The Scottish Snippets Newsletter in its original format began in April 1997 and continued in an unbroken series for 591 issues. Although no longer produced in that format there is now a regular update on the new and updated pages on the Rampant Scotland site and also "Scottie's Diary" on an intermittent basis, To receive this, kust send an e-mail to Scottie with "Subscribe Newsletter" in the subject line.
Current Affairs
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Historical Affairs - Topical Items from Scotland's Past
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Entertainment
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Sport
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Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
Despite telephone calls from Tony Blair, the UK Prime Minister, to the chairman of Motorola, and teams of negotiators sent to the company's Chicago HQ, the company announced on Tuesday that it is to close its factory in Bathgate, West Lothian, with the loss of 3,200 jobs. All the staff will be redundant within three months. The future of Motorola's German factory remains uncertain. Trade Union representatives are convinced that the Scottish factory lost out because it is easier to make staff redundant in the UK than in Germany and the company can write off losses in its German operation. Motorola began production of mobile phones at Bathgate in January 1992. Efforts have begun to find an alternative occupant for the large, modern factory.
Over three centuries of independence will be lost if the negotiations announced this week on a merger between Bank of Scotland and Halifax reaches a positive conclusion. Halifax, a former building society (savings and loan) which demutualised in 1997, is capitalised at about £16.5 billion; Bank of Scotland, founded under an Act of the Scottish Parliament in 1695, has a market value of £9.6 billion. No announcement has been made about the location of the head office of the merged bank - Halifax has strong roots in the Yorkshire town and will fight to have the HQ there. However, the Bank of Scotland Chairman, Sir John Shaw, is understood to have given assurances to Henry McLeish, the Scottish Executive First Minister, about maintaining its head office in Edinburgh. Bank of Scotland employs 4,000 staff in Edinburgh, out of a Scottish work force of 10,700. Bank of Scotland lost out to the Royal Bank of Scotland in a takeover battle for the English bank National Westminster. They have also been in recent talks about a merger with Abbey National, another demutualised building society. A merger of Bank of Scotland and Halifax would not result in wholesale branch closures as there is little overlap in their networks.
There were a number of positive developments in the foot and mouth disease outbreak this week. First, the automatic pre-emptive cull of animals in farms adjoining confirmed cases was ended as far as cattle were concerned. Sheep and pigs will continue to be removed as the disease in these animals is more difficult to spot in the early stages. Then the restriction of movement of animals above the Forth and Clyde line will be relaxed from 1 May. Sheep which have been on winter pastures will be allowed to return to their home farms. The relaxation on culling came just in time to save a white calf named "Phoenix" which became a potent symbol, having survived on a farm where a cull had taken place. A similar plea for a pet Vietnamese pot-bellied pig in Dumfries may not be so successful - the pig is not as photogenic as the little woolly calf.
An opinion poll by the "Scotsman" newspaper shows that more people in Scotland regard themselves as "Scottish" rather than "British". It may be a surprise to people outside of Scotland that the people who live here should regard themselves as anything other than Scottish, but that is one of the quirks of living also in the United Kingdom. Ten years ago around 65% regarded themselves as Scottish; the figure is now 80%. Only 4% felt that they were more British than Scots but 13% opted for being equally British and Scottish. When asked about their opinion of Scotland, 67% thought the country was "modern" as distinct from 14% who thought Scotland was "backward". And more than half of those in the poll used words such as happy, youthful and exciting to describe Scotland.
A lone piper played at the funeral in Inveraray of Ian Campbell, the 12th Duke of Argyll on Friday. The Duke had died earlier in the week at the age of 63 following heart surgery. The great chief "Mac Cailein Mor" of the clan Campbell was the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and Master of the Royal Household in Scotland. His defence of the Campbell's historical role sometimes led him into making controversial remarks - he described the defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden as a "good result for the Scots". The guard of honour at the funeral was mounted by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, a regiment founded by his forebears as an insurance against further Jacobite insurrection. In the tradition of the passing of an important chief, the litany of the duke's hereditary titles was read by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. The illustration is of the Campbell family castle at Inveraray.
40 Edinburgh city cab drivers mounted an unusual protest at Edinburgh Airport on Wednesday evening - they offered passengers free rides into the city centre. But airport security guards ushered bemused passengers away from the cabs - towards the official rank of taxis. The city cabbies were protesting about the fact that when they take passengers to the airport they are not allowed to pick up any fares. Only the licensed taxi drivers - who pay £1,200 for the privilege - can do so. Edinburgh Airport cabs have special livery and are not the normal black hackney cabs but converted saloon cars.
Proposals to build 12 wind turbine generators at Ark Hill near Glamis in Angus are being resisted by local people who describe them as a blight on the landscape which create noise and scenic damage. The project would provide enough electricity for all the houses in Glamis and Forfar - around 6,200 homes. A special meeting of Angus Council's development control meeting will be held next month to decide whether or not to give the plan approval.
Hamish, a black and tan Jack Russell terrier had a lucky escape on Thursday when he fell from the ramparts of Stirling Castle. He would have plunged 200 feet down the cliff but instead he landed on a bin bag which was caught in a tangle of ivy on the rocks less than ten feet from the top. His owner contacted the emergency services from a mobile phone and the fire brigade were quickly on the scene. One of the firemen climbed down the cliff face and lifted the wee dog to safety.
Although there were a number of showers during the week there were also long bright sunny spells - Glasgow had 6.4 hours of sunshine on Tuesday and temperatures as high as 15C (59F), the warmest place in Britain. But the following day a northerly airflow caused the thermometer to plummet and it only reached 7C (45F). The outlook is continuing changeable.
Originally named the "New Fine Art Galleries" and now known as the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the landmark building in Glasgow's West End celebrates its centenary next week. In 1901 the museum was at the centre of a six-month International Exhibition which covered 73 acres and was visited by more than 11 million people. The project to fund the original museum went bankrupt but the building was taken over by the City of Glasgow Corporation and it has remained in their care ever since. It is now the most visited free entry tourist attraction in Scotland.
Following the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie in the Jacobite Uprising of 1745/46, his supporters would drink the loyal toast to the "monarch" but quietly pass their glass over a bowl of water - thus toasting the health of the "king over the water" living in exile in France. This is now the title of a new exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait gallery in Edinburgh. The centre-piece of the display is a ten-foot wide painting entitled "A View of the Palazzo Mutti" which shows the "Old Pretender" James Stuart, welcoming his son Prince Henry who had just been ordained a cardinal in Rome. The painting shows just how significant the Stuarts were in Rome's society at that time. It is the only painting in existence of the Jacobite Palace in Rome.
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra expects to have to cancel half of its concerts at Edinburgh's Usher Hall because of continued restoration work in the building. Ten orchestral concerts and three choral concerts are likely to have to be cancelled next season. Scaffolding on the stage and engineering work to refurbish the Usher Hall organ will coincide with the RSNO's spring season in 2002. The orchestra announced its programmes for next year this week - but Edinburgh's concerts could not be confirmed. The RSNO has only just moved back to the Usher Hall after an enforced absence of three years while the venue underwent a major refit. The RSNO conductor, Alexander Lazarev, compared the situation to Edinburgh Council building a new road and then starting to dig it up again.
It is likely that during the closure of Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery for a £25 million refurbishment, many of the city's treasures will be shipped abroad on touring exhibitions. The city is still short of funding for the renovation and income from lending out the exhibits would be a welcome addition. The illustration here is of one of the museum's famed collection of armour.
