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.
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Historical Affairs - Topical Items from Scotland's Past
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The "Magazine" section includes songs/poems of Scotland, Scottish humour and brief descriptions of Scottish Culture items added recently to the Rampant Scotland Website - with a link to the page where you can find the full feature, if you find the subject of interest to you.
Robert Louis Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses" contains many poems which describe the world through the eyes of the younger generation. Here is one in which conveys the magic of a flower garden. The Flowers All the names I know from nurse:
Fairy places, fairy things,
Tiny woods below whose boughs
Fair are grown-up people's trees,
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Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
Retailers may be complaining about the lack of customers due to this week's hot weather, but hotels and tourist attractions were experiencing an upsurge in business this week as the sunshine encouraged anyone who could get away to head for beaches and rivers. Temperatures reached 30C (86F) in some parts of the Highlands and the warm weather lasted throughout the week. The National Trust for Scotland is already enjoying a 30% growth in visitor numbers to its properties across the country this year, but places like Culzean Castle on the Ayrshire coast (pictured here) were bracing themselves for an invasion this weekend. In Angus, Glamis Castle has been welcoming over 1,000 visitors a day and the attraction was busier on Wednesday than on any day last year. Some bed and breakfast establishments in the Highlands have been fully booked and booking agents are coping with last minute requests for self-catering accommodation.
John Swinney, the leader of the Scottish National Party, may be having to deal with a challenge to his position, despite being on honeymoon with his new wife, journalist Elizabeth Quigley. But the latest opinion polls seem to suggest that he is still on honeymoon as leader as far as the voters are concerned. With the Labour party slipping back further in the latest NFO Systems Three poll, the SNP have gained 7% since the election only a few months ago. Labour and the Nationalists are now both on 31% on the first vote and the SNP are ahead by one point on the second vote. The Conservatives have lost ground since the May election but the LibDem party, Labour's coalition partners, have held their ground.
Earlier this week, it appeared that the threat of strike action by staff employed by the Caledonian MacBrayne had been averted. Local union representatives and management, after three days of talks, had agreed a deal which would have given 450 ferry staff 4.5% this year and a rise linked to the retail price index plus 1.5% next year. But the hard-line union leadership in London rejected the deal, saying that the deal had "more strings than a symphony orchestra." After the usual posturing in such situations, with CalMac expressing anger at the way in which the deal had been scuppered, the two sides have agreed to meet next week to see if they can reach a settlement. The further negotiations came only after the intervention of two Members of the Scottish Parliament, who have island communities within their constituencies, which would suffer if a strike goes ahead.
BAE Systems Naval Ships at Scotstoun and Govan are bidding to win an order for Type 23 warships for the Chilean navy. The yards built twelve of this type of ship for the Royal Navy in the 1980s and 90s. The order would mean another 2,200 jobs at the Clyde yards. The company is also chasing an order for two frigates for the Thailand navy - three identical frigates were built for the Brunei navy, the last launched only a year ago.
The Royal Bank of Scotland announced this week that its half-year profits had risen to £2.9 billion, an increase of 10% over the same period last year. The finance group's insurance arm, Direct Line, did particularly well with profits up by over 30%. The Royal's US arm, Citizens Financial, which continues to expand with acquisitions, boosted profits by 23% in local currency.
Brewing giant Carling is sponsoring a scheme on London Underground to the tune of £600,000 to audition and licence buskers to operate in 12 stations on the network. The performers are provided with a semi-circle "stage" which is emblazoned with the Carling logo.The brewing company says that if the scheme is successful, it could be extended to the (somewhat smaller) Underground system in Glasgow. The Strathclyde Passenger Authority, who operate Glasgow's "Clockwork Orange" circular underground says it is keen to consider a scheme similar to that in London.
It is 70 years since the Maid of the Forth ferry has operated from Newhaven in Edinburgh. But the ferry is to take tourists and sightseers from Newhaven to Inchcolme Island in the Firth of Forth, starting next year. It normally sails to the medieval abbey on Inchcolme from South Queensferry, beneath the Forth rail bridge (pictured here). Inchcolme is one of Scotland's best preserved abbeys and was founded by King Alexander I. But from next Easter, the Maid of the Forth, which can carry 225 passengers, will be sailing from Newhaven as well as South Queensferry.
The statue at the top of Buchanan Street to the first Scottish First Minister, the late Donald Dewar, sports the spectacles which were very much a part of him. But, since the statue was erected in May last year, the specs have been the target of mindless vandals. With all the closed circuit TV in the area, it is surprising that the statue is not better protected. However, for some time, the statue has been without his trademark glasses. But this week the welders were back, attempting to fix them firmly in place. The £400 cost of the repair was paid for through a court compensation order imposed on one of the previous vandals. There are concerns that it will only be a matter of time before the statue to the man described as the "Father of the new Scottish Parliament" is attacked again. 
In Victorian times, the foundations for the shipyards on the river Clyde at Meadowside were formed with 4 million granite cobblestones - the kind which were later used to hold the tracks on Glasgow's tramcars. The developers of the Glasgow Harbour site are keen to ensure that as much material from the site as possible is reused so a team of men are hand-cleaning each stone so that they can be used to border a new walkway along the river bank. The Meadowside Granary, one of Europe's largest brick buildings is currently being demolished and the 60 to 70 thousand cubic metres of rubble will be used for new roadways and the foundations for other developments. The illustration shows the granary before the demolition squads moved in.
The new £65 million prison to be built on a 35-acre site in West Lothian may never leave the drawing board - because thousands of the protected Common Spotted Orchid are growing in the middle of the site. It is possibly the largest number of wild orchids growing anywhere in Scotland - and other orchids have been found in the same field. The plant has been chosen by West Lothian as its emblem in a "County Flowers" project being organised by PlantLife. And it was a survey by that botanical organisation which uncovered the orchids in the greenfield site between West Calder and Addiewell. The Scottish Prisons Service is now having to carry out an environmental impact study. If the orchids stop the building going ahead, another site will have to be found.
When Kenny Boyle, who is responsible for all the parking attendants in Glasgow, parked his car outside his office, he bought a ticket for a one-hour stay. But he got involved with a disabled motorist who claimed he had been ticketed unfairly - the man had been given a ticket, despite having a disabled driver badge. When asked to bring in the badge to prove his case - he had been given a second ticket "because the badge was not being displayed". So when Mr Boyle eventually returned to his car, more than an hour later, he found that one of his staff had put a fixed-penalty parking ticket on his windscreen. The red-faced Mr Boyle claims it was the first ticket he had received in 28 years of driving. Glasgow City Council took over the responsibility for enforcing parking restrictions in 2000 and since then have increased the number of staff patrolling the streets. They now issue 300,000 tickets a year and earn a profit of £2 million a year. Mr Boyle says he will pay the £25 fine within 14 days - otherwise the charge doubles to £50.
80F might be a refreshingly cool day in some parts of the world, but in Scotland we call it a heatwave. Although much of the east coast experienced a sea mist, other areas got lots of sun and high temperatures this week. On Tuesday Glenlivet in the Highlands reached 30C (86F), Glasgow 27C (81F) and Kirkwall on Orkney topped 25C (77F). But mist affected the east coast resorts and St Andrews in Fife only climbed to 18C (64F). Unlike some warm spells, this one lasted all week - Glasgow reached 27C (81F) on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - and it felt just as hot on Saturday. But when a TV crew interviewed some foreign visitors in Edinburgh for the evening news programme, some of them just smiled and said "Ya think this is hot?" The UK-wide forecasters tried to crank up some excitement by suggesting that the south of England might break the all-time UK record (just under 100F) but it didn't happen. But speed restrictions of 60mph were placed on all rail routes, causing major disruption to the long-distance London to Scotland routes. Anyway, we are all enjoying the sun and the heat. And if we keep having heatwaves like this, the media are going to have to stop treating it as "news".
Two RAF pilots, now aged 89 and 82, renewed their acquaintance this week with a Spitfire they flew while serving with the City of Glasgow 602 Squadron. Jack Forrest was the commanding officer of the squadron and flew the Spitfire which is now on display at the Museum of Transport in Glasgow. A local aviation enthusiast found the plane lying neglected outside an RAF base in England and persuaded the government to put up the cash to have it restored - a project which has taken five years.
Many of the performers in the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle headed 50 miles west on Monday to parade through the streets of Glasgow. Almost 800 performers, led by the massed pipes and drums of the Scottish and overseas regiments, marched from Blytheswood Square to George Square. The acts involved in the Tattoo, including the US Army Drill Team and the exciting and skilful drummers from Switzerland performed in Glasgow to an appreciative audience. But, of course, the aim (easily achieved) was to convince Glaswegians that it was worth making the trip to the "real thing" with the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle - as seen in this illustration during the finale of the Tattoo. But unless they had tickets already, any Glaswegian wanting to see the performances on the castle esplanade will have to wait until next year - all the tickets for this year's shows have been sold. 
The Glasgow Science Centre opened in July 2001 and this week they greeted their millionth visitor through the doors. But the management still don't know when the rotating, 440ft high Glasgow Tower will be open to the public again. It closed seven months after the centre opened and a replacement defective bearing is being manufactured and tested in Germany.
Towards the end of the match at Ibrox, the loud speaker system announced the 0-0 scoreline in Celtic's first league game of the season. Needless to say, the Rangers supporters roared with delight. After only one match, the league tables are a bit academic but Rangers four goals have put them at the top of the Scottish Premier League while a similar scoreline puts Ross County at the top of Division 1.
Last year, fifteen 130hp (50mph) race boats contested the Scottish rounds of the fiercely competitive championship alongside three cutting-edge 225hp (75mph) powerboats. This year, these three prototypes have grown into a stunning ten-strong fleet so spectators at Largs in Ayrshire will be treated to no less than four powerboat races over the weekend of 9/10 August, as both the 130hp and 225hp classes battle out rounds seven and eight of their 2003 championships. For the first time ever in Scotland, the Honda Formula 4-Stroke races will be accompanied by the British Waterski Sprint Championship. Three waterski races will take place each day featuring speeds of up to 100mph. In between the races, the British Jet Ski Display team will be entertaining the crowds with some awe-inspiring stunts and on Saturday 9 August there will also be an air display above Largs Promenade. For further information, see http://www.formula-four.com
