New Members Sign On
Four years ago, with the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament for the first time in nearly 300 years, there was considerable interest in initial stages of the new legislature. This time round, the swearing in of the newly elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) should have been a more pedestrian affair - but the five members of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) were determined to make their mark early and a series of clenched fists and statements stretched the rules as they protested about pledging "faithful and true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth." SSP member Rosie Kane, dressed in a colourful off-the-shoulder top and tight fitting jeans, had "My oath is to the people" written on her upstretched palm as she took the oath. Some members of the Scottish National Party with republican views also made "personal statements" about what they see as an out-dated and inappropriate oath.
Sir David Steel, the retiring Presiding Officer (Speaker) oversaw the swearing in of the 129 MSPs and then the unopposed election as the new Presiding Officer of his successor - George Reid (pictured here), the veteran Scottish Nationalist and a Deputy Presiding Officer in the last Parliament (photograph courtesy of the Scottish Parliament> Web site.)
Coalition Negotiations "Make Progress"
Labour and Liberal Democrat parties have been locked in lengthy negotiations about the legislative programme to be adopted by a coalition government in the new session of the Scottish Parliament. The election manifestos of the two parties had a number of major differences and the negotiations aim to see where compromises can be made. The LibDems were reported to have conceded their policy of delaying school entry from age five to six but early leaks from the talks caused the LibDems to threaten to quit. Jim Wallace, the leader of the LibDems said that his party had made no concessions and that it was all just media speculation at this stage.
No "Traffic Light" Pact for Government
Any suggestion that the Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition government might bring the Green Party on board in a "traffic light" agreement (named after similar arrangements in Germany where three party colours are red, green and orange) were swiftly kicked into the long grass by the Green Party. The coalition (assuming that they reach an agreement themselves) will now have a small majority in the new Parliament and giving the Green Party, with seven seats, a sympathetic ear might have helped if the occasion arose when back-bench Labour or LibDem MSPs decided to rebel on controversial issues.
Fishermen in Civil War
Traditional prawn fishermen in the west coast of Scotland are beginning to get angry with their fellow white fish trawlermen from the north-east coast. With their traditional cod and haddock grounds under severe catch restrictions, they have sailed en masse to the west coast prawn fishing grounds. The result is that landings of prawn have shot up, depressing prices at the quayside by 30%. And the prawn fishermen are concerned that, having overfished the North Sea stocks, they will do the same to the west coast industry. The 1,000 west coast boats are of varying size but many are small. The North Sea boats are larger and faster, operate seven days a week instead of five and are scooping up large quantities of prawns. This week, the European Commission published its plans for the long term recovery of cod stocks, which include a decade of restrictions on the number of days that boats can fish for white fish in the North Sea.
New Lord Provosts for Edinburgh and Glasgow
Eric Milligan (pictured here courtesy of Tunes of Glory ) has been Lord Provost (roughly equivalent to mayor) of Edinburgh for the last 13 years and was the longest-serving civic leader in the UK. He had been considering a further term in office but when it appeared that he did not have enough support from within his own party to continue, he decided to stand down. During his years in office, the colourful Lord Provost has relentlessly promoted Edinburgh across the world, including visits to New York's Tartan Day Parade earlier this year. During the week, Lesley Hinds was elected Lord Provost in the capital and Liz Cameron was elected Lord Provost in Glasgow. Both ladies have been involved in local politics for many years and both are strong supporters of the arts. Ms Cameron is a graduate of Glasgow University in English language and literature and is on the board of the Scottish Arts Council. The last time both Glasgow and Edinburgh had a female Lord Provost was in 1988.
Turnover Down in Chinese Restaurants
Irrational fears about severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) is apparently resulting in many Scots shunning Chinese restaurants and take-aways. Turnover is said to be down by 40% as people are concerned they might catch the flu-like illness, even though few of the Chinese community in Scotland have been anywhere near China this year. There have been no cases of Sars in Scotland and six probable cases in England have all recovered.
HBOS Buys Australian Bank
Eight years ago, Edinburgh-based Bank of Scotland (now part of the HBOS group following a merger with Halifax plc) bought 49% of the Bank of Western Australia - BankWest. It later increased its stake to 57% and this week made an offer of £417 million for the rest of the bank. The bank claimed it had been an excellent investment for the bank but analysts, who wonder about the long term commitment of the bank, saw it as a possible precursor of an eventual full sale. Others believe that the bank is genuine in its statements about supporting BankWest's development. The illustration is of the statue of "Fame" on the top of Bank of Scotland's HQ in Edinburgh.
Air Passengers Face £25 Transfer Levy
Passengers who transfer from a domestic flight to an international one at UK airports are facing the imposition of a £25 levy as a result of increased charges imposed recently by the Civil Aviation Authority. This will hit Scottish travellers in particular as many fly to London for onward flights to destinations not served directly from Scotland. The higher charges (rising from £9.20 to £24.10) and pressure on airline profitability are forcing the airlines to pass on a charge they previously absorbed.
Scotrail Improves Punctuality
Delays on Scotland's rail network were at their lowest level for over a year last month as track improvements, increased reliability and good weather combined to improve the picture for rail travellers. Even so, only three of the seven areas in the country served by Scotrail actually met punctuality targets set by the rail regulator. 92.2% of the trains on the flagship service between Edinburgh and Glasgow arrived on time, the best performance since last October.
New Cocktail of Licensing Laws Expected
A report recommending changes in the laws governing the sale of alcohol in Scotland is expected early in June after a review which has been conducted over the last two years. The committee, under Gordon Nicholson QC, is likely to suggest extension of permitted opening hours but will not propose a ban on "happy hours" where bars offer drinks at cut prices. It is argued that this is no different from a supermarket making cut price offers - and there is no public support for the idea. Greater harmonisation of regulations is likely to be called for amongst Scotland's 53 individual licensing areas.
Clydeport Win Coal Contract
Despite speculation that ScottishPower would build a new terminal in the river Forth to handle the import of coal for its Longannet, Fife, power station, Clydeport has won a seven year extension to the existing arrangement which brings coal in via Hunterston in Ayrshire and then transports it by rail across central Scotland. ScottishPower also announced that it had increased annual pre-tax profits from £567 million to £836 million for the year to end March. Profits in the company's US subsidiary PacifiCorp made a substantial contribution towards the increase.
Monster Power Station Plan for Loch Ness
The first major hydro-electric power station to be built in Scotland for 40 years is being planned by the Scottish and Southern Energy company in Glendoe on the steep southern slopes of Loch Ness. But before the Loch Ness monster gets upset and moves out, the company is assuring "her" and environmentalists that the bulk of the construction will be underground. The only visible feature will be a dam on a reservoir high up in the mountains, to the south of the loch. The power station may have an output as large as 100 megawatts, enough for 40,000 homes. The scheme has ben developed in conjunction with Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and could take four years to build. With its "renewable energy" credentials and environmental impact being assessed as acceptable by the two main supervisory bodies, the project may well get approval from the Scottish Executive. The drop from the reservoir to the turbines of over 600 metres would be the biggest of any UK hydro-electric power station and this increases the efficiency of the system.
Parents Keeping Children Away From School
Children in Scotland normally begin primary education at around the age of five. Of course, with only one intake a year, this can mean that children from 4½ to 5½ are in the first year of primary school. But an increasing number of parents of younger children are keeping back their offspring because of concern that starting formal education too early can cause emotional "damage". Over 2,000 kids who were due to start school last August were kept away by their parents and will not start attending until August this year. Of course, there are many regional variations - 470 children of school age were kept away in Edinburgh but in Glasgow, with a much larger population, the number was only 15. In Perth and Kinross, with an even smaller population, the number was 161. The law only allows those under the age of five at the start of the new school year to be kept out of school.
Granny's Army Back at the Chalkface
The shortage of teachers and the desire of many older teachers to retire as soon as they can to get away from the stresses of working at the "chalkface" in the classroom, has meant that a number of options have been pursued to plug the gap. And that has included encouraging former teachers to return to work. Most are only too glad to escape the indiscipline seen in many classrooms these days, but hundreds have apparently decided to use the talents honed over 40 years and are answering the call. One such is Mary Casserly, a 76-year-old from Hamilton with seven grandchildren, who says that she loves every minute of being back in harness. But sometimes the experience of a lifetime is not considered good enough by some parents - an elderly Airdrie teacher was forced to leave after a parent complained. And she hadn't even tried to use the "tawse" (a leather belt, once used for corporal punishment to reinforce discipline). She claimed instead that she had left for family reasons.
Tourist Attractions Enjoy Good Bank Holiday
Sunshine, at least in the east and north of Scotland, encouraged large numbers of tourists to visit attractions across the country last weekend and also on Monday, which was a bank holiday and a local holiday in many places. Glamis Castle in Angus (pictured here) reported that there had been more visitors than expected for the time of year and Blair Drummond Safari Park, where visitor numbers are affected greatly by the weather, also reported above average numbers. Do-it-yourself stores and garden centres also experienced increased trade. But the poorer weather in much of May has meant that sales of annual flower plants has not been as good as expected and one large retailer is offering gardeners a 25% discount on bedding plants, in order to move stock.
Olive's New Mate Fails as a Lover
Between 1993 and 2001, Olive and her partner Ollie, a pair of ospreys nesting at Loch Garten, produced 15 chicks. This is a sizeable number in a population which is only growing slowly in Scotland to only 140 pairs after being re-introduced 50 years ago. But last year, the male osprey Ollie failed to return from the winter feeding grounds in West Africa. This year, Olive paired up with a new young male but so far the couple have failed to produce any eggs. The Loch Garten site manager says that male ospreys have to not only defend their territory,they have to bring fish for the female as well as mate. So far, the young bird seems to know only how to defend his territory and has been sadly lacking in his other duties.
Scottish Tourist Embassy in English Lakes
The Scottish Borders Tourist Board is always full of bright, eye-catching ideas. That was the organisation which audaciously suggested buying back the historic town of Berwick-on-Tweed from the English. Now they have opened an office in Keswick in the heart of the English Lake District to tell visitors of the delights to be found a bit further north. The Lake District attracts 12 million visitors each year and the Tourist Board is telling them that it they can "escape the crowds" and enjoy the scenery, peace and serenity of the Scottish Borders.
Salmon and Trout Thrive in River Clyde
The river Clyde through Glasgow used to teem with game fish and supported a thriving fishing industry. The Industrial Revolution and pollution put paid to that and salmon and trout virtually disappeared from the river in the early part of the 20th century. But with vastly improved water quality (partly as a result of the demise of many of the older industries) and efforts by anglers and others, the fish are returning to the Clyde and its tributaries. One of the barriers to the fish reaching their old breeding grounds is the construction of weirs and dams across the river but even here, the creation of fish ladders is helping.
Inevitable Advertising
To defray the costs of printing, a local medical centre in Comrie, Perthshire, has obtained advertising sponsorship from local firms for its appointment cards . Local chemists and dental practices have taken up the offer but there have been some eyebrows raised that the medical centre should accept sponsorship from the local funeral undertakers...
Cowal Way Officially Open
The Cowal Way officially opens on the 10th May. This is a long distance footpath which stretches 47miles from Portavadie on the shore of Loch Fyne across the Cowal Peninsula to Ardgarten on the shore of Loch Long. The official opening will see a host of activities taking place in and around the Clachan of Glendaruel. Activities will begin at 8am when visitors will have the chance to walk sections of the route. A mini-bus will collect walkers from the Clachan of Glendaruel and take them out to different sections of the walk, allowing them to walk back to the Clachan.
Nest Egg on Bank Roof
Staff at the Lloyds TSB Bank head office in the centre of Edinburgh think that the latest visitor there is absolutely quackers. Because a duck has decided that the roof, high above George Street with panoramic views across the city, is the ideal place to build a nest and rear her family of eleven ducklings. Quite how she hoped to get the fledglings to a pond or a river before they could fly is a mystery. Staff called in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds but they were told that it would be safer to leave them there meantime. Staff have provided containers of water and food. Never slow in making a selling point, a bank spokesperson suggested that maybe the duck had been attracted by the bank's extremely low home mortgage rates.
"Son For Sale" Joke Backfires
When Web developer Alex Wilson was showing off his site to his wife, he was exasperated by the interruptions from his five-year-old son Liam. So, as a joke, he posted an advert offering Liam for sale for £5 which read "Hyperactive kid for sale, good at vacuuming, not great at dish-washing because he's too short." Alex forgot about it - until Strathclyde police turned up on his doorstep, having been alerted by a surfer in Washington state in the US who had asked them whether it was "legal to sell children in Scotland". Fortunately, Alex was able to convince the police that he was not involved in child slavery.
Weather in Scotland This Week
Temperatures in Scotland this week were largely around 12/13C (54/55F) although strong winds made this feel cooler than this. Sunshine was concentrated in the east - Aberdeen had an average of eight hours sunshine a day from Saturday to Friday. Showers were frequent across the country, with the west experiencing the heaviest falls of rain.
This week's illustration of current flowers in Scotland is of an azalea growing in the extensive gardens of Finlaystone House in Inverclyde. It wa photographed during a sunny spell on Thursday of this week.
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