather than continue as an independent member, commenting that she had been elected as a representative of the Scottish National Party. Her resignation letter ran to 12 pages and, amongst other things, accused a number of her front bench colleagues of "prancing around like Hyacinth Bucket".
Scottish Parliament Video Link to Flanders and Catalonia
In an attempt to improve understanding of the issues affecting devolved parliaments, a three-way video conference link has been set up between the Scottish Parliament and similar bodies in Flanders (Belgium) and Catalonia (Spain).
VisitScotland Flagship Project Crumbling
The £7.5 million e-commerce project, which should have been launched last year, has lost the backing of a second area tourist board and other boards are said to have serious doubts about its viability. Three years ago, Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board walked away from the public-private partnership which is scheduled to take over VisitScotland's online travel booking system. This week, the Western Isles Tourist Board voted to follow suit, in protest at the threat by VisitScotland to withdraw funding if the local board declined to participate. Other area tourist boards are also unhappy at what they see as "blackmail". The new VisitScotland website, to be launched in the autumn in partnership with the Scandinavian (but New York based) firm ShlumbergerSema, aims at selling Scotland and Scottish products to tourists and businesses around the world. But there are concerns that the 10-year, legally-binding contract involves too much risk and pursues private sector profit at the expense of the tourist industry. VisitScotland's previous attempt at an online booking system, named Ossian, was a complete disaster.
Scots Living Longer
Predicted life expectancy in Scotland is getting longer, but is still lagging that of the rest of the United Kingdom. The director of Public Health Institute for Scotland says that this is due to a range of factors, including the legacy of the last 70 or 80 years. Adverse social circumstances, working in heavy industries, high smoking rates and poorer diet, have all contributed. In England and Wales, average life expectancy for men is now 75.1 and for women it is 80. In Scotland, the figures are 72.8 for men and 78 for women. Of course, the figures can vary across the country - men in the northern isles of Orkney live an average of 74.3 years and women 81.9 years. But the lowest figures are in the major centres of population such as Glasgow where the figures are 70.5 for men and 76.7 for women.
Bank Survey Shows Continued Growth
Scotland's economy continued to expand last month according to the latest survey by the Bank of Scotland, with growth in both the manufacturing and service sectors. Order books appear to show demand increasing and the growth in service sector employment and a slow-down in manufacturing job losses seem to augur well.
The illustration here is of "Fame" on top of the chief Bank of Scotland Office in Edinburgh.
Business Survival Rate Improves
According to a survey by the financial and business adviser company Grant Thornton, the three-year survival rate of for new small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) has improved to 64.3%. As a result, the Scottish figures are now only slightly below those in England. New businesses in rural areas tend to have a better survival rate with 86.4% of those in Kyle and Lochalsh surviving for three years or more.
Making Your Mark on Holyrood
The team progressing the construction of the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood are to ask members of the public to nominate favourite phrases and quotations, some of which will end up inscribed on the walls of the finished building. The idea was first proposed by the building's designer, the late Enric Miralles. An announcement is expected soon about a competition in which Scots will be asked for their favourite words and quotes. Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott will no doubt figure in the selection but whether today's TV catch phrases such as "Gonnae no' do that?" will make it to the walls of the Parliament is debatable. But perhaps the most appropriate words for the parliament would be from Robert Burns (of course) -
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
Princes to Build Memorial to Queen Mother
Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward are reported to be planning to help in building a 3ft-high cairn in the grounds of the Queen Mother's Castle of Mey in Caithness as a memorial to their grand-mother. The three princes have already built two cairns in the grounds of the castle in memory of a friend of the Queen Mother and to her former private secretary. Some of the stone will come from Glamis Castle, the ancestral home of the Strathmores, from whom the Queen Mother was descended. It is hoped that planning permission to convert the Castle of Mey to a tourist attraction will be obtained in time for the Queen Mother's birth date of 4 August. The Queen Mother purchased the 16th century Castle of Mey in 1952, following the death of her husband, King George VI.
Earl of Inverness Opens Great Glen Way
It took the Aberdeen-based Press and Journal, reporting on the official opening of the new Great Glen long-distance walkway by Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, to refer to him by one of his many other titles - Earl of Inverness. The walkway runs 73 miles from Inverness to Fort William.
French Vision for Derelict Docks
The derelict graving docks next to the Glasgow Science Centre certainly don't do any favours to the £75 million modern development. But the docks are "A" listed as architecturally important and cannot be filled in. But a French company has commissioned a plan for the 20-acre site to transform it into a residential and leisure complex. The "City Canal" development would retain the waterways as features but surround them with new buildings. Certainly, the Glasgow Science Centre, which tells the story of the river Clyde and its importance to the city, is being let down badly by the site which has lain unused for over 20 years.
New Role for Port Glasgow Dry Dock?
As part of the effort to secure the multi-billion pound contract for two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, BAE Systems Marine have signed a long-term lease on the huge Inchgreen dry dock at Port Glasgow. Once used by ships like the QE2 when undergoing a refit, BAE say that it would be an ideal site in which to assemble the two super-carriers which will be twice the size of the Royal Navy's existing carriers. The defence contract is the biggest single order since the Second World War and is being contested between BAE Systems and the French conglomerate Thales.
Glasgow Launches Blitz on Litter Louts
A multi-million pound, three-year campaign to clean up the streets of Glasgow was launched this week. It follows newspaper reports and photographs highlighting the scale of the litter problem. And its not just youngsters who are to blame - the steps of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall are left looking like a waste tip most days after office workers sitting on the steps having their lunch have left their debris. The campaign will involve posters, extra litter bins, encouraging the police to act when they see people dropping litter and a freephone hotline where people can report litter louts. Edinburgh has already introduced an anti-litter campaign with on-the-spot fixed penalties for offenders, with some success.
Campbells and MacDonalds Work Together
When a Campbell was appointed by the National Trust for Scotland as the man in charge of their new visitor centre at Glencoe, there was a predictable outcry from those who still blame the Campbells for the Massacre there in 1692. The Trust responded that Roddy Campbell was the "best man for the job" and that they could not exclude someone because his surname was Campbell. But now the Trust have brought some peace to the glen - by appointing a MacDonald as a senior manager at the centre. Again, the Trust maintain that she was not selected on the basis of her surname - but there must have been a few wry smiles at their HQ in Charlotte Square in Edinburgh when she won the job - on merit. The new centre is to open next Wednesday and already has run into controversy about its interpretation of the massacre. It blames the event on the regimental soldiers of King William who were given clear orders to carry out the killings. Despite living on in popular memory as the Campbells massacring the MacDonalds, only a small number of the soldiers were Campbells.
Gene Code Scientist Wins Burns Award
Sir John Sulston, the former head of the Human Genome Project in the UK, became the first winner of the Robert Burns award this week in recognition of his humanitarian efforts. He received a framed copy of one of Burns' poems at a gala concert at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire.
VisitScotland in the Firing Line
The Scottish tourist agency VisitScotland has been accused of avoiding promoting deer stalking and shooting because of a culture of political correctness. It is being claimed that the blood sport is not being advertised on the VisitScotland website because it is considered to be "elitist." The claim was made by the owner of a 5,000-acre sporting estate who went on to point out that shooting and stalking employs 7,200 full-time workers and is vital to the rural economy. According to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, more than 100,000 visitors come each year to Scotland in pursuit of the sport which can cost up to £500 a day.
Lawyer Gets a Wigging
A long-serving Queen's Counsel broke with hundreds of years of tradition this week by discarding the wig which has been worn by advocates. He argued that they were old fashioned and that the courts should move away from such "badges of office". However, later in the week, it looked as though he had been prevailed upon to "keep his hair on" but he declined to comment on who had forced the U-turn. The periwig was first introduced from France in the 17th century and the shorter wigs were introduced around 1750. They have survived to this day in Scottish courts. While some of his colleagues approved of the move, others with a more conservative attitude commented that the guards at Buckingham Palace would soon be turning up wearing baseball caps instead of busbies.
Sikh Festival Celebrated
Vaisakhi is one of the most popular festivals in Punjab and it was celebrated in Glasgow with the launch of an exhibition in the Royal Concert Hall. It included workshops on Sikh martial arts, music and arranged marriages. Children attending the exhibition were also able to learn how to make chapattis and tie turbans and saris. A concert of Indian song, dance and drama was expected to be a sell-out event.
Scotsman Hotel One of the Best
A hotel, created out of the former offices of a national newspaper, has been named by the Condé Nast "Traveler" as one of the top 52 in the world. The "Scotsman" hotel, appropriately carrying on the name of the newspaper, is the only hotel in Scotland and only one of three in the UK to be included in the prestigious list. The 68-room hotel opened last year after a conversion cost of £14.5 million. Its whisky bar offers 399 different malts and it stands high on North Bridge, above Princes Street.
Higher Gaelic Not Facing Axe
Reports on the front page of Scotland on Sunday that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) was going to cut Higher and Standard grade exams in Gaelic and other "unpopular" subjects such as Russian and Classical Greek have been hotly denied by the SQA. The newspaper pointed out that there had been only 460 candidates for Gaelic while the number for the "dead" language of Latin was double that number. The SQA charges schools a flat fee for each exam, but this does not cover the cost of setting and marking exams in small-scale subjects. Other subjects said to be under consideration for removal include Urdu (171 candidates) and Russian (27 candidates).
Coke Beating Irn-Bru
The locally produced, orange-coloured, fizzy drink named Irn-Bru has been top of the pops in Scotland for much of its 101-year history. Despite the in-roads of global giants such as Coca-Cola, it has kept back the tide. But like many of Scotland's traditional "industries" it is gradually succumbing, overtaken by a flood of cheap Coke and Pepsi imported from overseas. An independent market research company now claims that more Coca-Cola is being drunk in Scotland than the local product. Long seen as a pick-me-up and cure for a hang-over, Irn-Bru's profits declined by 23% last year as it cut margins in an attempt to maintain market share. Advertising campaigns have made famous such phrases as "Irn-Bru, made from girders" and "Scotland's other national drink". In recent years, the company has expanded into England and abroad - it is made under licence in Russia
Whisky Training Course
Although many bars and hotels stock large numbers of brands of blended and malt whisky, most staff serving in these establishments have little knowledge about the product they are selling. To help to counteract this situation, the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre has started a monthly training school to teach Edinburgh bar and hotel staff about the finer points of the "water of life." In addition to learning about the different flavours of many of the available brands, those attending the course are taught about production methods and history, so that they can answer questions from customers. Needless to say, the highlight of the eight hour course is a tutored tasting when the students learn how to appreciate the nose, the body, the colour and the palate of various types of whisky. And unlike wine-tasing, they don't have to spit out the samples of whisky.
Enrico Licks Council
The owners of a Glasgow city centre Italian cafe claimed victory this week when the city council backed down over a ban on a 5ft high imitation ice cream cone on the pavement outside the premises. They had faced a £3,000 fine from the council for refusing to remove the hazard. After discussions, the officials agreed that as long as the cone was kept half in the doorway and half on the pavement, they would turn a blind eye to it infringing local regulations. The cone has been standing outside of the cafe for ten years and is certainly no more of an obstruction that the "street furniture" which the council itself litters around pedestrianised areas.
Community Bid to Buy Harris Estate
An attempt is to be made by the community in Harris to buy the Amhuinnsuidhe castle and estate which is currently owned by John Bulmer who made his fortune from making and selling cider. The cost of the 50,000 acre estate is likely to be in the region of £4.5 million and funding will come from taxpayer-funded sources such as the Community Land Fund.
Nessie Day - A Monstrous Idea
The Loch Ness Monster Fan Club has written to the United Nations in New York with a proposal that May 2 should become "Nessie Day". The date was chosen because it was on May 2, 1933, that the first Loch Ness Monster story was reported in the press, beginning what has become a major industry. The Fan Club say that the purpose of Nessie having her own day would be to highlight that some mysteries still have no answers, despite decades of research.
Breeding Bees for Orkney
A beekeeper in Orkney, the islands to the north of mainland Scotland, says that he is embarking on a project to breed bees which are able to forage and produce more honey in the colder and wetter climate of the islands. Erland Omand has already spent four years in New Zealand learning the techniques involved and he intends to build up a stock of specially bred queen bees, not just for Orkney, but for export to other countries with a similar climate.
Corncrake Campaign Creaking
A financial subsidy, paid to farmers in designated areas in the Western Isles, to delay cutting hay and silage until after corncrake chicks have left the nest and to cut the crop from the centre outwards, has been withdrawn by the Scottish Executive. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says that this will put the bird, with its distinctive "crek-crek" call, under threat once again. The measures had managed to stabilise the population on Coll (which is now home to 10% of the entire population of corncrakes in Scotland) and other islands. The funding scheme has been replaced by a new "Rural Stewardship Scheme" which is underfunded and forces farmers to compete for central funds. As a result, only a handful are able to take part in bio-diversity schemes.
Weather in Scotland This Week
After an average start last weekend, with temperatures around 10/11C (50/52F) in most parts of Scotland, there was a decided dip and by Tuesday it had become a chilly 6C (43F) in Glasgow and Edinburgh though Aberdeen managed to reach 9C (48F). But it did not last and the thermometer bounced back up again with Glasgow reaching 15C (59F) on Wednesday. Although the temperatures slipped back again later in the week, there was a good amount of sunshine around - Tiree had 13.2 hours of sun on Friday.
This week's illustration of current flowers in Scotland is of one of the many rhododendrons in the newly re-opened Crarae Gardens in Argyll, south of Inveraray. The photo was taken on Friday of this week.
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