Glasg-olé - Gracias Glasgow!
52,000 fans were at Hampden Park in Glasgow to see the Champions League football final on Wednesday evening, with an estimated 400 million watching on TV across the world. Real Madrid from Spain won the match against Bayer Leverkusen from Germany by 2-1 but the Spanish side had to fight hard to retain their lead, especially in the last 20 minutes. Although there was a steady downpour during the match, Glasgow and Scotland proved to be first-class hosts to the visiting fans and the world's media who turned up for the showcase event. It will have done Scotland's chances of hosting the Euro 2008 competition no harm at all. The city had been decked out in flags during the weeks leading up to the final and George Square in the centre of the city was closed to traffic to allow fans to congregate there both before and after the match. Catering facilities at Hampden were geared to accepting Euro currency - both Spain and Germany use the new notes and coins - and many city bars were licenced to stay open for extended hours. Spanish restaurants in Glasgow were overflowing and Glasgow airport had a busy night with charter flights departing regularly with tired but enthusiastic fans.
Full House for Scottish Parliament
At the end of this month the Scottish Parliament will temporarily relocate to Kings College Conference Centre in Aberdeen - to allow the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to take place in the building on The Mound in Edinburgh. After all, it is the church's building and parliament are tenants until the new building at Holyrood is completed. The arrival of the legislature in Aberdeen, however, is creating a fair amount of local interest and all the seats in the public gallery have been snapped up - many by school children, keen to see how the governing body works (or maybe just keen for a few hours away from the classroom).
Arbroath-Based Marines in Action
A large force of Royal Marines from 45 Commando, whose home base is at Arbroath, were in action for the first time against al Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan this week. The troops have been engaged in search operations for some weeks, without any action, but have now gone to the aid of Canadian troops who were attacked in a region of southern Afghanistan. The operation has been named "Condor" - the Commando base at Arbroath is HMS Condor.
"Grand Education Debate" Yields 213 Responses
A £360,000 publicity campaign to encourage Scots of all ages and walks of life to contribute to a "grand debate" on the future of Scottish schools has so far yielded just 213 responses. After a nationwide advertising campaign in newspapers, radio and billboards and feedback forms sent to 8,000 organisations and schools, there have been only 19 written responses and 194 on the Internet - many just rants about school food or about the "debate" itself. The Executive are still hopeful that they will get more feedback as they are holding 100 events across Scotland in the coming weeks to promote the debate and encourage people to send in their views.
Scotland at the Smithsonian
The Scottish Executive has agreed to invest £250,000 in staging a two-week cultural festival, showcasing the best of Scotland, at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington next summer. Entitled, rather unimaginatively, "Scotland at the Smithsonian", it will run from June 29 next year, taking in the July 4 Independence Day celebrations. The Folklife Festival has been staged by the Smithsonian each year since 1965. It draws crowds of around a million with millions more aware of the event via the media. A team of researchers from the institute was in Scotland during the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow in January and visited the Globe Inn, the 392-year-old haunt of Robert Burns.
Boost for Edinburgh or Glasgow from Airline Merger
The takeover of budget airline GO by rival airline easyJet has created another aspect of the competition between Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. It is likely that the enlarged airline will want to create a regional hub in Scotland - either in Edinburgh or Glasgow. Regardless of the outcome, the merger is likely to create more opportunities for expansion of budget routes from Scotland. The purchase of GO for £374 million is something of an embarrassment to British Airways - it sold its fledgling airline last year to a management buy-out team for £110 million.
Record Venture Capital Investment
The amount of money invested in Scotland last year by venture capital companies reached a new record level, despite an overall decline in the rest of the UK. £440 million was invested in Scotland by members of the British Venture Capital Association, an increase of 68% over the previous year. In the UK as a whole, there was a decline of 25%.
Companies Object to Charges for Bus Station
As part of the £50 million Harvey Nichols department store development on Edinburgh's St Andrew Square, the dilapidated bus station which used to occupy the site is being replaced. But the running costs for the new terminus will be £525,000 compared to £180,000 for the old facility. Now the main operators, First Bus, Citylink, Lothian and Stagecoach are objecting to the increased charges and are threatening to continue to use the temporary stands set up on the streets at Waterloo Place and around St Andrew Square. Some of the bus companies are arguing that bus stations are more appropriate for long distance services and that local bus services are better served by bus stops in the streets.
An Old Kirk in a New Scotland
Although the Church of Scotland commissioned journalist Harry Reid to write a book about the challenges to the church, they are getting more than they bargained for. The book says the church is failing, led by incompetent management and supported by stingy worshippers who do not contribute enough to the upkeep of the church. He suggests that church members should be required to pay a percentage of their income to the church and that ministers' manses should be sold off and replaced with more suitable accommodation. The church's chief treasurer has to deal with 20 executives who deal with their own committees which report to the General Assembly, the church's governing body, which meets once a year. Despite the criticism, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, who commissioned the book, welcomed the comments, saying that it could act as a catalyst for reform. The book comes hard on the heels of a report by the kirk's national mission which says that with 17,000 fewer members each year, the church could cease to exist by 2050.
Protest at Sunday Opening in Hebrides
Campaigners for observance of the Sabbath demonstrated outside a supermarket in Portree on the island of Skye this week because it had decided to open on a Sunday. There had been no advance notice of the opening and the only shoppers who used the Supermarket last Sunday were the many tourists from the mainland, where Sunday opening of shops is common-place. While some other small outlets in the northern part of Skye open on a Sunday, this was the first time that a major supermarket had opened and was the first time that alcohol had been on sale on the island on a Sunday.
Speaker Gets Elocution Lessons
When Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, gave an address to the Queen on behalf of MPs at a service to mark her Golden Jubilee, many listeners were pleasantly surprised. Although his usual Scottish burr was present, he was widely praised for his address - which had much of his broad Glasgow accent removed. It now appears that he was coached by a fellow MP, actress Glenda Jackson. She claimed that she only gave a few "tips" and that he had a wonderful tone of voice.
Aberdeen - Scotland's Brainiest City?
A BBC TV programme, which attempted to measure the intelligence quotient (IQ) of different parts of the country, placed Aberdeen at the top of the league table of Scottish cities, marginally ahead of Edinburgh. But Scotland as a whole came out if the survey ahead of Wales but trailed England and Northern Ireland. But then, maybe the people with the higher IQ's had better things to think about than participate in a survey with dubious validity. Of course, there had to be a panel of celebrities to be measured - they came out with an IQ score of "below average," so maybe there was something in the survey after all?
Tackling the Fridge Mountain
Ever since a European Union directive came into force earlier this year, requiring that the CFC gases in refrigerators should be disposed of in an environmentally sound fashion, local councils have been having to cope with mountains of discarded fridges. Every year, Scots throw out 225,000 redundant fridges, but until now there had been no reprocessing plant available. Now, a new £3 million plant near the Friarton Bridge in Perthshire is being proposed which will deal with the recycling of over 95% of the material from old fridges. The plant is being built by a German company which has already recycled seven million fridges in the last five years. But the company operating the facility will be a subsidiary of a Perthshire business.
Commercial Flights from RAF Leuchars?
Irish budget airline Ryanair has expressed an interest in creating a new commercial airport at the Royal Air Force's fighter base at Leuchars in Fife. Leuchars is close by St Andrews and not far from Dundee. (The illustration is of a Spitfire which for many years was the "gate guardian" at the airfield). Ryanair wants to expand in Scotland, but it has struggled to reach an acceptable financial arrangement on landing fees with the British Airports Authority (BAA) which owns Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports. Landing charges there (and in Inverness) are amongst the most expensive in Europe - twice that of Heathrow in London. BAA argue that the charges are higher because costs are being spread over fewer passengers. Recently, Ryanair withdrew from discussions about flights from Inverness, describing the Highlands and Islands Airports Authority as "inept and incompetent."
First Continental "Water Motorway" Launched
The first direct ferry service from Scotland to Europe made its maiden voyage this week, sailing from Rosyth to Zeebrugge. Superfast Ferries is a Greek company and it will receive a subsidy from the European Union of £4 million a year, with another grant of £8 million to upgrade the facilities at Rosyth. The ferry company claims that there are already 50,000 passenger bookings for the 17-hour overnight service which has a capacity for 626 people on board. But the success of the service will depend on how well the spaces for 110 trucks and 115 private cars are filled.
Laying Down the Law on Wigs
The dean of the faculty of advocates has said firmly that members working in Scottish courts will be required to wear wigs while on duty in court. Recently, an advocate who appeared in court without a wig, saying that it was an old-fashioned anachronism, was forced to put it back on. The dean says that he would welcome an "open and ordered debate" about their continuation, but in the meantime the current rules apply.
Multi-Million Pound Bonus Scheme for Bank Bosses
Despite objections from 25% of the shareholders at an annual general meeting, a bonus scheme was approved which could earn the chief executive and executive deputy chairman of HBOS (the merged Bank of Scotland and Halifax) up to £10 million over the next three years, on top of their generous salaries. Other directors could earn £6/7 million in the same timescale. Peter Burt, the executive deputy chairman and former Governor of the Bank of Scotland, denied rumours that he was going to step down in the autumn. But he will be 60 in 2004 and says that he expects to retire before then.
Postman Delivers Telegram - to His Grandparents
A telegram to John and Molly McGarvie from the Queen, congratulating them on their 65th wedding anniversary, was delivered by a special postman - their grandson, who travelled from Perth to deliver it to them in a nursing home in Torphins, Aberdeenshire. The couple are both 95 years old.
Developer Fights City Council
For over ten years, the facade of a 19th century warehouse on Ingram Street in Glasgow has been supported by scaffolding. The building behind has been demolished but planning permission for redevelopment has been turned down repeatedly by the city authorities because the plans involved the demolition of the B-listed frontage, built in 1875. The developers argue that it does not merit retention because of its quality and condition but city planners regard demolition as "architectural vandalism." The illustration shows an artist's impression of how the street would look if the plans are built - the new facade would be the two buildings in the centre). Of course, retaining the frontage would almost certainly reduce the number of floors which could be created in a modern building as the existing Victorian ceiling heights are much higher.
Osprey Eggs Stolen
Despite razor wire round the trees in which ospreys were nesting, all the eggs from two of their nests in the Dunkeld area were stolen by collectors last weekend. The theft has prompted calls for tougher legislation for wildlife crime - in England such crimes can result in those convicted being sent to jail but in Scotland they can only be fined. So far, the Scottish executive has declined to introduce tougher laws. There are only 120 pairs of ospreys in Scotland.
Rum Land Released to Assist Repopulation
Scottish Natural Heritage, the agency which owns most of the Inner Hebridean island of Rum, has announced that it is to release land for private residential and business development. It is hoped that the move will help to arrest the steady decline in population on the island. It was once home to 400 people but that has fallen to 30 - the island lost half its residents last year.
Loch Lomond Threatened by Foreign Invader
15 years ago, Nuttall's Pond Weed was first detected in the waters of Loch Lomond. The weed, which originates in North America, has now spread to three bays on the loch and is threatening the growth of native plants. It forms a dense canopy, two to three metres deep, restricting the light to the water below. Nuttall's Pond Weed is now the fourth most common species of plant to be found in Loch Lomond.
Beaver Plan Damned
A flagship project by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to re-introduce beavers into Scotland, after a gap of 400 years, has been put on hold while further consultation takes place. So far, SNH has spent seven years drawing up plans for a trial project and £20,000 has been spent on consultation. The public has been overwhelmingly supportive, but there has been recent fierce lobbying by landowners and farmers opposed to the project. The environment minister Allan Wilson has now said that "It is premature to speculate on when a final decision on SNH's application will be taken."
Arctic Tartan Kilt for North Pole
A kilt, made in Arctic tartan, is being sent to Perthshire explorer Dave Mill who is attempting to walk unaided from Canada to the North Pole. If he makes it (he is currently stranded on an ice flo), it is unclear how he is planning to wear a kilt in the freezing Arctic conditions. The Arctic tartan was designed by a Mull company, Celtic Connections. Profits from the sale of the tartan go to the World Wildlife Fund.
Golf Courses Join Green Revolution
A number of Scottish golf courses have received environmental excellence awards and lead the way in Europe in the field of environmental management. Since a European scheme to encourage environmentally-responsible golf courses was introduced last year, eight out the fifteen awards made to date have been to Scottish courses. Gleneagles, Kilmacolm, Linlithgow and Elmwood were amongst the first to be recognised and this week Mortonhall in Edinburgh, the Duke's Course at St Andrew's, Pumpherston Golf Club in West Lothian and Fortrose and Rosemarkie in the Highlands all received an award.
Hydrogen Powered Island?
A consortium of scientists and businessmen are proposing to create clean fuel on the island of Islay, using a wave power generators already on the island, to create hydrogen for fuel cell batteries for use by local people. The only by-product of regenerating batteries is H2O - water. The Scottish Fuel Cell Consortium is backed by Scottish Enterprise and they claim that a "green powered" island is viable.
Weather in Scotland This Week
After a bright start last weekend, duller showery weather spread in from the Atlantic. On Monday, Glasgow had 6mm (0.24 inches) of rain. But by the middle of the week temperatures had risen to 17/19C (63/66F). The best of the sunshine was in the north-east where Aberdeen had 14.6 hours of sun over Tuesday and Wednesday. By Friday, however, temperatures had dropped to around 13C (55F) in the central belt and 11C (52F) further north in Aberdeen.
This week's illustration of current flowers in Scotland is of a paeonia in a suburban garden in Glasgow, photographed earlier this week.
|