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
Scots Abroad
Sport
Magazine Section
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
Graduate Fee Scrapped
The Scottish Executive confirmed this week that, subject to Parliamentary approval, they plan to scrap the so-called graduate endowment fee. That will mean that 50,000 university and college students doing degree courses will no longer have to pay over £2,200 when they finish their course. They were introduced in 2001/2002 and, although there are exemptions, about half of all students were liable for the charge. It is argued that it is a complicated and inefficient way of generating money. As the Liberal Democrats look likely to support the change (despite also being part of the government that introduced it when they were in coalition with Labour) it is likely to be approved. University tuition fees, payable by Scottish students in Scotland, were scrapped by the last administration.
The graphic is of Abertay University's crest.
Record Low Unemployment
Scotland is bucking the present UK trend, where the number of those "economically inactive" (which includes students, long-term sick or people looking after a family) rose by 120,000 last year. In Scotland, this category fell by 23,000 in 2006. Of the 619,000 of working age who are economically inactive, 445,000 are not seeking a job. As a result, the number of those on job-seekers' allowance is at an all-time low. And the number of people actually in employment (swelled not just by the number of women working these days bit also by workers from Eastern Europe) is at the highest level since records began for this statistic in 1992.
More Foreign Tourists, Fewer Britons
Figures published this week by the tourism agency VisitScotland show that record numbers of foreign nationals came to Scotland last year, taking advantage of the new air links. But the number of tourists coming to Scotland from the rest of Britain is continuing to fall. Overseas visitors increased by 12% to 2.7 million, generating £1.4 billion revenue. UK visitors to Scotland, on the other hand, declined by 11% to 13.3 million. As UK residents spend much less per head than those from abroad, they only generated £2.7 billion for the Scottish economy. The combined effect was a levelling off in tourism, after a strong recovery seen since 2001. The tourism agency insists that the decline in domestic tourism has been influenced by increasing fuel prices and the World Cup last summer, which meant that many potential English visitors stayed at home to watch their team on TV, or travel to Germany for the games. Exchange rates and cheap flights also made it more attractive for UK holidaymakers to take short breaks abroad. Scotland is often a "second break" destination for English travellers and greater opportunities to travel to Europe has had an impact on that. Scotland's share of the UK tourism market has remained steady at 13% as all these factors also affected the rest of the UK.
Doctors' Surgeries Open Longer?
It used to be that doctors worked long hours, responding to night-time calls and holding surgeries in evenings to cater for patients who were working during the day. Now, if you want to see a doctor, you have to take time off work to see them in "normal office hours", which can mean loss of earnings in some employments. Overnight medical support is via NHS24 telephone support and, if it is deemed serious enough, by a dedicated locum service. Now the new Health Secretary wants to discuss making services based less on 9 to 5 and more on a "user-friendly and flexible" basis. The chair of the British Medical Association's Scottish General Practitioners committee says that he welcomes an open discussion. Some of his colleagues, however, have expressed the view that if evening surgeries were to be implemented, it would take away resources from during the day - and patients should expect to pay a fee for such a service. That would be unacceptable to many who have come to expect that the National Health Service is free at the point of delivery (and paid for by taxation and insurance).
Parking Fees at Hospitals Reduced
There were loud complaints when Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board announced the introduction of parking fees at Yorkhill, Western, Gartnavel and Victoria hospitals from 29 July. Similar charges were planned for the city's Southern General and Stobhill hospitals and at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley later this year. Although there were reduced charges for hospital staff and some patients and visitors needing to make frequent visits were eligible for discounts, it was argued that it was a tax on illness. Now the hospital board has relented slightly and announced a major reduction in the proposed charges. Charges will now be £1 for two hours increasing to £1.50 for up to three hours and £2.50 for up to four hours. These are modest parking fees, compared to those paid by city-centre shoppers, for example. The maximum daily parking charge in hospital car parks will be cut from £12 to £7 and the new scale of staff permits will cut the monthly charge to £5 for those with the lower income. Of course, the charges were being implemented because the car parks, particularly those in the city centres, were overflowing, often with cars left by drivers who were neither visitors or out-patients coming for an appointment. Whether the new charges will be enough to reduce that situation remains to be seen.
Heart Transplant Patient Climbs All 284 Munros
Murray Elder had a life expectancy of only days when he underwent a heart transplant operation 18 years ago. Since then, he has been an adviser to the late John Smith, when he was leader of the UK Labour Party, and he is also a close ally of Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister-in-waiting. He has also become Lord Elder and, since having the heart transplant, he has continued to climb all 284 "Munros" - the mountains in Scotland with peaks above 3,000 feet. He climbed the last of them last Saturday - accompanied by some friends and also the surgeon who performed the life-saving operation. The 57-year-old had a glass of celebratory champagne and said that he hoped it would give encouragement to other heart transplant patients and encourage donors and their families to come forward to save lives. Lord Elder is the first heart transplant recipient to climb all the Munros and is one of only three members of the UK parliament to join the exclusive club of "Munro Baggers" who have ascended all of the peaks.
Tycoon's Legal Win Bars Ramblers from Her Land
One of the first major pieces of legislation passed by the new Scottish Parliament after it was "reconvened" in 1999, was the "Right to Roam". With large parts of Scotland in the hands of private owners, the legislation enshrined the right of members of the public to roam on these estates, giving unrivalled access to the "great outdoors." While these rights are still in place, a legal case won this week by Ann Gloag, a multi-millionaire tycoon, has given her a larger area around her home at Kinfauns Castle where she can erect "keep out" signs. The case arose after she built a 7-feet high fence around a 12-acre enclosure, claiming that because of her wealth, high public profile and prominence of her guests, she was entitled to a higher degree of protection. After a long legal battle, the sheriff has found in her favour. His judgement said that "a landowner is entitled to sufficient land to be excluded from access rights to ensure their enjoyment of the house is not unreasonably disturbed. To ignore the occupants’ enjoyment of the house would be a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights." The judgement meant that the security fence should be permitted - and the public has access to the rest of the estate. The Ramblers Association is convinced that the sheriff's judgement is in error and is considering an appeal.
Scunnered with Microsoft's Office 2007
Those of us who use the English/English dictionary (as distinct from the US/English version) in Microsoft products have to teach it to speak Scots by adding common words to its dictionary of acceptable words on our own PCs. This can be a time consuming process, particularly if a lot of Scots dialect words are used. Now Microsoft has announced that the latest British version of their Office 2007 software will have Scots words included in its dialect dictionary. The software giant has invited users to submit their favourite Scots words and already thousands of words have been sent in. The most-nominated word so far is "scunnered" followed by old favourites such as "dreich" and "wean". Dundonians appear to have been quick off the mark and suggested "baffies" and "cundy" (slippers and the drain at the side of the road to the rest of us who are not so familiar with the local patois of the City of Discovery). When it is finally completed, the additional dictionary will be free to download. Those wishing to contribute should send their suggestions to dialect@microsoft.com
Borders Biomass Boom
A new biomass power station, nearing completion near Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, has sparked a wave of planting of willow on farms across southern Scotland. The plant will require 220,000 tonnes of fuel a year and it is hoped that local willow can provide 45,000 tonnes of that. Willow provides a similar amount of energy per ton as other hardwoods, but can be cultivated every few years at relatively low cost. It propagates very easily from cuttings, has a quick growth cycle, and tends to regrow following harvest. It is estimated that it can be harvested six to seven times before it needs to be replanted.
Picture via Wikipedia.
Scotland for Sale - Offers Over £2 Million
Relax - it's only Scotland.com that's up for auction in New York. The Internet domain name was registered in 1995 and has featured a small amount of tourist information in recent years. Internet name brokers claim that it could realise over £2 million, with bids expected from all over the world. But with so many variations on the "Scotland" theme on the Web these days, maybe they are being optimistic. RampantScotland.com is just one of the variations - and then there's always Scotland.org, quite apart from VisitScotland.com etc, etc. One thing can be sure, whoever spends that sum of money on a domain name will want to get their money back with a site overloaded with advertising.
Sales for "Scotland's Other National Drink" Fizzing
AG Barr, the company that makes Irn-Bru, the orange-coloured fizzy drink that challenges Coca Cola for dominance of the soft drink market in Scotland, has reported that sales rose by 11% in the quarter to the end of April. The warmer than usual weather in April and a mild winter had a beneficial impact on the sale of soft drinks. The company employs 900 people and is expanding its factory at Cumbernauld.
One Good Dundee Helps Another
Dundee's Rotary Club has just made a donation to - Dundee Rotary Club. Not that this was giving with one hand and taking with the other - the Dundee Angus organisation was helping out their namesake Dundee in South Africa. Last year, the Scottish organisation had contributed funds to set up a creche in Port Elizabeth in South Africa and when they were looking for another location this year, Dundee jumped out of the map. The donation will provide much-needed equipment for a pre-school in Sithembile township at Glencoe, near Dundee, South Africa. Clearly Scots were prominent in the area!
Tartan for Scottish Film Star
The Borders knitwear company of Lochcarron has produced a new specially-designed tartan for a Scottish film star. No, not Sean Connery - Shrek, the cinematic ogre with a Scottish accent (well, nearly Scottish...) The tourism agency VisitScotland came up with the idea in advance of the release of Shrek the Third. The tartan is described as "muted browns and acid greens" and is aimed at encouraging people to trace their own Scottish roots. Shrek, presumably has done so and may be a member of the clan Nessie? Being of somewhat ample girth, they needed 10 metres of cloth to make Shrek's kilt, which he wore for advance publicity shots prior to the launch of the movie.
Who's The Smoothest Smoothie?
Scottish Schools are being invited to enter the ‘Smoothest Smoothie in Scotland’ competition to celebrate Scottish Food Fortnight 2007. Competitors will enter their recipe, using produce from around Scotland, to create the ‘Smoothest Smoothie’ which will be judged by some of the nations well known culinary figures. The final ‘smoothie-off’ will be held at the launch of Scottish Food Fortnight at Scotland’s Countryside Festival at Glamis Castle in Angus from 1st to 16th September. Entrants must be in teams of two, where the combined age of the team is either Under 30 or Over 30. Each entry must submit a recipe, within which at least two items in the smoothie must be grown locally. For more details, see www.scottishfoodfortnight.co.uk.
Listen Out for Jangling Keys
There are still small numbers of corn buntings (sometimes known as the "fat bird of the barley") in eastern Scotland and the Western Isles, but its population has declined by 85% in the last 25 years. The last time a corn bunting was seen (or heard) in the Scottish Borders was a single male seen in 2003. But recently the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), helped by local volunteers and a landowner, sighted two males singing on a site in the eastern Borders. It is assumed that there must be more and the conservation body is encouraging members of the public to be on the look-out for the plump sparrow-like brown bird with streaked chest similar to a thrush. It often perches on telephone wires or fences. Its song has been likened to a set jangling keys.
Picture via Wikipedia.
Woman Driver Writes Off Courtesy Car
Maybe if it had been a man who drove a courtesy car out of a dealership in Aberdeen - straight into the wall of a rival car dealership on the other side of the road, the media wouldn't have reported it? The woman apparently hit the accelerator instead of the brake on a month-old Honda Civic as she was being shown the controls by a car salesman. Nobody was injured in the mishap, but the car is probably a write-off.
Weather in Scotland This Week
The weather this week started well, at least in the central belt, with temperatures reaching 22/23C (72/73F) in Edinburgh and Glasgow and the Capital even enjoying some sunshine on Monday. However, a lightning strike in Aberdeenshire that day resulted in 2,500 homes losing electrical power for several hours. As the week progressed, maximum daytime temperatures declined, reaching only 11/12C (52/54F) by Thursday and Friday - and a strong easterly wind making it feel even colder than that. Those temperatures are more typical of an average April than June. Overnight, there was even a touch of frost in some Highland glens. Admittedly Aberdeen did see a bit of sun on Thursday - but that was the first sunshine recorded since the 1st of June, 13 days earlier. Only the far west, such as in the Western Isles, saw much sun this week - quite a lot in fact.
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 stunning white paeonia (peony) with a yellow centre (see thumbnail); Painted Lady butterfly in the nature reserve at Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire; Large Red Damselfly; a young robin with its fluffy feathers; Red Clover; Canada geese. See This Week's Colour Supplement.
Edinburgh Castle's "Lost" History
The construction of a new visitor centre for Edinburgh Castle has meant that it has been necessary to dig into the ground beneath the present structure. That has allowed archaeologists to discover traces of debris dating from more than 2,000 years ago. The castle stands on the rock of an extinct volcano and would have been an ideal defensive position long before the present castle was built - or Scotland even existed as a nation. It is now certain that the area where the castle now stands was encircled by two massive ditches, at a time when any buildings on the top would have been made of wood. The ditches reveal layers of remains, including pottery and food debris which have collected there over the centuries, before being covered up in more recent times.
Mackintosh in Miniature
Michael and Margaret Hartley live in London but they developed a keen interest in the Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Over the last 20 years they have painstakingly created a dolls house which replicates a house designed by Mackintosh which not only has precise scaled-down furniture and paintings by the renowned artist, but also porcelain figures, including one of a little girl who is known to have visited Mackintosh and his wife. The Hartleys made some of the items in the replica doll's house themselves, but also commissioned many specialists to create others. The "real" town house on which the model is based was designed by Mackintosh, but was never built. But the replica is based on plans and research and even includes food in the kitchen which Mackintosh wrote about in letters to his wife when he was in France. The doll's house will be part of an exhibition at Scotland Street School Museum (also designed by Mackintosh) from June 15 to September 9.
Next Week in Scottish History
Black Watch to Invade US
The National Theatre of Scotland is to take its award-winning production "Black Watch" and its family show "Wolves in the Walls" on tour to North America for the first time. The "Black Watch" play, a gritty drama which moves from Fife to Iraq and is based on reports from serving soldiers, will open at UCLA Live in Los Angeles on September 18 and will then cross the continent to play at St Ann's Warehouse in New York in October. "The Wolves in the Walls" will open at the New Victory Theatre in New York in September. The venue is the city's leading theatre for children and families.
Making a Splash
The annual Glasgow River Festival is one of the best free events in the city and it is returning on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th July. There will be the usual high speed "Zapcat" races on the water, street theatre and rowing accompanied by live music. The events all take place on or near the river Clyde around the Glasgow Science Centre and the Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour up to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. The resident Glenlee sailing ship will be joined by visiting tall ships "Tenacious" and "Royalist" and there will be smaller power and sailing boats attracted up the river to nearly the centre of the city. The finale will be the release of thousands of plastic ducks onto the river in the first-ever "duck race" - ducks can be adopted for just £5 and the first one past the winning post will bring a brand new car to the owner/sponsor. Last year the event attracted 75,000 spectators. See also www.glasgowriverfestival.co.uk.
Aberdeen International Youth Festival
The 35th Aberdeen International Youth Festival runs from the 1st to 11th August. It is a unique multi-arts event and has a reputation for attracting some of the finest young dance companies, classical dance academies, youth orchestras, bands and music ensembles from around the world. Highlights this year include the Spanish National Youth Orchestra, Julian Lloyd Webber appearing as guest soloist with Edinburgh Youth Orchestra and Jacqui Dankworth with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland. There will be young performers from across the world, including talented dance companies from China, Slovenia, USA and Belarus. From Scotland, there will be the ground breaking Trad Music Big Band "Ceol Mor," top dancers from the Dance Summer School and a new regional Grampian Youth Orchestra. See also www.aiyf.org.
Pulitzer Prizewinner Making Virtual Visit to Festival
Norman Mailer, who has won the Pulitzer Prize twice, will make an appearance at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival - but it will be via an internet link from his living room in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He will even sign books for the Edinburgh audience, using an invention called "LongPen" (which was devised by the author Margaret Attwood). This is an electronic writing tablet - the author writes his signature and a pen at the other end of the connection writes in real ink. Mailer had originally meant to attend in person but the 84-year-old writer is now too infirm to travel across the Atlantic. This year's Book Festival will be the biggest yet, with 650 authors participating in over 700 events.
Scottish Culture Around the World
The main focus of the Scottish Snippets is news items, usually about Scotland but occasionally items from overseas are covered. The new "Scots Abroad" section, invites folk to write in about Scottish-related events in their part of the world. It allows publicity for them and an appreciation by others of just how much Scottish culture is perpetuated in every corner of the globe.
Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo
The 2007 Tattoo will take place from 1-8 July featuring over 2000 international and Canadian performers. It takes place at the Halifax Metro Centre and draws an audience of over 60,000 people during its annual run. Often referred to as "Canada's best kept secret," the Tattoo is the world's largest annual indoor show. The pipes and drums of the 7th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland will be among the many performers from around the world as well as from Canada itself.
Football Fixtures Finalised
The Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football Association have published the fixture list for 2007/2008. The opening day of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League season, on the weekend of 4 August, sees an Edinburgh derby with Hibernian crossing the Capital to play Heart of Midlothian. Celtic, last season's SPL champions, host Kilmarnock for their first game and Rangers travel to Inverness. Later in the season, Celtic and Rangers will be playing on 2 January - the first New Year's Day derby for four years.
New Clyde Manager
Colin Hendry, the former Scotland defender, has been appointed as the new manager of Clyde Football Club. Capped 51 times for his country and with a career that spanned Dundee, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Coventry City and Bolton Wanderers as well as Rangers, Hendry captained Scotland during the 1998 World Cup in France. His first managerial job was in June 2004 when he was appointed manager of his former club Blackpool. But he was sacked by the club in November 2005 following a poor run of results. He has been assistant manager at Boston United since September 2006.
Scotland to Host Professional Windsurfers World Cup
Scotland's reputation as a world-class events destination was strengthened this week with the announcement by the Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) that the Isle of Tiree will host the Corona Extra PWA World Cup from 6 to 13 October, the first ever PWA Windsurfing World Cup to be staged in Scotland. Tiree has hosted an open level contest for over 20 years in the shape of the Tiree Wave Classic and this new event will elevate Tiree's position on the global windsurfing circuit. Tiree's rugged coastline, big waves and a prize fund of 30,000 Euros will provide the greatest challenge yet for windsurfing's elite competitors as part of the Year of Highland Culture. 48 of the world's finest wave surfers will come together
to brave the full Atlantic furies of wind and waves on the stunning island off the West coast of Scotland - sometimes described as "The Hawaii
of the North" even though water temperatures are somewhat different!
Record Entry for Rat Race
The Rat Race Urban Adventure Series is returning to Edinburgh on 14 and 15 July with a record number of entries. 182 teams have already signed up, exceeding the total number of team entries to last year's event. The courses are designed for both "entry level" competitors for total novices and also extreme challenges for elite adventure racers. The courses use Edinburgh's urban jungle and surrounding countryside as the ultimate adventure playground. The event is a multi-disciplined challenge of navigation, endurance, mental agility, running, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking and abseiling. Athletes race along a course full of sporting tests and obstacles at different checkpoints right across the city and beyond. The routes of the race are kept confidential until the event starts, as navigation and orienteering are key elements. However, the course designer promises to take full advantage of Edinburgh's stunning architecture, labyrinthine streets and rugged terrain, including urban structures, office blocks, tunnels, parklands, hills, water and sand.
Fort William - First Again
The 2006 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Fort William was awarded the "mountain bike event of the year" title for the second year running at a recent meeting of the International Mountain Bike Teams support companies and organisers. In winning the title, Fort William upstaged thirty other international mountain bike events including those in Canada, USA and New Zealand. Fort William earned almost double the points in the voting process than its nearest rivals. The votes were based on all mountain bike events throughout the world, not just UCI World Cups. This means every event on the 2006 mountain bike calendar, regardless of their affiliations, or event style, were considered by the members. This year's UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships will be staged in Fort William from 3 to 9 September.
Photo by Andy McAndlish.