Edinburgh Votes on Road Tolls

Voting is taking place over a this week and next to see whether there is support for the introduction of a toll on vehicles coming into the city of Edinburgh. Opposition groups claimed that the vote was a shambles, with large areas of Edinburgh not included in the vote. None of those living outside of Edinburgh but who work and shop there are allowed to vote. People in the areas eligible to vote had to apply for a ballot paper and there were reports of many of these not arriving. The ballot paper itself was said to be confusing. Of course, Edinburgh City Council has spent a lot of money trying to convince people that the charge will reduce congestion and pollution and will provide lots of finance which will be poured into improving public transport. (The illustration shows a line of empty buses in Princes Street, the main shopping thourougfare). Neighbouring councils in Lothian and Fife have mounted a legal challenge to the charges. If approved, anyone driving into the centre of Edinburgh between 7am and 6.30pm will have to pay £2. There is also an outer corridor which will operate from 7am to 10am and the £2 charge will be levied there during those hours. The system will be automated, with technology reading car number plates as they pass by. Road signs will indicate to drivers that they have incurred the charge and need to pay up at machines or online. More than one third of the income will be penalty charges levied on motorists do not pay by midnight on the day of travel. So tourists driving into the city will easily fall foul of the penalty charge. If experience in London is replicated in Edinburgh, many motorists will pay the charge in advance - and then not pass over the boundaries. But there will be no refunds. While the initial charge is set at £2, that is likely to increase in the future - London's road toll charge is rising from £5 to £8 shortly. Meanwhile, over in Glasgow, they are hoping for a major boost to the number of shoppers and tourists, driven out of Edinburgh by the tolls.

Corner Shops Boost Healthy Foods

Despite the huge growth in supermarket shopping, there are still an estimated 5,000 local convenience stores selling food. Recognising that there is a growing demand for healthier items, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables, the Scottish Executive and a group of corner shops joined in a pilot project which introduced a variety of promotional initiatives encouraging customers to buy healthy food options. They had special price promotions on fruit and vegetables, free fruit with non-sugar drinks, displays of fruit at check-outs instead of confectionery and snacks and advertising flyers sent to local schools advising of a healthier lunch meal deal including a free piece of fruit. The result was a considerable increase in sales of healthy option meals, yoghurt, fruit and fruit juice. As well as doing the customers a lot of good with the better eating habits, the stores also found that they had increased sales and profits - so everyone was pleased. Consideration is now being given to extending the scheme.

Government Flagship Property Scheme Shunned

Last year, the Scottish Executive introduced a new scheme whereby sellers of domestic property commissioned and paid for a full-scale survey which was then made available to all buyers. This meant that prospective purchasers did not have to pay for a survey themselves. In a seller's market, this often meant purchasers wasting money on a number of surveys on homes they did not eventually buy because someone else had offered a higher price. However, despite the government spending over £300,000 introducing the scheme and having a target of 2,000 sales, only 73 seller's surveys have been commissioned in the first six months of the scheme in the pilot areas of Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness and Edinburgh. Only one homeowner in Edinburgh participated - and he thought it was a disaster. Such surveys list all the defects and this puts off purchasers at the outset; once they have decided to buy a house, the minor problems often highlighted by the surveyor are not sufficient to put off the purchaser. Since buyers now make offers "subject to survey" they are not totally committed and can pull out if the survey uncovers real problems.

Rise in Scotland's Birth Rate

The Registrar General's preliminary figures for the number of births in Scotland in 2004 show that there was a 2.9% increase over 2003. At 53,954, this was the highest number of births since 1999, when 55,147 babies were born. Of these 27,768 were male and 26,186 female babies. The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends will not be published until July, but overall population trends still indicate that Scotland will face an ageing and declining population in the long term.

Honorary Degree for Federal Reserve Chairman

Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, was in Scotland last weekend to deliver the Adam Smith Memorial Lecture in Kirkcaldy, Fife. Adam Smith (illustrated here) was born in Kirkcaldy in 1723 and was an early advocate of free-market capitalism. His great work "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" was published in 1776. This advocated free trade as the way to increase wealth and as such, it was extremely influential. Greenspan was accompanied by Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The following day, Greenspan received an honorary degree at Edinburgh University. In his acceptance speech, he said that as an economic detective, he had long found inspiration in the wisdom of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It was Doyle's forensic medicine teacher at Edinburgh University who was the inspiration for the stories about the great detective. Greenspan said that Conan Doyle's famous character spoke of "balancing probabilities" and the "scientific use of the imagination." and "he sounds like a stock portfolio manager of one of Edinburgh's premium investment houses."

Dell Boosts Call Centre Jobs

The world's largest personal computer maker, Dell, is to set up a new customer support call centre in Glasgow. The number employed will be at least 500 over the next two years. They will be housed in the refurbished City Park on Alexandra Parade. This used to be the home the Imperial Tobacco Company which, at its peak, employed 2,500 people processing the tobacco crop from North America. Now the building will be used once again for a product made in America. Glasgow won out over other cities because of the strength of its skills base to handle the high-tech work, providing high-level, round-the-clock-support for all UK customers, both business and private. First Minister Jack McConnell met Dell officials in the crucial final negotiations which clinched the deal. Scotland’s call centre industry remains buoyant, employing about 56,000 people - or 2.5% of the working population - despite ever-increasing competition from low-wage economies such as India. Between 2000 and 2003 the number of employees increased by more than 20%. During that period, 36 call centres closed, mainly because of falling profits, rationalisation or weak demand, but around 70 new centres opened.

New Banking Jobs in Edinburgh

Lloyds TSB Bank is to enlarge its Edinburgh stock-broking operations by moving the staff from one of its London offices to Orchard Brae House (seen here) in the Scottish capital. The bank's Scottish subsidiary, Lloyds TSB Scotland, has a network of 187 branches in the main towns and cities across the country. 2,000 call-centre staff are based in Glasgow, covering the UK and the banking group also owns Scottish Widows, which employs a workforce of 3,500 north of the Border.

Disagreement Over Night Flights at Aberdeen Airport

Proposals to have a maximum of four flights during the night from Aberdeen Airport, instead of the present shut-down at 11pm, have resulted in two departments in the City Council fighting on opposite corners. Environmental health officials, who want residents under the flight path to get a peaceful night's sleep, are opposed to the change; those responsible for economic development in the granite city are in support. Evidence suggests that 3,750 residents could be affected by the noise from aircraft at night and of these, 50 would be woken each night if planes were taking off. The city council has received 108 letters in favour of the relaxation in operating hours and 94 against.

Lower Fares Just the Ticket

Lower ticket prices and stiff competition among airlines have helped to drive up passenger numbers at Scotland's three largest airports in January. Aberdeen was the best Scottish performer, rising 8.3% to 186,400 due to new services. Flights in January last year had also been adversely affected by severe storms. Edinburgh recorded a 4.9% increase to 533,500 passengers, while Glasgow (illustrated above) saw a 6.8% rise to 504,100. International traffic in January 2005 at Glasgow was 13% higher than the same month in 2004. In 2004 as a whole, the three airports handled 19.3 million people - up 6.4%. Glasgow had 8.6 million passengers (up 6%), while there were 8.0 million at Edinburgh (up 7.2%) and 2.7 million at Aberdeen (up 5.7%).

First New College for Ten Years

The merger of two existing colleges in Glasgow this week aims to improve the educational and training opportunities available to current and future students - and there will also be longer-term financial savings. Glasgow Metropolitan College (GMC) is the first new college to be created in the city for ten years. It is being formed by the merger of the Glasgow College of Building and Printing and the Glasgow College of Food Technology. Students and staff will transfer to GMC during 2005, with full merger and academic integration expected to be complete by August. The Glasgow College of Building and Printing was established in 1972. It provides courses for the construction, design and communications industries. The Glasgow College of Food Technology was established in 1973 as a specialist college focusing on food, hospitality and tourism.

Extra Fishing Days for Scottish Boats

A blunder by Brussels bureaucrats has resulted in Scotland's fishing boats being allocated 18 days each month at sea fishing for cod, instead of the expected 15 days. Many skippers have spent thousands of pounds buying up extra days from other owners who don't want to use them. The officials in the European Commission have admitted that they have made a mistake - and now want to take back the extra days. Originally, only the Danish and Swedish fishermen were allocated these three extra days because their quota had been cut from 22 days to 12 days. The Scottish fishermen say that they have decommissioned boats and spent money buying square-meshed fishing nets as well as buying up quotas and are refusing to "give back" the extra days.

Ferry Service Sunk

SeaCat, the company which operates a high-speed catamaran ferry service between Troon in Ayrshire and Belfast in Northern Ireland, has announced that it will not resume the service this summer. In an effort to cut costs on the loss-making service, sailings from November to February had been withdrawn but now they will not resume. The company moved from Stranraer to Troon in 1999 which at the time seemed sensible as it was then nearer to the larger centres of population in Scotland. SeaCat blame the rise of low-cost airline services but P&O Ferries, which launched its Troon to Northern Ireland service (landing at Larne) in 2003, claims that it increased its traffic substantially last year.

Ownership of River Contested

West Dunbartonshire Council may have thrown a spanner into the plans by the local Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire (SED) to further develop its Loch Lomond Shores project. The council wants to establish ownership of the river Leven, which flows from Loch Lomond to the river Clyde, so that it can undertake flood prevention measures. The council claims that under a charter granted by King James VI to the Burgh of Dumbarton, it has full rights to the river. But the Keepers of the Registers for Scotland, a Scottish Executive agency has erroneously accepted registration of title for parts of the riverbank to commercial organisations, including the SED, boating clubs and even members of the public. The SED development would create a hotel and time-share units on a 17-acre site on the riverbank at Balloch.

A Damper on Fire Brigade Fireworks Call-outs

Last year there was a clamp-down on the sale of fireworks with a ban on purchases by those under 18 and on fireworks creating a bang louder than 120 decibels. There is also a "curfew" on letting off any fireworks between 11pm and 7am. The effect of the legislation was a 22% fall in incidents involving the police and fire brigade. Unlike previous years, there were no firework-related injuries over the Bonfire Night weekend last November.

Biggest Wind Farm in the World?

An Irish company is said to be drawing up plans for the world's largest wind farm in the North Sea, off the east coast of Scotland. It would create 5,000 massive turbines producing over 10,000 megawatts of electricity. Airtricity have calculated that the development cost of £1.2 billion would be paid back in six years. Such a scheme would certainly help the Scottish Executive meet its target of 18% of Scotland's power from renewable resources by 2010 and 40% by 2020. And it would not give rise to the same level of local objections which are generated by wind farms on the mainland.

"Divine Visitation on Sabbath Pleasure Seekers"

A Free Presbyterian minister, writing in the church's magazine, has caused outrage by claiming that the Asian tsunami was a "divine visitation" on "pleasure seekers" breaking the Sabbath. He compared the disaster, which resulted in the loss of at least 160,000 lives, to the biblical flood "on the world of the ungodly" at the time of Noah. He went on to say that the event "ought to make men tremble the world over." He noted that the wave arrived "on the Lord's Day". A spokesman from the Catholic church commented that the views of the Free Presbyterian Church were alien to their belief in a God of love, not an avenging deity. Others pointed out that the Sabbath was originally on a Saturday (as it still is in the Jewish faith).

Clearing Hogweed from River Tweed

Invasive hogweed had colonised 300 miles of the river Tweed after being allowed to spread almost unchecked for 40 years. Some areas of the Borders had entire sections of native riverbank vegetation killed off by the "invaders". Two years ago, the biggest environmental exercise of its kind in the UK was mounted across hundreds of square miles of the Tweed catchment area. £380,000 was spent on intensive spraying with herbicides and other control measures and now the flowering hogweed plants have all but disappeared. Efforts will have to continue to prevent hogweed from getting re-established - the seeds beneath the surface will continue to germinate and produce new plants. Large country estates, landowners, farmers, salmon fisheries and angling clubs have provided the manpower for the project which was co-ordinated by Tweed Forum with financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

"Don't Ban Smoking - People Would Live Too Long"

The Scottish Licensed Trade Association, the organisation which represents bars and hotels selling alcohol, is still fighting desperately to avoid legislation which will ban smoking in their premises. Their latest submission to the Members of the Scottish Parliament claims that ministers have failed to take into account the high cost of geriatric care and increased pensions which would result from people stopping smoking - and so living longer. The comments were described as "outrageous" by Scotland's Chief Medical Officer. He points out that the "bottom line isn't financial at all. It's human lives and the real benefit is priceless."

Roses Return

Plans by the Scottish Executive to remove the roses which bring a riot of colour and replace them with granite slabs on Anderson Drive in Aberdeen have been withdrawn after the city council expressed outrage. The ring road is a main trunk road so is the responsibility of central government. There had been complaints that the roses were not being properly looked after - putting the city's reputation at risk. Last year there was a public outcry when the central reservation was left in a jungle of weeds without the necessary maintenance taking place. Aberdeen has won the trophy in the Best City section in the Scotland in Bloom awards a record 36 times; the national UK Britain in Bloom title 10 times and has also been successful in international competitions. Now the Scottish Executive has proposed a £150,000 scheme over three years which will see major landscaping improvements and keep the central reservation's roses in tip-top condition, with an enhanced maintenance regime. Any roses that have perished on Anderson Drive, which is also the main route to airport, will be replaced.
The picture here is of a rose called "Aberdeen Celebration".

Pipe Bands "Too Staid"

Organisers of a traditional parade in Dunfermline have given pipe bands their marching orders and have dropped them in favour of samba dancers and Dixieland jazz bands. They say that the aim is too spice up the allegedly drab festival and that pipe bands move along too slowly. Pipe band members have reacted furiously and have accused Fife Council of throwing away centuries of tradition.

Swift Decline

The British Trust for Ornithology has reported that the number of swifts in Scotland has declined by 65% over the last ten years. The bird usually nests in the eaves of dilapidated houses but modern buildings don't create the sort of spaces the bird requires to raise a family. Other species such as sparrows, starlings and house martins are also suffering because of changes in construction methods. And let's face it, most urban householders these days finding a bird nesting in a crack in the walls of their house would patch it up so that it's not available the following year. There has also been a decline in the number of flying insects on which the birds depend for food. In Glasgow, the city council has agreed to instal nesting boxes for swifts in Easterhouse to allow the birds to continue to nest in council-owned houses there.

Scotland's Earliest Spring Yet?

"Spring has sprung, the grass has ris,
I wonder where the winter is?"
The old couplet used to bemoan the fact that summer had not appeared but it is now being modified to mark the fact that with hardly any winter weather worth speaking about, signs of spring are well advanced - and it's not even the middle of February. There are reports of butterflies being seen in hedgerows near both Edinburgh and Glasgow, bees buzzing around and daffodils opening their trumpets (the picture of a daffodil was taken on 6th February), while some snowdrops are beginning to look past their best. Frogspawn was found in streams near Inverness on 16 January, the earliest date ever recorded there. A new report published last week says that Scotland is now experiencing the sort of climate that used to be the norm on the south-coast of England ten years ago. The seven-year study by the Woodland Trust claims that spring began four weeks earlier in 2004 than it did in 1920. It is not just nature that is being affected by the warmer climate - the number of skiers on Scotland's slopes have plummeted from 650,000 in 1980 to 200,000 last year, and this year is going to be even worse.

Weather in Scotland This Week

Despite all those reports of the early signs of spring, temperatures this week fell back slightly this week, ranging mainly around 7/8C (45/46F), edging down to 5C (41F) in Glasgow by Friday and forecasts suggesting even lower temperatures with snow and sleet on the hills. High winds on several days this week also made it feel a lot colder than the thermometer suggested. Sunshine was in short supply in most areas with Thursday being the only day with appreciable amounts and the east of the county came out best on that score. Despite the cloudy skies, only the west had a fair amount of rain - Glasgow recorded 1.25 inches over Tuesday to Friday. Although temperatures are predicted to fall a bit over the next few days, the forecasters suggest that there could be a bit more sunshine.

This week's illustrations of current flowers in Scotland were all taken earlier this month at Colzium Lennox Country Park. Normally snowdrops hang their heads but if they are lifted up, some of them - like this one - have lovely markings. Below are Iris Histroides Major, purple crocus and leucojum - a relative of the snowdrop.

£70 Million Masterplan for Royal Museum

The National Museums of Scotland are drawing up plans to transform the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh at a cost £70 million over the next 15 years. Royal Museum of Scotland is the largest museum in Britain outside of London. It was opened in the 1860s at the height of Victorian confidence as an "industrial" museum. Unlike the new Museum of Scotland next door, the Royal Museum's huge displays are in musty cabinets and much of its collection is locked away due to lack of space. Like so many grand cultural projects in recent years, the plan for doubling the number of exhibits in twelve new gallery spaces is dependent on a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund - an application for £18 million has been submitted.

Repairs to Tantallon Castle

Visitors to Tantallon Castle, high on a cliff above the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh, have been confronted for some time by scaffolding around the fore tower. Historic Scotland have found that 500 years of bombardment by wind, rain and snow has produced extensive areas of decay on the tower. This was built from a local greenish sandstone by King James V after he captured Tantallon from the 6th Earl of Angus, who was forced to flee abroad to avoid capture. The stone is softer than the red sandstone used in the rest of the castle and Historic Scotland had great difficulty in finding a stone quarry which could provide a close match. They eventually tracked down a suitable stone in the south of England. But it is going to take around five years for the masons to effect all the repairs. In the meantime, visitors who want to photograph the atmospheric castle without modern scaffolding, just have to angle their cameras away from the obstruction!

Upgrade for Cavalry Museum in Edinburgh Castle

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have fought through more than 300 years of warfare but the number of visitors to their museum within Edinburgh Castle has gone down in recent years. The museum entrance is overshadowed by the National War Museum of Scotland, which opened in the Castle four years ago. Now the museum is to move to a new more prominent location in the castle. The cost of the move to the New Barracks at the castle will be £1.3 million and the Heritage Lottery Fund is being asked to contribute £900,000 of the total, with private donations and other grants making up the remainder. Weapons, uniforms and other military paraphernalia from the 17th century to the Battle of Waterloo and on to modern-day conflicts in Iraq and Kosovo (where the regiment is mounted on tanks rather than horses, of course) will be showcased in five display rooms of the new complex. It was in 1681 that General Tam Dalyell raised a regiment to suppress Covenanters which later became the Royal Scots Greys. The regiment amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers in 1971 to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. One of its best remembered actions was the capture of the standard of one of Napoleon's crack regiments at the Battle of Waterloo by Ensign Ewart. The regiment's band was once at the top of the UK pop charts with "Amazing Grace." The illustration is of a statue to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards standing in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.

Next Week in Scottish History

• February 13 858 - Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Dalriada and the Picts, died at Forteviot.
• February 13 1462 - Treaty of Westminster-Ardtornish between the Lord of the Isles and Edward IV, the King of England.
• February 13 1692 - Massacre of 38 of the Clan Macdonald by government order at Glencoe.
• February 13 1931 - Scottish Youth Hostel Association formed.
• February 14 1565 - Mary Queen of Scots meets Lord Darnley for the first time. They married in July 1565.
• February 14 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone (Patent 174461). Two hours after it was lodged, his rival, Elisha Gray, applied for a similar patent. Bell's was granted.
• February 14 1930 - Sir Thomas Mackenzie, New Zealand statesman and Prime Minister, died.
• February 15 1848 - The Caledonian Railway company opened.
• February 15 1971 - Decimal currency introduced, abandoning 12 pennies to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound.
• February 16 1992 - Journalist and poet George Mann MacBeth ("A War Quartet") died.
• February 17 1540 - King James V passed a law which recognised Scotland's gipsies.
• February 17 1688 - James Renwick, last Covenanter to be executed.
• February 18 1958 - Writer Ian Banks born in Dunfermline, Fife.

Edinburgh International Festival Faces Funding Crisis

Organisers of the Edinburgh International Festival have come up with a funding shortfall of £600,000 only weeks away from announcing the 2005 programme. That amounts to 8% of the festival's £7.5 million budget. Unless finance can be found from other sources, it will mean cuts to the programme of opera, music, and dance. The city council, the Scottish Arts Council, and the Scottish Executive have been asked for help, but the festival’s plea comes too late to adjust the current city budget. The festival already receives £2.5 million from the city council and Arts Council, but according to marketing director Joanna Baker, the festival has not been funded realistically for some time now. Costs have escalated as a result of competition from other cities’ festivals, as well as rising production, accommodation, and venue expenses.

TV Stardom for Glamis Castle

A new TV series "Castle in the Country" began this week on BBC2 and Glamis Castle, the childhood home of the late Queen Mother, was the first historic property to be featured. The programme delved into life in the castle not just for the Dowager Countess of Strathmore but also staff who work in the castle. The lady responsible for housekeeping in the castle observed that a dinner party for 90 people would involve cleaning 1,000 pieces of silver cutlery - and then gave tips on how to do it. The 17,000-acre estate is home to the Earl of Strathmore whose family have owned the castle since 1372. One of his ancestors is reputed to have played cards with the devil and the castle has a reputation as one of the most haunted in Scotland. Staff who wanted to see the programme, however, had to go to the roof of the castle because television reception inside the building is notoriously bad because of the thick stone walls.

Franz Ferdinand Frenzy

Scottish pop band Franz Ferdinand won the title of best group and best rock act at the glittering annual "Brit Awards" in London this week. The band was only formed 30 months ago but has shot to stardom and success in the charts.

Solar-Powered Boat Makes Light Work of Loch Trip

The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has placed an order for a solar-powered catamaran to provide boat trips in Loch Lomond. It will be able to carry 12 passengers and will travel between Balloch and the nature reserve on Inchcailloch, an island on the east side of the loch. Because the engine does not have an exhaust noise, it will allow passengers to get closer to the wildlife without disturbing them. The lack of sun in the area should not be a problem as the vessel relies on ultraviolet light, rather than direct sunlight.

Top US Acts for T in the Park

Chart-topping US rockers the Foo Fighters and Green Day will headline Scotland's biggest music festival this summer. Over 120 artists will be performing at T in the Park at Ballado Field near Kinross. Other big names include Las Vegas starlets The Killers and supergroup Audioslave. 2005 Brit Award winners Keane and The Streets will also be on-stage at the open-air event which will entertain 120,000 music fans over the two-day event on 9/10 July.

Sunday Football Results

Dunfermline 0 Celtic 3 (Tennent's Scottish Cup - 4th Round)

Bank of Scotland Premierleague Results - 12 February 2005

Dundee 2 Motherwell 1
Dunfermline 2 Aberdeen 1
Hearts 3 Kilmarnock 0
Livingston 0 Dundee 2
Rangers 3 Hibernian 0
Inverness Caledonian Thistle play Celtic on Sunday.

Scottish First Division Results - 12 February 2005

Falkirk 1 Hamilton 1
Partick Thistle 1 Airdrie United 1
Raith Rovers 3 Clyde 3
St Johnstone 0 Queen of the South 0

League Tables

Rangers and Celtic continue to leapfrog one another at the top of the Scottish Premier League but Celtic have a game in hand (played on Sunday). Hibernian remain in third position. Although fourth-position Hearts have narrowed the gap to 2 points, Hibs have played one game less. At the foot of the SPL, Livingston are 5 points behind Dundee United and 8 points behind Dundee and Dunfermline.

In the Scottish First Division, all of Saturday's matches ended in a draw - even lead leaders Falkirk against Hamilton who are second from the foot and second from the top Clyde who allowed Raith Rovers at the foot of the division one more point. That still left the Kirkcaldy side 17 points behind Hamilton.

Scottish Cup Quarter-Final Draw

The draw for the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup was made this week. Celtic and Hibernian will be playing against First Division sides and the matches will take place on the weekend of February 26 and 27. The full fixture list is:

Celtic v Ross County or Clyde
Dundee United v Aberdeen
Hearts or Kilmarnock v Livingston
Hibernian v St Mirren

Scotland 13 Ireland 40

The RBS Six Nations Championship rugby match between Scotland and Ireland was a 67,800 sell-out as remaining tickets were snapped up after Scotland's performance against France last weekend. They were beaten by a poor French team and some questionable refereeing decisions. So the Scots were in the unusual position of going into the match in an optimistic mood, especially as Ireland were without some key players through injury. Ireland had comfortably won the last three meetings although prior to that they had 18 years without a win in Edinburgh. But the Irish have hopes of a "Grand Slam" of winning all their matches this season and swept Scotland aside. It had started well for the Scots and an early try gave them an 8-0 lead. But the visitors soon took control and Scotland were down 8-18 at half time. Three more Irish tries in the second half and only one from Scotland meant that Scotland will have to hope that they can give their coach Matt Williams a first Six Nations victory when Italy come to Edinburgh on 26 February.

Under-21's Show the Way

Ireland's Under-21 rugby team slumped to their first ever defeat to Scotland at that level this week when they went down 16-8 at Falkirk Community Stadium. The hosts gave a performance of guts and bravery and also of organisation. They had increased confidence following a narrow defeat in France. Scotland only had a narrow 3-0 lead at the interval. Scotland and Ireland then both scored tries but the Scots gained a deserved win with a try from Ross Ford and a late penalty.

Celtic Manager Rages at Dunfermline

Celtic strolled through their Scottish Cup tie against Dunfermline last Sunday, winning comfortably. But there was more entertainment off the pitch as the Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston and the Celtic manager Martin O'Neill exchanged comments via the media. Celtic had upset the Fife club's chairman by refusing to field their new signing Craig Bellamy on the "dangerous" synthetic pitch at Dunfermline. Yorkston then remarked in a live radio interview that Bobo Baldé, Celtic's strong defender, had been responsible for more injuries than the Dunfermline pitch. O'Neill, who always defends his players, even when the situation is indefensible, was incandescent and urged the Scottish Football association to censure the chairman for his "crassly ignorant" statement and demanded an apology. He recalled that Yorkston had demanded an apology in 2003 when Celtic's Chris Sutton had accused Dunfermline of "lying down" to Rangers in a 6-1 defeat that allowed the Ibrox club to snatch the league title by the narrowest of margins. Yorkston in turn pointed out that there is no evidence to suggest that their pitch had caused any injury to players and indeed Dunfermline's experience had been fewer injuries. Perhaps O'neill didn't notice Dunfermline's mascot "Sammy the Tammy" hobbling onto the pitch with a crutch and a toilet roll for bandages as the loudspeakers blasted out "When the Goin' Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going".....

Dunfermline's Artificial Pitch Not Good Enough

There have been reservations from a number of players and managers (not just Martin O'Neill) about the synthetic grass installed by Dunfermline as part of a European-wide trial by the governing body UEFA. Now that organisation has admitted that it is "not the best artificial turf that there is" and that a new standard which will be established shortly "will be much superior and more natural than the one used in Scotland. Only a cow could tell between real grass and the new generation turf." Dunfermline are planning to replace their pitch before the end of this season, but will not reveal the type of surface that will be installed.

Hibernian Manager Signs Contract Extension

Hibs are sitting comfortably in third position in the Scottish Premier League (which, if maintained at the end of the season, will mean competing in the UEFA Cup next season). Much of the credit for that goes to the new manager, Tony Mowbray. When he was appointed last May, he had been a distinguished player and a coach but had no managerial experience. Hibernian finished 8th in the 12-strong SPL last season. Mowbray promised fans an entertaining brand of football and he has delivered that - and good results too.

Stephen Hendry Still Hungers for Success

Snooker champion Stephen Hendry won his first major title in 1987. He is now aged 36 and has won seven world snooker championships. Last weekend he won the Malta Cup, defeating fellow Scot Graeme Dott in an exciting 9-7 victory. Hendry has not won a ranking tournament since capturing the British Open in November 2003 but this was his 36th ranking event success. Afterwards he said that he still had the desire to keep practising and putting the effort and was capable of winning any tournament he turned up to play in.