"King's Ransom" to Visit Castle

Historic Scotland, the government agency which looks after the castles which are in state care, is being criticised for a major increase in the price of tickets to see round Edinburgh Castle, it's flagship tourist attraction. Adults will have to pay £9.80 and senior citizens will have to stump up £7.50 - an increase of 7%. Children's tickets have gone up by 75% from £2 to £3.50. Historic Scotland claim that it is still very reasonable compared to other leading attractions in Edinburgh such as the zoo. There are lots of things to see in the castle and it is possible to spend many hours there and still not see everything. But a tour of Dublin's 13th-century castle costs only £4.50 for adults and £2 for children, while an adult ticket into Prague Castle costs £8 and a concession ticket £4.

Populations Rise and Fall

Media reports this week suggested that Ireland's population will overtake that of Scotland in 15 years unless the decline on the numbers of people living in Scotland is reversed. Ireland's population stood at 2.8 million in the 1970s and will exceed 5 million by 2019 according to a forecast by the Irish Central Statistics Office. The Registrar General for Scotland, meanwhile, has predicted that the current population of 5.05 million here, could fall to 4.84 million by 2009. Population decline has been fastest in the Western Isles where numbers have fallen by 11% in the last ten years. Meantime, within Scotland, the growth of Edinburgh and the decline of Glasgow's population means that Glasgow is losing 20,000 citizens every ten years while Edinburgh is gaining 11,000 in the same time-frame, making the capital into Scotland's largest city in under 40 years. Glasgow used to be the "Second City of the Empire", after London, but as the heavy industries declined in the 1950s and 60s and as many Glaswegians emigrated to just beyond the city boundary, the population began to fall. Currently, Glasgow has a population estimated to be 569,000 while Edinburgh has 120,000 fewer. Of course, Edinburgh's boundary stretches up to ten miles from the city centre at some points, while Glasgow covers a much smaller geographic area, with large parts of the Glasgow postal area forming part of neighbouring counties.

Scots in Queen's New Year's Honours List

Leading figures in Scotland's business community were included in the annual list of awards made by the Queen on New Year's Day. Susan Rice, chief executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland was recognised for her services to Banking with a CBE. Rice was born in Rhode Island, USA and she became the first woman to head a UK clearing bank, as chief executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland in 2000. Peter Lederer, chairman of VisitScotland, was also awarded a CBE for his services to tourism. He has served as a member of the tourism agency since 1995, and was appointed chair in 2001. Keith Miller, chief executive of Scotland's largest privately-owned building firm, The Miller Group, was awarded a CBE for services to the construction industry in Scotland and to charity. Frank Pignatelli, chief executive of the Scottish University for Industry, was given a CBE for services to education and lifelong learning. Pignatelli was Strathclyde region director of education and joined the private sector after local government was reorganised in 1997. Golfer Colin Montgomery and Olympic gold medallist yachtswoman Shirley Robinson from Dundee were awarded an OBE. Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy from Edinburgh was honoured with an MBE. Musicians the Alexander Brothers (pictured here) and sculptor George Wyllie also become MBEs.

TV Presenter and First Minister Cause a Stooshie

When BBC presenter Kirsty Wark invited First Minister Jack McConnell and his wife and family to join her in her Majorcan villa at New Year, she little realised the fuss and bother it would generate. It was the second time that the McConnell family - friends for 15 or 20 years - had been guests in this fashion. It then came out that Wark had stayed at Bute House in Edinburgh, the First Minister's official residence (pictured here), on at least two occasions. As one of the BBC presenters and interviewers on political programmes, her objectivity and indeed judgement has been called into question, now that the situation has been given the glare of publicity. By Friday of this week the story had pushed the tsunami disaster off the front page of The Scotsman newspaper. Not that such close relationships are unique in the small world of the "Cosy Nostra" of Scottish politics. For example, John Campbell was counsel to the Fraser Enquiry into the shambles of the new Parliament building project. He was questioning Kirsty Wark about the tapes for the TV programme her company was making about the construction of the new building and was in the unusual position of questioning a bridesmaid at his wedding. Wark had been appointed by another friend, the late First Minister Donald Dewar, to join the panel which controversially appointed Enrico Miralles to be the architect for the parliament building. Her TV production company refused to hand over to the Fraser enquiry interview tapes made as part of the programme on the construction of the parliament.

Kick in the Teeth for Government Dental Plan

The British Dental Association (BDA) Scotland has warned the Scottish Executive that a promise to introduce free dental check-ups for everyone in Scotland may not be achievable by the target date of 2007 because there are too few dentists in the National Health Service (NHS). Many dentists have left the NHS to set up private dental care which is more lucrative and allows more time for preventive and educational procedures. The BDA say that there is more to a dental check-up than just a quick look around the patient's mouth. Currently, it is estimated that the NHS dental service is 10% short of dentists. That average figure masks large areas of Scotland where there are no subsidised dental care services available at all.

Free Bus Travel for All Pensioners

There are currently local authority schemes which provide free bus travel for over-60s, with varying rules about how far they can travel and at what time of the day. Now the Scottish Parliament has approved a national scheme of free bus travel which will apply to all pensioners (and the disabled) and which will have no time restrictions. The national scheme will also end difficulties for those travelling across council boundaries. The cost of the new arrangements will be £159 million in 2006-7, increasing to £163 million the following year. New "smartcards" will be introduced to minimise fraud.

Scottish Shoppers Shine

Gloomy reports from England and Wales that retail sales in December were the "worst Christmas for 25 years" were not being matched in Scotland. The Scottish Retail Consortium said that although full statistics had not yet been accumulated, evidence suggested that sales north of the Border have remained more resilient than across the rest of the country. Scottish consumers spend a smaller percentage of their monthly income servicing their mortgages and the slow down in rising house prices had not been as marked in Scotland. It seems that Edinburgh and Glasgow in particular helped Scotland "out-trade" the rest of the UK. However, even in Scotland, there is plenty of evidence of shops being forced into starting discounted sales earlier than usual.

Fishermen Catch a Good Deal

The annual round of negotiations in Brussels to decide on the number of fish which can be caught in European waters and when boats can put to sea, usually ends up with Scottish fishermen in the depths of despair. In the days before the meeting to negotiate the rules for 2005, there were suggestions that some of the fishing grounds would be closed permanently, to provide a nursery for young fish. In the end, that plan was rejected and, instead, a proposal to reduce the number of days fishermen can spend at sea, was altered in such a way that it will not affect most of the Scottish fleet. A controversial haddock permit system, which was in force last year, has been discontinued, the North Sea cod quota remains unchanged and there will not be a reduction in days at sea. It appears that the widespread use of 120mm mesh nets by Scottish vessels to protect juvenile fish was instrumental in avoiding a cut in fishing days. The UK negotiating team, including Ross Finnie the Scottish minister responsible for fisheries, also managed to win a 12% increase in quotas for prawn caught off the west coast and a 50% rise in the amount of monkfish caught in the North Sea off the north and north west of Scotland. However, some cod fishing grounds off the west coast of Scotland will be closed as part of conservation measures.

Chip and PIN Cause Confusion

In an effort to cut back on the amount lost by credit and debit card fraud, the UK banks have been issuing new plastic cards incorporating a fraud-proof (so far) micro-chip. Customers will require to tap in a four-digit PIN (personal identification number) at the counter or check-out, instead of scrawling an ineligible signature (which retail staff frequently don't even bother to check anyway). The transition to the new system is being phased in, but as from 1 January the banks' computer systems can demand a PIN instead of a signature - and pass the responsibility for fraud to the retailer if the customer cannot provide the correct number. Despite all the advance publicity and advertising, that is causing problems as many people cannot recall their PIN, especially if they have a number of different cards and have not selected an easier number to remember. The situation is made even more complicated by the fact that some customers have not been issued with a "Chip and PIN" card and the computer will then require a customer signature as before, causing confusion to staff and customers alike.

Emma and Lewis Lead List

The General Register Office for Scotland annual list of the most popular names used by parents registering the birth of their children in 2004 shows that Emma and Lewis are still at the top of the tree. For girls, the top five - Emma, Sophie, Ellie, Amy and Chloe - are the same as in 2003, although Sophie has moved from fourth to second. For boys, top-placed Lewis is followed by Jack in second position. James is in third (up one place), Cameron is fourth and Ryan is fifth. The name Keira has jumped 79 places into 32nd place, presumably due to the actress Keira Knightley. Boys' names making significant advances in the top 50 are Aiden (up 25 places to 32nd), Sam (up 24 places to 34th) and MacKenzie (up 35 places to 93rd). Duncan, George, Mohammed, Marcus, Mitchell, Grant, Anthony and Greg have all fallen out of the top 100. Girls' names moving out of the top 100 were Hayley, Rhiannon, Claire, Jade, Catherine, Orla, Katherine and Alicia. 26,200 boys were registered in 2004 with more than 2,200 different first names being used. 24,600 girls were registered, with more than 3,200 different names being used. In England and Wales, Jack and Emily were the most popular names for 2004 and in Northern Ireland, Jack and Katie were most popular.

New Ferry Link to Norway?

The operators of the daily ferry service between Rosyth in Fife and Zeebrugge in Belgium have begun discussions about starting a new route from Rosyth to Norway, probably docking at Kristiansund. The Superfast ferry to Belgium started in 2002 and has carried 500,000 passengers since then. A service to Norway would increase the number of tourists from there as Norwegians are used to ferry services along their long coastline. Since Norway is not part of the European Union there are also "duty free" attractions in travelling between the two countries. The initiative for a new route apparently originated in Norway where businesses there would use the service for exporting Norwegian seafood and oil industry supplies. When Rosyth began operating, the terminal and infrastructure had to be put in place, and any new route would be able to build on that.

Bumper Pay Rise for Train Drivers

In 2002, Scotrail train drivers waged a campaign of one-day strikes to force the company to come up with a better pay offer. The industrial action caused severe disruption and the company not only lost income as a result of the dispute, they lost many passengers who found alternative means of transport - and never came back. The new rail franchise company, Scotrail Direct, were clearly determined not to follow the same strategy and have made a bumper pay offer which the trade union has jumped to recommend to its members. And no wonder. The two-year deal will give drivers a 4% pay rise from 1 January and another 4% rise next January, at a time when price inflation is running at less than twice that level. There are also improved health benefits and higher starting salaries for trainees. It means that basic salaries will be lifted to above £30,000 a year.

City Council Approves Scotland's Tallest Building

Glasgow City Council has given backing to the construction of a 39-storey building on the site of the former Strathclyde Regional Council HQ, close to the approach road to the M8 road over the Kingston Bridge. The tear-drop shaped complex will soar to 134 metres (440 feet) and will be taller than the Glasgow Tower across the river at Pacific Quay and the Red Road flats (also in Glasgow), Europe's tallest homes at 328ft. More than 200 luxury homes are planned for the new building and the public would have access to a restaurant on the 34th floor. It is hoped to start demolishing the current buildings this year and have the new development ready for occupation in 2008. Of course, on a world scale, the Glasgow building will be relatively small - the Empire State Building on New York is 1,250ft tall and the Sears Tower in Chicago is 1,450 ft high while the Taipei 101 in Taiwan (completed in 2004) has a roof which is even higher - and a tall spire on top of that.

Over the Bridge to Skye - Free

First Minister Jack McConnell personally travelled to the Skye road bridge to announce that the long campaign by the islanders to have the toll charges for using the bridge removed had been successful. The bridge was built nine years ago as a privately funded project and the tolls were to pay for the cost of construction and maintenance. An amount of around £27 million has had to be paid to Skye Bridge Ltd to buy out the contract. A review of toll charges on the Erskine Bridge over the Clyde, the Tay Bridge and the Forth road bridge is also being undertaken. Removing the tolls on the Skye bridge could be shown to have no adverse traffic or environmental effects (even if traffic volumes increase by 50% they will still amount to less than 5% of that on the Forth Bridge). The Erskine Bridge (ten miles downstream from the centre of Glasgow) has lower traffic volumes than over the Tay and Forth but even so it carries twelve times the number of vehicles than the bridge to Skye. However, removal of the tolls there may help to ease the severe congestion at the Clyde Tunnel and the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow.

Problems and Successes for Airline

Budget airline Flyglobespan.com has had mixed fortunes recently on its Scottish routes. Hundreds of Scots who had booked on a new service to Paris from Glasgow, due to start in April, have received refunds because the service has had to be cancelled. The airline has been unable to obtain guaranteed landing slots at the Paris Orly airport which has become busier due to problems at the city's Charles de Gaulle terminal, after the roof of a pier there collapsed. Alternative flights with other airlines will cost considerably more. However, Flyglobespan.com also had some good news this week. It announced that, because of the success of its services to Palma in Majorca and Malaga in Spain, it is to double the number of flights to these destinations from mid-May to Mid-September.

Fair City Bids for City Status

Everyone knows the phrase "Fair City of Perth". The only problem with that is that Perth is not a city. At one time in its history Perth was the capital of Scotland (a claim which a fair number of places around the country can match) but has never been given the royal charter giving it the status of a city. The Scottish Conservative Party, which used to consider the area to be one of its strongholds, has taken up the cause not just because of status, but because it believes that the conurbation loses out financially in government grants by not being classed as a city. Meantime, in the south of Scotland, support is growing in Dumfries to make a bid for city status - whenever the next opportunity arises.

City and Village of Stirling

A truck driver who drove 150 miles to the tiny village of Stirling, near Peterhead in north-east Scotland, is just one of the many folk who have been confused by two locations in Scotland being named "Stirling". The city of Stirling in the central Lowlands was once the capital of Scotland and is famous in history for Wallace's victory at the battle of Stirling Bridge and Bruce's defeat of King Edward II of England at nearby Bannockburn. The village of Stirling in Buchan (with around a dozen houses), on the other hand, is famous for, well, being confused with its bigger namesake. Now a local councillor has been successful in getting the hamlet renamed "Stirling Village". However, it will be a long time before maps and gazetteers are updated. In the meantime villagers will just have to put up with their letters and other deliveries going first to the City of Stirling before someone realises the mistake.

New Branding for City of Inverness

Apart from some vague benefit of "prestige", being named a city does not give a town any particular advantage. But ever since Inverness (a Royal Burgh since 1158) was selected to be given a charter by the Queen as part of the Millennium celebrations, Inverness has been raising its profile. The latest move has been to create a new "brand identity" with a logo which emphasises, by the use of colour, the "In" in Inverness. It’s claimed to be a simple graphic way of expressing its personality and conveying the city's strengths and qualities. Inverness is the only city in the Highlands and the brand mark is a way of making sure everyone remembers that. See www.inverness-scotland.com/branding.asp to see the brand in various guises.

Red Carpet for Receivers

Kilmarnock-based Stoddard International is Scotland's oldest surviving carpet manufacturer. However, a fall in demand for their high quality products due to a combination of customers moving to cheaper imported products or laminate or wooden flooring, has resulted in the company struggling to survive. Now the future of the company is hanging by a thread after being forced to call in the receivers. It had been unable to secure funding to allow it to continue in operation. The company made the carpets for the film Titanic and also the red carpet used on the Queen's wedding day in 1947. The accountants will now assess the situation and decide whether it can be sold as a going concern but preliminary indications are not good.

Big Garden Birdwatch

Anyone interested in birdwatching in the UK is being invited to take part in the "Big Garden Birdwatch 2005." All they need to do is spend one hour watching the birds that visit their garden, local park or RSPB reserve over the weekend of Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 January and record what they see. Anyone wanting to take part has to sign up via the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) Web site at www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch. The picture shows a bullfinch in a suburban garden, north of Glasgow.

Another Submarine Search for Nessie

The fascination with the Loch Ness Monster - usually referred to fondly as "Nessie" - is continuing this year with the return in the spring of Dan Taylor, a former US Navy sub-mariner. He is having another go with his four-man "yellow submarine". Mr Taylor's last attempt in his underwater search in the 800ft deep loch, was back in 1969. He ditched plans four years ago to return when his ready-made 44ft long submarine developed "technical problems". Now he is returning, determined to establish whether the reputed monster is a reptile, mammal or fish. Mr Taylor claims that his technology is much more sophisticated than he was able to employ in 1969. His submarine is appropriately named "Nessa" after a Celtic goddess of water.

Weather in Scotland Over the Festive Season

Heavy snow falls (4-8 inches) on the Friday before Christmas resulted in a number of areas of Scotland having the first white Christmas since 2001 - which forced bookmakers to pay out large sums of money to those who had placed bets on snow falling on Christmas Day. Between 1971 and 1992 there was only one year - 1980 - when widespread sleet and snow fell across the UK on Christmas Day, whereas in the years 1993 to 2003 it happened five times. After a milder spell between Christmas and New Year, temperatures dropped again around Hogmanay and snow fell again on many parts of Scotland but, as at Christmas, it didn't last for long with temperatures rising on some days to as high as 11/12C (52/54F).

This week, in addition to leaden skies and heavy rain, a major feature of the weather has been recurrent spells of high winds. On Monday night, central Scotland took a battering from 60mph winds which closed the Forth Road Bridge to high sided vehicles and brought a tree down in a busy Glasgow road, caused disruption to traffic. On Tuesday morning, the Tay Road Bridge was closed completely for over two hours as 90mph winds swept over it. Surface water unable to drain away caused flooding on some roads, including the Clydeside Expressway in Glasgow. By the end of the week, weather warnings of winds up to 90mph were again being issued and heavy rain again added to the problems. After being soaked by over an inch of rain over Wednesday and Thursday, Glasgow had another inch of rain on Friday. Other parts of central Scotland were deluged too, and there was extensive flooding in Stirling, Callander and Aberfeldy. The Inverness to Fort William road was closed after rain caused a number of landslips. There was no let-up on Saturday as the rain continued to fall. In Dumfries and Galloway flooding on the River Nith and fallen trees caused road closures across the area. The Larne to Cairnryan P&O ferry was driven onto the shingle shoreline at Cairnryan harbour by winds which gusted at up to 100mph early on Saturday morning. Nobody was injured, but passengers will have to stay on board as a tug will not be able to reach the stricken ship until Sunday. Emergency rescue services are standing by in case they are needed.

This week's pictures showing illustrations indicative of the current climate show (above) swans on the ice before Christmas. The Whooper Swan cygnet below, flies in with its parents from Iceland only a matter of months after it has hatched. The Greylag Geese are oftem winter visitors too but the Blackbird, tucking into the last of the berries, is resident here all year.

"Birthplace of Scotland" Monument Blocked by Landowner

A move by the Clan MacAlpine Society to commemorate King Kenneth MacAlpine’s historic role as the first King of Picts and Scots in 843 has been thwarted by a local landowner. Historic Scotland and leading historians had suggested Forteviot, near Perth, would be the most appropriate site, as it is known to have been Kenneth’s capital. But Lord Forteviot, who owns a large estate in the area, has blocked the plans because he is concerned that it would "bring attention to the area". Such an attitude will be disturbing to the Scottish Executive and the tourism agency VisitScotland. However, Lord Forteviot is not a stranger to controversy. In the 1990s he was at the centre of a long-running and bitter public row over the Dupplin Cross, which used to be on his estate. It is thought the 10ft cross was erected by King Kenneth, or one of his sons, in the 9th century, in dedication to Constantine, son of Fergus, who reigned as Pictish king from about 789 to 820. Because it was suffering from the effects of weathering, plans were drawn up to take it to the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh. Lord Forteviot reportedly struck a deal to receive a large inheritance tax break if the cross was taken into state ownership. A local pressure group fought to have it returned to the area and they were eventually successful in having it moved to St Serf’s Church in Dunning, Perthshire. That would no doubt displease Lord Forteviot as it will "bring attention to the area".

The Real Scrooge

Film versions of the book "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens are often televised at this time of year. But few people watching the performance of Ebenezer Scrooge will know that the basis of the main character was an Edinburgh man, buried in Canongate Churchyard in the centre of the city. According to the diaries written by Dickens, the author was wandering in the churchyard in 1841 when he came across a grave which he thought read "Ebenezer Lennox Scroggie - mean man". The inscription actually read "meal man" as that was his occupation. Dickens misread it and was so shocked that it stuck in his memory and formed the basis of the novel published in 1843. He thought that the description on the gravestone must have "shriveled Scroggie's soul" to carry such a description "to eternity". In fact, Scroggie was a wine merchant as well as a corn merchant and he won the catering contract for the visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822 and supplied whisky to the Royal Navy. Unfortunately, the gravestone with the inscription which prompted the famous story is no more - it was lost during redevelopment work in 1932. Dickens story not only maligned a Scottish merchant - it killed off the boy's name Ebenezer which, until then, had been quite popular.

Next Week in Scottish History

• January 9 1492 - The Diocese of Glasgow was elevated to an Archdiocese by Pope Innocent VII.
• January 9 1799 - Income tax introduced for the first time.
• January 9 1811 - The first women's golf tournament took place in Scotland, at Musselburgh.
• January 9 1972 - Liner Queen Elizabeth I, launched at John Brown's shipyard, Clydebank, in 1938, caught fire and sank in Hong Kong where it was to serve as a floating marine university.
• January 11 1815 - John A MacDonald, First Prime Minister of Canada in 1856, born at 20 Brunswick Street in Glasgow.
• January 12 1659 - A frisky camel caused a sensation in Edinburgh.
• January 12 1940 - John Buchan, author (39 Steps etc) and diplomat (Governor General of Canada, 1935/1940) died.
• January 13 603 - Death of St Mungo, patron saint of Glasgow (and also known as St Kentigern).
• January 13 1796 - John Anderson, founder of "Andersonian Institute" (now Strathclyde University) died.
• January 13 1893 - Keir Hardie of Legbrannock, Lanarkshire, founded Independent Labour Party.
• January 13 1915 - Mary Slessor (pictured here on a Scottish bank note0, missionary in West Africa and known to many as "Ma", died in Calabar.
• January 14 1872 - Greyfriars Bobby died after staying by his master's grave for 14 years.
• January 14 1930 - Sir Thomas Mackenzie, New Zealand statesman and Prime Minister, died.
• January 14 1990 - Death of actor Gordon Jackson (Tunes of Glory, Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Upstairs, Downstairs etc).
• January 15 1973 - Neil M Gunn, author of "The Silver Darlings" and many other books and short stories, died.

Ushering in a Season of Stars

Edinburgh's Usher Hall has unveiled a new series of concerts for 2005 which will feature leading performers in jazz, world, pop and classical music. Sir James Galway, Elvis Costello, Erasure, the African Soul Rebels, Scottish Opera and Herbie Hancock are all scheduled to play at Edinburgh's leading concert hall this year. Other star performers booked to appear include the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniel O’Donnell and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Other highlights will be "With Strings Attached", a gala show featuring the folk outfit Blazing Fiddles, along with Del Amitri’s Justin Currie and Colin MacIntyre of the Mull Historical Society. Nicola Benedetti, the BBC Young Musician of the Year from Ayrshire, will be the guest soloist in a showcase being staged by the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra.

Scottish TV Puts Squeeze on Border TV

Currently, the Scottish Television company (STV) has the franchise covering the whole of Scotland, excluding the Scottish Borders area. Borders TV's coverage is not only in Scotland, but into Cumbria and Northumberland in the north of England. As a result, the channel has to cater for local news issues in Scotland and England. STV has highlighted what it describes as "this anomaly" to the TV industry regulator, Ofcom. Border TV's Scottish area covers 250,000 people in Dumfries and Galloway as well as the Scottish Borders. Over the next few years, the move to digital TV broadcasting, providing far more channels, will change the face of TV in Scotland and the UK. That may well result in companies covering larger areas to achieve an economy of scale as well more, smaller companies covering niche markets.

BBC Win Battle of the Bells

BBC Scotland trounced rival Scottish TV in the television ratings war in the hours leading up to midnight on Hogmanay. Although high profile events such as the Street Party in Edinburgh's Princes Street and other gatherings around the country were popular, most Scots these days stay at their own firesides on New Year's Eve. TV entertainment is part of that, even if it is only in the background. BBC Scotland's comedy show "Chewin' the Fat" with Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan had a 77% audience share and the football comedy show "Only an Excuse" on BBC was not far behind. In the run-up to the "Bells" at midnight, BBC Scotland got 54% of the viewers with a Hogmanay party fronted by news reader Jackie Bird. STV's offering was hosted by Lorraine Kelly and Stephen Jardine. Despite their popularity and the show being staged live above Princes Street, they had half the number of viewers compared to the BBC.

Globetrotting Military Tattoo Heads for Sydney

The largest gathering of pipes, drums and Armed Forces bands to ever perform overseas are heading for Sydney to recreate the Edinburgh Military Tattoo for the folks "down under". More than 1200 performers from 16 military bands will take part in the week-long event being held at the 27,000-seater Aussie Stadium in Sydney next month. Qantas, sponsors of the tattoo, have announced that all proceeds from the preview show will be put towards the relief fund for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster. People who attend the performance will get a taste of the authentic Tattoo experience, with a dramatic replica backdrop of Edinburgh Castle being built inside the Aussie Stadium to help capture some of the magic of the original. One possible concern is that the heat in the arena is likely to push 40°C and all the performers will be in their full uniforms. Musicians from the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Highlanders and the Royal Gurkha Rifles have also been invited to take part in the c celebrations in Canberra on January 26.

X factor Dance Company

The X Factor Dance Company, Scotland's dynamic modern-dance theatre company have announced a new tour which will premiere at The Space, Dundee, on Friday 28 January 2005. It will then perform at eleven venues throughout Scotland until the end of February. The company has six gifted dancers, including the fabulous David Hughes ("one of Britain's most respected dancers" according to The Scotsman). They present "an evening of irresistible, engrossing and breathtaking dance, guaranteed to set the theatre alight with the steely edge of their moves." They are drawing inspiration from TV (Twin Peaks), film (The Innocents) and literature (Shakespeare's Macbeth, Poe's Masque of the Red Death), producing a "head-on collision of humour, emotion, choreography, text, original music and lighting, entering an uncanny world, somewhere in the twilight zone" - according to the press release. See www.xfactordance.co.uk for more details.

See Glasgow? See Comedy!

The Miller Glasgow International Comedy Festival will take place at venues across the city from Thursday 10 March to Saturday 26 March. Organisers of the event claim it will be the biggest and best yet, with over 200 performers in up to 200 shows in 30 venues in the 17 days of the festival. 'Chewin' the Fat' star Karen Dunbar will launch the programme later this month but already it is known that it will feature Joan Rivers making her first appearance at the festival. Household names participating include Julian Clary and Paul Merton as well as favourites like Jerry Sadowitz. The aim is to create something for everyone with lots more kids' shows, comedy workshops, a tour of community venues and loads of late night cabaret. See www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com for updates, news and ticket offers.

Edinburgh Festival of Ghosts

Well, they have a festival for just about everything else, so why not a Festival of Ghosts? The first "Ghost Fest" is expected to run from May 13-22 and will include psychological experiments, supernatural tours, lectures, ghost-hunting expeditions and screenings of classic ghost films. There will also be a tour of the spooky Mary King’s Close by a psychic, and (this being Edinburgh) a gala dinner - with a ghost speaker perhaps? Famous ghostly hotspots in the city include Edinburgh Castle (said to be haunted by several apparitions, including drummers, bagpipers and invisible marching troops); the vaults under South Bridge in which a faceless man is said to haunt; and Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, where the spirit of 17th-century nobleman Sir George "Bloody" MacKenzie is said to haunt the old Covenanters’ prison.

Launch Date for Next Harry Potter Book

Author J K Rowling, now living near Aberfeldy, Perthshire, has announced that the sixth instalment of her Harry Potter series entitled "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" will be published on 16 July. Her last book, released in June 2003, broke all previous records for the fastest-selling book in history with sales of 1.8 million in Britain and 5 million in the US in the hours following its release. Advance orders for the new book have shot it into the best-seller list already.

Some Football Results Over the Festive Period

Hearts 0 Celtic 2
Kilmarnock 0 Rangers 1
Falkirk 1 Airdrie United 0
St Johnstone 2 Raith 0
St Mirren 0 Hamilton 1
Ross County 2 Partick Thistle 1
Aberdeen 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0
Dundee United 1 Hibernian 4
Dunfermline 0 Livingston 0
Kilmarnock 3 Dundee 1
Rangers 4 Motherwell 1
Dundee United 1 Rangers 1
Dunfermline 3 Dundee 1
Celtic 2 Livingston 1
Hibernian 1 Heart of Midlothian 1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0 Kilmarnock 2
Motherwell 0 Aberdeen 0
Clyde 1 Airdrie United 0
Falkirk 2 Raith Rovers 0
Queen of South 1 Hamilton 2
Airdrie United 2 Queen of the South 0
Hamilton 0 St Johnstone 3
Partick Thistle 2 Falkirk 1
Raith Rovers 1 Ross County 4
Ross County 4 St Johnstone 0

Tennent's Scottish Cup, Round 3

Arbroath 0 Aberdeen 2
Ayr United 3 Stranraer 3
Berwick 0 Brechin City 3
Clyde 3 Falkirk 0
East Fife 0 Dunfermline 0
Hibernian 2 Dundee 0
Kilmarnock 2 Motherwell 0
Montrose 1 Queen of the South 2
Partick Thistle 0 Hearts 0
Raith Rovers 0 Alloa 2
St Mirren 3 Hamilton 0
Celtic v Rangers and Inverness Caledonian Thistle v St Johnstone will be played on Sunday and Gretna v Dundee United and Livingston v Morton will be played next Tuesday.

BT Scotland Rugby Division 1 Results - 8 January 2005

Currie 0 Glasgow Hawks 33
Biggar 13 Heriots 0
All the other matches were postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

League Tables

In the Scottish Premier League, Rangers' draw with foot-of-the-table Dundee United during the festive season matches allowed Celtic to increase their lead at the top to three points. Hibernian are third, 13 points behind Rangers with Aberdeen hot on their heels, one point behind Hibs. At the foot of the SPL, Dundee, Livingston and Dundee United are all level on points.

In the Scottish First Division, Falkirk remain well out in front, 14 points ahead of Clyde, although the Broadwood Stadium club have played two less games than Falkirk. At the foot of the First Division, Raith Rovers have only 7 points, 15 points behind Partick Thistle.

Scots Tumble Down World Rankings

The latest FIFA world rankings show that Scotland's football (soccer) team slid down the international table 32 places in 2004 to 86th place, behind such footballing nations as Burkina Faso, Syria and United Arab Emirates and alongside Albania and Guinea. Only one other country in the world (Iceland) have fallen further than Scotland in the last twelve months. Last February, Wales comfortably ran out 4-0 winners in Cardiff, then Romania won 2-1 at Hampden Park the following month in another friendly. Defeat by Denmark in a friendly was followed by wins over Estonia and Trinidad & Tobago. But a 3-0 Hampden defeat by Hungary in August (Scotland's biggest loss at the national stadium since February 1973) was capped by an embarrassing 1-1 draw in Moldova. That left Scotland with just two points from their three opening World Cup qualifiers. Brazil, France and Argentina remain the top three sides in the FIFA rankings and USA are 11th.

Football Clubs £186 Million in Debt

Despite strenuous efforts by Scottish football clubs to decrease costs in order to bring their soaring burden of debt under control, last year's accounts show that their collective debt rose by £42 million last year to a record high of £186 million. In order to remain remotely competitive, clubs have to meet the huge wage demands of top players, many of whom earn over £1 million a year. Rangers is currently responsible for a major share of that debt mountain (£68 million) with Celtic and Hearts each £18/20 million in debt. The total debt accumulated by Scottish clubs should be even higher than the figures suggest, because clubs such as Dundee and Livingston went into administration and have their debts reduced as creditors face writing off what they are owed. The spiral of losses is a relatively recent phenomenon - in 1997 Scottish clubs had a combined debt of only £12 million.

Australian Captain Moves From Glasgow Rangers

Craig Moore fell out of favour at Rangers Football Club last year because he chose to represent his country as captain at the Olympic Games in Athens, rather than stay in Glasgow and play for his club. Moore has not played since last September, though that had more to do with a hernia operation than crossing manager Alex Mcleish. Now Moore has been transferred to German Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach. He apparently wanted to play again for former Rangers' manager Dick Advocaat. Moore is the second defender to move away from Ibrox in a matter of days, after Jean-Alain Boumsong's move to Newcastle. Rangers' Georgian international striker, Shota Arveladze has announced that he will not be signing again for Rangers at the end of the season. He has often been a saviour for the Ibrox side with match-winning goals and does not know yet to where he will be moving. The "transfer window" however has allowed the Rangers manager to sign Thomas Buffel from Feyenoord in time for the Scottish Cup clash with Celtic on Sunday.

Hearts Lose Key Players

With uncertainty still surrounding the takeover of the club by Lithuanian banker Vladimir Romanov and the future of the stadium at Gorgie still not totally resolved, manager John Robertson went into the new year having to accept that Mark de Vries and Alan Maybury were on the road south to Leicester City. The uncertainty at Hearts also contributed to the failure to sign Stevie Crawford when the striker decided to sign instead for Dundee United, currently at the foot of the SPL.

Partick Thistle Briefly Recall Lambie

In the past, John Lambie has been called upon to manage struggling Partick Thistle on three occasions and has achieved miracles in the job. Just before Christmas, the club's directors asked him to take charge again - but for a strictly limited period. Lambie, aged 63, began his fourth spell in the role on 21 December. Nine days later Partick, second from the foot of the First Division defeated the league leaders Falkirk. But Lambie's return was short-lived and Dick Campbell was appointed this week. He is returning to full-time football for the first time since his dismissal as Dunfermline manager in 1999 after just ten months in charge of the Fife side. Since then, he has been in charge at Brechin City where he saw led the club to promotion from the Third to the First Division, before they tumbled back into the Second Division, which they are currently in second place.

Tartan Army Aid Children in Bosnia

Scottish football fans have collected more than 800 football strips and other kit for children attending the Bubamara football school in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bubamara academy was set up for 600 youngsters aged from five to 18 in 1993 during the Bosnian war. The Tartan Army (fans of Scotland football team and members of the official supporters club) collected the football tops from a variety of clubs after an appeal by the school. They came mainly from Scottish Premier League clubs but an under-14s side in Shetland also made a contribution. The twelve boxes of football strips were handed over just before Christmas in front of couple of hundred young football players. For more information see the Sarajevo Tartan Army web site.

Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Run

Susan Chepkemei, who was the runner-up in an epic battle with Paula Radcliffe in the New York Marathon last November, is scheduled to take part in the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country on January 15. She joins a field headed by World Cross Country Champion Benita Johnson.

New Curling Rink for Aberdeen

Curlers in the north-east of Scotland are sweeping into the new year with a new rink in the Summerhill area of Aberdeen, just off the Lang Stracht, which opened this week. The curling community in Aberdeenshire raised £500,000 of the £2.5 million development themselves with SportScotland, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire council, oil company BP and the Royal Caledonian Curling Club providing the rest of the finance.