Scotland Enjoys Sunshine and Record Temperatures

On Monday of this week, temperatures in Aberdeen reached an all-time record 29.8C (85.6F), surpassing the previous one of 29.6C. As the warm weather continued, forecasters were predicting even more records might be broken. However, although Prestwick in Ayrshire reached over 31.3C (88.3F) the overall Scottish record temperature for July was not broken. Even so, there was plenty of sunshine and Scots, who are not used to such high temperatures began to wilt a bit. Those of you who regularly have daily maxima of over 100F, please don't laugh.... The highest recorded temperature in Scotland was 32.9C (89.6F) at Greycrook (Scottish Borders) on 9 August, 2003. South of the border, the all-time record British temperature for the month was smashed when the mercury hit 36.5C (97.7F) at Wisley in Surrey.
The good weather and above average temperatures has lasted since last Friday and is set to continue for a few more days yet. Of course, this being Scotland, there were some variations. On Wednesday, haze and high cloud at St Andrews in Fife kept the temperature down to 17C/63F (said with gritted teeth - I was there that day). The north-west and the Western Isles were also affected by frontal systems that kept the temperature down lower than the rest of the country. In the Shetlands, thick fog kept the maximum temperature down to 13C/55F on Wednesday and flights were cancelled due to the intensity of the fog. But mostly it has been perfect summer weather this week.

Motorway Standstill

An accident on Monday in the middle of roadworks on the M8 motorway leaving Glasgow brought traffic to a complete standstill, with cars tailing back for four miles in rising temperatures. Many drivers and passengers left their cars and sat on crash barriers, enjoying (if that's the right word) the sunshine. Some vehicles were stationary for nearly two hours while rescue crews cleared the road which was down to two lanes due to the ongoing resurfacing work.

Development Plan for Edinburgh Airport

An outline of the development plan for Edinburgh Airport over the next 30 years was published last year by the owners, British Airports Authority (BAA). This week, it has produced a more detailed "master plan" which confirms the growth projections - from 8.5 million currently, to nearly 14 million by 2013 and 26 million by 2030. International flights are expected to be the main driver of growth, leading to 13 times as many long-haul passengers as at present. Despite the addition of a tramway line to the city centre in 2013 and a new mainline rail station to be built beside the airport, the demand for car parking spaces is expected to rise from 3,300 to 15,700 by 2030. That, plus a second runway, will need more space than at present and BAA has repeated its need to take over the area currently occupied by the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston. That has caused an outcry, not just from the agricultural community, but the city council, concerned that this could lead to the loss of a major economic benefit to Edinburgh. The showground hosts 1.2 million visitors to shows and events each year, worth £250 million. And environmental groups don't want to see the expansion of air travel at all, arguing that it will "simply fuel climate change with the taxpayer picking up the bill as the industry continues to enjoy virtually tax-free fuel." However, although the details may change as the years and the planning processes go by, the government will want to see the growth of the airport (and the one beside Glasgow) to continue.The airport master plan will be updated every five years.

Edinburgh Says Thanks a Million

For the first time since the mid-1990s, Edinburgh welcomed over a million foreign tourists last year. New figures compiled by the Office of National Statistics have revealed 1,134,000 foreign tourists visited the city in 2005 - a rise of 194,000 since 2004. Edinburgh remains the most popular tourist destination in the UK outside London. Understandably, the national tourism agency VisitScotland was delighted. The organisation has come under pressure from business leaders in the Capital, who believe that not enough is being done to promote tourism there and have been campaigning for Edinburgh to have its own independent tourist organisation. Last year, there was a £1 million marketing campaign, the biggest the city has ever seen, to attract visitors from Western Europe on short city breaks. Industry experts say foreign tourists are worth more to the economy than their domestic counterparts, since they stay longer and spend more money.

Chancellor Becomes a Father Again

Gordon Brown, the Scots-born Chancellor of the Exchequer, became a dad again this week, when his wife Sarah gave birth to a baby boy weighing 8 pounds (3.6 kilos in this metric age). The couple's first child, Jennifer Jane, who Mr Brown has said was an "inspiration", died aged 10 days after being born prematurely in 2002. Their second child, John, will turn three in October this year and the new baby is to be named James Fraser Brown. Prime Minister Tony Blair sent his congratulations to the couple when he spoke to reporters at the G8 Summit in St Petersburg. Gordon Brown is widely expected to succeed Tony Blair when the Prime Minister decides to step down - at a date of his choosing. Brown has headed HM Treasury since May 1997, making him the longest continuously serving Chancellor since the early 19th century.

Hospital Food Lottery

What would you rather have if you were in hospital? Meals costing £42 a week or £280? Patients in Scotland don't have any choice, of course - they just have to accept the lottery of whatever is on offer in the hospital they find themselves in. Figures published this week by the government agency Audit Scotland, highlighted the wide discrepancy in the cost - and quality and satisfaction levels - across the National Health Service (NHS). That £280 a week at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank (a former private hospital taken over by the NHS) may be a shade too expensive. But then, 99% of patients said they were delighted with the catering there, while patients in many other establishments try to get well quickly, so that they can escape from the meals they are being served. A sample menu from an Edinburgh hospital had scrambled egg available at every meal, while other choices included such delicacies as puréed macaroni and cheese or egg mayonnaise sandwich for lunch, and pasta and ham salad in the early evening.

Scottish Universities Have Highest Drop-Out Rates in UK

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, Scotland has the highest proportion of first-time degree entrants dropping out of their courses in the first year of study. During 2004-05, 11.6% (3,645) of students in higher education left after their first year of study, compared with a UK average of 9.5%. The UHI Millennium Institute in Inverness had the highest drop-out rate with 31.8%, though UHI management said its figure was distorted by large numbers of students taking one-year degree courses from HNC and HND courses, automatically leaving after 12 months. At Bell College in Hamilton, the drop-out rate was 30.2%, with. Napier University (pictured here) in Edinburgh seeing withdrawals of 20.2% while 19.4% dropped out of Paisley University. Scotland has the highest proportion of students in the UK from deprived backgrounds, where there is not the same tradition of further education and economic factors and lack of support can be a problem for students.

ScotRail on the Right Track

For a number of years, the punctuality of train services in Scotland has been appalling. The franchise to operate ScotRail, which runs most of the internal rail services in the country, was even moved to another company, in the hope of seeing an improvement. Initially, that didn't seem to be happening. But in recent months, punctuality of the trains has risen above 90%. Not wonderful, but a 22% improvement since First Scotrail took over in October 2004. Now the company's hard work has been rewarded with being named as "public transport operator of the year" at the UK's National Transport Awards in London this week. Here's hoping they continue to improve the service and win that award again.

Mighty Hunter Secures Morayshire Air Base

After a long period of delays and difficulties, during which there has been concern that the Royal Air Force base at Kinloss in Morayshire might close, the Ministry of Defence announced this week a £3.2 billion contract for 12 new Nimrod MRA4 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, to be based beside the existing MR2 Nimrods (illustrated here). Nimrod was a Mesopotamian monarch and "a mighty hunter" who is mentioned in the Bible. The new aircraft will be will be fitted with highly advanced technology and will be able to operate a wider surveillance role over land and sea as well as continuing to fulfil the vital search and rescue role of the present airframes. They will be capable of flying missions of 6,000 nautical miles without refuelling and at altitudes of up to 42,000ft. Despite their modern technology, the design is a development of the De Havilland Comet, the world's first commercial jet aircraft to enter service.

Three Year Wage Freeze for 5,000 Staff

As Glasgow City Council tries to balance the books and fund a £40 million shortfall, arising from back pay in an equal pay deal, as well as a long-term re-structuring of salaries for its 38,000 workers, it looks as though there will be winners and losers. Home care staff could see their salaries rising by 25% and it is believed that around 52% of staff will get pay rises of more than £500 a year. Nevertheless, about 32% will see little or no change and around 5,000 council workers face a three-year wage freeze. Some highly paid senior staff could be sacked as the gap in the budget is bridged. Despite equal pay being a legal requirement in the UK for many years, the issue has been simmering for a long time in local councils, where thousands of female workers were paid less than men for doing jobs now deemed to be of roughly the same value. Other local councils across Scotland are facing similar issues.

Western Isles Cruise for Queen

When the royal yacht Britannia was in service, the Queen regularly spent a few weeks each summer cruising around the Western Isles - per head of the population, they probably got more royal visits than many large towns as a result. A mixture of holiday and "work", the Queen obviously enjoyed her cruises off the west coast of Scotland (who wouldn't?). So as an extra 80th birthday present for herself, she has hired a small ship from a cruise company to recreate those family trips on Britannia. The Hebridean Princess is not quite the same standard as Britannia - it used to be a Caledonian MacBrayne car ferry. But the vessel, which normally sails from Oban for tours of the Scottish islands and to Norway, has 30 "spacious, elegant and well-equipped" cabins and another 11 for single travellers. It is reported that the Royal Family have paid about £125,000 to charter the ship. There is an illustrated article on the Hebridean Princess at Great Places to Stay - Hebridean Princess.

Cows Increase Visitors to Edinburgh Attractions

CowParade is a madcap exhibition which gives artists a chance to work on life-sized fibreglass cow sculptures. Their colourful work is displayed and then sold off to make money for local charities. CowParade is not meant to be high art and is first and foremost a public art exhibit that is accessible to everyone. Edinburgh's CowParade has been on display since early June and is being credited with milking a big rise in visitor numbers at the Royal Botanic Garden and the National Galleries on The Mound in the early part of the summer, compared to last year. Both attractions had their own bovine statues and compared to the same period last year, the National Galleries has seen visitor numbers go up by 26%, while the Botanic Garden has experienced an 11.9% increase on last year. The National Galleries pointed out that they had the same number and style of exhibitions on this year as last year, so the increase of more than 22,000 on last year's 122,157 is almost certainly due to the eye-catching exhibits outside. The Galleries had a string of the painted fibreglass animals hung between its Grecian columns - nobody passing along Princes Street could fail to notice!. In the Botanic Gardens, where visitor numbers can be affected by a number of factors, including the weather, staff were certainly aware of large numbers of people enquiring about the location of the exhibits.

Lochaber Hotel Voted Best in Europe

Inverlochy Castle Hotel, near Fort William, has beaten competition from top hotels in Budapest, Reims in France and Asolo in Italy, to take first place in Travel and Leisure magazine's list of the top 50 hotels in Europe. The top travel magazine surveyed 500,000 readers who rated hotels on room, location, restaurants and value for money. Inverlochy Castle is the first UK establishment to reach the top place. Queen Victoria visited Inverlochy Castle for a week`s holiday and wrote "I never saw a lovelier or more romantic spot". It became a country house hotel in 1969. Charlie Chaplin was the castle's first celebrity guest and, since then, the hotel has played host to a list of well-known people including Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Elton John, Barbara Cartland, Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson. Royalty from around the world have also stayed at Inverlochy Castle, including the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. For the history and a review of what it's like to stay there, see Great Places to Stay - Inverlochy Castle Hotel.

New European Air Services

Budget airline Ryanair has announced the first regular air service between Scotland (Prestwick Airport) and Riga, the capital of Latvia. A new service will also fly five times a week from the Ayrshire airport to Eindhoven in Holland. That will bring the number of destinations served from Prestwick by Ryanair to 23.

Zooming Nowhere

Budget Canadian airline Zoom has transformed air travel between Scotland and Canada, but last weekend hundreds of passengers were hit by "significant" delays when more than one aircraft suffered "technical problems". 270 passengers for Halifax and Ottawa eventually got away at the third attempt, after 44 hours of misery, which began on Saturday. Another 150 passengers, heading to Vancouver, turned up at Glasgow Airport on Sunday only to be told their flight was not likely to leave until Monday. And other passengers for the flight to Toronto on Monday at 1.45pm were told it would not take off until 10.05am on the next day. Zoom later chartered another aircraft to clear the backlog and get back to normal. A spokesman for the airline said that this was the first time this had happened since they started flying and was due to a unique combination of circumstances. The airline now carries 250,000 passengers a year.

Search for Best UK Chip Shop

Selling fried fish and chips (French fries in some parts of the world) is a £1.2 billion fast food industry in the UK. A "fish supper" is the nation's favourite take-away, accompanied by sales of deep fried sausages, pizzas and, in Scotland, deep fried haggis and Mars bars. In the UK, more than 10,500 shops sell more than 255 million meals each year, of varying quality. Every year, the best outlets compete for the title of "National Fish & Chip Shop of the Year" and Scottish competitors often come out on top. Even being named the best in Scotland can do wonders for turnover. The hunt is now on for the 2006 winner, with 19 shops in Scotland shortlisted. They include the Anstruther Fish Bar & Restaurant (a Scottish winner twice as well as being Scottish Cafe of the Year 2005 which regularly has queues down the street in summer), The Silvery Tay, Newport-On-Tay and La Dolce Vita in Lochwinnoch (which should win the prize just because of its name). Each shop will receive a visit from a mystery judge who will mark the quality of their fish and chips, customer service, hygiene and staff training. The winners will be announced in London next January. Regional winners will be announced in September.

Birds of Prayer Clear Aberdeen Skies

A family of peregrine falcons has set up home in the spire of St Mary's Cathedral in the city of Aberdeen - and is helping to keep the local pigeon population in check, much to the delight of local residents. The graceful birds, more usually seen in the countryside, can be seen soaring above the rooftops - and feasting on the unfortunate local pigeons, who are not used to such depredations. Peregrine falcons are the fastest hunters in the world - they can free fall towards their prey at speeds of around 260mph. After years of persecution from gamekeepers and landowners, better legal protection and control of pesticides have helped the population to recover considerably from a low in the 1960s. It is unusual, though not unheard of, for peregrines to move into towns and cities. Someone has jokingly suggested that those at St Mary's Cathedral must be "birds of prayer".

Jack Who?

The Scottish First Minister, Jack McConnell, may be on friendly terms with American billionaire Donald Trump and has welcomed George Bush to Scotland at the G8 conference in Gleneagles. But documents from the US Consulate in Regent Terrace, Edinburgh (pictured here), made public under the Freedom of Information Act, seem to suggest that the staff there aren't sure about who he is or his policies. After the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary elections, when McConnell's Labour Party gained 50 seats (a reduction of 5), a memo from the US consulate staff reported "Jack Connell and his party are licking their wounds this morning" after a "pyrrhic victory" and that there was "a gradual shift to the left, in line with Scotland's image as a generally more socialist society". The memo also suggested that the First Minister "will find his party more often at odds with the more centrist policies of PM Blair." The US Consulate in Edinburgh opened for the first time in 1798.

Holy Wheelie Bins, Binman - We Won an Award!

West Dunbartonshire's Waste and Transport Services has won an award for its promotional film to increase awareness among youngsters of the problem of litter. Their cartoon character has a flowing red cape and glowing green credentials. Cartoon recycling hero BinMan, aided by sidekicks BinBoy and LitterBug, are featured on a DVD to teach school kids about waste minimisation, the problems with landfill and how to reuse refuse. The film was entered into the Chartered Institution of Waste Management annual competition and scooped a coveted award. Judging by the amount of litter in the streets and parks of most areas of Scotland, (subject of a media campaign at the moment), it needs an army of green caped crusaders to make an impact.

Weather in Scotland This Week

As noted in the first item above, much of Scotland has enjoyed a prolonged spell of warm, sunny weather. But that record-breaking temperature of 29.8C (85.6F) in Aberdeen was achieved despite some cloud that day and the north-east has sometimes not been as fortunate as the rest of the country. There has been very little rain this week, most of it falling as short spells of light drizzle, as in parts of the west of Scotland on Thursday. On Saturday, there has been high, thin cloud over central Scotland but temperatures still managed to reach 24C (75F). In Stornoway, in the WEstern Isles, there was more sunshine but the maximum temperature only reached 17C (63F). The forecasters are suggesting that the good weather will continue, with temperatures reaching 25/26C (77/79F) next Tuesday and Wednesday.

The illustration shows the fountain at Culzean Castle.

This Week's Colour Supplement

This week's online photographs taken in Scotland to show the current season and its flora and fauna include Birds-foot Trefoil, Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly (see small picture here), a Bee on a Scabious Flower, a green cow, the tranquil river Forth on a sunny afternoon, a Tufted Duck chick and Glasgow's famous Sauchiehall Street. See Colour Supplement - 22 July.

Stamp of Approval for Sir Walter

The Royal Mail has issued a series of postage stamps celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the National Portrait Gallery and its collection of over 9,000 portraits. The stamps were officially launched at Abbotsford House near Melrose in the Scottish Borders. One of the ten stamps features Sir Walter Scott, the 19th century writer who built Abbotsford as his home. Other portraits featured on the stamps include William Shakespeare, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Charles Darwin, Emmeline Pankhurst, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf and Sir Winston Churchill.

First World War Submarine Discovered

Members of the South Queensferry Sub Aqua Club have uncovered an intact submarine from the First World War in deep waters off Eyemouth. Initially, they thought it was a sunken fishing trawler but subsequent dives showed it was a submarine, which had been lying in 200 feet of water for over 85 years. The divers are waiting for confirmation that the vessel was unmanned when it sank - it is thought that it was on tow to be scrapped before it sank. The British submarine, known as the H11, is around five metres (16 feet) tall and 45 metres (150 feet) long and is lying on her port side with the bows clear of the seabed. The sub H11 was built in the United States and was released to British forces when the Americans joined the war in 1917.

MacDonalds of Keppoch Returning to Lochaber

Ranald Alasdair MacDonald of Keppoch 32nd Chief of the Honourable Clann Ranald of Lochaber, direct descendant of John MacDonald Lord of the Isles c 1330 ­ 1386, and Princess Margaret Stewart eldest daughter of King Robert II, is being given a special civic reception at the Highland Council of Fort William, in their Lochaber Headquarters in the town on 13 September. The event is to mark the receipt of the Letters Patent issued by the Lord Lyon King of Arms which confirm his claim to the Chieftainship which was established in the Court of Session in 2004. The clan has not had a chief for 158 years. The Chief’s clansmen, family members and friends from North America, are gathering to witness this unique historic Presentation. A documentary film is being made of the event by a film maker from the U.S.A The Chief has long term plans to re-establish his Clann in Lochaber where the focus will be the creation of a Keppoch Clann Centre for all clansmen globally. A web site for the Clann has been established at macdonaldofkeppoch.org/.

Next Week in Scottish History

• July 23 1745 - Charles Edward Stuart landed on Eriskay at the start of the 1745 Jacobite campaign.
• July 23 1886 - Birth in Glasgow of Arthur Whitten Brown (later Sir Arthur), companion of Alcock on the first west to east aircraft crossing of the Atlantic.
• July 24 1411 - Battle of Harlaw Hill, one of the bloodiest battles on Scottish soil. Donald, Lord of the Isles and a force of Highlanders met an army from the north-east led by the Earl of Mar. After a long battle, both sides thought they had lost - and the descendants of both sides thought they had won.
• July 24 1567 - Mary Queen of Scots abdicated and the young James VI acceded to Scottish throne. The Earl of Mar was appointed regent.
• July 23 1916 - Death of Sir William Ramsay, Scottish chemist who discovered helium, xenon, neon, argon, radon and krypton.
• July 24 2002 - The Princess Royal formally opened the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Scotland's first national park.
• July 25 1394 - King James I born.
• July 25 1843 - Charles Macintosh, inventor of rubberized raincoats, died.
• July 25 1848 - Arthur James Balfour, the only Secretary of State for Scotland to become Prime Minister, born E Lothian.
• July 25 1948 - Bread rationing ends in Britain.
• July 25 1980 - Alan Wells won Olympic 100 metres sprint.
• July 27 1689 - Battle of Killiecrankie in which Graham of Claverhouse (Bonnie Dundee) leading an army of Highlanders in support of the Jacobite cause, defeated King William's army under General Hugh Mackay.
• July 27 1760 - The Scottish School of Design was founded in Edinburgh. It later became the Royal Institution and finally the Royal Scottish Academy.
• July 28 1913 - Jo Grimond, former leader of the Liberal party, born.
• July 29 1565 - Mary, Queen of Scots, married Lord Darnley.
• July 29 1567 - King James VI (aged 13 months) crowned at the Church of the Holy Rude, beside Stirling Castle, following the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, five days earlier.

Bank Ends Link With Hogmanay Street Party

The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced that it is to end its six-year sponsorship of Edinburgh's New Year's Eve street party after this year The bank has provided annual funding of around £300,000 for the event, which is the culmination of the Capital's four-day year-end celebrations. The bank has always been a strong supporter of events in the city and this continues through the ongoing sponsorship of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, The Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as well as a new three-year sponsorship deal with Edinburgh International Book Festival. But the city will now have to find a new sponsor for the Hogmanay street party. Such is the success of this event, the city council is confident i twill be attractive to either a UK or multi-national sponsor wanting to increase their profile to a worldwide audience. Scottish drinks giant Scottish & Newcastle is reported to have already indicated an interest. The company used to be a sponsor of the event and could be encouraged to restart - now that Edinburgh City Council has announced that it would allow alcoholic drinks to be sold during the street party.

Free in the Park

Not quite as big as the recent "T in the Park", but thousands of music fans are expected to descend on Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park on Sunday for a mini version of the pop concert. The twelve bands may not be as famous as those at Balado, but hey - it's free. The event is cringingly entitled "Kelvingroove" and features a host of other activities including skateboarding, basketball, mountain biking and a climbing wall and younger children can enjoy face painting and craft workshops. With the sun shining and temperatures in the 70s Fahrenheit are forecast, there is always the nearby Kelvingrove Museum if there is the odd shower.

Kelvingrove Welcomes 141,000 Visitors

In the first week after it opened following its £28 million refurbishment, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow saw 141,435 visitors passing through its doors. Before closing in 2003 to begin work on the refurbishment, Kelvingrove was the most popular UK museum outside of London, attracting over one million visitors every year. It had been expected that around 1.5 million visitors would come to Kelvingrove over the next 12 months, but the initial numbers are causing the museum bosses to rethink that number upwards.

Mull of Kintyre Air Show

Campbeltown on the Mull of Kintyre is a remote spot (140 miles from Glasgow by largely winding roads and fantastic scenery to slow you down even more), but by air it is only a short hop to Campbeltown Airport. But most of the 8,000 people expected at the two-day Mull of Kintyre Air Show on the weekend of 22/23 July will be going the long way round to see what is one of the largest air shows in Scotland - not that there are many air shows competing for that title. There will be a wide variety of aircraft including US Air Force jets, the Red Bull Matadors, the Utterly Butterly display team, a Dakota DC3 from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the RAF Falcons parachute display team.

Hollywood Star Plays Renfrew Ferry

Hollywood star Steven Seagal, the action movie actor, producer and director (and a 7th-dan Black Belt in aikido) has starred in more than 20 films. But last year he began pursuing a long-held dream of recording a "real blues album," featuring a host of Memphis music legends. He is supporting singer Sting on some of the music superstar's UK tour dates and now he has lined up a date in the floating Clydeside venue of the Renfrew Ferry on Tuesday, September 19. The band is made up of blues musicians Norris Johnson, Bernard Allison, Harold Smith, Edward Cleveland and Angel Rogers, who back Seagal under the name Thunderbox. The gig is expected to be a sell-out. The agent for the actor, who is known for his trademark ponytail, says "If you think he is pretty good at defeating the bad guys on film, you should see him on guitar."

Pre-Season Football "Friendly" Results

Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) 2 Rangers 0
Jomo Cosmos (South Africa) 2 Aberdeen 0
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0 Sheffield United (English Premier) 3
Peterhead (Scottish Division 2) 3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2
Heart of Midlothian 2 Osasuna (Spanish Primera Liga) 0
New England Revolution (US) 1 Celtic 1
Larne (Northern Ireland) 0 Motherwell 2
Kilmarnock 2 West Bromwich Albion (English Championship Division) 1

Intertoto Cup

Hibernian 2 Odense (Denmark) 1

Hibernian European Adventure Ended

Despite eventually winning the second leg of their Intertoto Cup match against Danish side Odense, Hibernian were knocked out of the tournament on the away goal rule. Odense had won the first leg 1-0 and then scored an away goal in this second game. Odense scored first, so Hibernian showed a lot of determination to then score twice and make the aggregate score 2-2. So the Intertoto Cup has been no more than a pre-season warm-up for the Edinburgh side - though probably more valuable than some of the other friendly matches played by some Scottish SPL clubs.

Police Cancel Rangers v Bolton Game

Rangers were scheduled to visit English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly at the Reebok Stadium on 25 July. But the game has been cancelled at short notice because the local Greater Manchester Police said that they did not have enough officers available on the day. Thousands of fans had already booked tickets and made travel arrangements. A full refund of the ticket price will be made.

Sweden's Johan Edfors Wins Scottish Open

At the start of the last day of the Scottish Open golf championship at Loch Lomond last weekend, Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn started the day six shots ahead of the Swede Johan Edfors. But a sparkling final round of eight under par allowed him to race through the field and grab the trophy by two shots. Edfors, who won the TCL Classic in China in March and the British Masters at the Belfry in May, finished around two hours before Clarke and Bjorn completed the day's play. So he had a nervous wait until they had finished and confirmed that he had won. Argentina's Andres Romero claimed a share of second with Luke Donald and Charl Schwartzel. That allowed Romero to claim the last remaining qualifying spot for this week's Open Championship, this year at Hoylake in England.

Fancy a Game of Golf in Ulan Bator?

The R&A, the governing body of world golf, uses some of its funds (largely the profits from the annual Open Golf championship) to develop golf, not just in the UK, but abroad too. That includes the Far East and now the R&A has appointed its first director outside of Scotland. Colin Phillips, former executive director of the Australian Golf Union, will cover Australasia and the Far East. That includes the R&A's latest investment - £4 million to develop the game in Ulan Bator, ther capital of Mongolia.

Shinty

London Camanachd, playing the first game of shinty in the UK capital for over 80 years, defeated The Highlanders 1-0 at Tir Connail pitches, Greenford, London in their second round tie on Saturday. But the Highlanders won the first leg 8-0 and so go through to the semi-finals of the Bullough Cup (South). In the Scottish Hydro Electric Camanachd Cup, Semi Finals, the results were:

Fort William 1 Newtonmore 0
Kingussie 3 Kilmallie 0