The Rampant Scotland Newsletter - your weekly insight into what has been happening in Scotland, snipped from the Scottish media, for Scots in Scotland and abroad, bringing you news, events plus a Scottish magazine section. Printed with 100% recycled electrons.Previous editions of this Newsletter are available in the Archive> and the Index to the other pages of the Rampant Scotland site is available here>.
The Scottish Snippets Newsletter in its original format began in April 1997 and continued in an unbroken series for 591 issues. Although no longer produced in that format there is now a regular update on the new and updated pages on the Rampant Scotland site and also "Scottie's Diary" on an intermittent basis, To receive this, kust send an e-mail to Scottie with "Subscribe Newsletter" in the subject line.
Current Affairs
Historical Affairs - Topical Items from Scotland's Past
Entertainment
Sport
In the First Division, Gretna go marching on, now 11 points ahead of St Johnstone who, in turn, have three points more than Partick Thistle and four more than Clyde.
Greenock Morton have a six point lead over Stirling at the top of the Second Division, while Forfar lie 9 points below Peterhead.
At the top of the Third Division, East Fife have a 3 point lead over Arbroath and Berwick Rangers. At the other end of the table, Elgin are 3 points behind East Stirling. Magazine Section
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
Hogmanay Blown Away - Again
History repeated itself as the Hogmanay street parties in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling all had to be cancelled due to high winds and torrential rain. Organisers in Edinburgh left the decision until late in the evening of 31 December, before 70mph winds, barriers blown to the ground and stonework crashing from a building convinced them that it had to be "safety first". Three years ago, the event was called off at the last minute for similar reasons. Since then, organisers had tried to improve on the strength of the stages being used by the performers in Princes Street Gardens - but the storms once again defeated them. The celebrations in Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee did go ahead, however, despite the bad weather. But it was the cancellation of the world-famous Hogmanay party in the Capital, involving an expected 100,000 people, that grabbed the headlines. Despite the public celebrations being called off, however, I'm reliably informed that most revellers still had a great time - warm and snug in the various bars and hotels around the city.
Engineers Work to Restore Power
The high winds on New Year's Eve did more than cause the cancellation of the Hogmanay celebrations around the country. 26,000 homes had their electricity cut off as gale force winds blew down trees and damaged electricity sub-stations. Despite efforts by engineers overnight and on New Year's Day, 2,500 were still without power 24 hours later. Most homes these days are heated by gas - but without electricity to work the pumps, the system cannot function. Extra engineers were drafted in from England to help out, but several days later a number of homes were still not reconnected to the grid.
Fog Disrupts Pre-Christmas Flights
Only a few days before Christmas, London Heathrow airport had to implement severe restrictions on the number of flights being handled each day due to the area being shrouded in thick fog. The major impact was felt on domestic services, with all flights from Scotland to Heathrow being axed for a couple of days. Many who had been planning to travel to London were forced to try to make alternative arrangements via road or rail. The chaos lasted for over three days, but the aftermath is still being felt in January - with thousands of pieces of luggage stranded at Heathrow, after parting company from their owners.
Scots Spend, Spend, Spend
In the early part of December, retailers in Scotland were expressing some concern about the slow build-up in the number of customers coming through the doors, at what should have been a major consumer spending spree. Of course, the dreadful weather in the first half of the month may have contributed to the slow start. But although official figures have yet to be announced, it seems that customers came flooding in during a last-minute rush - encouraged by some stores starting price discounts and "January Sale" offers earlier than usual. It is being estimated that Scots will spend an average of £370 on Christmas gifts this year - and that doesn't include what they spend on themselves. In the weekend before Christmas, 200,000 shoppers passed through the doors of Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and many claimed to be spending more this year than in 2005. But internet sales and supermarkets, now majoring on non-food products, will make life tougher for the traditional high street retailers. On the other hand, more shops than ever are now opening on 26 December and 2 January and remained open for longer in the run-up to Christmas.
Minister Resigns
Malcolm Chisholm, the former health minister and now communities minister, resigned before Christmas after voting against his governmental colleagues in the debate in the Scottish Parliament over the plan to replace the UK's Trident nuclear deterrent submarine fleet, based at Faslane in Argyll. Tony Blair's UK government has announced proposals to push ahead with a modern replacement, although some in his party are opposed to the move. However, it is likely to proceed, even if there is a rebellion in the Westminster Parliament from some of his own supporters, as the opposition Conservative Party is in support. Malcolm Chisholm said that he was against the expenditure as a "matter of principle". He could not do so and continue as a minister - though he still strongly supported the Labour Party on all its other policies.
Government Backing for New Forth Road Bridge
Finally, after receiving an interim report from a panel of experts, both the Scottish Executive transport minister and the Scottish First Minister have confirmed that a replacement for the road bridge across the river Forth is "required". Quite apart from the congestion on the existing bridge, there has been growing concern about corrosion in the wires supporting it. Unless the engineers can halt that (by no means a certainty at this stage) the bridge will become closed to heavy commercial vehicles in 2013, long before any new crossing can be built. The devastating effect that would have on the Scottish economy , especially the east and north of Scotland, is too a big a risk for the Scottish Executive to take. So the only group opposed to another bridge is the "Green" lobby, who argue that at the very least a decision should be postponed until next summer when the experts produce their final report. But with time running out (and an election next May), the government seems to be taking a more positive attitude. Of course, there are many decisions and processes to be gone through - not least an evaluation of whether there should be tunnel instead of a second bridge.
Chaos in Edinburgh's Main Railway Station
Waverley Station in Edinburgh is undergoing a major refurbishment, aimed at increasing the capacity of the railway hub, which is struggling to cope with 23 million passengers a year and 574 trains a day. In the week between Christmas and New Year, four new platforms came into operation and in addition to trains using the new facilities, all the platform numbers were changed too. This led to a lot of confusion amongst regular passengers and the situation was not helped on the first day by an accident on the Forth Bridge, which resulted in the suspension of services from the Capital to Fife and the North-east of the country.
Scots Honoured by the Queen
It is traditional for the Queen to announce a number of awards in "New Year's Honours List" and this year it was the chairman of Rangers Football club (and steel tycoon) David Murray (pictured here) who was amongst those who gained the highest accolade in Scotland, with a knighthood. So it will be Sir David Murray who has to wrestle with the resignation of the club's manager and appointment of a replacement this week (see Sports section). Sir David lost both his legs in a road accident in 1974, but has since made his fortune with a portfolio of metals, mining, property and venture capital companies He bought Rangers in 1989 and has frequently underwritten investments in the club. Also honoured this year, is the deaf solo percussionist Evelyn Glennie, originally from Aberdeenshire, who becomes Dame Evelyn. Rock star Rod Stewart (born in London to Scottish parents and fiercely proud of his roots) becomes a CBE as does author Alexander McCall Smith (who leapt to prominence at age 50 with "The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency"). Arts impresario Richard Demarco was also awarded a CBE. Amongst the lesser gongs, was an MBE for BBC weather forecaster Heather Reid - nicknamed "Heather the Weather."
Scottish Economy Continues to Grow
Economic growth in Scotland has languished for so many years that there is almost a tone of disbelief when reports come out saying that the economy is "still growing". The latest such commentary, from Professor Donald McRae, chief economist at Lloyds TSB Scotland, suggests that growth is accelerated further beyond its long-term trend rate in the three months to November. With many companies surveyed by the bank expressing confidence about the year ahead, Prof McRae is now predicting that the economy north of the border will expand by 2.25% in 2007. The balance of companies reporting increased turnover in the recent survey was the second-highest quarterly figure in the nine-year history of the Lloyds TSB Scotland Business Monitor.
Profits Surge in Top Scottish Companies
A report by Scottish Business Insider magazine shows that profits in the 500 largest companies in Scotland soared by 27.1% last year, to a record of £23.51 billion, with turnover rising by 22.7% to £160.9 billion. 2006 was the fourth successive rise in aggregate profits for the top 500 Scots companies. The only area which fell was in staff numbers, as companies strived to improve competitiveness. The most profitable company with its HQ in Scotland was Royal Bank of Scotland, followed by banking rival HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland). Scottish Power saw profits soar last year, resulting in it rising from 257th place in the table to 5th.
The illustration shows the Royal Bank of Scotland HQ, Edinburgh.
Record Year for Scottish Airports
The number of passengers flying on long haul routes from Scotland passed the million mark last year, as the overall numbers of international passengers grew by more than 600,000. New routes began operating to places such as Atlanta, Berlin, Helsinki, Gdansk and Hamburg. The most popular overseas destination was to Amsterdam in Holland. While many went just for a weekend break, a number of these passengers also used Schiphol as a staging post to more distant places. Scotland's love affair with Spain and its sun and sangria meant that Palma, Alicante, Malaga and Tenerife were the next most popular destinations. New York was 6th, however, followed by Paris, Faro (Portugal) and then Dubai.
Record Investment in Clyde Shipyards
After many years of decline and false dawns, shipbuilding on the river Clyde is seeing record levels of investment and an increase in the number of workers employed there. BAE Systems Naval Ships (the latest name for the owner of the yards at Govan and Scotstoun since 2001) has reported that it has taken on 550 new staff to cope with the expanding order book. The first of the latest Type 45 Destroyers, HMS Daring, was launched at Govan last March and is currently being fitted out. Further ships in that class are in the pipeline. Work is also under way on the "Future Aircraft Carrier" so the company is confident about the future for the next generation of warship building.
Smoke Ban Enforcers Twiddling Thumbs
In order to ensure that the ban on smoking in public buildings (implemented in March last year) was being observed, local authorities recruited staff to check on premises and issue fines on individuals or companies found breaking the new law. But it appears that the staff involved are severely under-employed, with seven local councils, employing 11 full-time enforcers, who have not had to issue one single penalty fine or warning. Councils claim that there is more to the job than handing out fines - but the total salary bill is in the region of £220,000. In Edinburgh, city officials have visited nearly 7,000 pubs, restaurants, hotels and businesses - and fined just four people in the last eight months.
Prospecting for Gold
The Alba Mineral Resources company has announced that it is to go ahead with a search for gold and silver in four locations in Scotland. The mining exploration business is to examine the extent of deposits near Aberfeldy and Glendevon (both in Perth and Kinross), Kilmelford in Argyll and Arthrath in Aberdeenshire. Exploration licences have been granted by the Crown Estate Commissioners but access negotiations with the owners of the land are still ongoing.
The crown of Scotland, shown here, contains gold mined from Upper Clydesdsale.
Is Edinburgh in Glasgow?
The staff at the VisitScotland counters deal with millions of enquiries from tourists and many are very routine. But hard working staff clearly manage to spend a few moments recording some of the more bizarre and outlandish questions and publish these from time to time. The latest list includes such gems as:
~ Does Scotland have any golf courses?
~ Can you tell me where the mountain is in Scotland?
~ Which bus do I get from Orkney Islands to Shetland Islands?
~ When does the Loch Ness monster surface and who feeds it?
~ Is Edinburgh in Glasgow?
~ Can I meet Crocodile Dundee in Dundee?
~ What Tube/Subway line runs to Edinburgh?
~ When's the changing of the guard at the White House?
The tourist who pointed to the map and asked "How do I get to one zero NA?" had staff puzzled for a moment, until they realised that she was pointing to the island of Iona...
A Christmas Miracle?
Media reports that the troubled Glasgow Tower would open again on 21 December described it as a "Christmas Miracle" - the 416 feet high rotating tower has been closed for longer than it has been open since it formally accepted visitors back in 2001. Forming part of the Glasgow Science Centre, on the banks of the river Clyde at Pacific Quay, it is the tallest free-standing building in Scotland and the only tower in the world which rotates through 360 degrees. The teardrop-shaped observation platform at the top faces into the wind to reduce wind resistance and computer-controlled motors respond to each change in wind direction. Within five months of opening, it closed for two-and-a-half years after a major fault was found on the bearings supporting it. Then it closed again for five months after visitors were trapped in the lift and had to be cut free by firemen. It has again been closed for well over a year after unspecified "technical problems". The Glasgow Science Centre has five-star ranking from VisitScotland and the tower is (again) its "icing on the cake". The views from the top are spectacular - see Places to Visit - Glasgow Tower
Loony Dook
The Hogmanay street party in Edinburgh may have had to be cancelled due to bad weather, but that did not deter the intrepid band of around 400 people who turned up on 1st January at South Queensferry, in the shadow of the Forth bridges, to plunge into the icy waters of the estuary. The objective was to either raise money for charity - or cure their hangover. The record number who turned up included brave souls from Australia and South Africa, determined to absorb the local culture. Watched by a much larger crowd of spectators, the participants paraded along South Queensferry's High Street, some dressed in costume - including a Loch Ness monster (far from home), a can of Spam and even one disguised as Saddam Hussein (complete with noose).
Weather Records Broken in December
The Meteorological Office has confirmed that December was the wettest ever month in Scotland since records began and overall temperatures were 1.5C above the 1961-1990 average. 2006 was also the warmest since the temperature series began in 1914. In Glasgow, nearly 200mm of rain had fallen in the first two weeks of December, when the average for the whole month is around 133mm. A drier spell after that reduced the possibility of breaking the 1999 record-breaking rainfall of 261.2mm - then the sting in the tail came in the last few days, taking Glasgow's rainfall total for the month to a new high of 294.8mm (11.6 inches). But it was not all about high rainfall. The east of the country enjoyed a particularly sunny month and Aberdeen smashed its record for sunshine with 90 hours, double the normal monthly average for that month. So, taking Scotland as a whole, this December turned out to be the second sunniest on record - a great surprise to those living in the wet west. Indeed, rainfall in Aberdeen and many other parts of the east was actually below normal.
Weather in Scotland This Week
After the gale force winds and lashing, freezing rain on New Year's Eve, there were a few gaps in the cloud on Monday but maximum daytime temperatures only reached 4/5C (39/41F). Tuesday was bright and sunny in many parts of Scotland and by Wednesday the daytime temperatures had reached 12C (54F) in Edinburgh - well above normal for the time of year. A number of frontal systems passed over the country on Thursday and Friday, bringing showers and bright intervals, with temperatures still on the mild side at around 8/10C (46/50F). The outlook for next week? Why, changeable, of course!
This Week's Colour Supplement
This week's large format photographs taken in Scotland to show the current season and its flora and fauna include the mist swirling amongst the trees, in Drumpellier Country Park in North Lanarkshire; a swan emerging from the same mist; Pollok House (in the sun - see thumb-nail); the Campsie Hills; and Craigton Burn, Mugdock Country Park. See this week's Colour Supplement.
Banking on Bruce's Coronation
King Robert the Bruce seized the Scottish crown in March 1306 and during the year there have been events marking that important date. But it took the Clydesdale Bank to the end of December to bring out a special edition of their £20 bank note as a tribute - though better late than never. King Robert I has adorned that denomination of Clydesdale banknote for many years and the design has been modified with the inclusion of Bruce's original heraldic shield (with the permission of Lord Elgin, the 37th chief of the Bruce clan and a bloodline descendant of the king). The reverse of the note also has the addition of words marking the 700th anniversary of Bruce's enthronement, on 25 March 1306.
Opposition to Housing Beside Ruined Abbey
A prominent historian who has become well-known as a result of a TV series on the coasts of Britain, has joined the opposition to a housing development beside Balmerino Abbey in north-east Fife, overlooking the lower reaches of the river Tay. Mark Horton says he was "shocked" at the proposal to create a large housing estate on land between the abbey and the river. This would not only spoil the setting, but would inevitably destroy archaeological remains which have not yet been researched. He says that Balmerino is one of Scotland’s most important monastic sites, having been founded by Queen Ermingarde in 1229 for Cistercian monks, and as a royal mausoleum. It is one of only a few surviving royal monastic sites and its importance was recognised when it became one of the first acquisitions of the National Trust for Scotland. Unfortunately, the Trust has done little for the ruins since then and they are crumbling away and in a dangerous state.
Next Week in Scottish History
Winter Funfair Frozen Out?
Some of the elements of the funfair, which has been one of the features of the "Winter Wonderland" festivities in Edinburgh's East Princes Street Gardens, are being described by senior council officials as "tacky" and not appropriate for the area. The massive Ferris Wheel and the ice rink are regarded as "traditional" for the capital's celebrations - they have been there since 1998. But the helter-skelter, noisy carousel and roller-coaster (shaped like a large Christmas pudding) crowd beside the 19th century Scott Monument. The large "German Market" with a multitude of stalls selling a variety of low-cost items as well as fast food and beer, fills the rest of the area between the Scott Monument and the Royal Scottish Academy. One problem the council may have with cutting back on these attractions is that they have proved to be popular with the public and defray the high cost of running the ice rink.
Festival of Fashion
Glasgow - with its marketing slogan of "Scotland with Style" - is building on that aspiration with a four-day festival of fashion in March. Glasgow Fashion Week aims to attract top designers and high street brands for a glitzy four days of catwalk shows, workshops and seminars. The city's George Square will have a marquee to showcase the event, with a large screen for the public to watch interviews and the action. The festival will run from 28 to 31 March and fashion house Arcadia (owner of the Topshop and Miss Selfridge stores) has already signed up to show its new collections.
Airworld in Scotland
An exhibition which looks at air travel from the early days of flight is coming to various locations Scotland between April and August this year, as part of the Six Cities Design Festival. "Airworld" includes everything from the changing design of cabin staff uniforms to the cutting-edge engineering of today's aircraft. The exhibition will get its UK premiere at the Tramway 2 hall in Glasgow, from April 12 to May 27.
Pottermania to Benefit Scotland
For some years JK Rowling's Harry Potter has prompted tourism agencies to cash in on the publicity by encouraging fans to visit locations associated with the stories or the films. For example, the sequence involving the old Ford Anglia car being chased by the Hogwarts Express was filmed on the Glenfinnan viaduct on the West Highland line. The train gets stuck at Banavie station and pupils from Lochaber High School in Fort William doubled as Harry's schoolmates. Now, another form of Pottermania is about to be created, this time as a result of a film about Beatrix Potter, author of the tales of Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin and Jemima Puddle Duck. Potter spent family holidays at Dalguise House near Birnam in Perthshire. It was local postman Charles Macintosh, who sparked her interest in the countryside and animals. Her time in Scotland inspired stories of Jeremy Fisher and Mrs Tiggywinkle, who was almost certainly based on an old washer woman who worked in Dalguise. For many years, the Birnam Arts Centre has run a Beatrix Potter exhibition - with statues of many of the characters in the garden outside. They have already seen a rise in the number of visitors and expect that to grow now that the film (starring Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger) has been released.
Mid-Week Football Results
Dundee United 1 Falkirk 5
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2 St Mirren 1
Celtic 2 Kilmarnock 0
Dunfermline 0 Heart of Midlothian 1
Hibernian 0 Aberdeen 0
Motherwell 0 Rangers 1Bank of Scotland Premierleague Results - 6 January 2007
Due to the Scottish Cup games, there were no SPL matches this Saturday.
Scottish Football League First/Second Division Results - 6 January 2007
Due to the Scottish Cup games, there were no First/Second Division matches this Saturday.
Scottish Football League Third Division Results - 6 January 2007
Stenhousemuir 0 Albion Rovers 4
Scottish Cup - Third Round - 6 January 2007
Airdrie United 0 Motherwell 1
Berwick Rangers 0 Falkirk 2
Celtic 4 Dumbarton 0
Clyde 0 Gretna 3
Cowdenbeath 1 Brechin City 1
Deveronvale 5 Elgin 4
Dundee 1 Queen of the South 1
Hamilton 2 Livingston 4
Greenock Morton 3 Kilmarnock 1
Ross County 0 Partick Thistle 1
St Johnstone 0 Ayr United 0
Stirling Albion 1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 6
Stranraer 0 Heart of Midlothian 4
Dundee United v St Mirren was postponed. Dunfermline v Rangers is scheduled for Sunday and Aberdeen v Hibernian is scheduled for next Wednesday.League Tables
In the Scottish Premier League games which took place over the festive period, Heart of Midlothian defeated Hibernian 3-2 on Boxing Day and Rangers suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Inverness Caledonian Thistle on the following day. The Ibrox club also drew with St Mirren - and Celtic could only manage a draw against Motherwell. By 2 January, Celtic had a 17 point advantage over Rangers, while the Ibrox side were just one point ahead of Aberdeen and two points above Hearts. At the foot of the SPL, Dunfermline continue to languish, now 9 points adrift from St Mirren.
Rangers' Manager Bids Adieu
The sports news in many newspapers moved to the front page as tumultuous events unfolded at Rangers Football Club over the last ten days. First of all, under-pressure manager Paul le Guen announced that captain Barry Ferguson was no longer the captain and he didn't even play in the game on 2 January. The French-born manager claimed that his authority was being undermined by Ferguson. The player is an idol of the fans and the news was met with angry demonstrations before and after the match. It was not as if the manager had been producing good results - the club is 17 points adrift from rivals Celtic in the SPL. The only bright spot has been a good run in the UEFA Cup. But far from improving on last year's disappointing performance, the club has lost to a number of lesser lights in the SPL - and were even knocked out of the Scottish League Cup by First Division side St Johnstone. Initially, it appeared that the manager had the backing of the club chairman Sir David Murray for his treatment of Ferguson. But later in the week, stunned sports writers and fans were told that le Guen was leaving "by mutual consent." He had been at the club for just seven months and 31 games - the shortest reign in the history of the club. Speculation then broke out on who would succeed at Ibrox and try to salvage something from the season. The name most frequently suggested is the current manager of the Scotland national team, Walter Smith, who was successful in the role in the 1990s - he led the club to nine successive league titles before resigning in 1998 and moving to an English club. Smith's name is being linked to former Rangers striker Ally McCoist, who also assists with the national team.
Scotland Manager in World Top Ten
Scotland's much improved international football team performance has propelled Walter Smith into the list of "Top 10" managers, as rated by World Soccer magazine. Smith finished 9th - one place ahead of Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. Scotland jumped 35 places in the FIFA rankings last year to 25th.
Former Hearts Captain Signs for Celtic
Steven Pressley has signed for Celtic, despite more lucrative offers from two English clubs. Pressley had left the captaincy of Heart of Midlothian on a free transfer, after speaking out on unrest amongst the players, which had displeased the club's majority shareholder, Lithuanian banker Vladimir Romanov. It seems that the major attraction for Pressley was the likelihood of European football next season.
Currie Win Rugby Championship
On the Saturday before Christmas, Currie were declared the Scottish Premiership 1 Rugby League champions - after Glasgow Hawks, the champions for the last three years, defeated this year's challengers Ayr. Currie, of course, had won their own match that day (though had to come behind at half time) and only had to wait for the result from Glasgow to know that the title was theirs. So they didn't have a nerve-wracking wait until the final match of the season (scheduled for 13 January) to start celebrating.
Milking His Fame
Former Rangers and Scotland goal-scorer Ally McCoist, who earns a living these days mainly as a football pundit and TV celebrity, is to appear on advertising hoardings across Scotland this month - sporting a white moustache in order to encourage people to drink semi-skimmed milk. McCoist is one of a long line of celebrities to don a milk moustache, including tennis star Andy Murray, to milk his fame in this way.
£1 Million Sponsorship Deal for Scots Tennis Star
19-year-old Andy Murray has signed a sponsorship deal with bottled water company Highland Spring, which is though to be worth over £1 million. Murray, from Dunblane will wear the Perthshire-based company's logo on his shirt sleeve during tournaments. Its first outing was the Qatar ExxonMobil Open where he reached his fourth career final with a win over top seed Nikolay Davydenko. In the final, however, Murray was defeated by second seed Ivan Ljubicic. However, his performance will improve his world tennis ranking and he goes to the Australian Open as one of the top 16 seeds.
Scotland to Stage Rugby World Cup?
This year, Scotland will be playing two matches (against Romania and New Zealand) in this year's Rugby World Cup tournament. But EventScotland, the agency responsible for attracting major events, is looking seriously at bidding to stage the finals of the 2015 event in Edinburgh at Murrayfield stadium. There are still hopes that Glasgow will be successful in its bid to stage the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and the Ryder Cup is already confirmed for 2014.
Ski Slopes Still Green
So far this winter, only the ski slopes at Cairngorm have had enough snow to permit skiers to do other than hill-walking. With temperatures still on the high side for January, the outlook for the rest of the month is not promising either. The ski resorts can only hope for a repeat of last year, when there was an unexpected late fall of snow in March.
Ramada Perth Masters
The Dewars Centre in Perth is hosting the Ramada Perth Masters, a World Curling Tour event, from 4th to 7th January, with competitors arriving from all over the world to take part in Europe’s most prestigious competition. Scotland’s own World Champions, Team Murdoch, will be taking part, of course, and also the current Olympic Champions, Team Gushue from Canada. There are teams from all over Europe taking part, including Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland. The entire event is free of charge for spectators.