Current Affairs
Worst Storm for Twenty Years
The most powerful storm in the last 20 years battered the west coast of Scotland on the night of 11 January, with gusts of hurricane-force wind reaching well over 120mph. Most of the Western Isles and parts of the mainland lost electrical supplies, affecting 85,000 homes and high tide and winds caused flooding in Oban. A family of five were swept to their deaths while attempting to drive along a coastal road in South Uist after high tides and strong winds had flooded their house. Ferry and air services were badly affected. In Glasgow and Edinburgh, winds gusted at up to 80mph, causing structural damage to some buildings. Bridges across the Forth (both the road and rail crossings) and Tay rivers (both at Friarton and at Dundee) were closed, as were the Erskine Bridge across the Clyde and the Kessock Bridge at Inverness as well as the bridge from the mainland to Skye. On Wednesday morning, commuters found that the entire main-line rail network had closed down as engineers checked for fallen trees and debris on the tracks. With major bridges and ferries still cancelled, some roads blocked by fallen trees and with the winds still blowing strongly, alternative means of getting to work were not always readily available. The A1 road between Edinburgh and Newcastle was closed after a traffic accident and a section of the eastbound M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh had to be close because an overhead gantry had been made unsafe by the high winds. The storm continued on Wednesday and thousands of homes in Tayside were without electricity. Nine roads in Perthshire alone were blocked by fallen trees or floods. The river Ness burst its banks on Wednesday afternoon, following a tidal surge, causing damage to a number of homes and businesses in Inverness.
Fishermen Catch a Good Deal
The annual round of negotiations in Brussels to decide on the number of fish which can be caught in European waters and when boats can put to sea, usually ends up with Scottish fishermen in the depths of despair. In the days before the meeting to negotiate the rules for 2005, there were suggestions that some of the fishing grounds would be closed permanently, to provide a nursery for young fish. In the end, that plan was rejected and, instead, a proposal to reduce the number of days fishermen can spend at sea, was altered in such a way that it will not affect most of the Scottish fleet. A controversial haddock permit system, which was in force last year, has been discontinued, the North Sea cod quota remains unchanged and there will not be a reduction in days at sea. It appears that the widespread use of 120mm mesh nets by Scottish vessels to protect juvenile fish was instrumental in avoiding a cut in fishing days. The UK negotiating team, including Ross Finnie the Scottish minister responsible for fisheries, also managed to win a 12% increase in quotas for prawn caught off the west coast and a 50% rise in the amount of monkfish caught in the North Sea off the north and north west of Scotland. However, some cod fishing grounds off the west coast of Scotland will be closed as part of conservation measures.
Emma and Lewis Lead List
The General Register Office for Scotland annual list of the most popular names used by parents registering the birth of their children in 2004 shows that Emma and Lewis are still at the top of the tree. For girls, the top five - Emma, Sophie, Ellie, Amy and Chloe - are the same as in 2003, although Sophie has moved from fourth to second. For boys, top-placed Lewis is followed by Jack in second position. James is in third (up one place), Cameron is fourth and Ryan is fifth. The name Keira has jumped 79 places into 32nd place, presumably due to the actress Keira Knightley. Boys' names making significant advances in the top 50 are Aiden (up 25 places to 32nd), Sam (up 24 places to 34th) and MacKenzie (up 35 places to 93rd). Duncan, George, Mohammed, Marcus, Mitchell, Grant, Anthony and Greg have all fallen out of the top 100. Girls' names moving out of the top 100 were Hayley, Rhiannon, Claire, Jade, Catherine, Orla, Katherine and Alicia. 26,200 boys were registered in 2004 with more than 2,200 different first names being used. 24,600 girls were registered, with more than 3,200 different names being used. In England and Wales, Jack and Emily were the most popular names for 2004 and in Northern Ireland, Jack and Katie were most popular.
Chip and PIN Cause Confusion
In an effort to cut back on the amount lost by credit and debit card fraud, the UK banks have been issuing new plastic cards incorporating a fraud-proof (so far) micro-chip. Customers will require to tap in a four-digit PIN (personal identification number) at the counter or check-out, instead of scrawling an ineligible signature (which retail staff frequently don't even bother to check anyway). The transition to the new system is being phased in, but as from 1 January the banks' computer systems can demand a PIN instead of a signature - and pass the responsibility for fraud to the retailer if the customer cannot provide the correct number. Despite all the advance publicity and advertising, that is causing problems as many people cannot recall their PIN, especially if they have a number of different cards and have not selected an easier number to remember. The situation is made even more complicated by the fact that some customers have not been issued with a "Chip and PIN" card and the computer will then require a customer signature as before, causing confusion to staff and customers alike.
City Council Approves Scotland's Tallest Building
Glasgow City Council has given backing to the construction of a 39-storey building on the site of the former Strathclyde Regional Council HQ, close to the approach road to the M8 road over the Kingston Bridge. The tear-drop shaped complex will soar to 134 metres (440 feet) and will be taller than the Glasgow Tower across the river at Pacific Quay and the Red Road flats (also in Glasgow), Europe's tallest homes at 328ft. More than 200 luxury homes are planned for the new building and the public would have access to a restaurant on the 34th floor. It is hoped to start demolishing the current buildings this year and have the new development ready for occupation in 2008. Of course, on a world scale, the Glasgow building will be relatively small - the Empire State Building on New York is 1,250ft tall and the Sears Tower in Chicago is 1,450 ft high while the Taipei 101 in Taiwan (completed in 2004) has a roof which is even higher - and a tall spire on top of that.
New Branding for City of Inverness
Apart from some vague benefit of "prestige", being named a city does not give a town any particular advantage. But ever since Inverness (a Royal Burgh since 1158) was selected to be given a charter by the Queen as part of the Millennium celebrations, Inverness has been raising its profile. The latest move has been to create a new "brand identity" with a logo which emphasises, by the use of colour, the "In" in Inverness. It’s claimed to be a simple graphic way of expressing its personality and conveying the city's strengths and qualities. Inverness is the only city in the Highlands and the brand mark is a way of making sure everyone remembers that. See www.inverness-scotland.com/branding.asp to see the brand in various guises.
Patter Guide to Help Baffled Typists
Typists from courts in Dingwall in Ross and Cromarty in the north of Scotland have been helping out in the procurator fiscal's office in Glasgow, preparing the prosecution case by transcribing witness statements from tapes. But they have been baffled by the thick Glasgow accents and phrases such as "You're gauny get the malky" (You are going to be stabbed) and "Aw therr 'n' a wee bit mair" (Someone who is street smart and not to be taken for a fool). So the six typists have each been given a copy of the "Glasgow Patter" books by Neil Munro to help them understand their fellow Scots. The language barrier has sometimes become more apparent in recent years as the Scottish Executive has followed a policy of dispersing government jobs around the country. TV programmes such as "River City" and "Taggart" have helped, but there is nothing to beat the authoritative "Glasgow Patter" books.
Curry Flavoured Haggis?
Supermarket chain Sainsbury's has revealed that this month it will be selling 200,000 of Scotland's traditional delicacy, the haggis. However, while many will be consumed at Burns Suppers across Scotland, nearly two-thirds of them will be sold in England. The supermarket says that people of all nationalities love the ceremony of piping in the haggis and a night of Burns before consuming a traditional meal. Sainsbury's credentials for supporting Scottish culture took a dip, however, when it admitted that one of its fastest-growing varieties is a curry-flavoured, hot and spicy version, catering for the British love of Indian food. Even the humble oatcake is getting a makeover these days. Walkers Shortbread of Aberdeen has unveiled a version with sun-dried tomato and herbs. This oat cuisine is pandering to a taste for Mediterranean flavours.
Historical Affairs
Plan to Save Burns Heritage
Stung into action by the collapse of a £7 million project to to save the cottage and museum in Alloway in which Scotland's internationally famous poet Robert Burns was born, the Scottish Executive asked the National Trust for Scotland to create a plan to save the iconic building. The Trust have proposed a national centre which would bring together all the visitor attractions related to Burns for the first time. So one ticket would provides access to the cottage, museum, the Bachelor's Club at Tarbolton and Souter Johnnie's Cottage at Kirkoswald, both in south Ayrshire, as well as Burns' cottage in Dumfries where he died. The National Trust already administers the Bachelor's Club and Souter Johnnie's Cottage - both locations get very few visitors. The National Trust hopes to get funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Executive to finance a £10 million restoration of the Burns Cottage and expansion of the museum. The Trust believes that it has the credibility to drive the project forward and turn the dilapidated cottage and museum into a first class attraction. The government at last seems keen to support this, particularly in view of the 250th anniversary of the poet's birth approaching in 2009. Until now, however, financial support has been measured in tens of thousands of pounds rather than millions.
The Real Scrooge
Film versions of the book "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens are often televised at this time of year. But few people watching the performance of Ebenezer Scrooge will know that the basis of the main character was an Edinburgh man, buried in Canongate Churchyard in the centre of the city. According to the diaries written by Dickens, the author was wandering in the churchyard in 1841 when he came across a grave which he thought read "Ebenezer Lennox Scroggie - mean man". The inscription actually read "meal man" as that was his occupation. Dickens misread it and was so shocked that it stuck in his memory and formed the basis of the novel published in 1843. He thought that the description on the gravestone must have "shriveled Scroggie's soul" to carry such a description "to eternity". In fact, Scroggie was a wine merchant as well as a corn merchant and he won the catering contract for the visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822 and supplied whisky to the Royal Navy. Unfortunately, the gravestone with the inscription which prompted the famous story is no more - it was lost during redevelopment work in 1932. Dickens story not only maligned a Scottish merchant - it killed off the boy's name Ebenezer which, until then, had been quite popular.
Entertainment
BBC Win Battle of the Bells
BBC Scotland trounced rival Scottish TV in the television ratings war in the hours leading up to midnight on Hogmanay. Although high profile events such as the Street Party in Edinburgh's Princes Street and other gatherings around the country were popular, most Scots these days stay at their own firesides on New Year's Eve. TV entertainment is part of that, even if it is only in the background. BBC Scotland's comedy show "Chewin' the Fat" with Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan had a 77% audience share and the football comedy show "Only an Excuse" on BBC was not far behind. In the run-up to the "Bells" at midnight, BBC Scotland got 54% of the viewers with a Hogmanay party fronted by news reader Jackie Bird. STV's offering was hosted by Lorraine Kelly and Stephen Jardine. Despite their popularity and the show being staged live above Princes Street, they had half the number of viewers compared to the BBC.
BIG in Falkirk
Now in its sixth year, BIG in Falkirk's national street arts festival is returning on 30 April and 1 May with an assortment of spectacular outdoor theatre, international street arts, live music, comedy, children's entertainment - and much more! There will be a variety of nationally and internationally renowned artistic performances alongside activities for children, young people and families. The festival features a range of top quality performances at venues across the region as Falkirk and the surrounding areas become the focus for an exciting, eclectic mix of cultural entertainment. The live music stage will be presenting a variety of first class entertainers. See www.biginfalkirk.com for more details.
Million Pound String to Her Bow
Nicola Benedetti, the first Scot to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year prize, has signed a million pound recording deal with Universal Music's Deutsche Grammophon label. The 17-year-old from West Kilbride, Ayrshire, will produce six CD's for the company. She began playing the violin when she was four, leading the National Children's Orchestra of Scotland by age eight and at age ten she began attending the Yehudi Menuhin School for gifted musicians in Surrey. At the official opening of the Holyrood parliament building in Edinburgh last year, she played before the Queen. The company hope that Nicola's charisma and personality will mean that her CDs will sell to the broader public as well as to those already enthusiastic about classical music.
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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.
January 2005
The legislative process by which the number of Members of Parliament elected in Scotland in the House of Commons from 72 to 59 was completed this week. The reduction of 13 seats will bring the size of constituencies in Scotland closer to the UK average. The number was decided back in the 19th century and, since then, the population in England and Wales has risen at a much faster rate, creating the disparity. Resolving that situation was one of the consequences of setting up the Scottish Parliament.
One of the most prominent sights from the top of the Glasgow Tower (when the lifts are working, that is) is the long-derelict Govan Graving Dock, once used to repair large ships. Now, at last, plans have been submitted to the city planning department for a £150 million development which will transform the area into 1,200 affordable homes and business premises. The million square feet of real estate will be the last major piece in the regeneration of the river Clyde riverbank. A pedestrian bridge will be built across the entrance to the docks to the south of the Glasgow science Centre, which will allow visitors to wander across to the cafes, bars and restaurants planned for the new development. This will also allow a further extension to the boardwalk which is being created along a large part of the riverbank.
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.
It was that English playwright William Shakespeare who gave King Macbeth such a lousy reputation. True, Macbeth was the commander-in-chief of King Duncan's army and he did kill Duncan (in battle, not by murder) in 1040 and succeeded him to the throne. That was not an unusual situation in those days (the throne of England was won and lost on more than one occasion in even darker circumstances). Macbeth was popular during his time on the throne. He was a powerful and successful monarch for fourteen years who unified the country and promoted Christianity. This week, in an effort to restore his reputation, a group of Members of the Scottish Parliament tabled a motion commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of Macbeth (though the exact date is unknown). Shakespeare apparently wrote the play to appeal to King James VI of Scotland, who had just inherited the English throne on the death of Queen Elizabeth I. James was superstitious and believed in witches, so Shakespeare responded to that. Superstition still surrounds the play. Actors refer to it only as "the Scottish play," fearing bad luck if they call it by its real name. 
The equestrian statue to the Duke of Wellington, the leader of the armies that defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, was erected in Glasgow in 1844. Over the last twenty years or so, it has become "traditional" for late night revellers to place a traffic cone on his head (and sometimes that of his horse as well). In recent years, as nobody bothers to remove Wellington's headgear, there has not been too much call on revellers to clamber up and replace the adornment. It is now very much an eye-catching tourist attraction and, as one Lord Provost of Glasgow put it "illustrates the Glasgow sense of humour." Now, however, after damage to the statue, including the loss of spurs and his sword, the "Joke of Wellington" has worn thin and Glasgow City Council now says that the traffic cone on Wellington's head is an act of vandalism and they are asking anyone thinking of climbing on the statue to desist. Strathclyde Police have warned that anyone caught climbing on the statue could face criminal prosecution. So maybe it will only be pigeons resting on Wellington's head in the future - but don't count on it.
The front pages of some of the Scottish newspapers this week displayed eye-catching photographs of members of a pipe band playing on the sand on Bondi Beach in Sydney, in the heat of the Australian summer. It was all to publicise the Edinburgh Military Tattoo performing in Sydney's national cricket ground, in front of a replica of Edinburgh Castle. Over 1,000 performers from around the world entertained a sell-out audience which was five times the size of that which can be squeezed onto the esplanade of the real castle back in Edinburgh (seen in the illustration here). It is estimated that two million Australians have Scottish blood. Over the six nights of the show, 160,000 people will attend and millions more will see it on network TV. A preview show was held in aid of the tsunami relief appeal by sponsors, the Qantas airline, raising around £75,000. The New South Wales tourism minister has estimated that the Tattoo has produced a £25 million boost to the local economy.
Millionaire Vladimir Romanov became the largest single shareholder in Heart of Midlothian this week. He immediately installed Sergius Fedotovas as interim chief executive - but indicated that Phil Anderton, the former chief executive of the Scottish Rugby Union was the prime candidate to play a major role in the future of Hearts. The Lithuanian banker has also begun the process of pulling out of the deal to sell Hearts' Tynecastle ground to provide the finance for a new stadium. He has become the darling of the fans by backing the redevelopment of the existing ground and saying that Hearts will challenge Rangers and Celtic at the top of the SPL.
There was dismay last week when the organisers of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) announced that there was a funding short-fall of £600,000 in the finances for this year's event. There were warnings that if the finance could not be found, this year's programme would have to be scaled back. However, with uncharacteristic speed, the Scottish Executive through its quango EventScotland, this week offered £300,000 if Edinburgh City Council matched this amount. With the ink hardly dry on this year's budget, Edinburgh's councillors, while muttering about the lateness of the festival organisers' plea for more cash, still managed to fill their side of the financial support. The extra funding from the public purse comes on top of existing government grants totalling £1.5m. Despite the cash injection, the EIF organisers are having to balance the books by increasing ticket prices and scrapping the popular scheme whereby tickets for late night shows cost only £5. The festival's programme is due to be launched on 17 March, with events running from 14 August to 4 September. 
Leith has been the port for Edinburgh for centuries and is now part of the capital. But Forth Ports Authority, the developers of the waterfront at Granton Harbour, Western Harbour and Port of Leith, covering 450 acres and 24,000 new homes and costing £5 billion, say the combined area is to be called "Edinburgh Forthside". The name will cover about two miles of the city's shoreline. But Edinburgh City Council worthies are less than enamoured by the "marketing name" for what they regard as Leith, Granton and Newhaven. The development includes a new park, a 230-berth yachting marina, a major entertainment and casino complex, a luxury hotel, a cruise liner terminal, an art gallery and extension to the Ocean Terminal shopping centre. The illustration shows Commercial Quay at leith's dockside.
First Scotrail, the company which took over the franchise to operate the bulk of the train services in Scotland, has got off to a bad start with punctuality levels falling even lower than before. But the company has announced that at least if passengers are stuck at signals and the train is going to be late, they will be served coffee and snacks from "state-of-the-art" trolleys. And on the flagship Edinburgh to Glasgow route there will be two trolleys on six-carriage trains. As someone who used to suffer from the fact that the trolley used to pass along the train after most of the journey was over, I can appreciate that improvement. But if the train is overcrowded, as it often is at peak commuter times, with passengers standing in the aisle, the trolleys won't be able to move anyway... The illustration shows a Scotrail commuter train on the Forth Rail Bridge.
A record-breaking 15,257 salmon were caught in the river Tweed last year, breaking the record number recorded in 2003 by 10%. The catch has provoked some enthusiastic anglers to describe the Tweed as the best salmon fishing river in the world. The success follows 20 years of hard work and the investment of millions of pounds in conservation and re-stocking. A "catch and release" policy was also a major contributory factor, with 7,866 of the total caught being returned to the water. So if the same salmon are hooked again, there could be an element of "double counting".
As the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar edges ever closer to two dollars to the pound, low-cost airline and holiday group FlyGlobespan has announced that it will start a year-round service between Glasgow and Florida, starting in the summer of 2006. Flyglobespan has seen its passenger numbers soar since moving from Prestwick in Ayrshire to Glasgow in 2003. Flights now go to a range of destinations, including Palma, Barcelona, the Canaries and Prague. The airline will be operating ten aircraft out of Glasgow airport by this summer. 
So it's not just the Scottish Parliament building where costs can escalate. A new bridge across the river Clyde at Finnieston in Glasgow (which is crossing at an angle, rather than straight across - hence it's nickname, the "Squinty Bridge") has been years in the planning stage as various objections to its construction were overcome. The most recent appeal to the Court of Session was by one resident from Kinning Park who claimed that the bridge would result in the end of dredging of the river, thus increasing the chances of his home being flooded. Now that all the legal hurdles appear to have been overcome, over a year after construction was supposed to begin, the city council has recalculated the costs of the crossing. They have been told that the original price tag of under £10 million has soared to £30.3 million because of the delays and costs which were not accounted for. BBC Scotland's move from their old building in Queen Margaret Drive to a new HQ at Pacific Quay on the south side of the river was based on the creation of the new four-lane crossing to improve road access.
Historically the county town of Perth has long been known as the "Fair City". But it is just a name and the town has never been officially recognised as a city by the monarch. Perhaps that wouldn't have mattered too much, but in recent years both Inverness and Stirling have been honoured in this way - and they are experiencing an upsurge in civic pride and - perhaps more importantly - an economic benefit. That includes Scottish Executive funding under the "Cities Growth Fund". To an extent, history is on Perth's side and the Provost (roughly equivalent to a mayor) says it has been recognised as a city since 1600 when King James VI confirmed that status in a so called Golden Charter. In more recent times, 19th century official documents such as the Acts of Parliament, which were given Royal Assent, have also constantly referred to Perth as a city. More recently, official documents approved by the Scottish Secretary have called Perth a city. Now Perth, planning to celebrate its 800th anniversary as a royal burgh in 2010, wants official recogniton from the Government to be applied. However, there are no plans to allocate city status in the near future to any town (the last accolades arose from the Millennium and the Queen's Golden Jubilee). So Perth local government councillors have taken the law into their own hands and have declared that "Perth should be referred to as a city at all times." Not that such a declaration will produce a single penny from that "Cities Growth Fund". For more on Scotland's cities (both real and aspiring) see 
Stirling Council has agreed that the 71.5 inch broadsword once brandished by national hero Sir William Wallace and which has been displayed in the Wallace Monument near Stirling since 1888, is to travel to New York as part of the Tartan Day celebrations. Little is known about the origins of the sword for it carries no maker's mark but the quality of the metal used for the blade suggests that it may have been forged in Scotland (unlike other swords of the period which were often Flemish or German in origin). King James IV ordered the sword to be rehilted in 1505, so that it would be more fitting to Scotland's National Hero. The size of the sword indicates that Sir William Wallace must have been at least six feet six inches tall. It will be the first time that the 700-year-old weapon has been taken from Scotland to the US and the Stirling Provost (mayor) is to travel with it on its historic journey. Hopefully, whichever airline he is travelling on has a good record on not losing passengers' luggage - he is unlikely to be allowed to carry the weapon as "hand luggage"!
There are 23 monuments in Edinburgh for which the City Council is responsible but the only one - the statue to Queen Victoria (seen here) at the foot of Leith Walk - is dedicated to a woman. There is even a statue to a dog (Greyfriar's Bobby). That imbalance is to be slightly corrected by a plan to place a statue on the Royal Mile which will commemorate the role of Edinburgh doctor Elsie Inglis who, with a team of women, established field hospitals in the battlefields of Europe in the First World War. Perhaps it will not take the passage of 90 years before the World City of Literature recognises writers such as Dame Muriel Spark or JK Rowling in a similar fashion?
After its enforced break in production due to financial constraints, Scottish Opera is returning to the stage with a performance at the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF). The company is producing a controversial work "The Death of Klinghoffer" about the hijacking of the Italian cruse ship Achille Lauro by Palestinian terrorists in 1984. Scottish Ballet, which has also been in financial difficulties, will also be at the Festival - the first time for 20 years. Another highlight of the programme for the EIF (announced this week) will be the return of La Cubana, a Spanish company that created one of the biggest hits in the history of the Festival in 1997. Germany's Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Pennsylvania Ballet, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch National Ballet are also featured along with six Irish plays being performed on one day and the staging - in Hungarian - of the Chekhov tragic comedy "The Seagull".
The annual celebration of Easter in Edinburgh gets well under way with a Festival Cavalcade on Easter Sunday at 1pm. This is a fabulous procession along Princes Street, presenting all the international and local groups that will be performing in the Princes Street Gardens on two stages during the day . There will be many free activities for children and families, including Maypole Dancing, Circus Skills, Face Painting and an hourly Easter Egg Hunt for under 5's. A series of lunchtime and evening concerts will take place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Greyfriars Kirk and St John the Evangelist in Princes Street during the Festival and an Easter Passion Play will be performed after a Lunchtime Jazz Concert on Easter Saturday. For more information visit 
The Scottish Parliament this week approved the legislation which will introduce a ban on smoking in any pub, restaurant or club in Scotland from April next year. Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) voted by 83 votes to 15, with three abstentions, to support the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill. Licensees and others who fail to enforce the law could face fines of up to £2,500 and persistent smokers who defy the ban could be fined up to £1,000. Health Minister Andy Kerr, supporting the legislation, said that quite apart from the many thousands who die or suffer from smoking relating illnesses, tobacco smoke is associated in Scotland with the deaths of over 800 people who have never smoked as a result of "passive smoking". The licensed trade association had called for a limited ban and suggested that as a consequence of the new law, 150 pubs will be forced to close and more than 2,000 jobs will be lost.
The National Australian Banking Group has announced that as a result of a major restructuring in their Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank subsidiaries in the UK, staff in the two organisations are to be reduced by 1,700. The Glasgow based bank is expected to lose around 750 employees. Some unprofitable branches are to close (out of a current network of 217 offices) but most of the cut-back will be in administrative positions. The bank says it will strive to reduce staff numbers by voluntary redundancies. For historical reasons, the Clydesdale Bank has much of its presence in Glasgow and the west of Scotland and in the north-east (having merged with the North of Scotland Bank in 1950). Like all the other banking companies, Clydesdale has already had its share of "restructuring" and redundancies over the last 25 years.
There was an outcry in 1998 when the City of Glasgow Council resurfaced George Square, the city's central open space, with a red tarmac, in a revolution that removed the previous areas of grass and flowers. The £200,000 move was designed to allow events to be staged in the area and indeed the city has earned increased income from hiring out the space to a variety of entertainments and exhibitions. Now, after another facelift (£450,000 this time), the new surface has been unveiled and it's - red. Maybe not the bright red of before, but still red. And, unlike the first paint job, the Council was supposed to have "consulted widely" this time. Tax payers are still wondering who voted for a continuation of that red... At least the new surface has 1,000 tonnes of a specialised material over its 8,500 square metre area which is supposed to be resistant to chewing gum (now there's a challenge for all the gum chewers). And there are sewage and electrical points hidden under covers so noisy diesel generators and "Portaloos" (portable toilets) will no longer be required by event organisers. There is even an area of grass and flowers - albeit pushed to one end - and the lighting has been upgraded (so that it can be made brighter when the bars empty at closing time, amongst other benefits). There are also plans to build a new continental-style cafe in one corner of the civic square.
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, one of Britain's most influential artists of the later half of the 20th century, died this week in a London hospital at the age of 81. Son of Italian immigrants who owned an ice-cream parlour in Leith, he is regarded as the founder of the British pop art movement - although he disliked the term "pop art", preferring to call himself a surrealist. Indeed, although he made his name initially from montages, he had a lifelong fascination with the relationship between humans and machines and a number of his works involved detailed paintings inspired by technology. Some of his most famous works include a series of mosaics on the walls of Tottenham Court Road Tube station in London and a statue of Sir Isaac Newton in the piazza of the British Library. Edinburgh can boast a large number of his large sculptures in public spaces as well as a replica of his artist's workshop in the Dean Gallery in the capital. Paolozzi taught throughout his career, lecturing in textile design at the Central School of Art, sculpture at St Martin's School of Art and ceramics at the Royal College of Art in London. Scotland's culture minister Patricia Ferguson said: "Eduardo Paolozzi was one of Scotland's true international icons. He was an artistic colossus and it is fitting that as an enduring legacy, his work adorns the walls of the Scottish Parliament as well as our modern art gallery in Edinburgh." For a brief biography on Paolozzi, see 
Hugh Mercer from Aberdeenshire was a military genius who joined Bonnie Prince Charlie's failed Jacobite Uprising in 1745/46. After fighting in the Battle of Culloden Moor, he sailed to America. He later became one of George Washington's greatest generals and historians argue that he would have ranked as one of America's greatest heroes if he had not been killed at the Battle of Princeton in 1777. Mercersburg in Pennsylvania (birthplace of President James Buchanan) is named after him and there is a Mercer County in seven US states. There are statues to him in Philadelphia and in Fredericksburg, Virginia where he set up a medical practice. The Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop there is preserved and run as a historic site. Song writer Johnny Mercer who penned "Moon River" and other classics is his great-grandson. But back in Scotland he is virtually unknown. Now Aberdeen University is to unveil a commemorative plaque to Mercer in the quadrangle of Marischal College of Aberdeen University. Mercer graduated from the college in 1744.
Actor Robbie Coltrane who was born in Rutherglen, has become better known in recent years as a result of playing Hogwarts grounds keeper Rubeus Hagrid in all of the Harry Potter movies. He has just celebrated his 50th birthday (on 30 March) and although he may be "treading the boards" a little bit more heavily these days, he is to return to the live stage at the ÒranMòr arts venue in the heart of Glasgow's West End (formerly Kelvinside church). He will take the lead part in Peter McDougall’s new play, "The Brother’s Suit", part of the acclaimed "A Play, A Pie And A Pint" series. It deals with the dysfunctional relationships of a Scottish family. Robbie Coltrane is a long-term friend of the author. 
Figures released this week show that VisitScotland's unique "Scottish Village" in Grand Central Station in New York, attracted a quarter of a million visitors during Tartan Week earlier this month. The village was a purpose built, modular structure comprising a series of zoned areas, each featuring aspects of Scottish life and culture. The 700-year-old sword which belonged to Sir William Wallace was also displayed there - see illustration. The competition to win a free trip to Scotland, run in conjunction with the exhibition, attracted 22,000 entries. Tourism Minister Patricia Ferguson expressed delight at the figures as the US is an important overseas tourism market for Scotland. Last year the number of visitors from there grew by 11% compared with 2003. 
The unique Rosslyn Chapel, which features in the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code", has seen an escalation in the number of visitors since the book leapt into the best-seller lists. Now scenes for the Hollywood film of the story, which will star Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou, will be shot in the 15th century, richly carved building. The filming will take place in August but the trustees of the chapel have arranged that visitors will not be excluded as result. For some years the building has been covered by a steel canopy in an effort to resolve a problem of dampness in the stones and that cannot be removed. Possibly the film makers will be able to cover up the steelwork with computer technology, providing a view which has not been visible for some time. The building dates back to the 15th century, when Sir William St Clair commissioned its construction. He designed the intricate carvings and legends have arisen that they contain hidden secrets of the ancient order of the Knight Templar. One carving looks like North American corn and is said to confirm that Sir William crossed the Atlantic, long before Christopher Columbus.
It was an unusually hesitant Tony Blair who spoke in Downing Street on Friday, after winning an historic third term as Prime Minister as result of Thursday's voting for the UK parliament. A Labour government has never won three consecutive elections, so this should have been a cause for celebration. But his majority in the House of Commons of 161 had been reduced to 66 (in part due to a reduction in the overall number of seats in Scotland), he had the lowest-ever share of the total vote, and he had been through a bruising campaign in which his presentation of the case for the invasion of Iraq became a crucial issue of trust. So his speech focused on "listening to the people and responding wisely, sensibly and responsibly".
Figures published by the tourism agency VisitScotland show that the most popular tourist attraction in the country remains Edinburgh Castle. Last year it welcomed 1.2 million visitors - an increase of 6% on the previous year. Edinburgh Zoo was the next most popular attractions among those where an entry fee is charged, followed by Stirling Castle, the Royal Yacht Britannia at Leith and the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre, Edinburgh. The Art Gallery and Museum at Kelvingrove in Glasgow usually takes top spot for free attractions, but it is closed for a major upgrade. So the National Gallery of Scotland, the Royal Museum and Museum of Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden, all in Edinburgh, took the top three places.
Over 3,000 acres of Highland Perthshire were added to the Ben Lawers national nature reserve this week when it was officially recognised as part of the existing reserve, creating a total of 10,000 acres covering Ben Lawers and the Tarmachan mountain ranges. Scottish Natural Heritage and the National Trust for Scotland have been working together in managing the reserve, which is rated as one of the top ten conservation sites in the UK. Ben Lawers is botanically one of the richest mountains in Britain with a diverse range of arctic-alpine species and vegetation. It also provides a home for many upland hill birds. It is a European Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Having a "brand identity" and a slogan is de rigeur these days for any organisation trying to sell its wares - and even capital cities have to look to their laurels these days. So the City of Edinburgh has spent £800,000 with a London agency researching and developing a visual identity. Nobody can deny that it's simple - three arching lines of varying length and the words "Edinburgh - the Inspiring Capital." The lines may represent the arches of the Forth Rail Bridge or the undulations of Arthur's Seat, or maybe the three hills forming the castle, Calton Hill and Salisbury Crags. Nobody seems quite sure. The London advertising agency which designed the brand said the "lines of influence" shown above the word Edinburgh in the logo were there to create "a sense of the energy and direction of the past, present and future ambitions of the city". Far from being inspired, people interviewed by the local Edinburgh evening newspaper were very much "underwhelmed". Some thought it looked like an advert for a golf driving range. The negative reaction is somewhat similar to that generated last year by the introduction of "Glasgow - Scotland with Style" 50 miles further west. The new brand has its own Web site - see 
Stirling is marking the 700th anniversary of the death of the Scottish hero Sir William Wallace with a series of events over the summer. On Sunday 1st May there was a "Fire & Sword" presentation covering how Wallace would have lived and what he would have really looked like and a "Faces of Wallace" exhibition runs at Stirling's Smith Art Gallery, from 22nd July - 2nd October. Then there is a "William Wallace Extravaganza" at Stirling Castle and Argyll's Lodging, on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September. This event will cover everything from combat displays, an authentic medieval camp and market scene to drama and music. Throughout the summer there will be appropriate music performed at the Tolbooth in Stirling. Edinburgh will also be participating with rare documents with a Wallace connection on display at Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh from 15th August - 9th September. These will include the Declaration of Arbroath, Ayr Manuscript and Lubeck Letter.
The Doulton Fountain on Glasgow Green has been undergoing a major makeover, after years of vandalism and neglect, and is to be officially reinstated next week in all its glory. The intricate carvings on the 46ft high terracotta structure have been restored with half of the fountain having to be replaced with new figures. It is the largest fountain of its kind in the world, measuring 70ft across the base. The fountain was originally unveiled in Kelvingrove Park in 1888 by Sir John Doulton (who had founded the Royal Doulton pottery company in London) as part of the Empire Exhibition held in the city that year. Not surprisingly, Queen Victoria (whose elegant and intricate statue tops the edifice) was most impressed by the fountain. The fountain was moved to Glasgow Green in 1890 but began to deteriorate from the 1960s onwards after the water supply had been cut off. The £3.75 million restoration and relocation to a position beside the People's Palace, on the edge of Glasgow Green, is part of a £15.5 million facelift for the whole of the historic open space, which dates back to the earliest days of the city.
The latest among Edinburgh's many festivals is a ten-day Ghost Fest which is planned to be an annual fixture and is taking place this year from May 13-22. Events include an overnight vigil in underground vaults, parapsychology experiments, film screenings of classic horror films and a psychic fair. There is also a Ghost Bus Tour which the organisers say will visit the "killing fields" of the capital. For example, the new Scottish Parliament building is linked (at least historically) to a notorious cannibal. The tour also includes locations associated with the serial killers Burke and Hare and the burning of witches. And of course there is an extensive programme of events organised by the Real Mary King’s Close visitor attraction. The ancient street is under the City Chambers on the Royal Mile and is reputed to still be haunted. See also 
The taxpayers may have reservations about the £431 million cost of the new Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh, but the building has won a clutch of awards from the architectural community. This week, it was the prestigious Scottish Design Awards, where it won the prize for the best publicly funded building. It has already been presented with the centenary medal from the Edinburgh Architectural Association and a prestigious Spanish design award. Not everyone agrees that it is a fine building - in a TV programme on Channel 4 it was branded by viewers as "a monument to everything that is wrong with politics" and "a cheap 70s Spanish hotel". 
Statistics published by the Office of National Statistics confirm that there was a strong growth in the number of visitors to Scotland in 2004, with total overnight visits reaching 1,877,000 compared with 1,565,000 in the previous year. The number of overnight visits by European residents went up from 622,000 to 764,000 in the same period. Likewise, the growth in North American overnight visits was from 502,000 in 2003 to 556,000. The increasing number of budget airlines with routes to European destinations is helping to swell the numbers from there - a new Glasgow to Brussels service started this week.
Scotland has a wealth of gardens which are open to visitors but the planned Calyx centre outside Perth will be a stupendous addition. The £30 million project will be built on a 60-acre site beside the existing 6 acre Cherrybank Garden and will have 30 themed gardens, 20 competition gardens and a sky walk through the treetops. And with Scotland's unreliable weather in mind and to create a year-round attraction, much of it will be covered by huge transparent domes. The Eden project in Cornwall showed how popular such a facility could be and the Calyx centre aims to be twice as large. A number of celebrity gardeners have voiced their support for the centre and there is political support too. But the project has been in the planning stage for many years and the all important funding has yet to be put in place. Even so, the Scotland's Garden Trust, who are progressing the project, hope to have the Calyx centre open by 2008. See also 
During his 24-year career at the Glenturret Distillery near Crieff, Towser the resident cat (pictured here) caught a staggering 28,899 mice - an average of three a day. He now has a place in the Guinness Book of Records for his feat. He eventually went to the great feline cat basket in the sky in 1988 and a new cat, named Amber, took his place. Either Towser had done too good a job or Amber was made of different stuff, because during her 16 year career at Glenturret she never produced a single mouse - though she did injure herself cornering one mouse, which escaped. Maybe she was just put off by the statue to Towser in the forecourt - or the large number of souvenirs bearing Towser's portrait on sale in the distillery shop. When she passed on earlier this year, the distillery went looking for another replacement, but by this time the job description had changed. The distillery decided that vermin were no longer a problem (Towser must have been spinning in his grave at this concept) and decided to recruit a cat which (like Towser, after all) would capture the hearts of the many tourists who come to the distillery, home of the Famous Grouse brand. In the end, after "interviewing" nine applicants, they decided that no one cat could fill Towser's pawprints and have appointed two cats instead. So Dylan, a ginger and white male from Forfar and Brooke, a semi-long-haired black and white female from Glasgow were selected. Any cat named Brooke must be a feisty feline to survive in Glasgow.
The longest, tallest, widest and most expensive liner ever built attracted 30,000 spectators when she visited Invergordon in the Cromarty Firth in the far north of Scotland for the first time. The Queen Mary 2 docked at Admiralty pier for a day to allow passengers to see a bit of the Highlands. The locals laid on a gala day with traditional Scottish music and the Alness vintage car rally was held on the same day. That event is the biggest classic, vintage and steam rally in the Highlands.
Fowlis Wester Parish Church near Crieff is celebrating its 700th year next weekend. It was established on its present site in the early 13th century as a gift of Gilbert, Earl of Strathearn and there has been a church there ever since. The present kirk was renovated in 1927 but has retained many of its earlier features. The church also houses a number of important Pictish stones and crosses. One dates back to 700AD and was discovered embedded in the wall of the church when it was refurbished in 1927. Sculptures on the 10 feet high stone include horsemen, a cow with a bell round its neck (referring to worship of the Golden Calf which may relate to seasonal Pictish activity) and a procession of men carrying shields.
Queen's Cross Church in Maryhill, Glasgow, was the only complete church building designed by the brilliant Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. It was built in 1896, but as the population in the area declined after the Second World War, it was closed by the Church of Scotland in the 1970s. It eventually became the HQ of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society and although that organisation has preserved it as best they can, lack of finance has meant that exterior elements of the building are deteriorating. Now a £357,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund has been awarded and essential repairs will be carried out next year. Although Mackintosh designed a cathedral for Liverpool, it was never built so the A-listed Queen's Cross Church is regarded as of outstanding importance to the architectural history of the city. For more on this fine building, see 
The West Highland Way is a 95-mile long footpath which runs from Milngavie, just north of Glasgow, to Fort William in the Western Highlands, through some of the most majestic scenery in Scotland, including the banks of Loch Lomond and across Rannoch Moor. It is used by tens of thousands of walkers each year, either travelling the full length or just sections that happen to be convenient. The route opened 25 years ago and this month its silver jubilee is being celebrated by various events. A West Highland Way Festival is running from June 11 to 18. This includes a concert in the walled garden at Mugdock Country Park and there is to be an end-to-end jubilee relay in which young people will carry a baton the whole length of the route. There is also to be a West Highland Way race, starting at Milngavie at 1am on June 18 and ending in Fort William - 35 hours (roughly) later. For more information, see 
Described as a "hidden gem", the Fergusson Gallery in Perth reopened this week after a two-year, £1 million refurbishment. Housed in a former waterworks on the banks of the river Tay, the gallery houses the world's largest collection of work by the Scottish colourist John Duncan Fergusson. The dome of the building is made of cast-iron which had to be completely dismantled during the renovation. Now back in place, the Fergusson Gallery has the only known surviving cast-iron structure of its type in the world. There are over 150 oil paintings by Fergusson as well as hundreds of watercolours and drawings and 23 sculptures - one of which is displayed on the pavement outside the gallery (pictured here). Admission to the gallery is free.