15,000 Design Changes

The project director for Bovis, the construction firm responsible for building the new parliament building at Holyrood, reported to the enquiry into the projects escalating costs and delays that so far there had been 15,000 changes to the design of the building and that they were still taking place. Last April the Bovis senior project director Alan Mack had demanded a design freeze but had been ignored. The changes forced Bovis to make a series of costly measures to speed up the project. Contracts had been put out to tender with budgets based on guesswork because the architects had been slow to produce accurate drawings. Asked if the building would be ready by the summer deadline, Mr Mack said that he was not a magician and although the company would do its best he was not able to guarantee the date. Later in the week, the enquiry heard that the two architectural firms involved, one in Spain and the other in Edinburgh, had frequently been at each other's throats and had nearly been fired from the project last year. As the enquiry proceeds, it is doing little to instil confidence in the project and it is a miracle that it is still making progress to completion - whenever that may be.

Free Sport for All

In an effort to improve the health of its residents, Glasgow City Council is planning to launch a scheme to provide free access on many of its outdoor sports facilities. This would mean that Glaswegians could play tennis, bowling, basketball and pitch and putt without having to pay the usual charges. The plan follows on from "Freeplay" which allowed free access to council owned swimming pools across the city. The initiative will mean that many tennis courts and bowling greens which have fallen into disuse will have to be upgraded.

Tourists Boost Scotland's Newest City

Stirling Council this week approved £153,500 of core funding to the local Argyll, Loch Lomond, Stirling and Trossachs Tourist Board for the coming financial year after hearing a report which stated that 3.6 million people visited Stirling and the surrounding area in the first nine months of 2003 - an increase of 5% on the previous year. It is estimated that these tourists spent £280 million in the local economy and although 2.8 million were day trippers, 800,000 stayed longer - the average stay was three days. The city is trying to build on the new "status" of being a city (granted in 2002 to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee). In the seven years to 2000, visitor numbers to Stirling have doubled. Stirling not only has the castle as an attraction but many other historic buildings including Argyll's Lodging (the most complete surviving example in Scotland of a 17th century town residence) and the Wallace Monument, standing on Abbey Craig, overlooking the city and the site of Wallace's victory at Stirling Bridge. And close by is Bannockburn, the scene of King Robert the Bruce's famous victory. The illustration here shows a statue of Bruce standing on the esplanade of Stirling Castle.

Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling

A report by a leading global accounting, tax and business advisory firm has revealed that women have a better chance of being appointed to senior management in Scotland than in any other part of the UK. More than 20% of senior managers in Scotland are female, compared to only 12% in England and Wales. Women have made it to the top in Scotland in a range of sectors, including manufacturing, retail and business services.

150,000 Letters and Manuscripts for National Library

The world-reknowned John Murray Archive contains over 150,000 letters and manuscripts by Byron, Scott, Darwin, Livingstone, J. M. Barrie, John Galt, William Wordsworth, John Constable and countless other figures of global significance. It offers a rich view of the nation’s cultural and intellectual life from 1768 through to 1920 and is the most historically significant literary archive to become publicly available in the past hundred years. It was begun in 1768 by the firm of John Murray, one of the greatest and perhaps the most influential of all British publishing houses with an unrivaled list of authors. An offer to sell the huge collection to the National Library of Scotland at a "bargain price" of £33 million (it is valued at £45 million) has been accepted. The Scottish Executive has contributed £6.5 million from central resources and an application for £22 million the Heritage Lottery Fund is being made. The balance will then have to be found from the public. The John Murray company plan to put the money raised into a charitable trust which will have as its sole purpose the maintenance and further enhancement of the collection.

Two-Hour Traffic Jam

Two weeks ago, a truck hit a bridge over the A80 road between Glasgow and Stirling near Cumbernauld, resulting in massive tail-backs as the trunk road had to be closed for a time. Now, in order to allow repairs to be carried out, the road is being closed over three successive weekends from 7pm on Saturday night until 6am on Monday morning. But last Sunday, Glasgow Rangers were playing Dundee United in Dundee so there were more cars on the road than usual, taking supporters to the football (soccer) match. As a result, as cars were diverted through the village of Castlecarry, delays built up to as long as two hours. Many supporters didn't get to the match in time. Those who did make it probably wished they hadn't - the Glasgow side lost 2-0.

Aberdeen Leaps Up UK Retail League Table

Glasgow retained its position as the second most attractive shopping location in the UK after London in the annual Experian ranking table. Edinburgh slipped back two places to 16th but Aberdeen rose strongly by nine places to reach 30th for the first time. These three cities are the only Scottish retail centres in the UK in the top 50.

Anger at Plans to Axe Textile College

Plans by Heriot-Watt University to move the world-renowned School of Textiles and Design from Galashiels to Edinburgh were greeted with anger by community leaders and politicians in the Scottish Borders - still the home of the textile industry in Scotland. The university says that relocating the school, which has 450 students, is only one of a number of options under consideration. The College became part of Heriot-Watt in 1998 and at the time there were assurances about major investment and expansion. The campus at Galashiels is said to need a £4 million investment to upgrade the buildings and a further £8 million to create student living accommodation.

Renewable Energy Gets Cheap Access to Grid

The renewable energy industry in the north of Scotland was this week celebrating a government decision to agree measures to protect them from high charges for access to the national electricity grid. This will allow wind and wave farms to export their electricity more cheaply to the populated areas of the south. The energy regulator had been resisting such a move as he sees his role being to win the cheapest possible price for the consumer. The national grid was created to distribute electricity from power stations which, apart from hydro-electric schemes in the Highlands, were largely in the centres of population in central scotland and in England. The system is currently not designed to allow the flow of electricity in reverse and large-scale investment will be required to allow renewable energy to reach its market.

Scotsman Goes Tabloid

The Scotsman newspaper was making the news itself this week as it changed the format of its Saturday edition from broadsheet to tabloid. The move takes it back to the format used when it was first published in 1817. It argues that the smaller page format is more appropriate these days and that the content will remain the same. But just as there was an outcry in 1957 when the front page carried news items on the front page instead of advertisements (!) there will be objectors to the changes and it will be branded "dumbing down".

Tartan Day in Arbroath

The selection of 6 April as Tartan Day in a number of countries (notably in the US) was selected because that is the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath. This is one of the great icons of Scotland and is in the form of a letter (in Latin) to the Pope from eight earls and 31 barons of Scotland asking him in rousing terms to acknowledge Scotland as an independent nation and to reject the claims of the English king. The Declaration was ahead of its time as it sets out that the king (previously regarded as appointed by God) could be driven out if he did not uphold the freedom of the country. It is widely accepted that it later became a model for the American Declaration of Independence. So it is appropriate that Arbroath in Angus should hold its own celebration of the event. The Angus seaside town will be holding a series of activities running from April 3 to 10, including a golf tournament at Carnoustie, further down the coast, a gathering of the clans with demonstration sword fighting and archery, a Scottish ceilidh, a concert featuring the Scottish Jazz All Stars - and a tribute concert to American rock and roll greats. Lots of fun but scarcely in sympathy with the historic event.
The graphic of Arbroath Abbey is courtesy of The Shoppie, Arbroath.

New Protected Species - Arbroath Smokie

The European Commission have granted the humble (but tasty) Arbroath Smokie the same protection as such products as Champagne, Roquefort cheese and Parma ham and the distinctive smoked haddock will now carry the commission's protected-product symbol. The new status is aimed at protecting consumers from fake products, some of which are made in factories in England and are sometimes just coloured rather than smoked in the traditional way. Now only haddock which have been salted, dried and smoked within an 8 kilometre radius of the centre of Arbroath can be called "Arbroath Smokies". The smokie actually originated in the fishing village of Auchmithie, two miles north of the town. There is an apocryphal story that it was produced in the 16th century after a fisherman found a haddock while searching through the remains of a burned-down cottage.

Edinburgh Tattoo Marching to Australia

It was confirmed this week that the Edinburgh Military Tattoo is to be staged in Australia for the first time since the spectacular event began 54 years ago. 1,300 performers from military bands and pipes and drums from a host of nations will perform next February at the Aussie Stadium in Sydney. A replica of Edinburgh Castle, including drawbridge, sentry boxes and cannon emplacements on ramparts 100 feet high will be created as a backdrop. The Tattoo first performed outside of Edinburgh four years ago, when the colourful event was staged in New Zealand. The Sydney performance will be the largest single gathering of military and civilian performers ever seen in Australia.

Skye's The Limit

Loganair, a Scottish airline, stopped its service to the island of Skye nearly 20 years ago, after running it at a loss for ten years. Despite the building of the Skye bridge to the mainland, residents consequently have a nine-hour car journey to get to the populated central belt of Scotland. Attempts to restart an air service to the island have been made on a number of occasions and West Highland Air Transport has been touting the idea for the last five years. The company was created by a London businessman who has a holiday home in Struan on the island. Last October Highland Council agreed to abandon looking at plans to create a new airstrip at Portree in order to allow West Highland Air Transport (which has the unfortunate acronym of "WHAT") freedom to develop a proposal for the old airstrip at Ashaig. But progress has been slow and the company has yet to submit a detailed planning proposal and, even more importantly, obtain £10 million capital from private investors and £5 million of European and public funding to get the airline up and running. Locals are now asking if "WHAT" will some day become "WHEN".

Tartan Army Kilt for Football Fans

A kilt-maker in Strathaven in South Lanarkshire has landed a two-year licence to provide the Scottish Football Association with an official supporter's kilt. Instead of the usual tartan design, the design is based on the Scottish flag with a large white St Andrew's cross on a blue background and a small SFA logo. The company is now trying to market similar kilts to the Scottish Rugby Union and some Scottish Premier League clubs - the Celtic kilt is made of green and white hoops. For more information - and illustrations - see www.clubkilts.com.

Tank Shocks Customs Officers

When customs officers opened up a crate which had arrived on the ferry at Rosyth, they were in for a shock. The cargo was supposedly a tank - and they expected a water tank. But instead found themselves staring down the barrel of a Mk2 Chieftain tank which had once belonged to the British army. Mindful of a potential terrorism threat, the customs officers checked with the police Special Branch who reassured them that the tank could no longer fire shells and had come from a museum in Switzerland. The vehicle was on its way to a new home in Aberdeenshire where it will form part of Tartan Tanks, a new visitor attraction at Haddo House where corporate clients will experience the thrill of driving the tank and other military vehicles as part of team-building programmes.

Contest Combs Scotland

The World Paper and Comb Championship which has been held for the last six years in July as part of the Stonehaven Festival has hit a major problem - the company which provided combs for the "musical" event has relocated and is no longer able to supply the organisers with their "musical instruments". The light-hearted contest (it was once judged by comedian Billy Connolly) needs at least 200 combs to be donated by a generous sponsor. The paper is no problem, apparently, as someone donated a large supply of the old-fashioned "shiny" toilet paper - modern soft paper gets soggy too quickly as contestants blow across the paper and comb to create their tunes.

Weather in Scotland This Week

Skiers and snowboarders headed for the Cairngorms last weekend as the snow which had fallen earlier in the week provided a welcome boost for the resort. But temperatures rose during the week from just above freezing point at the weekend to 7/8C (45/46F) and even 11/12C (52/54F) by Thursday. There was a fair amount of sunshine around too - Aberdeen had over seven hours of sun on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The outlook over the next few days is for a continuation of the bright weather but with temperatures dipping again as the week progresses.

This week's illustrations of current flowers in Scotland are both from my own garden in suburban Glasgow. The frilly narcissus is a new addition, the bulbs planted last year. It does not have the fill height of the more usual daffodils but it flowers early and has an attractive, frilly flower. The crocus (below) are well established and producing a good number of flowers now.

Govan Sculptures Become Scheduled Monument

Govan, now swallowed up as part of Glasgow, was once a major centre of Christianity in Scotland and a centre of power of the Britons in Strathclyde, stretching back to the 9th century and even earlier. Over the years, its role declined and it was only after a large number of carved stones, crosses and hog-backed burial stones were discovered in the churchyard in the 19th century, that its significance came to light. Some of the stones had lain buried in the ground, others had been "adapted" as gravestones by later generations. In order to afford them better protection, the stones have been taken inside the present Govan Old Parish Church but over the years a total of 16 of the rare monumental crosses and grave markers spanning the 9th to the 11th centuries have been "lost". Now Historic Scotland has scheduled the site as being of historic importance and the 31 surviving monuments have been listed in a move which may help to preserve the large collection. The most important sculpture is a carved stone sarcophagus which has been linked to St Constantine who is said to have founded the church in the 6th century. Access by the public to the carved stones is currently somewhat restricted but there is talk of creating a tourist attraction.

Oldest Village in Britain

Dreghorn in Ayrshire has been named by archaeologists as the oldest continuously inhabited village in Britain following the discovery of 5,500-year-old neolithic remains. It is believed to be one of Scotland's earliest farming communities dating back to 3400BC. There are other Neolithic settlements which have been uncovered (such as at Skara Brae in Orkney) but research of the layers in the Dreghorn archaeological site indicate that it has been inhabited continuously through the centuries. Examples of "grooved-ware" pottery and a kiln have been identified and the locations of eight wooden huts housing some of the country's earliest farmers. The pottery is made from Pitchstone from Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde. The site was uncovered during preliminary work for a new luxury housing development and the builder called in a team of archaeologists. Once all the site has been surveyed, the housing development will resume.

Stewart Spin Doctors

Robert the Bruce's son, King David II, is often portrayed as a weak king who tried to push the idea of a union of the Scottish and English crowns. This was in part to repay the ransom owed to the English king after David was captured and held following an invasion of England to help the French king. By contrast, his successor, King Robert II, the first of the Stewart kings, apparently had all of the strong, patriotic attributes of King Robert the Bruce. But a new book, by historian Michael Penman, suggests that the contrast was produced by the spin doctors of the Stewart dynasty. Penman argues that King David II was brave, chivalrous, thoughtful and visionary. He endured exile in France, captivity by the English but emerged as a formidable ruler. He desperately tried to produce an heir so that his nephew, Robert would not inherit the throne. Penman argues that King David II saw the world on a grander scale than being anti-English and had he lived longer the political landscape might have been entirely different. His realism suggested that Scotland should live at peace with England but his attempts to unite the crowns have made him despised. When Robert II came to the throne in 1371, (his father, Walter the 6th High Steward of Scotland had married Robert the Bruce's daughter) there followed two centuries of intermittent war with England.

Next Week in History

• March 8 1702 - King William III died and Queen Anne acceded to the throne at the age of 37. She was the daughter of King James VII.
• March 8 1859 - Kenneth Grahame, author of "The Wind in the Willows" born in Edinburgh.
• March 9 1566 - David Rizzio murdered by Ruthven and others in the Palace of Holyrood.
• March 9 1770 - Haggis was served on board Captain James Cook's ship "Endeavour", anchored off New Zealand, in celebration of the birthday of a Scottish officer who was on board. (Captain Cook was born in Yorkshire of Scottish parents).
• March 9 1776 - "Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith published
• March 9 1895 - Soprano Dame Isabella Baillie, opera star, born in Hawick.
• March 10 - St Kessoc Day. St Kessoc was the patron saint of Scotland prior to the adoption of St Andrew
• March 10 1615 - St John Ogilvie, a Banffshire-born Jesuit priest, was hanged for refusing to renounce the supremacy of the Pope. He was the only Roman Catholic martyr in Scotland and was canonised in 1976.
• March 10 1748 - John Playfair, clergyman, geologist, mathematician, born.
• March 10 1916 - Birth of James Heriot, author of "All Creatures Great and Small"
• March 11 1955 - Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, died.
• March 12 1286 - Queen Margaret, Maid of Norway (daughter of King Erik II) crowned.
• March 13 1873 - Scottish Football Association founded. The initial clubs were Queen's Park, Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern, Granville and Kilmarnock.
• March 13 1973 - Scotland played Brazil to mark centenary of Scottish Football Association.
• March 13/15 1941 - Blitz of Clydebank by German Luftwaffe.
• March 13 1996 - Sixteen primary school children and their teacher murdered in Dunblane.

Festival Fireworks Move to Sunday Traditionally, the fireworks display marking the end of the Edinburgh International Festival has been scheduled for the last Saturday in the three-week-long event. But the Fireworks Concert, sponsored by the Bank of Scotland, is being moved to Sunday evening this year in order to reduce the trouble which is sometimes caused by drunken teenagers. The concert is also being held 90 minutes earlier to make it more "family friendly". Crowds of over 250,000 flock into the city to watch the display from various vantage points. The display is accompanied a performance of music in West Princes Street Gardens by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra which has Handel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks" as a finale.

120,000 Fans for T in the Park

This summer, Scotland's largest rock concert will get even bigger as 120,000 fans descend on Balado near Kinross for the 11th annual T in the Park (supported by lager company Tennent's). Pop legend David Bowie will headline the festival with other top performers such Darkness, the biggest name in British rock this year, plus Strokes and Scissor Sisters from New York adding to the entertainment. Tickets for the event on 10/11 July are selling three times faster than last year. The festival has grown since it began in Strathclyde Park in 1994 when 17,000 turned up and heard an unknown band called Glass Onion - later to become the chart-topping Travis.

Record Profit for Exhibition Centre

The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) on the banks of the river Clyde at Finnieston in Glasgow sold a record number of over 624,000 tickets for 230 events held there over the last year. The combination of pop stars like Rod Stewart, Westlife and Moby plus Bob the Builder and the Singing Kettle have helped to boost profits at the SECC to £1.3 million. The Internet now accounts for 20% of all ticket sales. The conference element of the centre also meant that 188,000 delegate days were achieved last year, the best ever total. There are spectacular plans to expand the facility with more buildings and create an open square which would host summer concerts and Hogmanay celebrations.

Braemar Telemark Festival

On 5-7 March an action and fun-filled weekend is planned for the Braemar Telemark Festival involving a Mountain Race, Tele Cross and grand ceilidh. The Mountain Race is a mountain traverse on skis involving uphills, downhills and a circuit of Loch Vrotachan if conditions allow. This all mountain event tests your pacing, your planning but also your wit and improvisation. Tele-Cross is racing head to head with other crazed skiers down a course involving banks, tight turns, and jumps in a hotly contested knock-out until only the victor remains. The Ceilidh sees a vast marquee (heated!) pitched in front of Braemar Castle for an evening of dancing, drinking or just catching up with other skiers after a hot buffet. It starts with a torch-lit procession from the Castleton Hall led by Pipers from Towie Pipe band. See www.telemarkfestival.co.uk for further information.

Sunday and Mid-Week Football Results

Celtic 5 Livingston 1
Dundee United 2 Rangers 0
Falkirk 2 Inverness 1
FK Teplice (Czech Republic) 1 Celtic 0 (UEFA Cup qualifying match. Celtic go through 3-1 on aggregate)

Bank of Scotland Premier League

Because of the Scottish Cup quarter-finals, the only SPL match this weekend is Kilmarnock v Hearts, played on Sunday.

Tennent's Scottish Cup, Quarter Finals - 6 March 2004

Aberdeen 1 Livingston 1 Motherwell 0 Inverness 1
Partick Thistle 0 Dunfermline 3
Celtic play Rangers on Sunday

Scottish First Division Results - 6 March 2004

Ayr United 2 Falkirk 3
Clyde 2 St Johnstone 3
Queen of the South 1 Ross County 1
Raith Rovers 2 St Mirren 0

League Tables

Rangers' shock defeat by Dundee United last Sunday left the club trailing rivals Celtic by a massive 16 points in the Scottish Premier League. With Celtic unbeaten this season, the idea of losing six games in the rest of the season looks somewhat unlikely. After 17 April, the SPL splits into the top and bottom half for subsequent games so cubs currently in the middle are jostling for position. Currently, the top six are Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Dunfermline, Motherwell and Dundee United.

In the Scottish First Division, Clyde are still at the top despite their defeat by St Johnstone on Saturday. Clyde are three points ahead of Inverness (who have played one more game than Clyde).

Unbeaten this season, Glasgow Hawks have (again) taken the BT Premiership trophy. The club was only formed in 1997 (from a merger of Glasgow High-Kelvinside and Glasgow Accies) and have made a feature of developing local talent, even rejecting players offered to them by the professional Glasgow team. The strategy has paid off as other clubs keep losing their best players to the professional clubs. Now Hawks have their eyes set on the Scottish rugby cup.

Scotland Heading for Wooden Spoon

Scotland and Italy, reckoned to be the two worst teams in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament, were both looking for a win in Saturday's match to avoid the wooden spoon. Of course, as an established rugby nation, Scotland had more to lose. Neither side were convincing and by half time the scores were level at 9-9. But early in the second half Italy scored a try and that gave them more confidence. Although Scotland scored a late consolation try, it was the accurate kicking of Italian De Marigny which resulted in Italy running out winners by 20-14. After the embarrassment of this match, Scotland now face France on 21 March at Murrayfield and Ireland (who defeated England on Saturday by 19-13) on 27 March.

Door Closed on Foreigners Playing for Scotland

The four UK countries (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) have agreed that they will not adopt new rules being introduced by the international football authorities which would have allowed players who had no "blood line" (parents or grandparents born in Scotland) to play for the national side.

Celtic in Spain Again

It must have been hard for the Celtic players to get really motivated for the UEFA Cup qualifying match against FK Teplice in the Czech Republic this week as they had a 3-0 cushion from the first leg. In the end, Celtic stumbled into the last 16 despite a 1-0 defeat. They are now drawn against Spanish giants Barcelona. Celtic fans were scrambling for tickets and flights, less than a year after their UEFA Cup final match in Valencia. Barcelona will come to Glasgow next Thursday for the first leg and Celtic will go to Barcelona on March 25 to decide which team moves on to the quarter-final.

Rangers Handed £500,000 by Celtic Fans

For the first time since 1997, Celtic and Rangers are meeting in the Scottish Cup outside of the final or semi-final in their Fifth-round match on Sunday at Parkhead. Because the match is being played on Celtic's ground, the club will take 60% of the gate receipts according to Scottish Football Association rules. But Celtic have hiked up the ticket price to £29 in a sell-out match in front of over 59,000 fans. That will produce receipts of £1.7 million - with Rangers share amounting to £680,000, of which an estimated £480,000 will come from Celtic supporters who will form the majority of the spectators.

Hearts to Play Home Game in Australia?

There was speculation in the sporting press this week that Edinburgh football (soccer) club Hearts are negotiating to play one of their "home" league matches in the 90,000 capacity Melbourne Stadium in Australia. Their preferred opponents would be Celtic and the Scottish Football Association are believed to be at least considering the surprising experiment. If it goes ahead, it is estimated that it could net the club £500,000. The chances of the proposal going ahead are said to be slim but the financial carrot is having an impact. If it happens, it might be scheduled for January 2005. One immediate downside is that season ticket holders would lose out on seeing a game if the SPL approve the idea. Celtic manager Martin O'Neill is not enthusiastic about the idea. He is reported as saying that he thought the idea was a joke when he first heard it and that it would take the team four weeks to travel there!

Hibs Nip Deal With Whisky Company

Hibernian Football Club announced a five-year sponsorship deal with whisky firm Whyte and Mackay worth £1 million to the Edinburgh club. The Whyte and Mackay name will not only adorn the players' shirts but the company will also use the club's south stand as office premises from Monday to Friday for sales and marketing staff. The club's eight-year deal with lager company Carlsberg comes to an end this summer.

Lack of Sponsor for Melrose Sevens

The 114th Melrose Sevens rugby tournament on 10 April may have to be played without a sponsor for the event (which sees teams of seven players playing a series of fast, open games). The Melrose Rugby Club has had major sponsorship since 1977 and this has meant being able to attract high profile guest teams.