Changing Stalin's Granny for Tony's Crony
There was total confusion this week when Tony Blair announced a reshuffle of ministerial posts within his inner Cabinet. On Thursday, it was announced that the Scotland Office, the government department in London and the post of Scottish Secretary were to be abolished. Helen Liddell, the first woman to become Scottish Secretary, thus lost her job representing Scotland in the Cabinet. That role was taken over by a new Department of Constitutional Affairs. But as that department is being headed by a member of the House of Lords (who is also a close friend of Tony Blair), Alistair Darling, the Transport Minister will speak on Scottish affairs in the House of Commons. On Friday, however, The Prime Minister's Office then said that Alistair Darling will also be given the title of Scottish Secretary as that is needed under the Scotland Act, which set up the new Scottish Parliament. But the supporting bureaucrats in the Scottish Office will be part of the new Department of Constitutional Affairs. Confused? So is everyone else.
The Prime Minister's spokesman claimed that the abolition was because the devolved Scottish Parliament had bedded down successfully. Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish Nationalists in the House of Commons commented that "No-one will regret the departure of Helen Liddell and the Scotland Office. But it is extraordinary to have an unelected peer having cabinet responsibility for Scotland. We have now lost "Stalin's Granny [Mrs Liddell's nickname] and inherited "Tony's crony".
Building Consultants Agree Limit on Fees
Around £70 million of the (current) total cost of £375 million for the new Scottish parliament building at Holyrood in Edinburgh is being paid to consultants. They work on a percentage of building costs and have therefore benefitted from the soaring price of the building. There is little benefit to them in keeping costs down. But now the consultants (building contractors, architects and cost consultants) working on the project have been persuaded to agree a cap on their fees. This was achieved after a "stormy" meeting with the Presiding Officer (Speaker) and the Parliament's corporate body. Jack McConnell, the First Minister, is finalising proposals for an enquiry into why the costs have soared so significantly. But most people believe that the main reason is a lack of management control, by the inexperienced parliamentarians, since the beginning of the project. Of course, over £40 million of the cost goes back to the government - in the form of Value Added Tax.
More Woes for Fishing Industry
Franz Fischler, the European fisheries commissioner, says that stocks of cod in the North Sea are in an even more catastrophic state than previously estimated. He says that even more drastic measures are required to save them from extinction as current temporary measures which cut quotas by 45% were not working. It is being suggested that it could take 15 years of painful restrictions to allow stocks to recover. Fischler blamed the failure, at least in part, on governments failing to clamp down on illegal catches.
Opposition to Euro Grows in Scotland
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer reported to the UK Parliament in London that the economic tests for UK entry into the European single currency showed that the "time was not yet right", a Euromonitor poll this week showed that support for the Euro is falling in Scotland - a part of the UK which has traditionally shown more support for the single currency. The survey found that only 38% of Scots were in favour of ditching the pound, compared with 46% only eight months ago. Even so, only 33% in the rest of the UK were in favour of the Euro currency which has been widely adopted by other members of the European Union.
Prince Bangs Drum for Tourism
The Prince of Wales, sporting a kilt in the Ancient Hunting Stewart tartan, visited a number of tourist attractions as part of a royal programme to support the industry which has suffered in recent years. He called at the National Trust for Scotland's 17th century tenement Gladstone's Land on the High Street in Edinburgh and chatted with some of the visitors there. In a comment, which surely wasn't in the VisitScotland tourist agency script, he told some Americans that they were "so brave coming over." He moved on to the revamped Mary King's Close, a subterranean street beneath the present City Chambers. He also sampled, in more ways than one, the delights of the Scottish Whisky Centre. Other members of the royal family were also out and about in other parts of Britain promoting a wide range of tourist attractions.
World's Most Profitable Bank?
A report by experts at the Boston Consulting Group published this week claims that The Royal Bank of Scotland is the most profitable bank in the world. The bank's bullish strategy (including purchase of National Westminster, a major English bank, and expansion of Citizen's Financial in New England) has delivered better returns for shareholders over the last five years than competitors such as Morgan Stanley, HSBC or the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. In a review of the top 50 banks in the world, HSBC produced the second best returns while local Scottish rival HBOS (formed from Bank of Scotland and Halifax) was ranked 40th.
Royal Bank Buys Churchill
As if to emphasise their reputation for rapid expansion (see previous paragraph), The Royal Bank of Scotland announced this week that it had agreed to purchase the UK insurer Churchill from the Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse for £1.1 billion. Royal Bank already have a major insurance arm in Direct Line, which it built up in the 1990s, transforming the UK insurance market with its low premiums and direct telephone selling techniques. Both brand names will be retained - with Direct Line's red telephone on wheels and Churchill's nodding bulldog still being featured. But back office redundancies and other economies are likely from the acquisition. The deal makes the Royal Bank the third largest general insurer in Britain.
Australian Bank Pledge on Staying in Scotland
Frank Cicutto, the chief executive and managing director of the National Australia Group (NAG), owners of the Clydesdale Bank in Scotland, has pledged that the company has no intention of pulling out of its European operations. Cicutto was at one time in charge of the Clydesdale Bank as part of his rise to the top of the Australian banking group. He says NAG has invested around £5.6 billion in the UK and Ireland and has around 14,000 employees. There has been speculation that the bank might pull out but he claimed the bank was here to stay. The CEO was in Edinburgh this week with members of the bank's principal board. While he was her, Cicutto apologised for what he described as "light hearted" remarks he made last year that Scotland had been in "permanent recession" for the last 200 years.
Stars in Birthday Honours List
A number of Scottish personalities figured in the Honours List announced this week to coincide with the Queen's "official" birthday. Actor and comedian Billy Connolly was made a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) and popular artists Jack Vettriano and Elizabeth Blackadder were awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire)
Back-up For Green Energy?
Electricity utility ScottishPower has called on the government to introduce a "capacity payment" to maintain coal-fired generators in case unreliable green sources should fail. The company argues that if by 2010 around 10% of power supplies are from green energy sources such as wind, which could fail if the winds don't blow, a back-up source would need to be available. The power companies are also concerned that the national grid may not have been adapted to take the power from remote locations and feed it to centres of population over the next seven years. A proposal to run a 2,000MW undersea transmission cable for over 1,000 miles off the west coast of Britain has been shelved because of the £2.3 billion cost estimate. Many wind farm developments are now being vetoed by the Ministry of Defence on the grounds that they interfere with low level flying or radar equipment. Glasgow airport will have to fit radar filters at a cost of over £1 million to reduce potentially dangerous "clutter" caused by the wind farm on Eaglesham Moor.
Pipe Band Fights Back
The efforts by the Australian Ministry of Defence to stop the Adelaide University Regiment Pipes and Drums attending this year's Edinburgh Military Tattoo have increased after the band formed "The South Australian Pipes and Drums" as a civilian band and began to collect funds to allow them to accept the invitation. The MOD has now suspended from army duty and replaced the band's Pipe Major, Warrant Officer Class One Phil Wyld (pictured here). The Pipe Major received a commendation from the Australian Army for organising and leading the unit at the 1992 Edinburgh Military Tattoo. But because of the stand taken by the band to perform at this year's Tattoo, the Army are taking action against him. The band's uniforms and equipment have been confiscated by the army but that has made them even more determined to play in Edinburgh. Their new tartan, in South Australia's State colours is being woven and they will collect their new kilts on arrival in Scotland to play at the Tattoo.
Uncertain Future for Harris Tweed
It appears that the sale of the Lewis-based KM group, which represents 97% of the Harris Tweed industry, has fallen through. The company was put on the market last August, much to the surprise of those who make the world famous fabric. But although there were initially about 100 inquiries, final negotiations narrowed to an approach by a Michael Clayton-Gale, who was formerly chief executive of Coburg Coffee. But it seems that a deal has collapsed. The KM Group has now decided to take the "for sale" signs down but they say that if a suitable offer comes along they will look at it.
New Scottish Land Speed Record
In a debut appearance at a landing airstrip near Crail in Fife, a jet-propelled car, which is capable of reaching 250mph, created a new Scottish land speed of 170mph after covering a quarter of a mile in 7.8 seconds from a standing start. 170mph may be modest by world standards (and I'm sure the BMW who passed me on the M8 motorway between Edinburgh and Glasgow could have given the jet-powered car a run for its money) but driver Martin Hill said that the damp conditions made it difficult for the tyres to grip. After stopping with the aid of a drag parachute, he said he hoped to come back again when it's dry. With Scottish weather being what it is, nobody can guarantee when that will be.
New Visitor Centre for Botanic Garden
Plans for a £10 million visitor centre in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh were announced this week. The new building will also serve to present the world-respected research of the botanists. The scientists based at the Botanic Garden work in 40 countries round the world. The garden was founded in the 17th century and moved to its present site at Inverleith in 1820. The illustration here is of the Fern House in the gardens.
Lowest Death Toll on Scottish Roads for 50 Years
The number of people killed in road accidents on Scotland's roads in 2002 was the lowest since records began over 50 years ago in 1950. There were 304 deaths, a drop of 12% on the previous year. Total road casualties were down to 19,238, a fall of 3% over 2001 and the lowest since 1954, despite a huge growth in the number of road users and the miles they travel each year.
Trying to Land Concorde
When British Airways announced that it was retiring the supersonic airliner Concorde from service later this year, the National Museums of Scotland was one of the first to register an interest in obtaining one of the redundant aircraft for its Museum of Flight at East Fortune in East Lothian. But the museum has a fight on its hands as there are at least 30 rivals trying to land one of the fleet of seven airliners - and that doesn't include Sir Richard Branson who has cheekily offered the princely sum of £1 to buy all seven for his Virgin Atlantic airline. The Museum of Flight has an example of the De Havilland Comet, the world's first jet airliner. The museum claims that its 1,200 metre runway is just long enough for a lightly-laden Concorde to land. Local connections include the designer of Concorde's distinctive wings who came from nearby (as the crow - or Concorde- flies) Penicuik in Midlothian and test flights were carried out at Prestwick in Ayrshire in the 1970s.
2½ Years to see a Dentist
For those who don't like going to the dentist, even for a check-up, a 2½ year wait for an appointment may seem like heaven. But because of the lack of National Health Service (NHS) dentists in parts of the north of Scotland, that is what many people are having to endure. There are, of course, private dentists, but patients have to pay for their services and there are now over 14,000 adults waiting for an appointment to see an NHS dentists. The worst-hit areas are around Inverness, Caithness and Skye. The dentists in the Highlands were in the forefront of the move in the 1990s to withdraw from the NHS and offer only private dental care. The dentists claim that the NHS does not pay them enough, particularly for preventative dentistry.
Stagecoach Selling USA and Hong Kong Divisions
The Perth-based bus and rail group Stagecoach has announced that it is selling off the south and west regions of its Coach USA operations. Stagecoach's venture into the US coach business has not been as positive as it had originally expected. However, Stagecoach will continue to operate the Coach USA routes around places such as New York where there is a more lucrative income stream. Later in the week, the company announced that it had off-loaded its Hong-Kong-based Citybus operations which at one time was touted as the gateway to expansion in the Asia-Pacific region. After struggling for a while, the Stagecoach share price has been recovering in recent months.
Islanders Offer Title for Sale
The residents of the island of Gigha, off the coast of the Mull of Kintyre, borrowed £3.5 million from the Scottish Land Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in October 2001 in a community buy-out of their island. They knew then that they would have to start repaying £1 million of the finance by March 2004. They had hoped to be able to sell Achamore House on the island, but so far nobody has been willing to pay around £600,000 for the property. The world-renowned gardens of the house would remain in the ownership of the islanders. Now the Gigha Trust are offering the title of "Baron of Gigha" along with the house in an effort to raise the cash. Critics of the plan say that hawking a feudal title is not exactly the new dawn of land reform. But others say that if the islanders can find anyone naive enough to be impressed by a meaningless title, they would be negligent in not using it as bait. The islanders are also trying to find a buyer for the 10-acre island of Craro which is just off the coast of Gigha. So far, the islanders have raised £120,000 of the required sum of £1 million.
Waverley Returns After £7 Million Refit
It's an expensive business running and maintaining the world's last sea-going paddle steamer and the trust which owns the famous ship has just spent another £7 million on a major refit. The finance was obtained largely from the Heritage Lottery Fund and has involved the replacement of three miles of wooden decking (the press notice does not explain the width of the three miles involved), upgrading of the passenger lounges and fitting of new wooden masts. The work has now returned the venerable lady to a condition close to that of its launch in 1947. The steamer starts its latest summer season on the Clyde on Saturday.
Hot News
Glasgow and Edinburgh are both finalists in the competition to be named this year's Curry Capital of Britain. Glasgow won the title last year, the first time that the title had gone to a city outside England. Curries are part of the local Scottish culture, these days, not just in the Asian community but across the whole population. Glasgow always thought of itself as the foremost curry city in Scotland with a number of top class Indian restaurants in the city as well as many fast food outlets.
Menstrie Mosquitos
Scotland may be home to millions of midges, small insects which take delight in biting humans in the west of Scotland in the summer months. But until now, mosquitos were very rare. So there was some surprise in the small Clackmannanshire village of Menstrie when a colony of mosquitos was found in the grounds of a local factory, after local householders had complained about being bitten by the bugs. Apart from the irritation of the bites, no illnesses were reported, but the colony has now been destroyed. It is thought that a single female may have arrived on a lorry from Europe and, in a mild spell, laid her eggs which then hatched. The illustration shows Menstrie Castle.
Weather in Scotland This Week
Once again, it was the north-east of Scotland which had the lion's share of the sunshine this week. Aberdeen had over 65 hours of sun from last Saturday to Friday while Glasgow, in the west of the country, had only 35 hours. Temperatures were mainly in the range 17/18C (63/64F) but Aberdeen did reach 21C (70F) on Wednesday. Showers were also more frequent in the west.
This week's illustrations of current weather in Scotland are of a "Painted Lady" butterfly and the flower of a Cistus or Sun Rose. Both photos were taken this week in the walled garden of Aberdour Castle in Fife.
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