The Rampant Scotland Newsletter - your weekly insight into what has been happening in Scotland, snipped from the Scottish media, for Scots in Scotland and abroad, bringing you news, events plus a Scottish magazine section. Printed with 100% recycled electrons.
Previous editions of this Newsletter are available in the Archive and the Index to the other pages of the Rampant Scotland site is available here.
The Scottish Snippets Newsletter in its original format began in April 1997 and continued in an unbroken series for 591 issues. Although no longer produced in that format there is now a regular update on the new and updated pages on the Rampant Scotland site and also "Scottie's Diary" on an intermittent basis, To receive this, kust send an e-mail to Scottie with "Subscribe Newsletter" in the subject line.
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Historical Affairs - Topical Items from Scotland's Past
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The "Magazine" section consists mainly of brief descriptions of the items involved and a link to the Web page where you can find the full feature, if you find the subject of interest to you.
This week the Scottish Parliament approved the legislation which is aimed at bringing to an end the hunting of foxes with dogs. So the red coated huntsmen on horseback, the sounding of horns, the baying of dogs - and tearing a fox to pieces at the end - will no longer be part of the Scottish countryside. While this is perhaps not the most important piece of legislation passed by the fledgling parliament, it has generated a lot of heat and argument. The lobbying, by both those in favour of a ban and those who want hunting to continue, has been noisy, to say the least. But the majority of the general public are in favour of the legislation, though it has perhaps developed into a town versus country battle, with the country folk "defending their way of life" and the urban folk seeing it as cruel way to kill a wild animal. Going out drag hunting (with the dogs following a scent already laid down, but with no fox involved) is apparently not an acceptable alternative - there is no killing at the end of the trail. The next phase will see the lawyers making a killing as the law gets challenged in court. Some things never change!
The average increase in local authority taxation in the next financial year will be 4.5% but in the Scottish Borders the increase will be 10.1% - four times the rate of inflation. In Glasgow, the increase will be a mere 1.9% (although the tax rates here are already the highest in Scotland) while in Edinburgh it will be 4.3%. Despite the massive increase in local taxes in the Scottish Borders the council is implementing major budget cuts which will adversely affect the delivery of some services.
An internet site with vital road safety messages for children and young people was launched this week, using rap music and interactive games to encourage youngsters to learn about road safety. Since the early 1980s, the number of child pedestrians killed or seriously injured has more than halved but the Scottish death rate is still considerably higher than in England. The Web site is aimed primarily at eight to fourteen-year old children who are the age range most at risk. See 
Airports operator BAA has reported that Scottish airports continue to buck the trend of declining air passenger numbers. Across the UK there was a slump in numbers of 3.9% in January but in Scotland the numbers who flew were up by 5.4%. There were more than a million passengers passing through Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports in January - a new record for the month. Edinburgh numbers were up by a massive 10% and is the fastest growing airport in the UK.
The domestic departures area of Glasgow airport is to be expanded to cope with the explosion in the number of passengers flying with budget airlines such as easyJet and Go. The no-frills airlines have captured 50% of the market for flights between Glasgow and London. An increasing number of businesses are using the low-cost airlines instead of paying for full-service tickets on BA. 
A report by the government's Audit Commission shows that approval for building projects in Edinburgh are the slowest in Scotland. Surveyors and developers in the Capital agreed with the report and described Edinburgh Cit Council's planning office staff as "the awkward squad".45% of all applications were processed within two months but of only 33% of non-householder applications were dealt with. The figures were 20% below the Scottish average. The report also criticised the council for "continuously reporting unreliable information." The council claimed that there had been low staff morale and a four-month strike in 2000 which had led to a back-log. Since the survey had been carried out, Edinburgh's figures had improved considerably. But city surveyors said that the council were processing "easy" applications quickly to improve the statistics.
The basement of the building which used to house the Scotsman newspaper is to be converted into a new sports bar and night-club venue. The upper floors have already been made into a posh new hotel (named The Scotsman, of course). The latest development will create one of the biggest pub and club venues in the Capital. The 10,000sq ft club space will have two dance floors and bars. Pop and indie music will be the most likely sounds, so it is to be hoped that the sound-proofing in the hotel above is of a high standard!
A proposal to project a giant Valentine's Day card onto the side of Edinburgh Castle rock was branded as "tacky" by the unromantic City Council. They refused to allow the projection equipment to be set up in Princes Street Gardens for an advert for the Post Office to encourage sweethearts to send a Valentine's Day card. The picture of an envelope with a heart on it is being projected onto the side of a church in Cardiff and on the waterfront at Belfast. Historic Scotland, who own the castle, stepped back from the controversy saying "We are still considering the project." But Edinburgh and Lothians Tourist Board described it as an "interesting" idea, particularly as the castle is a popular place for people to propose marriage.
There was surprise this week when Sir Tom Farmer and two of his senior colleagues in the car repair giant Kwik-Fit stood down temporarily to "avoid a conflict of interest." Farmer started the company in 1971 and sold it to Ford two years ago for around a billion pounds. Ford are now trying to sell off the operation at about half that value. Farmer denies that he is considering making a bid for the company but says that he will not participate in the management, so as to avoid any perceived conflict of interest. Kwik-Fit operates 2,400 car service centres across Europe and employs 11,500 staff.
The changes to the constituencies proposed by the Boundary Commission last week has resulted in a number of historic names being wiped from the electoral map - much to the disgust of many voters. The Edinburgh Evening News has responded to the removal of Leith's name (and replacing it with the bland title Edinburgh North East) by mounting a campaign to "Keep Leith". The name goes back to medieval times and there has been a Member of Parliament at Westminster for Leith for almost 170 years. As an astute politician, responding to the views of the voters, the present MP for "Edinburgh North and Leith" is supporting the campaign. In 1993, the Boundary Commission proposed a seat called Edinburgh Inverleith but this was rejected after a vigorous campaign and the current title was adopted. Although overshadowed by Edinburgh, Leith folk are proud of the port's history and name.
Glasgow City Council have approved the controversial plan to transfer their stock of subsidised housing to the Glasgow Housing Association. It is now up to the tenants to vote on the proposals which are designed to inject huge capital investment into the housing stock - but without the cash being regarded as government spending. In order to persuade tenants to approve the move, the GHA have come up with a number of radical plans to improve the quality of housing and the environment in which they are located. This week, they suggested building low-rise houses between the city's high-rise flats to allow families to live near elderly relatives. They are also planning to give internet access and free e-mail addresses to council house tenants via set-top boxes attached to TVs and introduce local handymen to do minor repairs in each community.
A project has got underway to recreate the massive tapestries which used to adorn the walls of Stirling Castle in the 16th century. Work has started on the first of seven tapestries in the Hunting of the Unicorn series, which are thought to have been commissioned by King James V. The work is likely to take ten years to complete. Each tapestry measures seven square metres but at a cost of £16,000 per square metre, it is likely to be the world's most expensive "wallpaper". The intention is to decorate the bedroom chambers at Stirling Castle exactly as they were in 1542 after the death of King James V.
A chain of amusement arcades has been granted permission to take over part of the Egyptian Halls in Glasgow's Union Street. The building was designed in the 1870s by Alexander "Greek" Thomson with his trademark Grecian ornamentation. The upper storeys of the building have been neglected for many years as developers argue with Historic Scotland about grants. Mitchells Amusements plans to strip out false ceilings to reveal original cornices and columns. It is hoped that the partial restoration will spur further work on the decrepit building. The operator of the one-armed bandits thinks that the 18ft high ceilings will give the impression of a casino, which fits their requirements.
The £3 million plan to renovate and restore Castle Tioram on Loch Moidart has been turned down by the Reporter who headed the government's inquiry which took place last year. It is acknowledged that the castle is in a serious state and unless renovation work is carried out it will collapse within ten years. The present owners had wanted to re-roof the building and create accommodation and a museum. The castle has been without a roof since 1715 during the Jacobite Uprising. Highland Council gave planning consent but Historic Scotland objected to the restoration because it included elements which were based on conjecture.
An animal welfare group has condemned Glasgow Zoo at Calderpark, describing the conditions as "squalid" and complaining that animals are kept in cramped conditions. Advocates for Animals says the zoo is a relic from the past and should be closed. Two years ago Glasgow City Council withdrew financial support and reduced visitor numbers have meant the zoo has run up debts of £2 million. The zoo director said that they had not been contacted by the animal rights group about the visit. Keepers at the zoo claim that there is plenty of space and the animals receive care of the highest quality. I visited the zoo last year and while some of the buildings were a bit run down, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of animals and their surroundings.
You must be joking! No they're not.... The birthplace of Billy Connolly has announced that it is to create Scotland's first international comedy festival in March 2003. Edinburgh already has more festivals than you can throw a custard pie at, so Glasgow is left to play catch-up with events such as the current City of Love based around St Valentine's Day and is now planning a comedy festival at ten venues across the city. The Annual International Glasgow Comedy Festival will start modestly and expects to have an audience of only around 20,000 in the first year. Given the Glaswegians reputation for wise-cracking humour, it should bring the house down. The illustration is of a hoarding on a gas-holder on the approach to Glasgow which plays on the words "Glasgow Forit" (or "Glasgow for it" or even "Glasgow forward".
A 90-minute cartoon feature is being planned to tell the story of a 19th century Free Church of Scotland minister on the remote island of St Kilda who tried to destroy all the musical instruments on the island, believing them to be "instruments of the Devil." But in the cartoon there is a final dance at which the selkies - the seal people - provide the music. Then a daughter of one of the fiddlers falls in love with the preacher's son but is accused of witchcraft. But after being rescued by the minister's son, there is a "happy ending" when the minister realises that music is part of God's creation. The cartoon is being made by Unst Animation, located in the Western Isles and the country's most northerly animation studio.
Hundreds of young couples who turned up on the evening of St Valentine's Day to see the movie Ocean's Eleven at the new UGC cinema in Glasgow were turned away - the basement had flooded after torrential rain on the previous day, knocking out the power supply. Although the stand-by generators kicked in, the huge UGC multi-plex had to close because of fears that it could suddenly be plunged into darkness (not that the Valentine's Day couples would have objected). But nearby cinemas had their best audience figures since the UGC cinema opened last year.
Scotland at last found someone who could reliably kick the ball through the posts in this Six Nations Rugby Championship match. Italy have lost 11 matches in this competition - their only win was against Scotland, two years ago. So there was a certain amount of nervousness about this game. At one stage the score was evenly balanced at 12-12. Then Kiwi-born Brendan Laney continued to score with the penalty kicks (he succeeded with five) and finished off with a conversion of a try he scored himself and a conversion of a try by Gregor Townsend. All of Italy's points came from penalty kicks.
Celtic fans were encouraged by news reports that star striker Henrik Larsson had decided to finish his international career with Sweden after the World Cup this summer. They thought he would thus have more time to devote to the club. But Larsson denied the quote, saying that he has made no decision - the international tournaments after the summer are just too far away for him to make any decision, one way or the other. 
Franck Sauzee, manager of struggling Hibernian football club has signed his former Monaco team-mate Lilian Martin on a contract which lasts until summer 2004. 
