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.
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Historical Affairs - Topical Items from Scotland's Past
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The "Magazine" section includes songs/poems of Scotland, Scottish humour and brief descriptions of Scottish Culture items added recently to the Rampant Scotland Website - with a link to the page where you can find the full feature, if you find the subject of interest to you.
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David Reilly wrote his book "Oot The Windae" to recall Glasgow's east end in the fifties and sixties. It is based on observations and anecdotes about growing up in the days when he was a lad. This poem is the first in the book and explains the reasons for writing it.. See also Oot The Windae. This poem is reproduced by kind permission. See also the Oot the Windae Web site if you would like to buy the book. The Tramcar of Rhyme Allow me to take you into my past
Born after the war and a baby boomer
I want to remind all you fifty pluses
I want to tell the kids of today
So allow my childhood’s observation
Meaning of unusual words:
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Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
After what appeared to be a disappointing level of retail sales in the lead-up to Christmas, shops across the country tried to boost turnover by offering discounts in the "January Sales." Of course, many outlets started this annual bonanza immediately after Christmas. Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow (pictured here) had people queuing from 5am on 26 December and expected to see over 100,000 customers passing through its 80 shops during the day. Things were a bit quieter at the up-market Harvey Nichols store in Edinburgh which opened its doors to a "queue" of four customers. The largest shopping centre in the west of Scotland at Braehead, was anticipating 750,000 shoppers in the week between Christmas and Hogmanay. Ever keen to get a bargain, queues were forming at branches of the "Next" chain in Aberdeen at 4am on 26 December and those in Inverness were not far behind - the Eastgate shopping centre there had a queue 150 yards long before opening time.
The "compromise" proposals from the European Commission, made after five days of negotiations, will involve a 20% cut in the Scottish fishing fleet, cod catches being cut by 45% and boats only being allowed at sea for 15 days a month. The UK is suffering more cuts than other European countries, partly because they depend on fish where stocks are not at such a dangerously low level. Although the restrictions are draconian, the original proposal was for a complete ban on cod fishing, so being able to fish for half the month could be regarded as a "victory" for the negotiators. But understandably, the fishermen and the processing plants on shore certainly don't see it that way. Talks will now begin on a financial support package for the beleaguered UK fishermen - the restrictions will mean a cut of two-thirds in the earnings of the Scottish fishing fleet.
First class mail is less likely to be delivered the next day in Scotland than in any other part of Britain, according to a survey by Postwatch Scotland. And it's not the remote areas which are the problem - the worst service is in the Lanarkshire towns of Motherwell, Hamilton, Wishaw, Coatbridge, Airdrie and Lanark. However, two Scottish post code areas (Dumfries and Dundee) did manage to get into the "top 20" service areas in Britain. Glasgow was one of a number of postal areas in Scotland which were in the bottom 20. The Post Office claimed that the Glasgow performance was affected by unofficial industrial action.
The Scottish Executive has allocated a £100 million package of financial support for Scotrail to lease another 22 diesel trains. The extra capacity will be used to double the length of trains on the Edinburgh to Glasgow route at rush-hours and will provide additional capacity on trains between the capital and Fife, Bathgate and Dunblane. The spending package will provide for additional drivers and the construction of longer platforms at some stations where this is required. But it will be October before the first of the extra resources will come into service. The new rolling stock will be a version of the new Turbostars which initially proved to be unreliable. But after major remedial work they are now the most reliable diesel trains in Scotland. Scotrail increased passenger numbers by 20% between 1995 and 2000, though problems in the last two years have adversely affected passenger numbers. But it was not all good news this week - Scotrail have announced ticket price rises ranging from 1-2%, with a few fares rising by 25%. The cheap day returns on the company's flagship Edinburgh- Glasgow route will increase by 5.3%. The cost of season tickets will rise by 1% - the first such increase since January 2001.
The number of people living in Glasgow may be in decline, but the number of people employed there climbed by 7.1% in between 2000 and 2001, an increase of 7.1%. That meant that employment in Glasgow grew faster than any city outside of London. Most of the jobs were in the service sector, with net gains in banking, insurance, administration, education, health, restaurants and hotels. In the early 1990s, employment in the city was in decline. But since then, there has been steady growth. Employment grew by 12.2% between 1998 and 2001. In that time frame, Cardiff in Wales was the only city to grow at a faster rate.
The largest newspaper chain in North America has bought the Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times newspapers - all published in Glasgow by the Scottish Media Group (SMG). A deal was struck just before Christmas and could be finalised in March if regulatory and shareholder approval is obtained. SMG will now focus on its television services - it owns Scottish Television.
The "City of Love" Festival, which has been running in Glasgow in the middle of February (around St Valentine's Day) for the last two years, attracted a fair amount of publicity and boosted the local economy by an estimated £1 million. But the continuation of the festival appeared to be under threat in recent months as local government councillors threatened to withhold a grant of £50,000 because the event was not "cultural enough." But in a change of heart, it has now been agreed that George Square will be made available to the organisers, free of charge, so that activities such as the 100-feet high ferris wheel (with a pink illuminated heart in its centre) can once again operate. In addition, a tunnel of love and a merry-go-round may be set up in the central square. February is a quiet time of year from the tourism point of view and an event which brightens the centre of the city at that time is always welcome.
The City of Glasgow already markets itself (in February, at least) as the "City of Love" but now Swizzels, a Swiss company which makes "Love Hearts" (a fizzy, sugary confectionery in the shape of a heart adorned with phrases such as "I Love You" and "Cheeky" wants to upgrade its messages and incorporate new slogans on them, using romantic phrases from Glasgow. Words such as "Gies a kiss" and "She's a stoatir" have been suggested along with "Hullo hen." The company has been running a competition, encouraging Glaswegians (and others) to propose a winning word or phrase. The company sells 81 million packets of the candy each year and there are already 200 messages in its lexicon.
The Hedgehog Preservation Society is appealing to the Scottish Parliament to reverse a decision by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to kill the majority of the 5,000 hedgehogs in the Western Isles. The rodents, introduced to the islands in 1974, are being held responsible for the dramatic fall of 60% in the number of nesting birds, particularly lapwings, dunlin, redshank and ringed plover. SNH have rejected the idea of relocating the hedgehogs as it is estimated that up to half would die within six weeks of being relocated and those surviving would cause havoc in the areas where they were placed. But a 10,000 signature petition objecting to the cull has been presented to Parliament. SNH say that it was a very difficult decision and that their plan involves capturing the animals, giving them an anaesthetic and then a lethal injection. 
Although 25% of the population say that they loath the vegetable, more Brussels sprouts were sold this festive season than ever before. Part of the reason was an effort by the British Sprouts Grower's Association to ensure that the humble sprout (a mutation from cabbage, discovered centuries ago in Persia) would appear on as many plates at Christmas as possible. First of all, they spread the rumour that all the autumn rain was ruining the crop and that there would be a shortage. Then, just as a large section of the population heaved a sigh of relief at that news, they began a £100,000 publicity campaign, trying to convince consumers that the veg was rich in vitamin C and folic acid. Judging by the shelves groaning under the weight of large bags of the bane of festive pallets - and the empty shelves on Christmas Eve, they succeeded.
Over 80,000 gannets have colonised the Bass Rock off North Berwick in the Firth of Forth and they now make up 10% of the bird population on the basalt rock. But they are very territorial and even humans who approach their nests are liable to be attacked - by birds with a two metre wingspan and a speed in a dive of 90 miles an hour. Visitors to the rock are advised to keep to the footpaths but now the gannets are starting to nest on these as well. The island has been uninhabited since the lighthouse keepers left 20 years ago and the population has grown enormously since then. The high-tech cameras at the Scottish Sea Bird Centre, on the mainland opposite the Bass Rock, allow visitors to zoom in on the gannet and puffin colonies without disturbing them. But parties of visitors still travel the six kilometres to the island to see the birds close up for themselves.
15th century Mains Castle in East Kilbride has ben sold for £300,000 to a couple who were originally from the east end of Glasgow. Built in 1450 on land once owned by Robert the Bruce, the 70ft tall turreted keep stands in 3.6 acres of land. The new owners, Senga and John Kemp describe it as a "dream home". They both grew up in a tenement near Barrowland in a run-down part of Glasgow. Mr Kemp is now a finance director. The castle and its grounds are now more or less surrounded by the expanding town of East Kilbride, and now looks over a public park over the boundary fence.
Author Tom F Cunningham, a graduate of Glasgow University, has long been fascinated by Native American history and culture and is the vice-president of the UK-based Thunderbird North American Indian Society. He has spent many years researching the connections between Scotland and Native Americans - including two visits by Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show to Scotland. He has written a book "The Diamond's Ace" on these events and connections. He also covers the Lakota Sioux "Ghost Shirt" which was returned to South Dakota from Glasgow in 1999. Tom has recently uncovered photographs of Annie Oakley in a "tartan" costume, taken during the days of the Wild West Shows in Scotland. The photo here is courtesy of Garst Museum. For more information on the links between Scotland and Native Americans, see 
Edinburgh began its New Year's Eve celebrations a few days early with a traditional torchlight procession from St Giles Cathedral to Princes Street and then to Calton Hill. But the Viking longboat, which is pulled along as part of the celebrations and then set on fire on top of the hill, suffered a hitch when the axle on its carriage broke. In the interests of public safety it was not set on fire and may be used again next year. The illustration is of the longboat burning in a previous year.
The biggest-selling book in Britain in 2002 was the warts-and-all biography of comedian Billy Connolly by his wife, Pamela Stephenson. It has sold more than 500,000 copies since it was published in paperback in July. it had already been a big seller when it was first published in hard-back in 2001.
Perth and Kinross Council have announced plans for a £750,000 upgrade to the Fergusson Gallery overlooking the banks of the river Tay in Perth. The gallery houses a major collection of the works of the Scottish colourist John Duncan Fergusson. The building was formerly Perth waterworks, built in 1832. It was adapted as a gallery in 1992 and the city now has the largest collection in the world of paintings and sculptures by the Leith-born artist. The timetable for the upgrade is dependent on the outcome of a grant application to the Heritage Lottery Fund and to Historic Scotland.
J M Barrie, the Kirriemuir-born author of "Peter Pan" donated the royalties on the play to the Great Ormand Street Hospital for Sick Children in 1929. This has been a valuable source of income for the hospital and the copyright is still in force/ But a Canadian author, who has written a "sequel" to the well-loved play, is challenging the legality of the copyright in a pre-emptive bid to stop the hospital from seeking to ban her book. Children's author Emily Somma has filed a suit in San Francisco, claiming the characters in Peter Pan, including Tinker Bell, Wendy and Captain Hook, are now in the public domain and no longer protected by copyright. The hospital argues that US copyright protection for Barrie's works, which would normally expire 50 years after Barrie's death, had been extended.
Rangers lost 1-0 to Motherwell on 26 December, reducing their lead to one point at the top of the Scottish Premier League at that stage. But this week, Celtic dropped two points with the surprise draw at Aberdeen. That leaves Rangers three points clear at the top of the SPL. Hearts are currently in third place, 23 points behind Celtic, but fourth placed Dunfermline are only one point behind Hearts, with a game in hand. At the foot of the SPL, Dundee United trail with 17 points with Motherwell, boosted by their win against Rangers, one point above.
Rangers and Celtic Football Clubs, otherwise known as the "Old Firm" have signed a joint sponsorship deal with the Carling brewing company which will see both clubs sporting the Carling logo on their shirts in a three-year deal which will pay them £6 million each. The current deal with communications company NTL finishes at the end of this season.
Rangers Football Club, which has debts of nearly £52 million, has embarked on a cost-cutting exercise which will see it shedding at least some of the 350 staff on the payroll. It is not clear whether the club will be losing any playing staff - the club says it hopes to cut back by means of voluntary redundancies and making some posts part-time. Latest figures show that the club has a playing staff of 63 professionals, with an average salary of £436,000 and a total wage bill, including backroom staff, of £33 million. The club has failed in the past two years to win the Scottish Premier League Championship and thus qualify for the lucrative European Champions League. But Rangers are not alone in facing a cash crisis - it has been calculated that the 12 SPL clubs were in debt to the tune of £132 million at the end of last season.
Micheal McGlinchey, regarded as one of the best prospects in British football, turned down an approach by the mighty Manchester United and signed instead for Glasgow Celtic. The youngster signed a three-year contract on the pitch at Parkhead in front of 60,000 spectators during the half-time interval during a match against Dundee. McGlinchey is a huge Celtic fan. Two months ago, at the age of 15 years and 10 months, he wrote himself into the history books by playing for the first team in a testimonial match against Wycombe Wanderers, making him the youngest player ever to appear for the first team.
The golf world's ruling body, the Royal and Ancient (R&A) Golf Club at St Andrews, is considering an overhaul of its membership. It is currently an all-male preserve and has been under increasing criticism to change its 200-year-old traditions and allow women a greater involvement in some committees and in deciding the rules of golf and the use of equipment. However, women would not be involved in the R&A championship committee which runs the major men-only tournaments such as the Open and the Walker Cup. And the R&A would continue to allow member clubs to run their own individual membership policies, including excluding women if they so wish.