A Month of Rain in a Day
We should be used to rain in Scotland. But then there is normal rain and then there is the sort which fell on Tuesday. Torrential, monsoon-like rain in central Scotland caused severe flooding, landslides, closure of main roads, railways and airports. Some areas got as much rain in 24 hours as normally falls in a month, falling at the rate of an inch an hour. As a result -
~ all railway lines between Glasgow and Edinburgh were blocked with flooded track and services from Aberdeen and Inverness terminated at Stirling as trains were unable to get into Glasgow as Queen Street Station was flooded. Some rail services are not expected to get back to normal until Monday.
~ the west coast railway line was closed at Beattock after a landslide; a 15ft wall collapsed onto the railway line at Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow.
~ Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness airports were all closed for a time.
~ The M9 at Linlithgow, the M74 at Crawford and the A9 at Slochd were closed.
~ traffic on the M8 road from Edinburgh into Glasgow slowed to a crawl as traffic went through bumper-high floodwater. Extra buses laid on to get rail travellers home were caught up in the chaos. At one stage there was a nine mile tail-back.
~ widespread flooding, with water up to four feet deep, affected many hundreds of homes in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West Lothian. Strathclyde Fire Brigade used inflatable rescue boats to rescue hundreds of people trapped in their homes in Shettleston, Dennistoun and other areas in the city.
~ towns such as Aberfoyle and Callander in Stirlingshire were cut off as surrounding roads were flooded. Two hotels had to be evacuated in Stirlingshire.
~ in Dumbarton, drivers were left stranded in their vehicles as flash floods brought them to a standstill.
~ Glasgow's biggest children's party on Glasgow Green, which was expected to attract 10,000 kids, had to be cancelled after five tents took a battering and the ground became waterlogged.
~ water was several inches deep in Sauchiehall Street, one of Glasgow's main shopping thoroughfares.
~ the Perth Show, one of the biggest events on the agricultural calendar, had to be cancelled when the show ground became flooded.
~ a lightning strike on an electricity pylon resulted in 50,000 properties in Edinburgh losing power for several hours on Wednesday.
Drought for Shetland Island
As the rest of Scotland was awash with water, the Out Skerries, one of the Shetland Isles, has not seen proper rain for weeks. There are no lochs on the small island which has a population of 90 and it relies on concrete channels to collect rainwater into a storage tank. So Scottish Water has had to send a ship with 600,000 litres of water to the island. The water company is hoping that this will be the last time they have to do this - they have sunk a borehole and a water treatment plant will be commissioned in the autumn to transform the brackish groundwater into fresh tap water.
Sick Woman of Europe
The chief medical officer in Scotland has warned that Scotland is rapidly becoming the "sick woman of Europe" as Scottish women are now ranked amongst the worst for obesity, smoking, drinking and lack of exercise. In contrast, there are some signs that Scottish men are heeding advice about giving up cigarettes. 22% of women in Scotland are now clinically obese compared to 19% of men and 70% of women (60% of men) have an increased risk of a heart attack and stroke because of lack of exercise. But there are some encouraging signs - there is an increase in the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables. The biggest impact of ill health is still to be found among the poorest communities in the country.
Finance for New Edinburgh Streetcars
It is nearly 50 years since the last of Edinburgh's tram cars ran on fixed rails through the streets of the capital. But for a number of years there have been attempts to make progress on a tramway link between the city centre and Edinburgh airport, a guided busway to improve access to Edinburgh Park on the edge of the city and a northern link to the developments in Leith and Granton. The project got a further boost this week when the Scottish Executive allocated another £5 million in addition to the £6.5 million already earmarked.
Paisley Becomes UK Sunbed Capital
Glasgow used to be the urban area with the highest number of sunbeds per head of the population. But Scotland's largest city has now been overtaken by the neighbouring city of Paisley in Renfrewshire, where there is a sunbed salon for every 4,906 residents, way ahead of Glasgow with one for every 8,458 people.
Gun Ownership at All-time Low
The number of firearms licensed in Scotland fell to 27,302 in 2001, a decline of 5% on the previous year. There were also 54,634 shotgun certificates issued, a fall of 7%. Restrictions on gun ownership in the UK were dramatically tightened after the Dunblane massacre in 1996 in which 16 primary schoolchildren and their teacher were killed by Thomas Hamilton.
House Prices Continue to Rocket
The Nationwide Building Society is predicting that house prices in Scotland will rise by about 13% year-on-year during the current quarter, with those in Edinburgh and Glasgow leading the way. The Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre agrees and estimates that terrace houses in the suburbs of the capital have increased in price by 18.6% in the last year with detached homes up by 10%. A major cause of the spiralling prices is the shortage of properties coming on the market, despite mortgage rates at an all-time low level. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee agreed this week to keep base rates unchanged at 4% - it has been at that level since November last year.
Home Ownership at Record Level
A Scottish survey involving 15,000 household across the country shows that home ownership is at the record level of 63%, nearly double that of 30 years ago. The remainder live in local council or private rented property. Home ownership is highest in Dunbartonshire (71%) and lowest in Glasgow (48%). One third of all Scots are flat dwellers though this rises to nearly two-thirds in urban areas. The level of owner occupied houses in the UK as a whole has now reached 67%.
More Repairs for Europe's Busiest Bridge

A five month programme of repairs to the Kingston Bridge across the river Clyde in Glasgow will result in the phased closure of exits and ramps on the busiest bridge in Europe, causing inevitable congestion, diversions and delays. Business leaders in the city are calling for the early building of the new bridge across the Clyde between Finnieston and Pacific Quay and the M74 extension. The Kingston bridge carries 160,000 vehicles a day and when it opened in 1970, it was the longest bridge in the UK. Two lanes were closed for six years while engineers worked out how to repair crumbling supports on the 52,000 tonne structure. Its full 10-lane capacity was only restored in February last year.
Women Lay Down the Law
The Faculty of Advocates, the highest level of lawyers in Scotland, used to be accused of appointing only males who went to the right private school, spoke with the right accent and played at the correct golf club. But not any more. Half of the entrants called to the bar this year were women and they now comprise just under a half of the total number. The 470-year-old faculty claims that it does not seek actively to recruit members of either sex, just the most able candidates.
Top Furniture Store to Close
Habitat, occupying the third largest unit in the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre, has announced that it is to close its flagship store and move to smaller premises. It blames competition from out-of-town stores, especially the massive Ikea unit at Braehead which has been a runaway success. Ironically, both stores belong to the same holding company, Inka Holdings. Habitat is moving to another location in Glasgow. It will be the company's second move in four years after relocating from its long-term home in Anderston.
Monifeith School Adds a Trophy
An inaugural mathematics competition for school pupils in Scotland between the ages of 12 and 15 was won by Monifeith High School near Dundee. The three girls and one boy defeated 72 other teams at the event held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. The Princess Royal presented the trophy to the winners. It is hoped that the competition will become an annual fixture.
End of Edinburgh Airport Taxi War?
There is a dedicated fleet of 200 licenced taxis at Edinburgh Airport and taxis from the city are not allowed to pick up fares from the airport unless they have been pre-booked. This often results in long delays for passengers at busy times - with black cabs from the city dropping off passengers but leaving behind queues of frustrated passengers waiting for the official vehicles. Now the Scottish Taxi Federation has tabled a plan which would allow all cabs equal access. They would pay a fee of under £1 to be allowed to enter and pick up passengers - producing a profit of £600,000 for the airport authority.
Elderly Hillwalker Survives Two Nights in Cairngorms
A 73-year-old woman, who became lost for three days in the Cairngorm mountain range in Badenoch and Strathspey, was air-lifted to hospital after being found by mountain rescue teams. She had hiked for nearly 40 miles after becoming lost in torrential rain and fog. An experienced hill walker, she had been warned that the weather was going to deteriorate. The alarm was raised the next day when she did not return to the youth hostel. The grey-haired pensioner from east Lothian was asked how she was and replied "Fine thank you - very tired and a bit thirsty." She had taken only enough food for one day's hike.
Elvis Fans All Shook Up
Plans to close the "Gracelands" bar at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire have made Elvis Presley fans furious. The bar is named after the legendary singer's only visit to the UK - when his plane touched down to refuel at Prestwick on March 2, 1960, while on his way home after military service in Germany. The news comes as the Presley fan club prepare to remember the 25th anniversary of his death on August 16, 1977. The bars and restaurants at Prestwick are being revamped and replaced with a new "food village" concept. The Elvis Touch Club, which was formed in 1967, holds a dinner dance every year in Prestwick Airport.
Birlinn Sails Into Polygon
Birlinn, an Edinburgh-based publishing company with a large non-fiction list with a heavy bias towards Scottish interest titles, has purchased Polygon which has an excellent track record in Scottish fiction as the first publishers of books by John McGrath, James Kelman, AL Kennedy, Janice Galloway and Ian Rankin. Polygon was owned by Edinburgh University Press but has been sold as part of a "strategic review" by the company. In its early days in 1969, Gordon Brown, the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, was heavily involved with Polygon.
Lees Profits Snowball
The confectionery firm Lees of Scotland, best known for its Lees' Snowballs and Lees' Macaroon Bars, has announced a 56% increase in profits and an increase in turnover in its last financial year, after a programme of investment in new product development. The company was saved from bankruptcy in 1993 but last year it sold over £100 million of "Snowballs" - 50 million individual soft fondant and coconut confection. The company is headed by the former head of Bell's Whisky, Raymond Miquel. The company now sells more of its products in England than in Scotland.
Fish and Chic in Tobermory
The chic French gourmet food bible "Les Routiers" has had to create a special category to enable it to include a mobile fish and chip (French-fries) takeaway on Fisherman's Pier, Tobermory, on the Inner Hebridean island of Mull. The battered white van has achieved a reputation with tourists and visiting yachtsmen over the last twelve years. The fish come straight off the boats in the harbour and are cooked to order.
Kites Fly in Kircudbright
24 red kites (the feathered variety, not the kind at the end of a string) have been released from their rearing cages in the wilds of Dumfries and Galloway, north of Kircudbright. The birds used to be common until they were hunted to extinction in the Victorian era.
Paddle Steamer Breaks Down
The 50-year-old paddle steamer Waverley, with 700 passengers on board, drifted for three hours in the estuary of the river Clyde last Saturday after losing the power in one of her paddles. Eventually, a coastguard vessel and a lifeboat towed her slowly to Greenock where the passengers disembarked. Engineers worked on the problem all night so that the ship could take 600 International Olympiad students from 87 countries on a trip from Glasgow to Ayr and back. The passengers affected by the incident on Saturday were said to have been very patient. They will all be offered a full refund - or another free trip. The ship used to be somewhat infamous for breaking down, before undergoing a major overhaul.
£11,000 for a Phone
When Augusta Hutt, a crofter in Caithness in the north of Scotland, built her new home 400 yards from the main road, she asked British Telecom (BT) to instal a phone, expecting to have to pay the usual charge of £75. But she was shocked with the telecommunications giant quoted her £11,000 to lay the connecting cable. Ms Hutt accused BT of discriminating against people on remote areas and her local Member of Parliament has taken up her case. But BT have defended their position, saying that the standard charge covers work which can cost up to £3,400. Beyond that, the company is entitled to charge consumers the excess.
Lawyer's Client Steals His Car
Lawyer Douglas Wright worked hard to get his client, Colin Leonard, bail at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court. And all the thanks he got was his client stealing the keys of his BMW and departing in it minutes after leaving court. The criminal was quickly caught - the lawyer later identified him entering his car when viewing closed circuit TV and gave the police his client's address. Leonard was back in court within 24 hours - and asked Douglas Wright to defend him again! Understandably, Wright refused. Another lawyer was found and Leonard pleaded guilty to the theft of the £21,000 car. He was put behind bars to await sentence in three week's time.
Weather in Scotland This Week
Last weekend, the south of England basked in sunshine and some places hit temperatures of 32C (90F). Scotland missed out on the sunshine, though Aberdeen did reach 23C (73F). After dull and overcast skies on Sunday and Monday, Scotland (and parts of England too) had torrential rain on Tuesday, leading to widespread flooding and disruption to road, rail and air transport. On Tuesday, it was the wettest July day in Fife and Moray since records began in 1922. 2.26 inches of rain fell at Leuchars in Fife where the average rainfall for the whole of July is 2.05 inches. There was more rain on Wednesday - Edinburgh had nearly an inch of rain that day. On Thursday, however, as the mopping up operations continued, the temperatures soared and the sun came out, particularly in the west of the country. Oban was the warmest, reaching 28.1C (82.5F) and Glasgow climbed to 27C (80F) on Thursday and 25F (77F) on Friday with around 8 hours of sunshine each day. Of course, this being Scotland, the high temperatures caused the Cairbaan swing bridge over the Crinan Canal to expand, jamming it shut and delaying boats for several hours.
This week's illustration of current flowers in Scotland is of a wild orchid, which is known by its botanical name, Dactylorhiza Fuschsii. Normally, orchids are only found in Scotland in green houses in botanical gardens. But there are a few varieties which grow in the wild - if open ground in suburban Glasgow can be described as "wild".
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