Edinburgh Rejects Vehicle Toll Scheme

There was a high turnout (61.8%) in the referendum in Edinburgh which sought to introduce a charge of £2 on vehicles entering Edinburgh, with fines of up to £60 for those who did not pay up promptly or in advance. There were 133,678 votes (74%) against and 45,965 (26%) in favour, despite an expenditure of £9 million by Edinburgh City Council backing the scheme. The cordons were to have operated from Monday to Friday with an outer one for the morning rush hour and an inner one in operation until 1830 at night. In addition to reducing traffic levels in the city, the scheme was expected to generate £761m over 20 years which would have been used on council schemes to improve public transport - including a high-profile re-introduction of a tramway network. The City Council leaders were clearly disappointed, but in view of the overwhelming "No" vote they "absolutely unequivocally accepted the decision" and will now look at "coping with more congestion." Although the sums available are now reduced, Edinburgh City Council is still pressing ahead with expenditure of nearly £1 billion over the next 20 years on public transport schemes.

Is the National Health Service Better or Worse?

As the politicians in the Scottish Parliament debated the state of the National Health Service, they traded "facts and figures" from the Information Statistics Division of NHS Scotland. Depending on the data selected, they appeared to contradict one another. Government ministers, who had undertaken to get waiting lists down, were confronted with the number of people awaiting inpatient and day case treatment had increased by 1,590 to 113,612 in the year to December 2004, its highest-ever level. The median waiting time for a hospital appointment had also gone up from 40 days to 43. So the Scottish Executive argued that median waiting times do not adequately reflect how quickly the NHS is seeing and treating patients. They pointed instead to a fall in the numbers waiting more than six months and argued that Scotland was leading the UK in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease. Spending by the government in Scotland has risen from £4.1 billion in 1995 to £8.3 billion this year. During that time, the number of out-patients treated in Scotland's hospitals has fallen by 133,000. In contrast, waiting lists for hospital appointments in England have fallen by a third since 1998 while numbers waiting in Scotland have grown. It's not that spending per head is greater in England either - Scotland has always spent more per patient than in England and Wales.

Record Profits for Royal Bank

The Royal Bank of Scotland announced that its annual pre-tax profits grew by 14% in the year to 31 December last year, rising to £6.9 billion (US$13.1 billion at current exchange rates). The bank, which is building a huge new HQ near Edinburgh airport, is the second largest in the UK and the 6th largest in the world as a consequence of major takeovers in recent years, particularly the NatWest Bank on England and a series of acquisitions in the US. 30% of its profits now come from overseas and under 10% of its UK income comes from personal accounts. Usually when a bank makes large profits, there is media comment about profiteering at the expense of business and personal customers. On this occasion, the bank's PR department must have been working overtime as there was an emphasis instead on the benefit to Scotland in having such a large bank with its headquarters here. Of course, there were demands for the bank to do more to benefit those on low incomes and complaints about the number of autobanks being operated by service providers who were making a charge for dispensing cash. But even the staff union noted approvingly that the bank pumped in nearly £500 million into the staff pension scheme. The staff profit sharing scheme will also pay out £214 million this year, with over 100,000 employees in UK and Ireland receiving a 10% bonus - an average of £2,100 each. However, that is somewhat less than the estimated £1.5 million bonus paid to the chief executive, Sir Fred Goodwin, the first head of a Scottish listed company to receive a seven-figure annual bonus.

Best School Results in Scotland

Education officials have praised East Renfrewshire for the "outstanding" performance of the area's seven secondary and 24 primary schools. Inspectors said schools in Giffnock, Clarkston and Barrhead achieved strong Higher passes and also promoted sport, music and the arts. East Renfrewshire has the two top-performing state schools in the country for Higher passes. 30% of pupils taking Highers at St Ninian's High, in Giffnock, and Williamwood High, in Clarkston, achieved five Highers or more in 2004. The council's education department has been awarded top marks in all five inspection categories - the first time any council in Scotland has achieved the feat. Of course, it helps that East Renfrewshire is one of the areas of Scotland with a high number of high wage-earners and wealthy residents.

New Visitor Reception at Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh's famous castle attracts more visitors than any other tourist attraction in Scotland charging an entrance fee. It welcomed 1,243,304 visitors last year, according to statistics from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. Historic Scotland, who look after the historic building, is constantly looking at ways of making it more attractive and adding to the exhibits on show. Now an architect is drawing up plans to create new "visitor reception arrangements". Currently, the first port of call for visitors to the castle is a temporary ticket office on the esplanade in front of the castle (the white rectangle behind the cars in the illustration here) - not the best start for what can be an enjoyable day-long visit. Historic Scotland have budgeted £1.3 million for the new facility.

Prison Population in Scotland Reaches New High

According to official statistics, Scotland's prison population reached a new high of over 7,000 last year. Numbers rose by 4% from the previous year, with 2,914 prisoners sentenced to four years and over, an increase of 5%. There are plans for two new prisons in Scotland as well as proposals to electronically tag those waiting for a court appearance.

Expansion for Retail Park

The Glasgow Fort retail park in the east side of the city has created over 1,500 new jobs since it opened four months ago. A further 600 staff will be required as the Morrisons supermarket and Boots chain of chemist shops open their doors, along with a branch of the giant book store Borders. The new retail park has been a major catalyst in regenerating the Easterhouse area of the city. Unlike many recent retail developments, Glasgow Fort does not have a covered mall for shoppers moving from one store to another. While this creates an impression of an urban High Street, it does mean that in an area which has an appreciable rainfall, customers have to go armed with umbrellas and raincoats instead of walking from covered car parks to an enclosed mall.

Edinburgh Road Accidents Fall

The number of road accidents in Edinburgh has fallen by over 25% in the last ten years, with the number of fatalities down from 12 in 1994 to 8 in 2004. Politicians claim that the decrease is due to additional speed cameras and education campaigns. The compulsory wearing of seatbelts have also contributed to the number injured falling from 2,491 in 1994 to 1,796 in 2004. There has been a significant increase in the number of vehicles on the roads during the last ten years - but congestion and dedicated bus lanes, which have reduced the width of roads available to motor cars by 50%, have also caused average speeds to fall. There have been no fatalities involving children on Edinburgh's roads since 2002 - the introduction of 20mph speed restrictions near schools has been a factor in that improvement.

Heritage Staff Reject Move to Inverness

A survey by Scottish Natural Heritage shows that only 14% of its Edinburgh staff have opted to take part in the controversial relocation to Inverness - a relocation forced upon the government agency by the Scottish Executive. Despite a generous relocation package, most of the staff are unwilling to uproot their families and lose the quality of life in Edinburgh. However, it seems that some staff in offices in other parts of the country may be willing to move to Inverness while some Edinburgh-based staff may be willing to be redeployed to other SNH offices in places such as Perth, Clydebank and Stirling, rather than accept the redundancy package. The illustration shows the new SNH HQ building in Inverness.

Architecture and Design Tsar Defends Cumbernauld

The town of Cumbernauld, which was developed from the 1950s onwards as a "new town" to take the overspill from the crowded city of Glasgow, has frequently been the focus of negative comment about its architecture and design. The producers of a new TV series "Demolition", which aims to select one of Britain's ugliest buildings, were surprised to find that some of the residents of Cumbernauld had nominated the entire town to be razed to the ground. But the newly appointed chief executive of Architecture and Design Scotland has leapt to the defence of the much maligned urban area, saying that it has some of the best modern housing of its era. The town was designed to keep traffic and residential housing apart, so the views of many who pass through Cumbernauld is dominated by fast roads - and that ugly carbuncle dominating the landscape, known officially as the "town shopping centre." Cumbernauld pioneered walkways and pedestrian underpasses, so there are many areas of Cumbernauld where pedestrians can escape from the traffic. Architecture and Design Scotland is a government quango which has been set up to promote well-designed and attractive cities, towns and villages.

Number of Airline Passengers Double

Since 1990, the number of passengers flying from Scottish airports has more than doubled, largely due to the low-cost, no-frills budget airlines. International scheduled routes have rocketed from just 10 to 40 in the last 14 years, with the biggest increase at Prestwick, which has grown from zero to 12 thanks largely to Irish airline Ryanair. The increase brought criticism from environmental organisations and a spokesman for the Green Party commented that "The Scottish Executive appears quite happy to let (air travel) run out of control... Lifeline flights are OK, but short-haul flights where rail travel is a real alternative is a worry."

Flights to Paris and Amsterdam for £1

Air Scotland has announced that it is to begin direct flights between Glasgow and the continental destinations of Paris (Charles de Gaulle airport) and Amsterdam. Initially, fares are being offered as low as £1 each way - though airport taxes bump that price up to £52 for the return flight. Flights will operate twice a week to each destination. Air Scotland had a number of problems when it began to operate two years ago (with one aircraft) and it now says that it will concentrate on low-cost links between Glasgow and European cities rather than holiday resorts.

Scotland's Oldest Carpet Maker Closes

Kilmarnock-based Stoddards International began making carpets 150 years ago. It made the red carpet for the Queen's wedding day in 1947, the new Scottish parliament last year and for the film "Titanic." At its peak, it employed 500 people at a number of locations in Scotland, including Elderslie, its original HQ. But after running up operating losses, it was forced to call in the receivers in January. Despite strenuous efforts to find a buyer, chronic over-capacity in the UK carpet manufacturing sector and overseas competition meant that nobody was willing to take on the company. So the factory, which was continuing to lose money at the rate of £100,000 a week and had accumulated debts of £9 million, has had to close.

Highland Chief to Wed Border TV Presenter

The Borders and the Highlands are being united in a wedding in May when Sir Malcolm Macgregor of MacGregor, the 24th clan chief, marries Fiona Armstrong a TV presenter who is now anchor woman at Border TV. The Armstrongs are very much a Border family and Fiona was chairperson of the Armstrong Clan for six years - the clan has not had a chief since 1611. The couple are both keen on fishing and met while they were both working in Alaska.

Tornado Crash-Lands at Lossiemouth

An RAF Tornado fighter bomber was forced to land on two wheels at its base at Lossiemouth near the Moray Firth when the starboard undercarriage failed to come down. The pilot had elected to land instead of ejecting over the sea and allowing the jet to crash. He made a text-book landing at 180mph and an arrester cable across the runway brought the jet to a rapid halt. But a fuel tank ruptured as the wing scraped along the runway and the sparks ignited a fire which was rapidly extinguished by the waiting emergency crews. The aircraft is apparently capable of being repaired - and the RAF crew involved were back flying on another aircraft the next day.

Food Gourmet Praises Scotland's Chefs

Scotland's food is often characterised by deep fried Mars Bars and haggis, neeps and tatties. That does a disservice to the many fine restaurants across the country. So it was perhaps not surprising that the latest Egon Ronay guide to the 200 best restaurants in the UK included 17 from Scotland, despite the weight of London-based establishments. The food guru described Scotland as "gastronomically the UK's most impressive region". Ronay's guide, the first for eight years after winning a court battle over the right to use his name in print, gave the highest accolade to Andrew Fairlie at the restaurant in the Gleneagles Hotel and Martin Wishart's Restaurant in Edinburgh.

Glasgow's Oldest Restaurant For Sale

The Buttery restaurant on Argyle Street in Glasgow dates back to 1856 and at one time was a favourite haunt of the city's businessmen. Redevelopment in the Anderston area, however, in the 1960s and 1970s, with the Kingston Bridge across the river Clyde slicing Argyle Street in two, resulted in the restaurant being in an isolated cul-de-sac. That, and the decline of expense account business lunches led to a decline and after passing through the hands of many owners, it closed its doors three years ago. It was soon snapped up by a top Scots restaurateur Ian Fleming. Mr Fleming, who was behind the award-winning Auchterarder House in Perthshire, said that he aimed to make it a culinary icon - as it once was. He seemed to be succeeding, winning the AA Restaurant of the Year Award and other prizes and - even more importantly - doubling the turnover. But now Ian Fleming has put the restaurant back on the market, saying that he is "hungry for another challenge." Fleming recently headed the takeover of the fashionable Lake of Menteith hotel in the Trossachs, with backing from top chef Nick Nairn.

Supermarket Says "Come Awa' In"

Supermarket giant Asda is hoping to attract extra customers to its new store in Peterhead by speaking the same language as the customers. So shoppers will be greeted with "Come Awa' In" and instead of their usual slogan of "Pocket the difference" it will be "pooch the change." Staff "wid aye gie ye a han'" (are always there to help) and as customers leave they will be exhorted with "Haste ye back" (return soon). And any shoppers who have to "spend a penny" in the store will find the gents and ladies facilities marked "loons and "quines". The company has used a similar strategy in Wales and Cornwall. Of course, by recruiting check-out and other staff from the local community, there will be more than just signage speaking in Doric (the language of the north-east).

Golf Course Bunkered by Ministry of Defence

A £30 million golf resort in the Mull of Kintyre is being blocked because of objections by the Ministry of Defence. The site is on private land next door to the redundant air base at Macrahanish which closed in 1996, devastating the local economy. In the last ten years the population in the area has declined from 10,000 to 6,000. The championship golf course and 32 timeshare homes is being supported by the local council, Scottish Natural Heritage and Historic Scotland, but now the decision on whether the project goes ahead rests with the UK Minister for Defence, Geoff Hoon. The Ministry of Defence say that they "might have to reactivate the base in the future" and the golf resort would have "safety implications."

Playing "Keepie-Uppie" With Wembley Bridge

The Wembley Stadium in London is an icon of English football - and the scene of many scraps between the national sides of Scotland and England. A crowning moment there (in Scottish eyes at least) was the 3-2 defeat of England in 1967, in which Jim Baxter played "keepie-uppie" (keeping the ball in the air with repeated taps at the ball) to show his disregard for the English side (that had been crowned World Champions the year before). So when the London Development Agency asked "What’s the most significant name or moment in Wembley Stadium’s history?" with a view to naming a new footbridge linking the new National Stadium to the railway station, they expected the names suggested would be an English sporting hero. But Scottish supporters have been sending round-robin e-mails to contacts encouraging them to vote for Jim Baxter. So far, they appear to have been successful, and Baxter was tied in the lead with Scott Gibb, the former Welsh rugby player (clearly the Welsh are getting organised too). If you wish to participate in the on-line vote, go to London Development Agency Bridge.

Weather in Scotland This Week

Just when we thought winter was over and there were distinct signs of spring, winds began to blow from Siberia this week and brought freezing temperatures and snow-falls, with the east and north of Scotland the worst affected. All schools in Dundee and Midlothian were shut on Wednesday, along with 113 in Fife and around 100 in Aberdeenshire. A gritter sent out to clear the M90 motorway in Fife got stuck and created a nine-mile tail-back of rush-hour traffic. Overnight temperatures in the Highlands fell as low as -8C (18F). Maximum day-time levels were in the range 3/5C (37/41F) but the biting north and east winds made it feel much colder than that. The west of the country experienced the low temperatures but escaped most of the snow and instead had a fair amount of sunshine on a number of days this week.

This first of this week's illustrations of current weather conditions in Scotland shows the sun trying to break through a snow storm in Drumpellier Country Park in North Lanarkshire. The photo below, of a mallard, gadwall and teal, was taken about ten minutes later - when the sun won over the snowfall. The changing seasons are illustrated by the two gulls - the blackheaded gull adopts white feathers during the winter (as on the first picture) and gradually regains its black head in the spring (as in the second picture). Both pictures were taken on the same day. Finally, the yellow crocus in the sunshine brightens any day.

Money to Burns?

The National Trust for Scotland is launching a £10 million global appeal to help build a state-of-the-art museum and visitor centre to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet. The Scottish Executive will make a significant contribution, and the Heritage Lottery Fund has made positive noises about helping to restore the dilapidated Burns Cottage Museum in Alloway. But the National Trust is looking for public donations to cover the balance. It is hoped to have the new facility in place in time for the 250th anniversary of the bard's birth in 2009. The illustration shows the Burns Cottage from the rear, rather than the more usual front view.

Bronze Age Sauna?

A storm and high tides in January uncovered a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age "burnt mound" on Sanday on Orkney. Archaeologists who are investigating the site are unsure about the precise purpose of the 12ft long by 4ft high stone structure, but they have suggested that it could have been a sauna or a plunge pool. However, heat-shattered stones may have been the debris from when the inhabitants heated water for cooking by dropping heated stones into it. But there is also the possibility that they were used as steam rooms by pouring water over heated stones inside a tent or hut.

Jules Verne Novel Surfaces

A novel written by Jules Verne over 100 years ago is to be published unabridged in English for the first time. "The Underground City" is set in Scotland and centres on a Utopian community of miners who live in Coal City, beneath Loch Katrine in the Trossachs (illustrated here). The novel is regarded as a "lost classic" by Verne who pioneered science fiction with such works as "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and travel writing with "Around the World in Eighty Days." The publication in Edinburgh on 16 March will be one of a number of commemorative world-wide events to mark Verne's death on 24 March, 1905. Verne had Scots ancestors on his mother's side and travelled to Scotland in 1859 and kept a detailed diary which he used extensively in the novel - a number of Scottish tourist attractions are mentioned in the book.

Next Week in Scottish History

• February 27 1545 - Battle of Ancrum Moor in which Scottish forces, led by Earl of Douglas, defeated an English army twice their size.
• February 27 1560 - Second Treaty of Berwick between England and Scotland, providing English assistance to remove French forces of Mary of Guise from Scotland.
• February 28 1638 - Second National Covenant signed in Greyfriars Churchyard.
• February 29 1528 - Patrick Hamilton, a Protestant martyr, was burned at the stake in St Andrews.
• March 1 1682 - The Advocate's Library (known as the National Library of Scotland since 1925) opened by its founder, Sir George Mackenzie, the Lord Advocate.
• March 1 1979 - Scots voted in favour of Devolution, but failed to reach the required 40% of the population in favour of implementing it - due to 36% of the electorate not voting.
• March 2 1316 - King Robert II born in Paisley.
• March 2 1838 - Clydesdale Bank founded in Glasgow.
• March 2 1990 - The Queen officially inaugurated Glasgow's year as Cultural Capital of Europe.
• March 3 1792 - Robert Adam, architect, died.
• March 3 1847 - Alexander Graham Bell born Edinburgh.
• March 4 1756 - Sir Henry Raeburn, reknowned for painting the portraits of many of the citizens of Edinburgh, born.
• March 4 1890 - Forth Rail Bridge opened by Prince of Wales.
• March 4 1936 - Jim Clark, Formula I World motor racing champion, born Fife.
• March 5 1323 - King David II born.
• March 5 1787 - Deacon William Brodie executed for theft - on a grand scale.
• March 5 1790 - Flora Macdonald, who helped to save Prince Charles Edward Stewart during his flight after the defeat at the Battle of Culloden, died in Kingsburgh, Skye (in the same bed in which Bonnie Prince Charlie had slept during his escape).
• March 5 1929 - David Dunbar Buick, founder of the Buick Manufacturing Company which later became General Motors, died in Detroit. He was born in Arbroath in 1854.

Scotland Lacks "Panoramic Views"

The latest BBC drama series based on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic "Kidnapped" was filmed in New Zealand, rather than the Highlands of Scotland where much of the exciting tale is set. Initially, the producers cited cost factors and "historical links" with the production crew in New Zealand. However, just as the series is about to reach our television screens, the BBC has suggested that they did not come to Scotland because there were no "dramatic landscapes" to do the story justice. They say that filming in Scotland in the summer and the height of the tourist season meant that" there was always a caravan popping into the shot or a telegraph or electricity pylon." Needless to say, VisitScotland disagreed, pointing to the many films shot here and their database of 25,000 locations around the country, many in remote spots with dramatic scenery. Despite the lack of authentic locations, the Kidnapped TV series looks as though it will be a good one.

Scots Pop Concert Raises £300,000 For Tsunami Victims

Franz Ferdinand, Texas, Belle and Sebastian, Deacon Blue and Travis headlined a benefit concert last weekend for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster. The gig was held at the Scottish Exhibition and Concert Centre in Glasgow and raised a total of £300,000 for the Disasters Emergency Committee, a coalition of relief agencies that has been coordinating fund-raising in the UK.

Dali Picture to Return

The world-famous picture by Salvador Dali, depicting the Crucifixion, is to return to the Kelvingrove art Gallery and Museum when it re-opens after a £25 million refurbishment next year. The picture was bought in 1952 and there was a public outcry when Dr Tom Honeyman, the then director of Glasgow's museums and art galleries, spent the city's entire annual purchasing budget (all £8,200) to obtain the painting. Since then, it has become the best-known painting in Glasgow. It was lent to the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in another part of Glasgow 13 years ago, but the Kelvingrove Art Gallery is said to be its "spiritual home."

Aberdeen Jazz Festival Creates New Orchestra

Last year's Aberdeen Jazz Festival prompted a local enthusiast to start up a local jazz group and a year later the Aberdeen Jazz Orchestra is taking the stage along with other international and national names and local performers appearing at the Festival over the six days to Sunday 6 March. There will be 26 performances at four city centre venues. See also www.jazzaberdeen.com.

Artistic Co-ordinator for Blas

Brian Ó hEadhra, an Inverness-based musician and cultural development worker, has been appointed as Artistic Co-ordinator of Blas, the initiative to establish a Highland Celtic Communities Music Festival. The aim of Blas is to create a festival that celebrates traditional music in the Highlands and promotes interest in and the use of Gaelic. This initiative is particularly appropriate given that 2007 is to be the Scottish Year of Highland Culture. It is expected that the festival will be one of the centrepieces of the 2007 events. Blas will be both innovative and exciting and will have a strong youth focus and Gaelic language dimension. While aiming to achieve the vibrancy of Nova Scotia’s Celtic Colours Festival, Blas will develop it own special character reflecting the cultural background of the Highlands.

Sunday Football Result

Celtic 0 Rangers 2

Bank of Scotland Premierleague Results - 26 February 2005

Rangers 2 Kilmarnock 1
There are six games being played next Wednesday.

Scottish First Division Results - 26 February 2005

The only match scheduled today (Airdrie United v Hamilton) has been postponed.

Tennent's Scottish Cup, Quarter Finals

Hibernian 2 St Mirren 0
Clyde v Celtic, Heart of Midlothian v Livingston and Dundee United v Aberdeen are all being played on Sunday.

League Tables

Rangers defeat of Celtic put the Ibrox club three points clear at the top of the SPL. Although the Parkhead side have a game in hand, Rangers have a much better goal difference and would remain on top even if Celtic win their outstanding match. The match ended Celtic's 11-game unbeaten run at home in Old Firm derbies and gave Rangers manager Alex McLeish his first victory at the home of his Glasgow rivals. With only one match on Saturday in the SPL and none in the First Division, league placings are unchanged from last week.

Scotland 18 Italy 10

Italy went into this latest Six Nations Championship rugby match believing that Scotland were their best chance of a win and avoiding the ignominious "wooden spoon" (which Scotland "won" last year). Italian optimism was born not only by the string of defeats suffered by Scotland but by the fact that Italy had defeated Scotland on two previous occasions in recent years. However, this year's match at Murrayfield (illustrated here) was won by Scotland - or lost by Italy - thanks to six penalties converted by kicker Chris Paterson. At half-time, the Scots were in a slightly undeserved lead of 6-3. In the second half, Scotland edged further and further into the lead as a result of penalty conversions by Patterson - he had a 100% record in that department. Just as it looked as though the match would end 18-3 in Scotland's favour, without a single try in the whole match, Italy charged down a Scotland clearance and went over for the one and only try of the match, two minutes from the end. Final score 18-10 in Scotland's favour. Scotland have games against Wales and England still to play - on 12 and 19 March.

Lithuanian Pledges £30 Million

Vladimir Romanov, the prospective owner of Hearts Football Club, has promised £30 million over the next three years to turn the club into a serious rival to Celtic and Rangers.

Tribute to Celebrated Footballer

The Scottish Football League is marking the tenth anniversary of the death of Davie Cooper by featuring his image on the tickets for the CIS Insurance Cup Final on 20 March. Cooper played for both Rangers and Motherwell, the two finalists. The much respected winger died on 23 March1995 after suffering a brain hemorrhage at the age of 39. The SFA say that featuring Cooper on the match tickets was a celebration of the pleasure he brought to both clubs and to Scottish football in general. A portion of the ticket price is being donated to establish a new charity set up in Cooper's name for children with special needs which is to be built in Glasgow.

Paying to Play for Rangers

Michael Ball found that his career with Rangers had gone into limbo, not because he was not good enough to play for the Ibrox side, but because he had played for the club 48 times - two short of a trigger which would have resulted in a further payment of £500,000 to Everton as part of his £6 million transfer in 2001. The player was desperate to get back into the Rangers starting line-up so he has dipped into his own pocket to contribute towards a settlement with Everton. The 25-year-old has been back in the Rangers first team for the last four games as a result.