Fall in Number of School Teachers

In June 2000, an independent report by a committee headed by Prof. Gavin McCrone, recommended sweeping changes in the pay and conditions of school teachers and headmasters. It highlighted what teachers had been saying for years - their salary levels had fallen behind other equivalent professions. As a result, the Scottish Executive agreed an £800 million pay deal which gave teachers a 23% pay rise, a new grade of chartered teacher, more flexible working arrangements and a decrease in hours of classroom work. The aim was to attract more graduates into the teaching profession. But the first census of teacher numbers since 1998, published this week, shows that the number of teachers has fallen in Scotland by over 700 between 2002 and 2003. The census also highlights that many teachers are approaching retirement age with 11% of the nearly 50,000 teachers over the age of 55. The Scottish Executive has pledged to increase teacher numbers to 53,000 by 2007 in order to reduce class sizes, including getting maximum numbers in maths and English down to 20.

Surprise Increase in Scotland's Population

According to the latest statistics published by the Registrar General, Scotland's population is estimated to have grown by 2,600 in 2003, the first time there has been a rise since 1974. Deaths exceeded births, but 9,000 more people moved into Scotland than moved away, resulting in an overall growth. Students were a major factor in the increase as more people come to Scotland for their higher education than leave to study elsewhere. Of these, 30% of students from other parts of the UK find employment in Scotland and 20% of students from the rest of the European Union remain in Scotland. There were 52,432 births in 2003 an increase of 217 on an all-time low recorded in 2002. Despite the upward movement in 2003, the estimate is for Scotland's population to fall below five million in 2009 and to continue downwards for decades to come.

Debt Mountain to Climb for Scottish National Party

With a General Election likely next year for the UK Parliament, the Scottish National Party (SNP) will go into an election campaign with debts estimated to be £750,000. The SNP annual accounts reveal that they ran up a deficit of expenditure over income of nearly £500,000 last year, taking total debts to £900,000. However, the party insists that they have reduced their overdraft since their last financial year-end by around £150,000 and that income from increased membership fees will reduce the figure still further. 2003 was a year in which there were elections for the Scottish Parliament and local government, so all political parties had increased spending. Following the publication of the accounts, there was speculation that the party was on the verge of clinching substantial donations from wealthy supporters and that if Alex Salmond (pictured here) is confirmed as party leader in September, Sir Sean Connery would resume making donations. Contributions to political parties have been adversely affected recently by a requirement to name the source of any donations over £5,000. Unlike the larger UK political parties, the SNP does not have a ready source of major donations. The Labour Party received £9.1 million last year and the Conservatives £7.6 million. The SNP received £228,000.

Scots Manufacturers Express Optimism

The UK-wide Confederation of British Industry (CBI) published a report this week which said that manufacturing business was slowing. But the following day, in a separate report by CBI Scotland reported a swollen order book and export orders booming. Output was said to be increasing with optimism by manufacturing companies at its highest level since 1996. The percentage of Scottish factories reporting a stronger order book exceeded those with a smaller one by 33%, the strongest showing since the CBI Scotland started its survey 27 years ago. With such an overall optimistic picture, it was not perhaps surprising that for the first time in three years (when the downturn in technology output began), there were more companies increasing the number of employees than those reducing staff levels. The reasons for the better performance in Scotland are said to be due to the recovery in electronics. In addition, Scotland exports more of its output than the UK as a whole, so an improvement in the world economy has more impact here.

Special Treatment for Tartan Weddings

There were more weddings in Scotland in 2003 than in any year since 1994 but much of the increase was due to "tourist" weddings, where neither the bride nor groom is a Scottish resident. The "Madonna effect" and the attraction of romantic weddings in Scotland are growing trends. The importance of this "industry" has recently been acknowledged by UK government legislation which requires marriages by a bride or bridegroom from outside the European Union to be interviewed at a special registration centre which will check on their immigration status before they can be married in England or Wales. Scotland has been excluded from this requirement - much to the anger of some groups in the south. 527 American brides and 486 American grooms married in Scotland last year and it is also a popular wedding location for the Dutch, Australians, Germans, Canadians and Scandinavians. More than 100 nationalities married in Scotland in 2003 and Scotland is now marketed worldwide as a romantic wedding location. Previously, civil ceremonies had to take place in an official Registry Office, but now there are 500 registered locations ranging from castles and hotels to football clubs and golf courses.

Judge Stops Billion Pound Development Plan

A judge in the Court of Session in Edinburgh has ruled that North Lanarkshire Council were premature in granting the go-ahead for the creation of a new town centre at the former Ravenscraig steel works. This development would have created 3,500 homes, a two primary schools, a business and enterprise area, a major shopping centre and bus and railway stations. But the companies which have invested millions in the town centres of Hamilton and East Kilbride objected to the plan because of concerns over the impact on these towns. The Ravenscraig project is contrary to the Clyde Valley Structure Plan, but the local council had worked round that. Now the judicial review has forced them to wait until an appeal on the alteration to the structural plan is heard at the Court of Session in September.

Bank of Scotland "Disappearing"

When Halifax merged with the Bank of Scotland to form the awkwardly named "HBOS", assurances were given that the Scottish bank (Scotland's oldest, created by an Act of the Scottish Parliament in 1695) would continue to trade as a separate entity. But amid unrest amongst customers that service standards have fallen badly in recent years, the Halifax name has begun to dominate. Branches are branded with both Halifax and Bank of Scotland names but customers trying to find a Bank of Scotland branch in the Yellow Pages phone directory are finding that many are disappearing - with the addresses are appearing under Halifax instead. In Edinburgh, for example, 55 branches are listed under Halifax but only 9 as Bank of Scotland. Most of the Halifax branches in the city were originally Bank of Scotland branches which have now been "rebranded". The Bank of Scotland used to pride itself on a prudent, conservative style (not for them the commercialism of commemorative banknotes such as those issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland or Clydesdale Bank) and the brash, aggressive advertising style and branch decor of the Yorkshire-based Halifax is out of keeping with these traditions.

Thousands in Protest March to Save Inverclyde Royal

An estimated 4,000 people marched through Greenock on Saturday to protest about the downgrading of Inverclyde Royal Hospital (IRH). Argyll and Clyde Health Board have overspent their budget by £42 million and downgrading services at IRH and closing five smaller hospitals in the area, including accident and emergency at Vale of Leven Hospital in West Dunbartonshire, are some of the ways being proposed to reduce that deficit. But the move has aroused concern amongst the people who live in the area and many have little faith in the "public consultation" which is taking place. The NHS Argyll and Clyde area covers a population of more than 400,000, stretching from Oban to Paisley, and including 26 inhabited islands. It is not the only health board to run into opposition over plans to centralise facilities and there have been calls for a "real debate" over such moves which may save money but put people's lives at risk. Once a health board has announced plans for centralisation of services it is rare for the population being served being able to stop the onward march of "progress".

Scottish Enterprise Sells Glasgow HQ

The Government Agency charged with expanding the Scottish economy and increasing its prosperity has sold its Glasgow Headquarters building at 5 Atlantic Quay to Standard Life, in what is probably the largest property deal in the city this year. Scottish Enterprise moved into the building in 2001 and will now rent it from the new owners on a lease which is believed to tie it to the property until 2024.

Staff Reject £20,000 to Move to Inverness

Staff involved in the controversial relocation of Scottish Natural Heritage from Edinburgh to Inverness (forced on the organisation by a government "jobs dispersal" policy) were offered a relocation package this week amounting to £20,000 in total if they agree to move. Although the staff trade union says the package is the best ever offered in the public sector, it seems likely that many staff will reject the offer and take the redundancy package instead - amounting to an average of £40,000 but with larger payments to long-serving senior staff. With a buoyant jobs market in the capital, it is likely that most will be able to obtain alternative employment once they have been paid off. Many of the staff are married with partners who are working in Edinburgh and the choice will be an easy one. But the relocation of SNH to Inverness is likely to prove to be costly to the tax-payer and if few staff relocate SNH will lose a lot of highly-trained staff.

Post Office Closures Across Scotland

Despite protests from local people, the Post Office has confirmed plans to close a large number of branches across Scotland. In Aberdeen, seven suburban branches are for the chop, though three offices have been reprieved. In Edinburgh, 19 units are closing in the city and Dalkieith and Musselburgh are each losing a branch office. The Post Office, trying to put a gloss on the situation, claim that branch closures will help to ensure the long-term viability of other outlets and that closures are not undertaken lightly but only after extensive consultation. They argue that customers will continue to have good access to Post Office counters and services. For those with access to motor cars, that may be true, but for the elderly who have to walk to the Post Office or use public transport, it is not quite so easy as that.

Slow Start for Single House Surveys

While there are many advantages in the Scottish legal system for selling and buying a house, one complaint is that prospective purchasers who are considering an offer, have to pay for a property survey even though their bid may not eventually be high enough to obtain the house. In the current sellers' market, that can mean prospective buyers spending a lot of money on surveys on houses they are not successful in buying. So the government came up with a scheme involving 563 estate agents, solicitors and surveyors in Inverness, Dundee and parts of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The pilot scheme requires the seller to obtain a full survey (costing around £500) which is made available to prospective buyers. Critics, however, say that sellers have little to gain from the new system - the cost is one aspect. Another is that detailed surveys such as these highlight all the negative aspects of the house and can chase away buyers or at the very least result in lower offer prices. Perhaps to the relief of surveyors (who of course will see their income drop if far fewer surveys by prospective purchasers are commissioned), only two sellers signed up for the scheme in the first week. In Edinburgh, 800 homes went on the market in the same timescale and none opted for the new system. One survey which was completed took nine-and-a-half hours for a two-bedroom house and the report ran to 25 pages - at a cost to the surveyor of well over the £500 fee. Since May last year, the average cost of a house in Scotland has risen 22%, to £106,932.

£50 Million Gives Scotland a Sporting Chance

The Scottish Executive announced this week that £49.5m of public money has been allocated from the National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy fund among six local authorities, towards the development of multi-sport facilities across 10 sites. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling, Falkirk and North Lanarkshire all became winners in the race for cash. After years of dithering, Edinburgh is at last to get a £6 million velodrome cycling stadium with an indoor football facility and £4 million to upgrade the Royal Commonwealth Pool. Sighthill Park in the capital will have a municipal stadium, indoor athletics training facility and sports hall. Glasgow's share of the funding also totalled £17 million, to be spent on an indoor sports arena in the East End of the city, a municipal stadium and indoor athletics training area at Scotstoun and an indoor football facility. The cash injection for the sports arena allowed the City of Glasgow to get on the starting blocks for an ambitious £24 million national sporting facility (illustrated here) which will give the city a boost in its aim to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014. In Aberdeen, there will be a £5 million indoor athletics training facility, indoor football facility and sports hall. In central Scotland, there will be a £3 million regional indoor football facility in Falkirk and a £3 million curling academy and sports hall at Forthbank in Stirlingshire.

100 Million Extra Pints of Beer

Brewing giant Tennent's announced this week a £3.3 million investment in their Wellpark brewery in Glasgow, which will boost production of Scotland's best-selling lager from 500 million to 600 million pints each year. Tennent's have seen a total investment of £11 million since being taken over two years ago by Belgian brewing giant Interbrew. The new capacity will create some logistical problems, however, as 16 massive new production tanks will have to come by road and sea from Germany to Glasgow. The 20-metre high tanks will travel only at night, to minimise disruption to traffic on the roads. Tennent's lager was first sold in draught form in 1925 and eleven years later went on sale in cans. The post-war boom in lager sales has seen sales increase dramatically over the years.

Glasgow Loses Curry Capital Crown

Last year, Glasgow won the UK title of Capital of Curry, but with 200 curry houses in the Yorkshire city of Bradford, it was only a matter of time before they got their vindaloos together and won the title again. The idea of the annual contest began in Bradford, but it was claimed that quarrels between chefs, administrative bungles (vital entry forms were overlooked last year) and a lack of proper support from the local city council all contributed to Bradford missing out for the last five years. According to the judges, the best Indian restaurants in Bradford, Birmingham, Glasgow and London were separated by less than the width of a bay leaf and so other factors came into play. It was the harmonising quality of curry in Bradford which won the day - with the restaurants organising free "peace curries" after street riots in 2001 and sponsoring a racially mixed football team. Bradford's Sweet Centre restaurant is said to have a "fusion of South Asia and Yorkshire" serving fish, chips and mushy peas as well as curry. So if they want to win the curry title next year, the message to Glasgow curry houses is clear - offer free meals to warring Celtic and Rangers football supporters and add haggis and deep fried Mars Bars to the menu...

Versace Trims Its Cloth

Competition amongst top fashion houses in Glasgow is becoming so fierce that Italian designer Versace has cut down its flagship store in Ingram Street to half its previous size. The other section has been offered for rent in a bid to cut costs and improve profits. The store was the company's first outside of Italy when it opened in Glasgow in 1991 in the Italian Centre in the Merchant City area of Glasgow. Since then, a string of big name designer companies have set up in Scotland's largest city, with Escada, Ralph Lauren, Armani and Cruise all moving in. Glasgow and central Scotland shoppers are now spoilt for choice at the top end of the retail market.

£15,000 for an Edinburgh Car Parking Space

The pressure on car parking in the centre of Edinburgh - and the high costs involved - have resulted in an escalation of prices for parking spaces and lock-ups. Earlier this year, a double garage in the city centre was advertised for £15,000 but fierce bidding drove the price up and it was eventually sold for £95,000. Even just an open space suitable for parking demands a premium and when four spaces near the new Scottish Parliament building came on the market this week, they sold within one day - for £60,000.

Midge Wars Break Out

Tourism agencies in the north-east, Tayside and Fife are snapping at the competition in the west of the country by emphasising that the midge (a small biting insect) is not such a problem in the east as the west. Aberdeen and Grampian launched a "Bug off to the East Coast" campaign with a giant midge in a media launch at Pennan, the Aberdeenshire coastal village used as the location for the film "Local Hero". The Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board (HOST) bit back by suggesting that the scheme "smacks of desperation" and that as the Highlands have the most beautiful parts of Scotland, the east had to resort to a negative campaign as they can't find anything else to promote their areas. Ouch! The illustration here is of Loch Restil in Argyll, near the Rest-and-be-Thankful.
Later in the week, the claim about the lack of blood sucking midges in the east wore a bit thinner when it was revealed that they din't mind whether the blood was red or royal blue and that the Queen had bought one of a new breed of hi-tech midge destroying machines for Balmoral. The machines work on the basis that midges home in on carbon dioxide. Normally that is exhaled by animals (any animal will do, not just humans). So the machine expels CO2 and then sucks the insects into a bag.

A "Dog's Dinner" of a Bistro

The owner of The Olive Branch restaurant in Broughton Street, Edinburgh, is believed to be the first in Scotland to offer an à la carte menu - exclusively for dogs. Such a service for pampered pooches may be common overseas, and the restaurant owners have worked in Canada and Australia where dog-friendly restaurants are the norm. They had noticed some customers tying up their dogs outside when the owners came for a meal - and then trying to get window seats so they could keep an eye on them (or make their pets envious?). Now owners can order from a special doggie menu with dishes such as lambs' liver and organic carrot muffin or chicken in brown rice with seaweed crunchies which can be consumed in a special area outside. Pets can also order direct from the human menu at the going rate - seemingly no "doggie bags" are allowed. The owners are also looking at the possibility of buying in dishes from a specialist caterer - The Dog Deli. If the doggie menu proves to be as good as it sounds, maybe it will be the dog owners who will be begging for scraps?

Weather in Scotland This Week

While not exactly a "heat wave" (yet), temperatures in Scotland rose to 21/22C (70/72F) in central Scotland by the end of this week and Glasgow reached 23C (73F) on Saturday. Temperatures are forecast to rise even further in the next few days - possibly to 26C (79F). As on many occasions this month, it was Aberdeen and the north-east which fared best for sunshine, however. The granite city basked in 28 hours of sunshine over last Saturday to Monday. There was much less sunshine in central areas, resulting in a muggy, warm atmosphere but rainfall has been practically non-existent.

This week's illustrations of current flowers in Scotland show (above) the herbaceous border at Kinross House. The border stretches down from the house towards Loch leven Castle. The flowers making a splash here are mainlt Lythrum and Crocosmia.

The first picture below is of one of the many roses grown as part of national trials at Tollcross Park in Glasgow. This one is called "Simply Heaven" - with some justification although it does have a lot of competition from the scores of other varieties growing there. Next, the Cosmos Sea-shells were in another part of the garden at Kinross House.

Finally, the Marjoram was growing in the garden of Finlaystone House in Renfrewshire. All the photographs in this section were taken this week.

Threat to Historic Fort George

It may have been built as part of the policy to subjugate the Highland clans after the Jacobite Uprising in 1745, but the army barracks at Fort George on the Moray Firth, east of Inverness, are now an important part of the infrastructure of the area. But the sweeping changes being considered as part of the restructuring of the army and the axing of at least one Scottish regiment, could see the end of the 18th century army base with a move to more modern accommodation. Fort George was built to be an impregnable military location and the boundary walls are nearly a mile long. Historic Scotland run part of the complex as a tourist attraction but Fort George is the only historic monument in Scotland still operating as it was originally built. The illustration is courtesy of Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board

Scotland's Oldest Theatre Saved

Patronised by Robert Burns and an inspiration for the author of Peter Pan (J M Barrie) as well as a platform for Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, the Theatre Royal in Dumfries (in Shakespeare Street, no less) is now the oldest working theatre in Scotland. But like many old dames of the stage, she has seen better days and was facing the final curtain. However, the Dumfries and Galloway Council has come up with a £2.5 million rescue package which will see it transformed into a state-of-the-art facility. Of course, even that sum is not enough for the major work required. But the cash injection, plus the council helping to meet operating costs with £600,000 a year for the next seven years, will allow the Trust which now owns the theatre to apply for further grants, including £1.7 million of lottery grants via the Scottish Arts Council. The theatre first opened in September 1792 and Robert Burns was one of the contributors to the building costs.

Historic Step Forward for Colzium House

Colzium Lennox Estate near Kilsyth in North Lanarkshire is a pleasant country park for locals (and those in the know, from further afield) but the local council believe that it is under-utilised and could be a high quality visitor attraction. So they are embarking on a £2.6 million project to upgrade Colzium House and the adjoining Clock Theatre, which would incorporate a cafe and create space for exhibitions and displays. Colzium Estate was the site of the Battle of Kilsyth in 1645, when the Marquis of Montrose was again victorious in his campaign against the Covenanters and in support of King Charles I. One of the attractions of Colzium, which should be better known, is a walled garden which is kept in pristine condition and has a lovely collection of all kinds of small conifers. And despite its relatively small size, it always seems to manage a splash of colour from bulbs and seasonal plants.

Next Week in History

• August 1 1714 - Death of Queen Anne; George I, Elector of Hanover becomes king.
• August 1 1747 - Proscription Act introduced, banning tartan and the carrying of weapons. The penalty for a first offence was six months in jail and a second offence resulted in transportation for seven years.
• August 1 1967 - University of Dundee which was incorporated into the University of St Andrews in 1890, constituted as a separate university.
• August 2 1894 - Death duties introduced for the first time in Britain.
• August 2 1922 - Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, died in Nova Scotia.
• August 3 1573 - Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange executed, after defending Edinburgh Castle on behalf of Mary Queen of Scots from May 1568 to May 1573.
• August 3 1460 - King James II killed by an exploding cannon at the siege of Roxburgh Castle.
• August 4 1870 - Birth of the entertainer Sir Harry Lauder.
• August 4 1900 - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the future Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, born.
• August 5 1305 - William Wallace betrayed and captured by the English.
• August 5 1388 - James, Earl Douglas, died out of sight of his army, in a bush, at Battle of Otterburn in which Scots defeat Henry Percy, (Hotspur).
• August 5 1695 - The Scottish Parliament established a General Post Office.
• August 5 1704 - Act of Security passed by the Scottish Parliament. This allowed Scotland to choose a successor to Queen Anne, other than the one elected by the English Parliament, if Scottish conditions were not met. This precipitated the demands in London for an Act of Union of the two parliaments.
• July 5 1746 - British Linen Company (later Bank) received its Charter.
• August 6 1678 - First Glasgow/Edinburgh coach service began from White Horse Inn, Edinburgh.
• August 6 1820 - Donald Alexander Smith - later Lord Strathcona - born in Forres. A pioneer of the Hudson Bay Company in the North-West, he later championed the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway across Canada and drove the last spike at Craigellachie, British Columbia.
• August 6 1881 - Birth of Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin.

Vettriano Picture for Manchester United Manager

Sir Alex Ferguson, the successful manager of Manchester United, has paid £130,000 for the original oil painting "Along Came a Spider" by the Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. The work features the artist's girlfriend, draped over a chaise longue, wearing a back cocktail dress and long gloves. The shadowy man dressed in a dinner suit in the background may be the artist himself. Ferguson, who began his working life in the shipyards at Govan in Glasgow, before becoming a successful footballer and manager, is a long-time admirer of Vettriano's work. In April, Vettriano's "The Singing Butler" sold for £750,000 - a record price for a Scottish artist. The picture had been rejected by the Scottish Arts Council in 1991 when Vettriano offered it to them for £3,000.

Gregory Gets His Girl

Scots actor John Gordon Sinclair shot to fame 24 years ago as the star of "Gregory's Girl" (a romantic comedy about a football-mad teenager struggling to attract his girlfriend - who is a better football player than he is). Now he has scored at last, by marrying Shauna McKeon, whose family own Scotland's largest independent fabric retailer, Remnant Kings. The lavish wedding took place at St Andrew's Cathedral in Glasgow, with many showbusiness celebrities attending as guests.

Edinburgh's 26th Jazz and Blues Festival

This year's jazz and blues festival in the capital got under way on Friday. There will be 127 concerts taking place at a range of venues across Edinburgh and ticket sales are higher than in previous years in what is probably now the largest jazz festival in Britain. Many of the concerts are sold out (though organisers say that standing room is available at many of the gigs). 25,000 people are expected to buy tickets for the programme of events, with more than 22,000 fans attending a free outdoor Mardi Gras jazz parade on Saturday and "Jazz on a Summer’s Day" in Princes Street Gardens on Sunday.

First Director of National Theatre of Scotland Appointed

Vicky Featherstone, a 37-year-old manager of a London theatrical touring company has been appointed as the first director of Scotland's new National Theatre Company. The selection for the biggest job in Scottish theatre was described as "a bold choice". Miss Featherstone is credited with turning the Paines Plough company into a major force in British theatre with its support of new writing. She has worked with Scottish playwrights and run co-productions with Scottish companies and has won three Fringe First awards in Edinburgh.

Wonderland for Scone Palace

Scone Palace is already a magical place - it was where most of the early kings of Scotland were crowned on the Stone of Destiny at Boot Hill. But another kind of enchantment will take place there on August 12 when the Chapterhouse Theatre Company performs Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in the grounds of the palace. Those attending are being invited to bring along a picnic to eat and drink during the event. Hopefully the bottles which make Alice grow bigger or smaller won't get mixed up with the cans of Irn-Bru and Coke.

Sunday and Mid-Week Football Results

Fulham 0 Rangers 1
Chelsea 4 Celtic 2
Liverpool 5 Celtic 1
Celtic 2 Manchester United 1
Rangers 2 Tottenham 0
Hibernian 2 Cardiff City 1
FC Groningen (Holland) 1 Dunfermline 1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 Hartlepool 1
Peterhead 0 Aberdeen 1
Forfar Athletic 1 Hibernian 2
Elgin City 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5
Ross County 0 Heart of Midlothian 0
Montrose 1 Aberdeen 4
Herenveen (Holland) 1 Dunfermline 1
Falkirk 2 Luton Town 1

Mixed Fortunes for Celtic in North America

Celtic's North American tour got off to a good start with a 2-0 defeat of English Premier Division club Fulham but they crashed to a 4-2 defeat by Chelsea and a 5-2 defeat by Liverpool. Of course, it could be argued that Chelsea had spent £60 million in recent months building up their team - and up to that point Celtic had spent zero. But the Parkhead club surprised many people, including the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, by defeating the English Premier League club. Celtic are at last moving to add new players to their squad with a "try before you buy" loan deal for Henri Camara which will cost his wages (£25,000 a week) plus £1.5 million for this season with an option to transfer the player next summer. Camara is a Senegal international player and he refused to continue playing for English Premier League club Wolves, when they were relegated at the end of last season. He believed it would adversely affect his international career.

Rangers' Champion League Opponents

Rangers will probably face CSKA Moscow in their qualifying match for a place in the European Champions League. The Moscow side drew 0-0 in the first round of their second round qualifier against PFC Neftchi, an unknown side from Azerbaijan and are expected to win the second leg in Moscow next Wednesday. CSKA won the Russian title last season and are already match fit as they have played 18 games of the current Russian season.

Aberdeen Chief Executive Resigns

Keith Wyness, chief executive of Aberdeen Football Club stunned the soccer world by announcing that he was to leave the job - less than a week before the start of the new season. He insisted that he had been contemplating the move since last Christmas and that nobody had forced him to resign - but only a week ago he had told the local Press & Journal newspaper that he was not actively seeking to leave the club. Aberdeen will not appoint a replacement, with his duties allocated to other executives and "football consultant" Willie Miller. Wyness, a lifelong fan of the club, has been chief executive for three years. He was brought in by chairman Stewart Milne, who says that Wyness brought much-neededstability and got the club onto an even keel commercially and financially.

Swimming Records Broken By Scots Mother of Three

Andrea Gellan from Dunfermline is aged 47 and took up swimming ten years ago. But she was part of a six-woman relay team that broke two world records by swimming a triple crossing of the English Channel. They beat the previous record for a double crossing by nearly an hour and then went on to become the first women's team to complete a triple crossing - 70 miles in total, over one and a half days. The gruelling swim involved swimming around the clock, including during the hours of darkness, in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The water temperature was 14C (57F) and each swimmer took to the water for an hour before resting for five hours.

New Coach Deal for Inverness

Supporters of Inverness Caledonian Thistle are delighted with a new coach deal signed by the northern club - because it will save them a lot of money. But the coach in question is not training the players but is the bus service which will take them on the 200 mile return trip to Aberdeen for all the club's "home" games - forced on the by the Scottish Premier League rules. A local bus company has agreed to provide free transport for the team and for only £5 return for fans. The club is co-ordinating the arrangements through the supporters' club and hope that it will result in a larger number of fans travelling to Aberdeen.

Scotland's Soccer Team Defeat Brazil 9-2

No, not Fantasy Football, or even a few drams too many, but the latest result in an unbeaten run by the Scots in.... the Homeless World Cup in Sweden. The team has beaten Slovakia, Argentina, Sweden and the Czech Republic as well as Brazil in the early stages of the competition. They will take on Austria or South Africa in the quarter-finals. The four-a-side competition is run by the International Association of Street Papers and all the players in the Scotland squad have been involved with the Big Issue, a weekly paper sold in the streets of Scotland by homeless people.