Government Defeated

There was confusion in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday as the Executive lost a vote for the first time - and then refused to change their policy. The vote was about aid to the Scottish fishermen who are laid up in port because of restrictions on fishing in the North Sea, imposed to allow fish stocks to recover from dangerously low levels. The Executive had proposed a 25 million pound package to bring forward the decommissioning of boats to reduce the size of the fleet. The fishermen were demanding compensation for not being able to fish. During a series of votes, the Executive were defeated - first of all on the casting vote of the Presiding Officer. Then an SNP motion, calling for a tie-up scheme to provide compensation for fishermen, was backed by 55 votes to 51, with four Liberal Democrat members voting against the coalition government. Afterwards there were claims that the electronic voting system had not recorded the votes correctly (though the errors cancelled each other out) and it became clear that 13 Labour MSPs had been absent because of "Ministerial duties" and attendance at the Labour Party's conference in Inverness. But clearly business managers had not expected the defection of the four Liberal Democrats. After consultations in the evening, the First Minister, Henry McLeish, announced that the Executive were still going ahead with their own proposals for decommissioning and not a compensation scheme, despite the MSPs vote.

Armada Sails Forth

A fleet of 160 fishing boats sailed under the bridges across the river Forth on Tuesday as fishermen demonstrated about the state of the fishing industry. Scottish boats have remained in harbour for the last few weeks because of a ban on cod fishing areas in the North Sea to allow depleted stocks to recover. Two of the protest leaders anchored at Leith Docks, near to the HQ building of the Scottish Executive and spoke to assembled reporters. The fishermen are looking for a rescue package which will allow them to survive until the ban on fishing ends. They also took their case to the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who was in Inverness for the Labour Party conference. But in Brussels, the European Fisheries Commissioner announced two new areas where fishing was banned to protect dwindling stocks.

Foot and Mouth Disease Spreads

By Friday of this week the virus which causes foot and mouth disease amongst cloven footed animals had been found in 127 farms in the UK, 16 of them in Dumfries and Galloway. Restrictions on access to country areas, particularly those affected, are continuing to be imposed. These restrictions are aimed at reducing the spread of this infectious virus which affects only cattle, sheep and pigs - there is no risk to humans. The sources of all the outbreaks have been identified. A licensing scheme to allow the movement of livestock has been introduced and this has taken some pressure off areas which are not affected. Even so, it is a worrying time for farmers and is having a ripple effect on the livestock transport industry and meat processing companies. The restrictions on access to walkers in country areas is also having an adverse effect in tourism in these parts of the country.

Opinion Poll Lead for Nationalists

The latest System Three opinion poll of voting intentions for the Scottish Parliament, published in the Scotsman newspaper, shows that the Scottish National Party has moved back into the lead over Labour. It is the first time that the Nationalists have been in the lead since the fuel crisis last autumn. Voting intentions for the Westminster Parliament show SNP gaining from last month at the expense of the Liberal Democrats. Even the Conservatives gained a percentage point.

Swish Swinney

Political commentators have noted that John Swinney, the nattily dressed leader of the Scottish National Party has swopped his previous dark, bank manager-style suit for a nice line in lilac shirts and sharp suits. He has even been seen without a tie on informal occasions. His previous sober style had gone down well amongst the older voters in his North Tayside constituency. But with a General Election for the Westminster Parliament looming, it would appear that he has been persuaded to "dress down". Recent SNP campaign literature shows him in casual dress which is supposed to appeal more to younger voters. Recent shots of Henry McLeish, the Labour Party leader and First Minister in a football strip was, of course, purely coincidental. Even David McLetchie, the leader of the Conservative Party is said to have been spruced up - though nobody noticed the difference...
Photograph courtesy of the Scottish Parliament Web site.

Scottish Enterprise Agency Cuts 400 Jobs

The organisation charged with job creation and business start-ups is to axe 400 jobs in the government agency over the next four years - a 22% reduction in numbers employed. 180 jobs were cut last summer and they hope to achieve the further reduction by natural wastage. But compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out. Scottish Enterprise has an annual budget of more than 600 million pounds. It has been criticised for being "cluttered and congested". Last year, the Scottish Parliament's nine-month enquiry into the enterprise network concluded that there was "confusion, overlap and needless rivalry" amongst enterprise bodies. Scottish Enterprise has been given new goals concentrating on support for growing businesses, global connections and promoting learning and workforce skills. The job cuts are intended to reduce duplication and bureaucracy.

Conference on Rural Poverty at Luxury Hotel

Representatives from the Scandinavian countries and Scotland who make up the Nordic Council met for a conference at the luxury Skibo Castle last week to discuss rural poverty and regeneration. The irony of meeting in the hotel which was used by Madonna for her wedding and by other wealthy celebrities seemed to be lost on the 55 officials who attended, 20 from Scotland. But a number of Labour MSPs expressed anger at the extravagance. When the previous Conservative government hosted the first Nordic Council conference in 1994, it was at Ackergill Tower near Wick which is almost as sumptuous as Skibo. The next conference, in Finland, was also held at a luxury venue. Nobody could explain why it was again Scotland's turn to spend over 30,000 pounds hosting the Nordic Council again.

Enquiry Into Chinook Helicopter Crash

The original enquiry into the crash of a Chinook helicopter (the type pictured here) on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994, killing 29 people, blamed pilot error. All the 25 passengers on the Chinook were senior members of the Northern Ireland anti-terrorist intelligence group Ever since the crash, campaigners have been convinced that it could have been caused by mechanical failure. Despite new evidence, including a report by the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Ministry of Defence has turned down requests to reopen the enquiry. This week, a House of Lords select committee has agreed to launch a new investigation into the crash. The families of the two pilots, who are convinced that the cause of the crash has ever been established, are pleased that at last an independent enquiry is to take place.

Scotland's Census 2001

A census of the population has been carried out every ten years since 1841 and the next one is due this year, on Sunday, April 29. All 2.5 million households will be required to complete the census return. For the first time there will be questions on general health, provision of unpaid care for family and friends and time since last paid employment. There is also a voluntary question on which religious body respondents belong to and their denomination in childhood.

Concerns Again About Exams

Last summer the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) got into a total mess with the administration of the new Higher Certificate exams. Results were in some cases months late, certificates contained the wrong details and schools sent in appeals for thousands of exam results which were at variance with pupils' school results - many of these appeals resulted in higher grades being awarded. The Education Minister was adamant that the same shambles would never happen again. But already there are signs of problems ahead for this year. The SQA has issued an emergency appeal for more examiners in a number of subjects and quality control of language exams has been abandoned. There is also a shortage of moderators to supervise the exams in schools. And the SQA has admitted that there are errors in the list of candidates for this year's exams although they say that they hope to correct the mistakes before the exams take place in May.

Miracle Escape After 12 Hours in Icy Sea

Nine fishermen in a German trawler which had sunk 240 miles west of Tiree, were plucked to safety by a rescue helicopter from Stornoway in the Western Isles in a hazardous night-time rescue in heavy seas. Hopes had faded for the remaining members of the crew of 15 Spaniards and a German captain. But the search continued and amazingly after 12 hours, an RAF Nimrod search and rescue aircraft spotted a fisherman alive in the water. He had been wearing survival gear but even so, he had remained alive for twice as long as might be expected in such conditions. The Nimrod dropped a life raft and the man hauled himself aboard. He was picked up later by another fishing boat. The bodies of the other six crew members of the stricken vessel were also recovered.

Glasgow Top for Shopping

An annual survey of UK retail centres has once again judged Glasgow to be the top shopping centre outside of London, despite the Braehead Shopping Centre (just over the boundary in Renfrew) not being regarded as part of the city. Nottingham and Leeds were 3rd and 4th respectively, with Edinburgh coming in at number 12.

Aircraft in Blaze Scare

A Continental Airlines Boeing 757 made an emergency landing at Glasgow Airport on Thursday after a warning light indicated that there was smoke in the luggage hold. The 142 passengers evacuated the plane at Glasgow using the inflatable emergency chute. The plane had been bound for New York from Glasgow when the problem arose, 150 miles from Glasgow. At one stage an Italian air force plane flew below the airliner to see if there was any signs of a fire. By that time the pilot had activated the fire extinguishers in the hold. Afterwards officials announced that there was no sign of any fire in the cargo bay. Glasgow Airport was closed for half an hour while the emergency crews dealt with the plane on the runway. The passengers stayed overnight in a hotel near the airport and resumed their flight the next day.

2,000 New Computer Jobs

The US giant Internet solutions firm Cisco Systems is expected to sign up shortly for a new European HQ in a business park beside the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow. The site was the former Daily Record building and the development will mean 2,000 hi-tech jobs for the city. Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow City Council will invest three million pounds in the area to upgrade the nearby railway station at Anderston and improve the lighting on the pillars of North Street under the Kingston Bridge. The new office development will grow to 350,000 sq ft over five years. It will be one of the biggest single investments in the city for many years.

Video of Christening of Madonna's Child Destroyed

Robert Podesta pleaded guilty this week in Dornoch Sheriff Court to secretly filming the christening of Madonna's son Rocco in Dornoch Cathedral last December. He had hidden among the organ pipes for 24 hours before the ceremony, despite tight security. He managed to video the event, but was discovered an hour after the christening by security staff. When he was stopped, he claimed that he had dropped the video tape down an organ pipe. This was found to be blank but he was then seen trying to hide another tape under a pew cushion and this was a 24-minute long recording of the baptism ceremony. Podesta, a part-time security man from England, had hoped to make a fortune from the sale of the video. The christening took place on the day before Madonna married film director Guy Ritchie. The Sheriff ordered the video to be destroyed. Podesta is to appear before the Sheriff at the end of March to give details of his financial circumstances before sentencing.
The photo of Dornoch Cathedral is courtesy of Dornoch Web site.

Road Death Toll Lowest For 26 Years

Strathclyde Police, who cover the area with the largest population in Scotland, have reported that road casualties in 2000 were the lowest for 26 years. The number of deaths on the roads in the region totaled 197 people, 1461 were seriously injured and another 7,460 were slightly injured; all these figures were lower than 1999. The number of reported road crashes, whether they involved injury or not, were also down by 4.5%. In 1975, 344 people died and almost 12,000 were injured. The police say that road safety campaigns and education initiatives had helped to reduce the figures. Seat belts for front and rear passengers had also helped to reduce fatalities and serious injuries.

Average Salaries Rise

The Office for National Statistics published figures on the average earnings of full time workers this week. The annual salary in the UK was 21,842 pounds (US$31,889). Salaries in Scotland were below this figure at 19,430, with Aberdeen having the highest average wages in Scotland at 23,140 a year - a result of the high wages of many in the oil industry.

Record Number of Women Doctors

Figures published this week show that a record number of women started courses in medical schools in Scotland last year. They now outnumber the men in what has been traditionally a male-dominated profession. There were 503 new female medical students compared to 359 men.

Male Members Only

A bowling club in Neilston, East Renfrewshire has rejected a proposal to allow women to become full members. The all-male management committee of Crofthead Bowling Club voted last Sunday to continue to allow women only as "associate members" which means that if men want to play they can force the lady associates off the greens. As a consequence of the men-only policy, the club does not get any funding from the local council or from lottery sources. The Scottish Bowling Association admits that there are quite a few clubs who still only have full membership rights for men.

Trips "Doon the Watter" Sunk

Cruising around the islands of the Firth of Clyde and the Kyles of Bute has been a tradition for generations of Glaswegians for the last 150 years. But the insistence of the European Commission that Caledonian MacBrayne's government subsidised ferry routes be put out to competitive tender, mean that CalMac can only operate other services if they are self-supporting. The Clyde cruises do not fulfill that criteria and Calmac have had to announce that they will be withdrawn. The summer cruises allowed the shipping line to maximise the usage of vessels in the summer time and carried 15,500 passengers last year. However, cruises by the Waverley paddle steamer, which is operated by a charitable trust, will continue. That's a model of the venerable ship pictured here.

No More Stupid Children

The Scottish Childminders Association and ScotNurse, a leading child-care training agency have issued new guidelines which bans nursery staff from telling children that they are stupid, naughty or bad when they misbehave. Educational psychologists have advised that put-downs such as "silly child" only made bad behaviour worse. They say the behaviour may be "bad" but the child is not. But the Conservative education spokesman said that children need uncomplicated messages and shown the difference between good and bad behaviour. The chairman of a pressure group Campaign for Real Education described the guidelines as "Political correctness gone mad."

Proving "Murphy's Law"

We all know that if we drop a slice of buttered toast it will land on the floor face down, another manifestation of Murphy's Law - if something can go wrong, it will. Now thousands of secondary school children are going to be recruited to prove scientifically that, on average, the dropped toast lands more often on the buttered side. The Tumbling Toast Test is being sponsored by the makers of Lurpak butter and the pupils will drop their toast from their plate 20 times and record the results. Of course, the result may not be due to Murphy (reputed to be Edward A Murphy, a research and development officer at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, in the 1940s). It could be due to the influence of aerodynamics and gravity so the pupils are repeating the experiment with unbuttered slices of toast, just in case.

Hilton Sells Eleven UK Hotels

The Hilton leisure group sold eleven hotels in the UK to the Royal Bank of Scotland this week for 312 million pounds - and immediately leased them all back. The agreement covers 14% of Hilton's 81 UK hotels and will provide the group with finance for European expansion. Hotels involved include the Glasgow Hilton and the Grosvenor Hotel on Great Western Road in the city.

New "Big Man" In Gorbals

Glasgow's Gorbals has a new "Big Man" but he doesn't have any clothes to wear. He is over 18 feet high and weighs in at just over a tonne. The bronze replica of Michelangelo's "David" stands on an archway leading into the yard of "Cosmo Ceramics". The Gorbals area of Glasgow had an infamous reputation for being a deprived, rough, tough area of the city, especially in the 1930s when gang warfare was rife there. Nowadays, the urban planners have torn the heart out of the community, demolished most of the old tenements, carved wide roads through the centre for commuters from the suburbs and built high-rise flats (some, so badly designed, they have had to be pulled down). Some of the more recent housing developments are more attractive and the Crown Street Regeneration programme has created new homes, shops, tree-lined streets and a park. The latest addition to this transformation was commissioned by Rodolfo Benacci, a local Glasgow businessman of Italian origins. He was born near to the quarry where the marble for the original Michelangelo sculpture of David was produced.

Reports of Death Greatly Exaggerated

As a result of a quirk of genealogy, there are three Scottish peers with the title "Lord Mackay". So when Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish died recently, it was almost inevitable that a newspaper would make a mistake and use the wrong photograph for the obituary. It fell to the UK edition of Time magazine to use the photo of Lord Mackay of Clashfern in error, recalling the classic Mark Twain comment "reports of my death are greatly exaggerated". Meantime Lord Mackay of Drumadoon was ignored, much to his relief.

Weather in Scotland This Week

After the snow and freezing temperatures in the previous week, the weather became a lot milder this week as winds shifted to a southerly direction. Temperatures rose to 13C (55F) in Glasgow and even 14C (57F) in Kinloss on the Moray Firth by Wednesday and Thursday. This is well above the seasonal average. The southerly airstream brought in much more cloud and rain though there was sunshine over many parts on Wednesday.

These snowdrops survived the earlier snow and are making a brave display.

Lighthouse in the Spotlight Again

The former newspaper office designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which was refurbished and turned into an exhibition and conference centre as the flagship of Glasgow's "Year of Architecture" in 1999, is once again in the spotlight because of its financial predicament. The bill for the Lighthouse project is now around nine million pounds. Although a substantial amount of this was contributed from Heritage Lottery Funding, Glasgow City Council has contributed 1.4 million pounds to the building and operating costs. The building was planned to be self supporting from rentals and conference income but has been running at a loss since opening. Now the main contractors for the refurbishment have lodged a claim of half a million pounds for costs arising from delays on the site which they say were not their responsibility.

Icelandic Scots

The continuing story of human DNA has highlighted another surprise, this time about the origins of the people of Iceland. It had always been accepted that the majority of settlers there had originated in Scandinavia. But researchers examining the genetic profiles of 1,600 people from Scandinavia, Orkney, the Western Isles and the Isle of Skye, have found that 60% of the women who were among the original settlers of Iceland came not from Scandinavia but from Scotland. The corresponding figure for males is only 20%. Of course, Vikings settled in the northern and western islands of Scotland from the 8th to the 11th centuries. The researchers at Oxford University suggest that Iceland was settled by Vikings who had lived in Scotland and had married local girls or that Icelandic raiders had come to Scotland and taken women and girls back with them.

This Week in History

• March 11 1955 - Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, died.
• March 12 1286 - Margaret, Maid of Norway (daughter of King Erik II) became Queen. All King Alexander's children had died.
• March 13 1873 - Scottish Football Association founded.
• March 13 1973 - Scotland played Brazil to mark centenary of Scottish Football Association.
• March 13/15 1941 - Blitz of Clydebank by German Luftwaffe.
• March 13 1996 - Sixteen primary school children and their teacher murdered in Dunblane.
• March 14 1941 - SS "Politician" ran aground on Islay, creating the basis for Sir Compton MacKenzie's novel "Whisky Galore".
• March 14 1952 - First television programmes broadcast in Scotland.
• March 15 1921 - First women jurors in Glasgow Sheriff Court.
• March 16 1309 - King Robert the Bruce convened his first parliament, at St Andrews.
• March 16 1935 - John J R Macleod, Scottish/Canadian physiologist and winner of Nobel Prize (in 1923) died.
• March 17 1328 - Treaty of Edinburgh between King Robert I and Edward III which recognised Scotland's independence, ending the 30 years of Wars of Independence.
• March 17 1473 - King James IV born.
• March 17 1984 - Scotland won Rugby "Grand Slam" at Murrayfield - the first time in 59 years.
• March 18 1857 - William Henry Playfair, architect, died.

For the other 51 weeks in history and a chronology of Scottish events see the Scottish Timeline.

Logan's Heroes

The Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow was packed on Thursday for a spectacular charity concert organised by Jimmy Logan. The evening of song and laughter involved many of Scotland's show business celebrities including comedians Johnny Beattie and Andy Cameron, singer Peter Morrison, actress Dorothy Paul and TV presenter Fred Macauley. Gaelic singer Fiona Kennedy and Irish singer Sydney Devine were joined by Jimmy Logan's sisters Heather Logan and the jazz singer Annie Ross who had flown in from North America. Many of the cast of the TV soap "High Road" went round at the interval rattling cans for the Showbiz Benevolent Fund. But the proceeds of the show, including the sale of a video of the event, are to go to a cancer care centre in Glasgow. It is hoped to raise 100,000 pounds in total.

Harry Lauder at the Proms

This year's Scottish Promenade Concerts will feature tenor Jamie MacDougall singing a medley of the songs of Sir Harry Lauder on the last night. The singer commented that "This isn't classical, but it is certainly classic. It is classic Scottish music hall from a great time, a great era." MacDougall renewed his acquaintance with the Lauder songs when he saw Jimmy Logan's tribute to Sir Harry's music in an acclaimed one-man show last year at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre. The Promenade Concerts this year will consist of 24 concerts by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in venues across Scotland. The concert on the last night, which is traditionally a lively affair, will take place at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall at the end of June.
This photo of Sir Harry Lauder is by kind permission of the Scottish Theatre Archive.

Masters of Watercolour

A new exhibition at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum opens next week. It looks at the achievements of 19th century British artists who pioneered the use of watercolour as a medium. Artists include many Scottish artists of the later 19th century, whose primary interests were picturing the landscape of Scotland in all its seasons and varieties - such as Robert Buchan Nisbet (1857-1942), Joseph Henderson (1832-1908) and James Paterson (1854-1932). Masters of Watercolour runs from 17 March to 6 May.

Toledo's Last Picture Show

Glasgow used to be well known for the large numbers of cinemas in the city. But the advent of large multi-screen complexes has reduced the number considerably. The latest one to face closure is the Toledo cinema in Muirend. The editor of this Newsletter was a frequent patron there many years ago, including the Saturday morning special shows for kids. The building is listed as being of architectural importance so the developers will have to retain the facade while gutting the inside to create a block of luxury flats. However, the project is still subject to planning permission.

Elvis Back in Town

The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow was the venue for a show which brought Elvis Presley back before a live audience. True, Elvis was in the form of a huge video screen and a booming audio system backed up by a live group of his former TCB Band. The footage used was from three of Elvis' concerts in the early 1970s when the King was at his peak, dressed in his flared jump suit. The audience were apparently mesmerised and watched the reincarnation in raptures for two hours.

Braveheart Sword Bought for 90,000 Pounds

The five-foot long sword used by Mel Gibson in the film "Braveheart" about William Wallace, has been sold at a charity auction to the Dublin-based financier Dermot Desmond. Mr Desmond is the biggest shareholder in Glasgow Celtic Football Club.

Record Profits For SECC

The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow made a record profit of over a million pounds last year, an increase of 160% on the previous year. 243 events were held and 1.3 million people attended these shows. The Edinburgh International Conference Centre, has made loss in the last six years and has generated less for the capital's economy in that time than the SECC.

More Edinburgh Rock Acts

The role of Edinburgh Castle as the location for rock concerts was demonstrated again this week with the announcement that a "dual headline gig" involving Staus Quo and the Beach Boys will take place on the castle esplanade on 19 July. 8,500 tickets went on sale this week. Tickets for Tom Jones concerts at the castle on 20 and 21 July are already sold out.

Sunday and Mid-week Results

Dunfermline 0 Celtic 3
Hibernian 1 Motherwell 1
Aberdeen 0 Livingston 1 (Scottish Cup 4th round replay)
Kilmarnock 2 Inverness 1 (Scottish Cup 4th round replay)
Celtic 4 Dunfermline 1 (Scottish Cup 4th round replay)
Dundee 0 Hearts 1 (Scottish Cup 4th round replay)
Ayr 6 Falkirk 0 (First Division)

Scottish Cup Quarter Finals - 10 March

Kilmarnock 0 Hibernian 1
Livingston 3 Peterhead 1
Dundee United v Rangers and Celtic v Hearts will be played on Sunday.

Scottish League Division One Results - 10 March

Alloa 0 Clyde 0
Raith Rovers 1 Inverness 1
Ross County 4 Falkirk 1

League Tables

Celtic lead the Scottish Premier League with 76 points from 29 games, followed by Rangers with 63 points from 28 games and Hibernian on 60 points from 29 games played. At the foot of the Premier, St Mirren have only 15 points from 30 games. Dundee United have 18 points from 29 games and while Aberdeen have 28 points from 27 games. In the First Division, Livingston continue to look a certainty for promotion with 57 points from 26 games, 8 points ahead of Ayr United and with a game in hand.

Rugby Results

Boroughmuir 16 Currie 24
Hawick 31 Gala 9
Kirkcaldy 6 Heriot's 27
Melrose 43 Glasgow Hawks 0
Watsonians 14 Jed-Forest 29

Hawick were crowned Scottish First Division Champions today - they are unbeaten this season, having won 13 and drawn 2 matches.

No Scrum of Consolation

Participants in the official Scottish Rugby Union outing by train to the Calcutta Cup game against England at Twickenham in London last Saturday, were looking forward to grandstand seats at the match. They had paid 170 pounds for the first class trip but it started to go wrong before the train left Edinburgh's Waverley station. The departure of the early morning train was delayed by an hour due to "technical problems". Then when the train had only reached Doncaster in Yorkshire, the brakes failed. There was no prospect of a back-up train so the supporters, many in kilts, headed to the White Bear Hotel. The pub is known for showing televised football matches (Leeds v Manchester United had been on the big screen earlier in the day) but the manager immediately switched to the rugby as the Scottish supporters trooped through the door. He commented afterwards that they had been "very well behaved". Perhaps they were subdued by their experiences - and the 43-3 defeat by England.

27,000 Pound Bet on Scotland Losing

England were odds-on favourites to win the Rugby Match against Scotland last Saturday - the bookies were offering odds of 20-1 on. Usually, that discourages people from betting, but one fan made a bet of 27,000 pounds that Scotland would lose - and won 1,343 pounds when they were indeed defeated. William Hill, one of the country's biggest bookmakers has reported an upsurge in "safe" bets.

Tommy Burns and Ally McCoist on a Diet

Former Rangers and Celtic players, Tommy Burns and Ally McCoist, have agreed to give up eating for a day to help to raise funds for the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund. The organisers hope that the celebrities will encourage others to participate in a "Day Without Food, For A Day Without Hunger" on March 30.

Concern Over Injury to Rangers Star

Rangers player Giovanni Van Bronckhorst sustained a groin injury during last Saturday's match against Hearts and initially there were concerns that he might not play again for the rest of the season. But a few days later he announced that he was recovering rapidly and had started light training again. The player hopes he will be fit for the Scottish Cup game against Dundee United on Sunday. Not so lucky are other Rangers players who are on the list of injured Ibrox - Claudio Reyna, Tugay Kerimoglu, Arthur Numan, Jorg Albertz, Michael Mols and Ronald de Boer are all sidelined. And Neil McCann is to see a specialist to establish whether he needs a hernia operation.

Race to Fitness

Celtic striker Chris Sutton is racing against time to become fit again for the CIS Insurance Cup Final against Kilmarnock on 18 March. He strained shoulder ligaments during Celtic's3-0 defeat of Dundee. He missed the Scottish Cup replay against Dunfermline and will miss the quarter final of the Scottish Cup also.

Surprise Move by Wimbledon Striker

When English First Division player and Jamaican internationalist Marcus Gayle turned up for training at the Wimbledon ground on Wednesday he was totally astonished to find that he had been sold to Glasgow Rangers for a million pounds. The following day he was in Glasgow signing the transfer forms and declaring that although he was still in shock he was delighted at the move.

Magazine Section

Famous Scots

Note that the biographies which appear here each week have been gathered together into a Famous Scots Web page.

The Original Dunce
John Duns Scotus was regarded as one of the greatest of medieval thinkers. Find out why his name became the word "dunce" meaning a dull and stupid person.

Scottish Humour

Scottish Poetry and Song

Scottish Recipes

Note that the recipes which have appeared here each week have been gathered together into a Traditional Scottish Recipes Web page.

Herring with Drambuie Butter
Here's a modern addition to a traditional Scottish dish, making it even tastier!

Did You Know?

Note that the the items which have been highlighted here each week have been gathered together into a series of Did You Know? Web pages.

Where's Your Clan Chief?
Here are the names and addresses of all the current, recognised clan and family chiefs. Is your chief here?