Explosion at Plastics Factory Kills Nine

A massive explosion at a four-storey plastics factory in Glasgow's Maryhill district on Tuesday, resulted in the death of nine people and serious injuries to another 18 survivors with many others allowed home after treatment for cuts and bruises. About 60 people were working in the building when the explosion occurred and the building collapsed. One 34-year-old office worker who was killed had been due to leave the company at the end of the week after 15 years service. Office staff who were working above the site of the explosion figured largely amongst the dead and injured, including the company's manager. The cause of the accident at the Stockline Plastics factory is not known, but the focus of attention of an official investigation is likely to be the industrial ovens. For three days and nights, hundreds of firemen and rescue workers, some from around the UK as well as Strathclyde, toiled relentlessly to try to reach a victim buried under piles of precarious rubble. Knocking sounds had been heard on the day after the explosion and the factory management had established that one man was still missing. But when they reached him on Friday, 72 hours after the blast, he was found to be dead. Emergency workers were praised for their professionalism as they put into practice their contingency plans for a major disaster which seemed to work very efficiently. As they tried to reach the last victim in the rubble, they used a combination of hi-tech equipment and sniffer dogs to pin-point where he was located. But it was a call to his mobile phone which, although there was no answer, helped to pinpoint where he was lying.

Transparent Scotrail Bids

The Scottish Executive is said to be considering publishing the details of the bids to operate the rail network in Scotland and provide the reasons for their decision. Three companies (National Express which currently holds the franchise, Arriva and FirstGroup) have lodged their final proposals and a decision is expected later this month. The three companies have said that publication would be a matter for the Executive, although they would not want some commercial confidential details released. British transport groups operating in North America, are used to the freedom of information act there which requires full transparency.

Jobless Figures Lowest Since 1975

Unemployment in the UK fell to 4.7% (5.7% in Scotland) in the three months to March, based on the internationally recognised ILO method of calculation. This was the country's lowest level of unemployment since 1975. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit also fell, to 2.7%. But with job vacancies rising, there is increasing upward pressure on wage rates. Average earnings rose by 5.2% in the three months to March, according to Office of National Statistics figures. Excluding bonuses, the increase was 3.9%.

Oil Rig Safety Changes- Improvement or Detrimental?

The oil company BP is to go ahead with major changes to the way in which offshore search, rescue and recovery operations in the North Sea are managed. Instead of having a number of vessels operating close to the North Sea oil rigs, there will be four new rescue ships and three helicopters plus a new platform-based radar system . The company claims that the new system, which has been approved by the Health and Safety Executive, will be an improvement on the existing system. But the shipping union, Numast, has criticised the plan, saying that it ignored the lessons learned after Piper Alpha disaster in 1988 when 167 lives were lost following an explosion. For decades, standby vessels have operated around the rigs, ready to pick up anyone who falls into the sea and to warn off any other vessels which might get too close. Now there will be "regional support vessels" carrying specialised independent rescue and recovery ships and fast rescue craft. One helicopter will be based in the central North Sea area and another at Scatsta in Shetland. The project was dubbed "Jigsaw" during the planning stages but the union claims that there are "missing pieces" as they say the new system would not be able to cope with a mass evacuation from an oil rig.

Edinburgh Tries to Lure Selfridges to Capital

Glasgow's gloom that the 200,000 sq ft Selfridges department store in the city's Trongate might not get built after a change of heart by the company, deepened still further this week. Edinburgh City Centre Management, a development company which is supported by the city council and local businesses, said it was trying to attract Selfridges to the capital. St Andrew Square was being earmarked for such a prestigious department store. Selfridges announced its plans to move to open in Glasgow in January 2001 and a site was identified in December 2002 in an area which is not part of the current main retail area. But after a change of ownership, Selfridges reviewed all its development plans and so far no planning application has been lodged in Glasgow.

Labour Leader Remembered

A memorial service was held on the island of Iona last Sunday, marking the tenth anniversary of the death of the former leader of the Labour Party, John Smith. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, the deputy prime minister, John Prescott and the former NATO secretary-general Lord Robertson, joined members of the Smith family to remember the man who was described as "the best prime minister Britain never had." Mr Smith died on May 12, 1994 aged 55, after suffering a heart attack. He was buried on Iona, a place he loved dearly. Tony Blair became party leader after Smith.
The illustration shows a memorial gate to John Smith at Glasgow University where he graduated.

Decline in Number of Young People in Highlands

Projections on the changing population in the Highlands by the General Register Office predict that the number of young people living in the Highlands will fall by 50% by 2015. The figures were discussed at a "population summit" this week in Inverness which also heard that the overall population in the Highlands will fall from 208,000 to under 200,000 on 2018. The 4% drop compares badly even with the figures for the whole country which suggest a decline of 2.18%. Of course, there are a number of regional variations - Inverness can expect an increase in population of 2.9% (to 68,528) by 2017 but Sutherland will see a drop of 17.2%. In the Highlands, as younger people move to the more heavily populated parts of Scotland or the UK to find work, older people are moving in to the area to retire, creating an even greater imbalance in the age profile of the population.

£50 Million Plan for Loch Lomond Holiday Village

A major project was approved this week which will create a holiday village of 76 lodges and 18 apartments plus a golf course on a 300 acre site on the banks of Loch Lomond in the heart of Scotland's first national park. It will be next door to the exclusive Loch Lomond Golf Club and Cameron House, but its golf course will be available for use by the paying public. Opposition to the plan has diminished after the developers agreed to drop plans for a hotel and to create a nature reserve on 100 acres of the site. The Midross Estate is currently derelict and includes a series of gravel pits, so the regeneration of the site has been welcomed by the tourism agencies. The chalets will be largely invisible from the main tourist route.

Seville Targets Glaswegian Tourists

The Spanish town of Seville hosted last year's UEFA Cup final. Because the 80,000 Celtic fans who descended on Andalucian capital made such a favourable impression, with their exemplary behaviour (and beneficial impact on the local economy), the mayor of Seville has come to Glasgow to launch a major tourist drive to encourage Glaswegians to return. Even though Celtic lost 3-2, fans continued to party with the locals and opposing Porto supporters long into the night. Their behaviour won them the Fair Play award from European football's governing body and the sport's world governing body FIFA. The local Spaniards say they were impressed by the way the Scots were able to drink all day but always display good-natured fun.

Petrol Prices Rise Again

The last time petrol (gas in some parts of the world) reached over 80 pence a litre in the UK, there were mass protests at oil terminals and supplies to forecourts were disrupted. But as prices drift up to that level again, due to a combination of international oil prices (the highest since the war in Kuwait in 1990) and government taxation, there is an air of resignation amongst drivers of cars and trucks. But there is anger that the price rises are being made worse by the government petrol tax. The UK already has one of the highest prices for petrol in Europe, thanks to a fiscal regime that has steadily increased government duty over a long period. Last year, the price went up by another 2p a litre due to another tax hike and later this year the price tax goes up by another 1.92p a litre. When that increase was announced, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that it would only apply to the current variety of fuel, to encourage the introduction of a new sulphur-free petrol. But the oil companies say that the new-style fuel will not be generally available for another year - so the Chancellor will gain another billion pounds of tax. Road hauliers in Scotland say that they are planning to launch another fuel protest, similar to the one four years ago which saw tankers unable to leave refineries, resulting in a shortage of fuel at the pumps. Garages in the north of Scotland charge the highest prices in the country, due mainly to low turnover.

Motorists Pay Edinburgh City Council £16 Million

The amount paid by motorists in Edinburgh on parking meters, fines and residential parking permits each year has nearly doubled from £8.24 million in 1998/9 to £15.85 million in 2002/3. The biggest increase has been in fines collected by the "Enforcers" which has shot up to £7.5 million last year from £1.6 million five years earlier. There are 5,500 pay-and-display meters across Edinburgh. The city council says that the extra cash has been used to fund a long overdue road and pavement repair programme over the next three years. The council is still debating whether to introduce a toll on cars and lorries entering the city.

Hallelujah - Booze Buying Before Sunday Lunch?

Laws controlling the sale of alcohol in Scotland have come a long way since the days when only "bona fide travellers" could buy a drink in a hotel on a Sunday (the only place to buy an alcoholic drink on the Sabbath). But the licensing laws still prohibit the sale of booze in supermarkets between midnight and noon on a Sunday. Scots who push a supermarket trolley on Sunday instead of sitting on a pew in church, are confronted by the shelves containing wines and spirits cordoned off. But a review of the legislation earlier this year recommended the lifting of this restriction and Scottish Executive ministers are reported to be "relaxed" about such a reform. While there would be a majority support from the public on such a change, the Free Church of Scotland has condemned the relaxation as "riding roughshod over the traditional observance of the Sabbath."

Plans for Scotland's Biggest Casino

Gaming giant London Clubs International has secured planning permission for a new casino development costing £8 million at Glasgow's Springfield Quay, on the south bank of the river Clyde. The new venue could be open in two years time and will be located alongside a cinema, bingo hall, 10-pin bowling alley and restaurants. A new footbridge planned for the area will provide easy access to the city centre. Glasgow already has five of Scotland's 12 casinos.

Scottish Coat of Arms for US Secretary of State

Colin Powell, the four-star general who is now the United States Secretary of State, has petitioned the Heraldry Society of Scotland for a coat of arms to link him to his Scots ancestry. He traces his Scottish roots back through his mother's side of the family. Symbols incorporated into the design will include the head of an American bald eagle and four stars. The motto reads "Devoted to Public Service". Powell is understood to have been advised on the procedure for obtaining a coat of arms by his US army colleague General Jack Nicholson (whose ancestors came from Arran). It is likely that the Lord Lyon, who is the Queen's representative responsible for all heraldic matters in Scotland will personally travel to Washington to present documentation.

New Air Route to Philadelphia Begins

US Airways new direct flight from Glasgow to Philadelphia began operating on Tuesday. The troubled airline is trying to avoid bankruptcy but claims that the new service will be profitable from the outset despite the intense competition which is developing on the trans-Atlantic route from Scotland. Continental, which already operates a Glasgow/New York service, is launching an Edinburgh/New York direct flight next month. American Airlines flies to Chicago from Glasgow and Continental and flybe operate direct to Newark, New Jersey. Zoom operate direct services from Glasgow to a number of Canadian destinations. And Icelandair's aircraft fly from Glasgow to North America, via Reykjavik.

Tam the Gun Looks Fjord to Future

A gun has fired at exactly 1pm at Edinburgh Castle since 1861. But for the last 25 years Staff Sergeant Thomas McKay (also known affectionately as Tam the Gun) has created a theatrical performance for visitors to the castle as he fires the howitzer with military precision. But this weekend he is in Bergen in Norway - to marry his sweetheart whom he met when he showed her round the castle. The couple later got engaged in Bergen after Tam befriended a group of Norwegians who were visiting Edinburgh for the Tattoo last year. Tam has become something of a celebrity in Norway and his marriage is being covered by Norwegian TV. Before he is married in the 800-year-old church in the town, he will fire Bergen's own gun at 2pm - to coincide with the One o'Clock Gun being fired in Edinburgh. He will wear a kilt in the Black Watch tartan and his bride, Joyce Mills, will arrive at the church in a horse-drawn coach.

Campbeltown Community Project

European funding of £1.5 million has been awarded to help Argyll and Bute Council provide an all-purpose leisure facility at Kinloch Park in Campbeltown. The project, which will see the building of a swimming pool, library, fitness suite and crèche, is worth around £6.5 million when matching funding is included. The finance comes from the Highlands and Islands Special Transitional Programme which was approved by the European Commission in August 2000. It has supported projects that contribute to the economic development of the area totalling 300 million Euros (£208 million) for the period 2000/2006.

Wanted - Dead or Alive

No breeding colony of the Colorado Beetle, which attacks potatoes growing in the fields, has been found in the UK since 1976. But growers, gardeners, importers, traders and consumers are being recruited as deputies to track down this voracious vegetarian pest from the wild west of America, dead or alive.They are not native to Scotland but have previously come into the country during spring and summer on imported goods such as leafy vegetables, potatoes, fruit, grain, seeds and timber. The adult beetle is about 10mm in length, resembles a large ladybird in shape and has 10 black stripes running down a yellowish back. Colorado beetle larvae can be mistaken for pupae of the ladybird, which are similar in shape and colour but do not move.

Supreme Highland Games

The Sarnia-Point Edward region hugs the St. Clair River where it joins Lake Huron, across from Port Huron, Michigan. The city of Sarnia will be holding its 21st Highland Games on August 19th to 21st this year and on the Thursday a Country and Western Group known as the Waite Brothers Jamboree will be playing at the Dow People Place Bandstand at Centennial Park from 7/9pm. The hosts are the clan McIntosh and members of the clan will be meeting there as usual. For more information, contact firstlady@xcelco.on.ca.

Green Future for Westray

Proposals have been drawn up which will make the island of Westray in Orkney the first community in Britain entirely self-sufficient in renewable energy production by 2012. All the buildings on the island will be powered by wind, wave or solar energy and all the vehicles on the remote island will run on hydrogen. A grant has already been received by the community for an electric minibus using power supplied by wind turbines. If the full government-sponsored scheme is successful, it could be rolled out to other rural communities across the UK. The island has a population of 560 and the plans include a power plant fuelled by animal slurry which will produce methane gas. Another idea being pursued by the Agronomy Institute in Orkney is to grow rapeseed and sugar beet on the island for use by local boats and ferries. Similar projects are being drawn up by other islands around Scotland, including Unst, Jura and Coll.

Weather in Scotland This Week

Glasgow reached 22C (72F) on Monday and was one of the warmest spots in the UK that day, enjoying also 10.6 hours of sunshine. But heavy storm clouds arrived in the late afternoon and floods and electric storms brought the sunshine to a rapid end. The violent downpour created flash floods and resulted in some stranded cars in Rutherglen. For the rest of the week, the maximum daytime temperature reached at least 16C (61F) in Glasgow, which is above average for May. On the north-east coast, however, Aberdeen only reached 12C (54F) on Wednesday. The outlook for the next 3/4 days looks promising with a fair amount of sunshine forecast.

This week's illustrations of current flowers in Scotland show first of all an early rose flowering in the National Trust for Scotland garden at Geilston House in Argyll. The illustrations below are also from Geilston - an azalea close-up and a general view of part of the garden with another azalea in the foreground. The photographs were all taken on Monday - when the sun shone and temperatures reached the low 70s.

Linlithgow Burgh Hall Restoration

The £2.3 million project to restore Linlithgow's Burgh Hall to its former glory has hit a problem - nobody knows what the interior of the building looked like before badly conceived radical alterations were implemented in the 1960s. It is known that there was a grandiose medieval staircase, but there are no illustrations of the interior dating back to the mid 1800s. The building was first created between 1668 and 1670 to replace an original Town House which had been destroyed by Oliver Cromwell's army in 1650. It was restored in 1847 after a fire and a clock was added to the tower in 1858, while the sweeping front double stair was added in 1906. The architects have appealed to local residents for any early photographs or drawings of the building dating back to the 19th century. It will take some time to draw up the plans and put the funding in place (including the inevitable application to the Heritage Lottery Fund) so work will not get underway until 2006.

Orkney Crannog Uncovered

Underwater researchers in Orkney have discovered small, artificial islands in inland waters, similar to the crannogs or fortified houses which are found in lochs in various parts of Scotland. But they have never previously been associated with Orkney. The sea loch where they were found is in an area steeped in ancient history, with the prehistoric remains of the Ring of Brodgar, Maes Howe and the Stones of Stennes close by.The Scottish Crannog Centre at Kenmore has a reconstruction of these off-shore dwellings based on excavations from a 2,600-year-old site on Loch Tay, where the locations of 18 crannogs have been discovered. The Orkney crannog has a stone causeway leading to it

Jurassic Park on Skye

The footprints left by a dinosaur which walked on mudflats 170 million years ago, which are now part of the Trotternish Peninsula of the west coast of Skye, have been identified by paleontology experts as a ceolophysis. This flesh-eating velociraptor was similar to the one featured in the film "Jurassic Park". It hunted in packs and was built for speed. It was one-and-a-half metres tall, but was moving slowly when it made the prints. A number of dinosaur discoveries have been made on Skye in recent years, including a dinosaur print surrounded by the fossils of ten young.

Next Week in History

• May 16 1568 - Mary Queen of Scots sailed from Port Mary across the Solway Firth to exile in England.
• May 16 1763 - Biographer James Boswell met Samuel Johnson for the first time.
• May 16 1791 - James Boswell's "Life of Johnson" published.
• May 16 1975 - Local Government (Scotland) Act (1974) came into force and 430 local authorities were replaced by nine regional, 53 district and three islands councils.
• May 16 1990 - British Steel announced the closure of the hot strip mill at Ravenscraig with the loss of 770 jobs.
• May 17 1532 - King James V established paid judges to sit as the Court of Session, the highest civil court in Scotland.
• May 17 1870 - David Octavius Hill, painter and pioneer photographer, died.
• May 17 1938 - The Marquess of Bute sold half of the city of Cardiff for £20 million, at that time the biggest-ever British property deal.
• May 18 1313 - Robert the Bruce invades Isle of Man.
• May 18 1843 - Break up of Church of Scotland and formation of Free Church of Scotland.
• May 19 1795 - Death in Auchinleck of James Boswell, biographer of Dr Johnston.
• May 20 685 - Battle of Dunnichen (also known as Nechtansmere), south of Forfar in Angus, as a result of which the Picts stopped the advance northwards of the Angles of Northumbria.
• May 20 1303 - France and England make peace, releasing forces to attack Scotland.
• May 21 1650 - James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, executed at Mercat Cross, Edinburgh.
• May 21 1983 - TSB Bank Scotland (now Lloyds TSB Scotland) formed.
• May 22 1611 - King James VI introduced the title "baronet" for the first time. This is the lowest hereditary titled order.
• May 22 1859 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes, born of Irish parents in Edinburgh.
• May 22 1915 - Britain's worst train disaster at Quintinshill (near Gretna Green) in which three trains collided, with the loss of 227 lives. A troop train carrying the Seventh Royal Scots Regiment hit a stationary train and the night express from London then hit the wreckage. Two signalmen were later jailed.

Landform Sculpture Wins Top Arts Prize

The Scottish Gallery of Modern Art has won the UK's biggest arts prize for the Landform landscaping project in front of its building. The stepped mound and three crescent-shaped water features was built on a former school playing field in 1999. Designed by US-born environmental architect Charles Jencks, it covers 3,000 square metres, cost £380,000 and took two years to construct. The Gulbenkian Prize is worth £100,000 to the gallery - plus a lot of additional positive publicity.

TV Treasure Trove Open to Public

The scripts written by Bill Craig over 50 years of creating top TV drama shows have been presented to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow and are now available to the public. Craig wrote the screen adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbons' trilogy of Sunset Song, Cloud Howe and Gray Granite, but he also wrote scripts for such series as The Vital Spark, Poirot, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Bergerac, and Dr Finlay's Casebook. His long career even spanned writing for Dixon of Dock Green, an early TV police drama. Craig was born in Springburn in Glasgow and although he had lived in London for a long time, his wife insisted that the huge collection of her husband's written works should find a home in Glasgow.

Scottish TV Moving to Pacific Quay

After nearly a year of speculation, Scottish TV has confirmed that it is to move from its premises in the centre of Glasgow to a new media centre development at Pacific Quay. It will join BBC Scotland to create a hive of media production companies in the waterfront location. STV's new premises will house 350 staff and state-of-the-art studios and transmission facilities.

Happy Prince on Broadway

Stirling's MacRoberts Arts Centre is taking its children's show "The Happy Prince" on a four-month tour of North America starting in March of next year. There will be performances in Arkansas, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Ontario and Ohio before moving to New York in April. It will play there for two weeks at the New Victory Theatre, just off Broadway. The show may be taken to other parts of the US - including Alaska.

Free Fringe Performances on The Mound

A special programme of free street entertainment is being arranged at the National Galleries of Scotland at The Mound area of the capital as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August. The events are being organised to tie in with the completion of the Playfair Project which sees the expansion of the gallery space with an area under the gallery being opened up to look out over Princes Street Gardens. The area has been out of commission since 2000 because of the building works but used to stage jugglers and fire eaters and musical acts performing in the Fringe Festival.

Powerboat Racing at Largs

8,000 spectators lined the waterfront of the Ayrshire coastal town of Largs last year when the Honda Formula 4-Stroke powerboat championship was held on the Firth of Clyde. This year, even larger crowds are expected on May 29 and 30 when the event returns with 18 150hp powerboats and 11 225hp racers competing close inshore. Unlike motor racing, all the boats are identical so it is the skill of the driver and navigator that counts. The event is being covered by Channel Four TV and will feature in a forthcoming programme.

Sunday and Mid-Week Football Results

Livingston 2 Partick Thistle 2
Dundee United 3 Dunfermline 2
Dundee 2 Livingston 0
Kilmarnock 4 Aberdeen 0
Motherwell 1 Celtic 1
Rangers 0 Hearts 1

Bank of Scotland Premier League Results - 15 May 2004

Aberdeen 1 Dundee 2
Livingston 4 Hibernian 1
Partick Thistle 2 Kilmarnock 2
Celtic v Dundee United, Dunfermline v Rangers and Hearts v Motherwell will be played on Sunday.

Scottish First Division Results - 15 May 2004

Ayr United 1 Raith Rovers 0
Brechin City 2 Clyde 5
Inverness 3 St Johnstone 1
Queen of the South 1 Falkirk 0
St Mirren 2 Ross County 0

League Tables

In the Scottish Premier League, with the top three teams all with one game remaining in the current season, Celtic have 95 points, Rangers 78 and Hearts 65 - with the Hearts total improved by their win over Rangers earlier in the week. Partick Thistle, with 26 points at the foot of the SPL, have to wait until Inverness decides whether to accept promotion to the SPL from the First Division. Second-placed Clyde made a brave last-minute effort, scoring five goals today, but Inverness had a comfortable win over third-placed St Johnstone to secure the First Division Championship. But Inverness have to consider the financial implications carefully - they would have to pay Aberdeen for a ground-sharing arrangement as they do not currently have a stadium of their own acceptable to the SPL. And their supporters would have to make the long journey to Aberdeen even for home games. The club chairman has hinted that his preference is to accept promotion but a decision will not be made until next week. Brechin City and Ayr United will be relegated from the First Division while Airdrie United and Hamilton will come up from the Second Division.

Prso Signs for Rangers

Goal-scorer Dado Prso of Monaco (currently finalists in this season's Champions League) is reported to have agreed a three-year contract with Rangers as the Ibrox club tries to regroup after this season's disappointing finish. After a clean sweep of League, Scottish Cup and League Cup in 2003, the club have won no new trophies this season and have seen their rivals Celtic dominate the domestic scene in 2003/4. That is a situation which manager Alex McLeish knows cannot be allowed to be repeated next season. hence the frantic search for top quality players - so long as they don't cost too much. Prso was available on a free transfer. Rangers have also agreed terms with Jean-Alain Boumsong of Auxerre and are negotiating with Wolves defender Alex Rae in the English Premiership.

Larsson Leaves His Stamp

Henrik Larsson used to be famous for sticking out his tongue after scoring a goal for Celtic (which, over the years, has happened on a very regular basis). But now it will be his many fans, particularly in Sweden, who will be sticking out their tongues - to lick the back of the stamp featuring the prolific goal scorer. Sweden has issued a set of stamps featuring a number of their international players and Larsson is one of them.

Brazilian on Trial at Parkhead

Celtic have taken Marcio Amoroso on trial at the club with a view to negotiating a deal for the striker who has not played first team football at Borussia Dortmund after a dispute with the club. Borussia paid £18 million for the 29-year-old Brazilian star when he transferred from Udinese in Italy in 2001. The player's agent says that Celtic want Amoroso to tour with them on their tour of North America this summer. Celtic remain tight-lipped - they do not comment on signings until the ink is dry.

Hearts' Summer Tour of Canada

Edinburgh club Heart of Midlothian will use a summer tour to Vancouver in Canada this summer to kick-off their preparations for the new season. They have been invited over by the British Columbia Soccer Association and will play two matches against English FA Cup finalists Millwall and a local All-Star Select.

East Stirlingshire Respond to Sir Alex Ferguson

The Clyde team of 1900 has the unenviable title of Scotland's worst ever performance by a senior team - they won just two games that season. But that distinction was in the balance this week as East Stirlingshire played their last match of the season having won just one match since last August. But they managed to pull off a 2-1 defeat of Elgin City (second from the foot of the table) to reach a final result of two wins and two draws and leaving that Clyde record intact. Earlier in the week, Manchester United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who began his management career at East Stirlingshire, sent a blunt message of "just win" to the club. That was obviously enough to get the team motivated.

Famous Grouse Boosts Rugby Sponsorship

The Famous Grouse whisky company has extended its sponsorship of the Scotland rugby team to 2007, making it the longest shirt sponsorship deal in world rugby. It dates back to 1990, which was shortly after Scotland had won the Grand Slam, defeating all the other home nations and France in one season. The Edrington Group, owners of the Famous Grouse brand, says that sponsorship is a long-term relationship through highs and lows. The draw for the 2007 Rugby World Cup has put Scotland in the same section as New Zealand.

International Rugby to Benefit Charities

Scottish Rugby have made a number of tickets available to fans through TicketAid ( www.ticketaid.co.uk ) which allows supporters the opportunity to raise funds for their chosen good cause while seeing Scotland play the Barbarians at Murrayfield on 22 May. 1,000 tickets are available through the scheme, which could mean anything up to £5,000 for local, good causes. Other sporting organisations which have donated tickets to the scheme include The Scottish Open, Kilmarnock FC and The Scottish Claymores.

Six-Hole Golf Course?

The Playgolf company believes that some potential golfers are put off the game because of the length of time it takes to play the traditional 18-hole course. So they have launched a "new concept" of a six-hole course in London and are looking for a suitable site in the central Scotland belt. Six fairways and greens would be modelled on those found at legendary courses around the world, bringing in appropriate plants and grass, possibly created on small brown-field sites near to centres of population.

Glasgow Hosting World Badminton Championships

Glasgow has won the right to hold the Sudiram Cup, the top badminton competition in the world, in the city in 2007. The competition, which will be watched by a billion viewers world-wide, will be staged at the new National Badminton Academy in Scotstoun. There will be nearly 1,000 players from 70 nations competing over two weeks. Glasgow last staged the competition in 1997.

Claymores Lose Again

The Scottish Claymores lost again at Hampden last weekend in the NFL Europe American-style football, giving the team a 1-5 record. Once again it was the defence which let them down although their offensive play is getting slightly better - they created a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown which at least kept the game tight. The Claymores eventually lost 15-13 to Frankfurt Galaxy.