Extra £4.1 Billion Government Spending

When the Scottish Parliament was elected in 1999 the annual spending budget was £15.9 billion. That amount has steadily increased over the years and in the government spending review announced this week in the Scottish Parliament, it will rise to £22.8 billion in 2003-04 and eventually to £25.8 billion in 2005-06. That is an annual increase of 4.6% even after allowing for inflation. The increase is due of course to increased taxes - which were implemented by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer earlier this year. More money will be spent on education, health, transport, environment, local government, support for businesses and enterprise, tourism/culture, law and order and justice. While the proposals are full of well-meaning initiatives, only broad outlines were announced this week and individual ministers will make announcements about some of the detail in the coming weeks and months - which will spin out the positive news over as long a period as possible. This is particularly important in Scotland as there is a General Election next May and most MSPs, including ministers, will be fighting for re-election. Despite the lack of detail, however, it now appears that the government will provide financial support to build a rail link to both Edinburgh and Glasgow airports - there had been concerns that only one would get the green light.

Six Feet of Water in Highland Capital

Four inches of rain in four hours last Sunday created severe flooding in Inverness and some other parts of scotland. Guests in a hotel had to be ferried to safety by boat, their cars abandoned in deep water in the car park. Roads were badly affected by flood water and landslips - at one point the city was nearly cut off. A slip road from the A9 road at the Raigmore interchange which buckled could be out of action for a month. Rail services were also badly affected and were out of action for the rest of the week. There were suggestions that in some areas the problem had been caused by blocked drains - when they were opened, the water flowed away quickly - leaving several inches of debris and silt. Other areas affected by flooding included Airdrie and the Shettleston area of Glasgow.

£50 Million Lawsuit for Edinburgh City Council

Leading insurance companies are about to launch a lawsuit against Edinburgh City Council for allegedly failing to build adequate flood defences to stop the Water of Leith bursting its banks two years ago, causing damage to the rugby pitch at Murrayfield and surrounding property. The flooding occurred after an inch of rain fell in 24 hours - not an excessive amount in many parts of Scotland. A report by the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters has advised that legal action for damages could prove successful. Other councils in Scotland are watching developments with concern - many other areas are said to have inadequate flood defences. The area where the flooding occurred at the Water of Leith is still buttressed with sand-bags, two years later. The council says that efforts to erect proper flood defences are about to get underway.

Newspapers Being Sold

The television and publishing company Scottish Media Group (SMG) confirmed this week that it was putting the Glasgow-based newspapers (Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times) and 11 specialist magazines up for sale. The media giant is hoping to realise over £200 million from the sale which will go a long way to reduce the large debts which the group has built up in recent years. SMG also own Scottish Television and Grampian Television, Virgin Radio and a stake in Scottish Radio Holdings (which includes Radio Clyde) and will continue to run these operations. Group interim profits have slumped by 42.5% in the first half of the year. It is claimed that the newspapers had increased their profitability but are no longer part of the long-term future of the company.

Edinburgh Miles Ahead of Glasgow

Figures on the number of new businesses, recently published by The Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers (CSCB), show that Edinburgh is a real hot-spot for business start-ups while Glasgow is lagging behind. The banks can now analyse the figures based on the post code of the address of each new business and they show that in the second quarter of 2002 there were 679 new businesses opened in Edinburgh but only 464 in Glasgow (which has a 50% larger population). When the figures are analysed by Local Enterprise Company region the figures are even more stark - 1091 in Lothian and Edinburgh and 467 in Glasgow. Overall, there were 4,817 businesses starting up in Scotland in the second quarter of 2002 - a decrease of 1,135 on the first quarter. The data, analysed by Parliamentary Constituency, Local Enterprise Company, Local Authority and by Industrial Classification are online here.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

A £4m initiative to speed up treatment for National Health Service (NHS) patients waiting for hip and knee surgery was announced this week. The government has bought up (at discounted rates) all the spare capacity in private hospitals. Over the next six months, around 500 patients who have been waiting for up to one year for a replacement hip or knee, will have the opportunity to have their operations carried out in private hospitals around Scotland. This is the largest investment by the NHS in Scotland in recent years using the private sector. The intention is to clear the backlog of patients waiting for hip and knee replacements - with most of Scotland having no-one waiting more than 9 months for such operations by March 2003. More than 8,000 hip and knee replacement operations are carried out by the NHS in Scotland every year.

Parking Charges Raise £600,000 in Four Months

The City of Glasgow has netted £623,000 in the last four months from parking charges. Events such as the Champions League Final and the Queen's Golden Jubilee visit brought more people into the city. While half of the extra revenue came from council car parks, a substantial amount came from parking fines - they increased from £20 to £25 six months ago. Unlike Edinburgh, there are plenty of car parks in the centre of Glasgow, so there is really little excuse for people parking illegally and having to pay fines if caught.

Aberdeen - "One of the Darkest Places Imaginable"

English author Martin Amis has infuriated the citizens of Aberdeen by describing the Granite City as "one of the darkest places imaginable - like Iceland." Although he has never set foot in the place he said that Aberdeen was the "epicentre of gloom." Amis is using the city as the location for a short novel which, as he is a well-known author, will sell well around the world. The business community and tourism officials are concerned about Aberdeen's image being tarnished and were quick to point out that the author's views are incorrect. They say that the granite, from which many of the city's buildings are constructed, makes the city sparkle in the sun. They also highlight the self-deprecating Doric humour, the thriving economy and high quality of life.

Aberdeen Wins "Beautiful Scotland in Bloom" Award

The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society gave Aberdeen the "Best City" award in its annual "Beautiful Scotland in Bloom" contest. Perth (the illustration is of a flower basket in Perth) won the top award as the "champion of champions" while Alness won the Small Town trophy and Pitlochry won the Country Town trophy. Falkland in Fife was awarded the prize for the best large village.

Major Role for Edinburgh's Royal Observatory

Astronomers in Edinburgh are to assist in the construction of one of the three instruments for the James Webb Space Telescope (previously known as the "next generation space telescope"). The new telescope will have a 20 feet diameter main mirror, compared to the Hubble Space Telescope's 8ft mirror. The new observatory will be able to see objects which are 400 times fainter than those studied from the ground. It is scheduled to be launched in 2010 and will be positioned in an orbit 940,000 miles from the earth, where it will be balanced between the gravity of the Earth and the sun.

Supermarket Focuses on Scottish Produce

Supermarket giant Tesco has promised to make its customers more aware of the quality and range of Scottish-sourced food products in its shops. The pledge was made at the start of Scotland's largest food and drink exhibition "FoodFest 2002" which opened at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow on Wednesday. Tesco says that research has shown that Scottish shoppers were becoming increasingly enthusiastic about buying locally-sourced products, much more than anywhere else in the UK. The supermarket has set up a new marketing team based at its Scottish HQ in Dundee to buy more products from Scottish producers.

Students to Audit University Lecturers

A new system of quality assurance monitoring of universities in Scotland is being set up which will involve auditing by panels on which students will be represented for the first time. The move has been welcomed by the National Union of Students who say that they are not aware of any other quality assurance system in Europe which involves university students so fully. The new arrangements will be implemented next year.

City of Love - Again

Around St Valentine's Day this year, Glasgow mounted a series of romantic events and declared itself to be the "City of Love". The pretext, apart from the city's reputation for friendliness, was that some of the bones of St Valentine are preserved in the Blessed Johns Duns Scotus Church in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. Last February's "romantic extravaganza" was deemed a great success, particularly as it brightened up an otherwise bleak February. Now promoters have put forward proposals to Glasgow City Council for a repeat performance with a 100ft high ferris wheel (with a red heart in its centre) in George Square, a romantic film festival, exhibitions and concerts. A "Love Bus" tour took hundreds of couples to visit Glasgow's most romantic locations. It was estimated that an extra 17,000 hotel rooms were let in city hotels during the week-long festival.

Taste of Europe in Glasgow Street

The pedestrianised Sauchiehall Street in the centre of Glasgow sprouted a colourful array of 30 market stalls this week, selling continental produce from across Europe such as cheeses, olives, onions, garlic, German sausage, Belgian chocolates and French soups. The street market is scheduled to return later in the year and also in the lead-up to Christmas.

Bouzy Rouge Gets a Red Face

The recent crackdown on litter in Glasgow's streets doesn't just apply to careless pedestrians. A number of businesses that have repeatedly created litter problems outside their premises, and then failed to pay the £25 fixed penalties, were named and shamed by the City Council this week. The list included a number of high class restaurants, including Bouzy Rouge in West Regent Street. The management of Bouzy Rouge said they had failed to pay because they felt that they had been unfairly targeted - inspectors had turned up on a Sunday morning after the council's own refuse collection service had failed to lift the rubbish from the night before. So far, no pedestrians have actually been fined for dropping litter.

Windswept Road to the Isles

The weather was so wet and windy in the Western Isles on Wednesday that the opening ceremony for the £9.4 million causeway between South Uist and Eriskay had to be performed in the island's community hall. The Earl and Countess of Wessex travelled across the mile-long causeway (by car) which has been in use since last July. Community leaders say that the link has reversed the depopulation trend on Eriskay, as residents can now commute by car as far as Benbecula on North Uist. The population is now 141, compared with 124 three years ago when the causeway was first proposed. The novel "Whisky Galore" by Compton Mackenzie was based on the cargo ship SS Politician which ran aground on Eriskay, off Barra, during WW2. It was carrying a cargo of 264,000 bottles of whisky. Local islanders "rescued" many of the bottles before the arrival of Customs officials. The book later became a popular film (known as "Tight Little Island" in North America). In 1851 the population was 405 though the numbers on the island when Bonnie Prince Charlie first set foot in Scotland in 1745, probably amounted to no more than four families.

Nessie on a Diet

The latest photos of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, appear to show that she has lost a lot of weight as they show a snake-like object rising above the surface. They were taken by a retired printer who was nearing the end of a Highland holiday with his wife when he spotted the creature from a lay-by near the loch. He said it looked like a conger eel but it was apparently seven or eight feet out of the water before splashing back under the surface. The pictures were published by the Daily Mail newspaper which claimed that there was no sign that the negatives had been tampered with. The publication has led to a squabble with another newspaper, the News of the World which has signed up a "Nessie expert" who is said to be "very sceptical".

Bagpipes - an Environmental Threat?

According to a claim by an environmental group, the Scottish bagpipes are a threat to the bio-diversity of the planet. They claim that the manufacture of the traditional pipes is wiping out the east African blackwood tree as its wood is used to make the pipes. The dense texture of blackwood is said to create a better sound. Alternative woods such as ebony are subject to splitting and plastic pipes are said to be of inferior quality. It is estimated that 3,000 sets of pipes are made annually in Scotland and many are exported. But according to African conservationists, more than 70% of blackwood has disappeared from Tanzania and supplies in Mozambique and east Africa will be used up within 20 years if current demand continues. Some pipe makers are aware of the problem and are developing machines to vacuum-pressure fruitwoods (the original wood used in earlier times).

Diggers 80/-

An old-established Edinburgh bar is planning to produce its own 80/- ale. The term 80/- refers to "eighty shillings" and is an indication of its strength. The licencee of the Athletic Arms in Gorgie says that it will be produced to a traditional recipe used before 1940. The pub is known locally as The Diggers as it used to be the haunt of gravediggers from a nearby cemetery. So the new heavy beer is to be known as Diggers 80/-. The bar is currently undergoing a major refurbishment and the new beer will be available when it reopens next month.

Bees Staying at Home

The dismal summer (August and September, so far, have proved to be the exception) has meant that Scotland's bees have stayed in their hives and the amount of honey produced has dropped to around 20% of normal. Plants don't produce nectar for the bees until the temperatures are right and there has been so much rain that the pollen that has been produced has often been washed away immediately. Some beekeepers have been unable to collect any honey at all and others have had to feed their bees with sugar to keep them alive. The price of Scottish honey is likely to rise as a result of the shortage. Normally the honey industry is worth around £2 million a year. However, this busy bee on a sedum "Autumn Joy" is trying to make up for lost time.

Duke of Edinburgh Puts His Foot Down

During a visit to the Braemar Gathering on Royal Deeside last Sunday, the Duke of Edinburgh, wearing a kilt, leapt to the defence of the Queen as a wasp flew around the area where she was sitting. In front of the 18,000 spectators, he made a pre-emptive strike and stamped on the offending insect as it naively landed on the decking of the pavilion. Having accomplished the task, the Duke then sat down again to enjoy the show.

Weather in Scotland This Week

There was heavy rain last weekend and this continued into the early part of the week. Around two inches of rain fell on Glasgow between Saturday and Tuesday. Temperatures were also down - around 16/17C (61/63F) with Aberdeen falling to 15C (59F) last Saturday. An area of high pressure arrived over the UK by Wednesday, however, resulting in temperatures rising to 21/22C (70/72F) and St Andrews had 11.5 hours of sunshine on Wednesday. However, an easterly wind drove cloud and mist onto the east coast and this also drifted over to the west on Thursday. But on Friday, the sun shone once again, though mist and cloud continued to dominate the east coast areas.
This week's illustration of current flowers in Scotland is of a Gazania (also known as "Treasure Flower") which was growing last week in my sister's garden in suburban Glasgow. Gazanias close up if the weather is dull.

Pictish Cross Comes Home

A nine feet high red sandstone cross, which was removed from a hilltop in Perthshire where it had stood for over 1,100 years, has been returned this week to the same area. The Dupplin Cross is highly ornate and has carvings of animals, birds, horseriders and Celtic patterns. It also has the inscription "King Constantin son of Fergus, High King of the Picts." Constantin died in AD820 and some historians believe that it was erected by Kenneth macAlpin or by one of his sons. Lord Forteviot, the owner of the Dupplin Estate, wanted to move the cross from the hillside where centuries of wind and rain were taking their toll on the carvings. But local people were suspicious that the impressive stone would be retained in Edinburgh where it had been put on display in the Museum of Scotland after restoration. But after a public enquiry, it was decided that it would be housed in Serf's Church at Dunning once the church had been adapted. Thus, eventually, the cross was returned to St Serf's last weekend. The old church itself is in the care of Historic Scotland.

Memorial to the Highland Clearances

Plans have been unveiled to create a 30ft high bronze sculpture of a family forced to leave Scotland as a result of the Highland Clearances. The giant monument would be part of a £5 million scheme to create a visitor centre providing an archive of the events surrounding the mass eviction, a genealogy centre and a museum at Helmsdale in Sutherland. It is also proposed to have smaller versions of the sculpture set up in locations around the world where Scottish emigrants eventually settled. The aim is to establish a memorial to the victims - and their contribution to the countries in which they settled.

Historian Calls for Gravestones Fit For Kings

David R Ross, a historian who is convenor of the Society of William Wallace, has called for suitable headstones and monuments to be erected to mark the last resting places of Scotland's monarchs. While the last resting place of some Scottish kings, like Robert the Bruce in Dunfermline Abbey, are well known, many are not commemorated. Most of the early Scottish monarchs, including Macbeth, were buried on the island of Iona. But over the centuries stonework and inscriptions have been worn away - unlike the kings and queens of England who have marble monuments in Westminster Abbey in London. A number of other Scottish kings are buried at Dunfermline, including Malcolm Canmore and Kings Edgar, Alexander I and David I but there is nothing in the abbey to show this. Robert II, the first of the Stuart dynasty is buried at Scone Palace but, despite the obvious appeal to visitors, the burial site is not marked.

Living With Maureen

Aberdeen's Maritime Museum has created an exhibit to tell the story of a North Sea oil rig called "Maureen." It provides an insight into the UK's heaviest steel oil platform and focuses on the experience of those who worked there.

This Week in History

• September 15 - St Mirren Day (patron saint of Paisley).
• September 15 1595 - City Baillie shot when Edinburgh High School pupils rioted when refused a holiday.
• September 15 1773 - The "Hector" leaves Loch Broom, near Ullapool, to sail to Pictou, Nova Scotia, carrying emigrants escaping from the "Clearances".
• September 17 1854 - David Dunbar Buick was born at 26 Green Street, Arbroath. He emigrated to the USA with his parents at the age of two. Although he founded the Buick Manufacturing Company which later became General Motors, it was William C. Durant who grew the company.
• September 18 1818 - Theatre Royal, Glasgow, became the first theatre in Britain to be lit by gas.
• September 18 1944 - Birth of Lord Roger of Earlsferry, Lord Justice General.
• September 20 1972 - Paul McCartney, one of the "Beatles", was arrested for possession of marijuana at his farm in the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland.
• September 21 1327 - King Edward II of England died , succeeded by Edward III.
• September 21 1513 - King James V crowned at Stirling Castle 1513.
• September 21 1722 - Minister, historian, playwright and tutor to the Prince of Wales, John Home born.
• September 21 1745 - Charles Edward Stuart victorious at Battle of Prestonpans. The Jacobite army of just over 3,000 under Bonnie Prince Charlie heavily defeated the English Royal forces led by Sir John Cope.
• September 21 1756 - Road builder John McAdam born.
• September 21 1832 - Novelist (including "Ivanhoe" and "Talisman") and poet Sir Walter Scott died aged 61.

Battle of Britain Air Show

The RAF Leuchars Air Show in Fife is the only major air display in Scotland, these days. It took place on Saturday, 14 September and although the day started with cloud and mist, by the early afternoon there was bright sunshine and clear skies. In addition to a satisfyingly large static display with aircraft from many nations, there was a spectacular flying display for about seven hours with a wide range of aircraft demonstrating the skills of their pilots. The Red Arrows aerobatic team gave their usual polished performance. The deafening roar of jet fighters rolling and dicing in the sky was in contrast to the Merlin piston engines of the Battle of Britain Spitfire and Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. They were accompanied on this occasion by a venerable Douglas C47 "Dakota" - quite what it had to do with the Battle of Britain was never explained in the commentary. Also in the display was this Fairey Swordfish which was operated by the Fleet Air Arm in the Second (yes, the second) World War. This type of aircraft knocked out the Italian navy at Taranto and crippled the German battleship "Bismarck" in WW2. The "Red Arrows" display team is lined up behind the Swordfish.

Scottish Director Wins Venice Golden Lion

Peter Mullan won the Venice Film Festival's top award, the Golden Lion, for his film "The Magdalene Sisters" last weekend. The movie beat 20 other nominees. Based on a true story, it tells of four unmarried mothers who were forced to work in laundries and were abused by the Sisters of Mercy. Mullan wore a blue tartan kilt and a velvet jacket as he accepted the award. Mullan won the best actor award at Cannes in 1998 for his lead role in "My Name is Joe" and captured four awards at Venice in the same year for his directorial debut "Orphans."

Scotland On A Plate

New Lanark Visitor Centre is serving up a feast of Scotland's finest ingredients on September 14 and 15 with a Food And Drink Festival. There will be a host of stalls and food tastings, aiming to showcase the quality game, meat, fish and organic produce that put Scotland at the top of the range. Live cooking demonstrations and stalls run by a variety of producers, including the Traquair Brewery, will be serving up a feast of Scotland's finest ingredients. The event is particularly appealing thanks to its location in the industrial heritage site of New Lanark Mills, a unique village which grew around the cotton-spinning mills of the early 19th century. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the village was founded in 1795 and became famous as a model community when industrialist Robert Owen established a complete social unit within the tenement settlement. New Lanark of today is now a restored, living and working community with 180 residents. For more information about New Lanark, visit www.newlanark.org.

24-Hour Cinema Rejected

Plans by Warner Village Cinemas to open their new 12-screen outlet at Greenside Place in Edinburgh round the clock, have been turned down by the City Council. It would have been the first 24-hour cinema licence in Scotland. But officials said the request was "excessive" and were concerned that it could give rise to increased late night drinking. It was suggested that granting the licence would have resulted in setting a precedent which other cinemas would have wanted to follow. The cinema is currently allowed to stay open until 3am, but wanted flexibility to close later when blockbuster movies such as Lord of the Rings or Spiderman were released. The cinema management say that 24-hour operation in some English towns had not caused any community problems. Cinema audiences in the UK are at a 30-year high, thanks to the success of blockbusters such as Harry Potter.

This Book Belongs To Me

Edinburgh has long been renowned for its literary tradition, but this year's exhibition at the National Library of Scotland is offering a different viewpoint on the subject with its history of children's books. "This Book Belongs to Me" is an exhibition that brings together favourite characters, from Tom Thumb to Harry Potter, whose exploits have provided entertaining bedtime stories for generations. The exhibition, which is part of the National Library of Scotland summer programme in association with the Museum of Childhood, is a tribute to storytelling throughout the ages. Edinburgh has its own particular link with children's literature as J.K.Rowling penned her first phenomenally successful Harry Potter story in a café near the library. The manuscript of that story, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, is just one of the treasures to be found at "This Book Belongs to Me". There is also a rare first edition of Lewis Carroll's timeless tale "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and the original edition of the Grimm brother's fairy tales, presented to Sir Walter Scott by Jacob Grimm himself. Also among this rare collection is the 430 year-old copy of Robert Henryson's "Morall Fabillis of Esope" (more familiar as Aesop's Fables) and a 1682 edition of Tom Thumb. For younger children there are play and reading areas, toys, puppets and doll's house furniture from the Museum of Childhood, and a story-telling tent. For more information visit www.nls.uk/tomthumb Admission is free and the exhibition will be on display throughout September.

Medieval Scotland Comes To Life

Stirling Castle's rich heritage is being brought to life this weekend when it hosts its annual extravaganza. The highlight of this long-established event will be a choreographed combat by fight display team, The Clann, who will be battling it out in true 'Braveheart' style. There will also be falconry demonstrations by the Edinburgh Bird of Prey Show and the castle will be filled with stalls, courtesy of living history group, Gaddgedlar, where you can try your hand at medieval crafts such as arrow-fletching, leather-working and coin-striking. Visitors can meet some legendary characters from Scottish history as Black Raven performs his series of dramatic monologues throughout the day, or step back in time with the Alba Adventure Company as they stage a witchburning (purely in the name of theatre), a Covenanters meeting or maybe even a skirmish with the Redcoats.

Tree in the Park

Champion lumberjacks from around the world are heading for Chatelherault Park near Hamilton, to compete in a series of tree logging and axe throwing events next Saturday. But it's not all about strength, there's boat building, cabinet-making and a chance for youngsters to learn about the secrets of the rainforest at the two-day event which starts on September 21.

Strike Threatens Christmas Pantomime

The King's Theatre in Glasgow is being transferred from the ownership of the local City Council to the London-based Ambassador Theatre Group on October 1 in a move to remove the burden of mounting losses at the theatre from the city. But some of the staff are concerned that the move will mean that their pay rates will be cut and are threatening to strike over the winter, just as the annual pantomime season gets under way. This year, Gerard Kelly and Elaine C Smith are due to appear in "Aladdin." Ambassador Theatre Group, which runs 20 theatres throughout the UK, says that most staff have contracts which will continue on the same terms. There are a few casual staff such as ushers who do not have contracts, but the company believes it can offer better terms and conditions than they currently have at the moment.

Mid-Week Football Results

Motherwell 2 Celtic 1
Aberdeen 1 Dundee United 2
Dundee 2 Livingston 1
Hibernian 1 Dunfermline 4
Kilmarnock 1 Partick Thistle 0
Rangers 2 Hearts 0

CIS Insurance Cup, First Round

Clyde 0 Ross County 1
Cowdenbeath 3 Montrose 2
Falkirk 2 Peterhead 0
Inverness 2 Dumbarton 0
Raith Rovers 2 Alloa 3 (After extra time)
Stirling Albion 3 Stenhousemuir 3 (Stirling won 4-2 on penalties)

Bank of Scotland Premierleague Results - 14 September 2002

Celtic 1 Hibernian 0
Dundee United 1 Dunfermline 2
Kilmarnock 2 Aberdeen 2
Livingston 0 Rangers 2
Partick Thistle 1 Dundee 1
Hearts v Motherwell will be played on Sunday.

Scottish First Division Results - 14 September 2002

Arbroath 2 St Mirren 2
Ayr United 0 St Johnstone 0
Clyde 0 Alloa Athletic 0
Queen of the South 1 Inverness 3
Ross County 1 Falkirk 1

BT Scotland Rugby Division 1 Results - 14 September 2002

Aberdeen 29 Stirling County 8
Currie 15 Melrose 23
Glasgow Hawks 29 Hawick 23
Heriot's 36 Jed-Forest 13
Peebles 18 Boroughmuir 43

League Tables

Since Celtic manager Martin O'Neill arrived at Parkhead over two years ago, he has never been behind Rangers in the Scottish Premier Division - until this week. The shock defeat of Celtic by Motherwell on Tuesday (which was well deserved, according to most commentators) meant that Rangers defeat of Hearts the following evening put the Ibrox side one point in the lead at the top of the table - a position they maintained on Saturday. Kilmarnock are in third place - six points behind Celtic. At the foot of the SPL are Hibernian with three points and Livingston with four.
In the First Division, the top two teams (Falkirk and St Johnstone) both drew, leaving the Bairns with their two-point lead. Inverness are four points behind St Johnstone. Alloa are at the foot of the First Division with onlt two points.
In the Rugby Division 1, Borougmuir are in the lead with 15 points, follwed by Melrose with 13 points. Currie are at the foot of the table with one point.

Soaring Debt in Scottish Premier League

A study, published this week by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, shows that the net debt of the 12 clubs in the Scottish Premier League rose from £55 million to £132 million in the 2000-01 season. A third of the clubs (Dundee, Dunfermline, Hibernian, Motherwell) were technically insolvent and the last time that the 12 clubs made a combined profit was in 1996. Recent figures from individual clubs show that the picture is getting worse. Between 1995 and 2001 the total SPL wage bill rose from £22 million to £101 million

Rain Lashes Great Scottish Run

Nearly 8,000 people ran through torrential rain in Glasgow last Sunday in the 21st Great Scottish Run, Scotland's largest mass participation sports event. The women's half-marathon race was won for the fourth year in succession by Kenyan Joyce Chepchumba and another Kenyan, Sammy Kipruti won the men's event. But the real heroes and heroines were the runners who raced in what the organisers described as the worst weather conditions in its 21 year history.

Irish Threat to Euro 2008 Bid

The UEFA committee which is to assess the merits of the joint bid by Scotland and Ireland to host the finals of the Euro 2008 football tournament will be coming shortly to the two countries to look in more detail at the proposals. But a political row in the Irish cabinet has resulted in the Irish government refusing to provide the finance for a new stadium in Dublin which is crucial to the bid. Partners in the coalition government were unhappy about the cost of a new 65,000-seater stadium which has been dubbed "Bertie's Bowl" after the Irish taoiseach (prime minister) Bertie Ahern. It is being argued that the Irish government should opt for the cheaper alternative of offering the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) a financial package in return for creating their Croke Park into a national stadium. So far, the GAA have refused to allow their stadium to be used for non-Celtic sports such as football or rugby. Bertie Ahern is also trying to float the idea of private finance amounting to an estimated £315 million to build a new stadium - but nobody thinks that is viable.

Bank Support for Euro 2008 Bid

With exquisite timing, in view of the problems posed by Ireland, Lloyds TSB Scotland, the smallest of the four major Scottish banks, announced this week that it was to provide a "five figure sum" to sponsor the joint Scotland/Ireland bid to host the Euro 2008 Championship. The funds will be used to provide coaching facilities and boost Scotland's youth football, so it will be of benefit even if the Euro 2008 bid fails.

Greatest Celtic Player Ever

At a glittering dinner in Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium, pint-sized Jimmy Johnstone was named the "Greatest Celtic Player Ever". Fans had voted for him using the club's Web site. Billy McNeill, who led Celtic to the club's European Cup triumph in Lisbon in 1967, was named "Greatest Captain Ever" and Jock Stein was voted "Greatest Ever Celt". The club's 7-1 win over Rangers in the 1957 League Cup Final became the "Best Old Firm Game." Leading goal scorer Henrik Larsson was voted the top foreign player by the fans.

Celtic Views

Fans of Celtic Football Club were asked to submit their favourite stories about the club for publication in a new book. The response was huge and 245 of the contributions have been gathered into "Celtic View" which goes on sale next Monday.

Old School Ties

Sir Alex Ferguson, the Govan-born manager of Manchester United, went back to his roots this week when he attended the re-opening of the refurbished Govan High School in Glasgow. He was speaking the day after his side had suffered its first league defeat of the season. And he acknowledged that Manchester United had to earn the right to beat other teams and said that when opponents work hard you can't deny them victory.

Scotland Lose Again

Just when we thought that Scottish football couldn't sink any lower, after the worst run of results since 1872 (five defeats followed by a scrambled draw against the Faroe Islands) - it did! The Scotland's women's team was playing the USA in Columbus Ohio and crashed to an 8-2 defeat. The Scots had pulled back twice in the first half but then the women's football world champions showed their class with Mia Hamm (regarded as the best women's football player on the planet) scoring a hat-trick in the game and her team-mate Abby Wanbach doing the same. At least this Scottish football team was playing against the world champions in temperatures of 96F and had not had time to acclimatise. The men have a chance to redeem themselves in their next European qualifier match against Iceland in Reykjavik, on 12 October.