It Wisnae Me!

After the publication this week of the report by Lord Fraser into the soaring costs and delays in the project to create a new Scottish parliament building, the front page of the Scotsman newspaper had photographs of six of the main players in this national embarrassment below the word "Guilty". Which was unfair, because although Lord Fraser was critical of many (most?) of those involved, he had been careful to point out that no single individual was responsible. Of course, he did acknowledge that, apart from Sir David Steel the Presiding Officer (Speaker) accepting some responsibility for the scandal, the ancient walls of Edinburgh had reverberated with the cries of "it wisnae me". Every child in Scotland who wants to deny responsibility learns that phrase from an early age. Lord Fraser commented that everything that could go wrong with the project had gone wrong, right from the outset. Many of those involved and responsible for decisions were out of their depth and failed to communicate. Lord Fraser confirmed that the original estimate of £50 million was hopelessly unrealistic. Members of the Scottish Parliament added 47% to the floor area of the parliament but Lord Fraser said they were entitled to do so and their requests were not frivolous. As the project progressed, decisions were taken to choose quality finishes and use local sources in Scotland, rather than cheaper options. But he calculated that £150 million of costs were due to delays and design hold-ups. One of the aims of the investigation had been to see if any lessons could been learned for the future. Clearly there are no plans to build another parliament building (please!). However, the way in which the civil servants working for the Scottish Executive will certainly have to be improved, with more expertise being recruited where required.

Scots Shop Till They Drop

Retail sales growth in Scotland in August once more outshone the UK average, with sales volume 7.6% higher than in the same month in 2003; the UK figure was only 3.2%. Scottish retail sales have now out-peformed the UK average in 13 out of the last 14 months according to Scottish Retail Sales Monitor. Growth was particularly high in the west of Scotland, including Glasgow. But as higher interest rates and slowing house price rises begin to have an impact, economists are predicting that sales will start to decelerate, a pattern already emerging in other parts of the UK. Small shopkeepers outside the main cities are already reporting that August was a poor month. And sales of gardening and outdoor leisure products also suffered from the wet weather. The illustration is of Princes Square Shopping Centre, Glasgow.

Closure Threat to RAF Bases

The Royal Air Force is currently carrying out a "spending review" which is politician-speak for down-sizing and reducing the number of airfields it maintains. Kinloss and Lossiemouth on the Moray Firth are only a few miles apart and so the spotlight has been very much on these bases as far as Scotland is concerned. Lossiemouth is the RAF's largest and busiest fast jets base with three operational squadrons of Tornado GR4s, the Tornado GR4 Operational Conversion Unit, a Sea King Search and Rescue Flight and some smaller units. Together with Kinloss, it employs about 5,000 military and civilian personnel and injects nearly £100 million a year into the local economy. Lobby groups have met the defence minister to argue the case for the retention of both bases, but the day after the meeting it was announced that 340 military personnel are being moved south and 50 civilian jobs will be lost in engineering and maintenance at Lossiemouth. The Ministry of Defence denied that this was the start of a run-down of the base and it was too early to speculate on the outcome of the defence airfield review. But local politicians expressed concern that this was just the start of a major attack on high skill jobs in Moray.

Edinburgh Beats the Competition

The Conde Nast Traveller Readers' Awards for 2004 named Edinburgh as the best destination city in the UK - the third time in four years that it has won the accolade. Clearly, many visitors don't need a magazine to tell them what they already know and Edinburgh hotels had their best occupancy rates ever over the summer months, soaring to 87% in the capital's 44 leading hotels, despite a slight downturn in August. While the wet weather may have been a factor, Edinburgh's deputy Lord Provost suggested that it could also have been a result of the numbers of tourists going to the Olympics in Athens.

Dundee Graduates Get Good Start

A survey of graduate starting salaries has shown that those from Dundee University have the highest job prospects and pay of all the Scottish centres of learning. The Dundee former students were earning an average salary of £18,884 six months after leaving university, which was £5,000 a year more than those from Stirling University, one of the lowest ranked in the UK. The UK average was £16,393 a year. Only students from Oxford, Cambridge or the London universities came out higher than Dundee. Of course, the nature of courses and subjects can make a big difference - Dundee has a high reputation in medicine and science.

Weekend Jails?

Plans being considered by the Scottish minister for justice could see the creation of jails which would lock up minor criminals at weekends and evenings only, allowing them to continue to work and support themselves and their families while serving their sentences. The numbers in Scottish jails is at record levels, with an average daily population of 6,524 in 2003, an increase of 2% on the year before.

From Bank to Top Shop

Clydesdale Bank management recently announced that they were to invest £15 million in upgrading their head office premises in Glasgow's Buchanan Street. It now looks as though the investment will yield big dividends not just in creating modern offices for administration staff. Realising that Buchanan Street is one of the prime retail areas of the city, the bank is to give up the ground floor and basement and move its back-office functions to the upper floors. As a result it will be able to sell or lease the space at a premium to up-market retailers. If they sell the units, it could result in them paying for the refurbishment with money to spare.

TV Dinners at £40

Scottish chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay has launched a range of ready meals which he claims are of "gourmet standard". A meal for two ranges in price from £33 to £40 and the choice includes "ballotine of beef with pommes puree, baby vegetables and a rich red jus" (that's beef spiraled around creamed potatoes and veg with a red sauce to you and me). The meals are ordered online or in selected branches of Sainsbury's supermarket in London. They are made by the Grampian Country Food Group in Edinburgh. Ramsay has won Michelin three stars for his London restaurant cuisine but shocked the catering trade in January by closing down his award-winning Amaryllis restaurant in Glasgow.

Swapping Crakow for Castlemilk

Aberdeen-based transport company FirstGroup are hoping to recruit 1,000 bus drivers from Poland, over the next eighteen months, to fill vacancies for driving jobs in a number of UK locations, including Glasgow. Apparently, deregulation of services in Poland has made many drivers redundant in a country which has an unemployment rate of 22%. Since May 1 workers in Poland have been free to take up posts anywhere in the European Union. Unemployed drivers in Poland receive only £70 a month unemployment pay and even those who are employed get only £1.60 an hour. They would earn £8 an hour in Glasgow with overtime rates of £9 per hour on weekdays and £10 at weekends. As bus drivers these days also collect the fares, the Poles will have to learn English - as well as adapt to driving on the left side of the road. Lessons on "local dialect" will also be given - so they will have to learn "come on, get aff" and other standard phrases!

Duncan Stirs Up Porridge-Making Championships

Donald Hillditch from Portsoy won the World Porridge-Making Championships last weekend, the fourth time he has won this popular competition. He says the secret of his success is the finest water and the finest oatmeal he can find. Chefs from across the country compete to create the best traditional porridge from oatmeal, water and salt.

Alness Wins Scotland in Bloom Title

The annual Beautiful Scotland in Bloom awards were announced this week and the overall winner was the small town of Alness on the north side of the Cromarty Firth, 18 miles from Inverness. Alness also won the Small Town Trophy and the Horticultural award. Aberdeen, not for the first time, won the city category and Perth again carried off the Small City award. VisitScotland's special award went to Pitlochry and the village of Falkland in Fife won the prize for its continuous high standard over the years. The Beautiful Scotland in Bloom awards have been running for many years now and anyone travelling round Scotland soon begins to spot the locations which are trying hard to win a prize - both the local authorities and private citizens deck the streets and houses with flowers in hanging baskets, window boxes and planters! The illustration shows the Perthshire village of Muthill which always has a good display and has won the samll village prize in the past.

Basking Sharks Enjoy Scottish Waters

For many years dolphins have been a major tourist attraction in the Moray Firth and in the islands off the west coast of Scotland. Basking sharks are now being added to the list of sights, though numbers are still relatively small. A survey covering the waters of the English Channel, the Irish Sea, the Firth of Clyde and the Hebrides over a ten-week period made 120 sightings and 106 of these were in Scottish waters. In 2003 only 40 sharks were spotted and the Wildlife Trust believe that the increase may be due to a rise in the amount of plankton in the sea as a result of climate and current changes. Basking sharks are one of 23 species of whales and dolphins found in Scottish waters and part of 44,000 species supported by Scotland's coast and seas. The number of boat operators taking visitors to see marine wildlife has increased by nearly 80% since 1997 according to the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

£500,000 for Big Tree Country

The Big Tree Country heritage and access project in Perthshire has been awarded £500,000 from the Lottery Fund to protect and preserve the area's rich heritage of trees and woodlands. Together with other finance, the project will be spending £1.65 million over the next three years at 20 woodland heritage locations. The area includes the world's highest hedge at Meiklour and Britain's tallest tree, the tallest Douglas fir, the oldest tree in Europe, (the yew at Fortingall) and the widest conifer in Britain at Cluny House Gardens, Perthshire. It is 11 metres in girth and over 130 years old. The tallest Sitka spruce in Britain grows at Strathearn. It is 61 metres (200 feet) tall. And the tallest Japanese larch in Britain is in Diana's Grove at Blair Castle. Big Tree Country indeed.

Red Alert for Squirrels

Scottish woodlands are home to 75% of the UK's remaining 160,000 red squirrels, but numbers have been declining as a result of the expansion of the more aggressive imported grey variety, which outnumber their cousins by a ratio of 18 to 1. As part of Red Squirrel Week which ran this week, visitors to the Scottish Borders with mobile phones which incorporate a camera have been asked to use this latest technology to photograph any squirrels they see and send the image with a note of the date and location to the local tourist organisation. Visitors are being given lists of walks where red squirrels might be seen along with fact sheets. However, it must be said that while visitors may get some snaps of the cheeky grey variety. the shy reds are likely to scamper away before the cameras can swing into action. Still, it raises awareness of their plight, and that can't be bad.

Feeding Like Gannets

With reports of the number of seabirds declining round our shores due to a combination of global warming and over-fishing of staple foods such as sand eels, it is surprising to find that gannets are bucking the trend. Scottish Natural Heritage commissioned the first survey of their numbers for ten years and found that they had expanded by 10%, with numbers on the Bass Rock (see illustration) off North Berwick rising by 25%. In 1994, there were 167,000 pairs of these large birds nesting around Scotland, accounting for around 80% of the UK's gannet population. That had grown to 184,000 this year, with a new colony established in Westray, Orkney. On the Bass Rock, numbers increased from just under 40,000 to 50,000. From a distance, the Bass Rock looks white, but that is because it is covered in nesting seabirds. Gannets nest close to one another - just out of range of being pecked at by their neighbours. The largest of Britain's seabirds with a wingspan of over six feet, gannets may have been able to get round the food shortages besetting other seabirds by flying further out to sea, sometimes travelling hundreds of miles.

Houdini Emulates McQueen

Two years ago, a boar which escaped from an abattoir and evaded attempts to take him back to his fate captured the hearts of the public as the media reported his adventures. After evading capture by scaling a fence and swimming a river, it disappeared into the hills. He was nicknamed McQueen (after Steve McQueen in the film "The Great Escape") and although he was offered a home in an animal sanctuary, he maintained his freedom for three months - until he was shot three months later by a landowner. This week, the public were warned not to approach another wild boar which escaped - this one was immediately nicknamed Houdini. The runaway made his break for freedom from a pen at the Scottish Borders Abattoir in Galashiels. The tuskless wonder weighs only 130lb and is only 18 inches tall but police say he could be dangerous if cornered. That should give Houdini a fighting chance to enjoy his freedom - at least for a while.

Weather in Scotland This Week

Temperatures took a dip in the early part of the week, reaching only 13C (55F) in Glasgow on Monday. Just as we were thinking of looking out scarves and gloves, the thermometer swung back up again and Aberdeen and Edinburgh reached a more comfortable 18C (66F) on Friday. There were frequent weather fronts passing over Scotland, bringing high winds, cloud and some rain. The east side of the country fared best from the sunshine point of view, with Aberdeen enjoying around seven hours of sunshine on Monday and Friday. The weather outlook? Continuing changeable, of course!

This week's illustrations of current flowers in Scotland shows first of all some purple Bell Heather in the garden of the National Trust property at Hill of Tarvit in Fife. The leaves of the Mahonia and the colourful Gaillardia below were also at Hill of Tarvit while the Colchicum or Autumn Crocus were growing in the woodland area at Cambo Estate, also in Fife.

Kidnapped in Corstorphine

When Alan Breck and David Balfour, the two heroes in the Robert Louis Stevenson's story "Kidnapped", part company at the end of the novel, they do so on Corstorphine Hill, looking over Edinburgh in the distance. Now the Highlander and the Lowlander are together again in Corstorphine, in bronze at least. The 20ft high statues have been unveiled in the grounds of the sponsor of the art work, Scottish & Newcastle brewers, overlooking the busy Corstorphine Road, looking towards the Pentland Hills. The realistic-looking statue shows the two men in a stirring pose, which mirrors well their adventure story origins. The idea for the statue came from the sculptor, Alexander Stoddart (who is also in the process of designing another statue, this time of the economist Adam Smith). Kidnapped tells the story of a Lowlander who is sold into slavery by his uncle and escapes into the mountains of Scotland, accompanied by a Highlander, pursued by English troops. It is thought by some to be one of the finest stories ever told about Scotland, its divisions and its landscape.

Internet Pioneer Buys Lee Castle

The Lee, a 19th century mansion in South Lanarkshire may include some of the castle of the Lockharts, who held the lands in the 12th century. The Lockharts were said to be so named because a Simon Lockhart helped to bring back King Robert the Bruce's heart from Spain where it had been taken on a crusade after his death, at his request. However, the family were known as "Loccard" even before that event. The Lee was held by the family until the 20th century and the property includes the title of "Baron of Lee." There were all sorts of rumours about prospective buyers when it was put on the market but the property has eventually been sold to Addison McElroy Fischer, a reclusive internet pioneer based in Florida who has made his fortune from computing. The Lee has 14 bedrooms, a private chapel - and a heated swimming pool.

New Golf Course at Dalquharran Castle

Jack Nicklaus is designing the golf course which will be based at Dalquharran Castle in Ayrshire as part of a multi-million pound development. Robert Adam designed the building for Kennedy of Dunure and his wife (who was Robert Adam's niece) in 1790. It is now just an outer shell but is to be transformed into a 130-bedroom luxury hotel by the Ritz-Carlton Group. The £20 million development has been underway for some years and will open some time in 2005.

Next Week in History

• September 19 1854 - The Great North of Scotland Railway opened, running from Aberdeen to Huntly.
• September 20 1746 - Prince Charles Edward Stuart escaped capture by sailing to France aborad the French ship "L'Heureux."
• September 20 1842 - Sir James Dewar, inventor of the vacuum flask, born in Kincardine-on-Forth.
• September 20 1967 - Liner "Queen Elizabeth II" launched at John Brown's shipyard at Clydebank.
• September 20 1972 - Paul McCartney, one of the "Beatles", was arrested for possession of marijuana at his farm in the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland.
• September 21 1327 - King Edward II of England died , succeeded by Edward III.
• September 21 1513 - King James V crowned at Stirling Castle.
• September 21 1722 - Minister, historian, playwright and tutor to the Prince of Wales, John Home born. After the first performance of his play "Douglas", people asked "Whaur's yer Wully Shakespeare noo?"
• September 21 1745 - Charles Edward Stuart victorious at Battle of Prestonpans. The Jacobite army of just over 3,000 under Bonnie Prince Charlie heavily defeated the English Royal forces led by Sir John Cope.
• September 21 1756 - Road builder John McAdam born.
• September 21 1832 - Novelist (notably "Ivanhoe" and "Talisman") and poet Sir Walter Scott died aged 61.
• September 22 1931 - Birth of politician, Secretary of State for Scotland, Minister for Defence, Viscount Younger of Leckie (George Younger). Later became Chairman of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc.
• September 23 704 - Death of St Adamnan, biographer of St Columba.
• September 23 1678 - The Earl of Mar was commissioned to raise a regiment nicknamed "Earl of Mar's Gray Breeks" which later became the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
• September 23 1779 - Battle of Flamborough Head in which Scots-born John Paul Jones fought an engagement against the British navy. His ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard sank but he boarded and captured HMS Serapis.
• September 24 1332 - Edward Balliol, son of John Balliol, crowned at Scone. He was deposed by supporters of David II in December 1332, restored in 1333, deposed again in 1334, restored in 1335 and finally deposed in 1341.
• September 24 1962 - Birth of Scotland international footballer and later TV personality Ally McCoist.
• September 25 1875 - John Hughes Bennett, pioneer microscopist, died.

Scotland's Biggest Air Show

Last Saturday saw around 40,000 spectators attending the annual Battle of Britain Air Show at the Royal Air Force's Leuchars air base in Fife. There was a flying display lasting seven hours with ultra-modern fast jets mixed with historic aircraft from the Second World War. The event culminated in the exciting formation aerobatics by the Red Arrows RAF display team. This is the team's 40th anniversary and instead of flying off to another demonstration, the aircraft landed and allowed the pilots to chat with some of the spectators. The static park was overflowing with aircraft from air forces across Europe and, of course, the US.

From Gallifrey to Glenbogle

The TV drama series "Monarch of the Glen" returns to UK screens this weekend. Filmed in the Scottish Highlands in the Badenoch region at Ardverikie Castle estate and in Kingussie, the series has changed significantly since it began four years ago. Many of the original characters have moved on and new faces will be appearing this time round. Veteran actor Tom Baker, who is best remembered for his role in the TV sci-fi series "Dr Who" where he time-travelled to such imaginary places as Gallifrey, is stepping back in time again - this time to "Glenbogle". He is to play the part of a septuagenarian mischief-maker, a role which will give him plenty of opportunity to exercise his talents as a comedian! Many of his scenes are with a young actor still in the early stages of his career - Martin Compston who leapt to fame in the Ken Loach film "Sweet Sixteen".

REM Playing Loch Lomond

Rock giants REM are to perform in Scotland next year as part of their European tour to promote their new album "Around the Sun" which is to be released in October. They last played in Scotland at the T in the Park open air rock concert at Balado last year and they have also played at sell-out gigs on the esplanade at Stirling Castle. This time they will be at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre on February 22 and will also appear at Balloch Castle Country Park (pictured here) at Loch Lomond on June 18.

Sunday and Mid-Week Football Results

Heart of Midlothian 0 Rangers 0
Celtic 1 Barcelona 3 (European Champions League)
Heart of Midlothian 3 SC Braga (Portugal) 1 (UEFA Cup qualifier, first leg)
Maritimo (Portugal) 1 Rangers 0 (UEFA Cup qualifier, first leg)

Bank of Scotland Premier League Results - 18 September 2004

Dundee 0 Livingston 0
Kilmarnock 0 Aberdeen 1
Motherwell 4 Dundee United 2
Dunfermline v Hearts, Hibernian v Celtic and Rangers v Inverness are all being played on Sunday.

Scottish First Division Results - 18 September 2004

Airdrie United 1 Ross county 2
Hamilton 0 Clyde 1
Partick Thistle 1 Queen of the South 2
Raith Rovers 0 St Mirren 3
St Johnstone 1 Falkirk 2

BT Scotland Rugby Division 1 Results - 18 September 2004

Biggar 21 Glasgow Hutchesons' 17
Boroughmuir 15 Heriots 19
Currie 27 Ayr 23
Gala 23 Watsonians 21
Glasgow Hawks 29 Aberdeen 16
Hawick 26 Melrose 26

League Tables

As their rivals Celtic march on unbeaten in the SPL, Rangers have yet to win an away match in the league this season. Rangers dropped another two points last Sunday as they only managed a draw with Heart of Midlothian, leaving them seven points behind Celtic. That remained the position on Saturday as both teams are not playing until Sunday. Aberdeen, Motherwell and Kilmarnock are currently above the Ibrox side, having played one game more.

In the First Division, St Mirren remain one point ahead of Falkirk and Clyde while at the foot of that division, Raith Rovers have just one point from seven games. In the Third Division, however, East Stirling are continuing their losing ways and have yet to score a single point, having conceded 22 goals and scored only twice.

In the BT Scotland Rugby Division 1, Melrose and Heriots both have 17 points after four games while Aberdeen trail at the foot with just one point.

Larsson Breaks Celtic Hearts

When he played for Celtic, Henrik Larsson became idolised by the club's supporters as a prolific goal scorer during his seven glorious years with the club. Indeed, while playing for Celtic, Larsson helped to eliminate Barcelona from the UEFA Cup in the 2002/2003 season. But Larsson moved to the Spanish club at the end of last season and as luck would have it the two clubs are in the same European Champions League group. Celtic have a long unbeaten record at home in European competitions, but they knew they were up against stiff competition from the winners of last season's Spanish League. Despite being a goal down after 20 minutes, the Glasgow club fought back and equalised in the second half, after Chris Sutton got into the action. Until then, Henrik Larsson had been on the substitute's bench for Barcelona but he came on a few minutes after Celtic's equaliser. In the remaining half hour of the game his knowledge of Celtic's strengths and weaknesses allowed him to create a goal for team-mate Guily and then he crowned the evening (from the Barcelona point of view) by anticipating a poor header back to the goalkeeper and making the final score 3-1. It is a testament to his stature and his sensitivity to the Celtic fans that the Swede didn't celebrate in any way after the goal.

Rangers Sink in Madeira

The island of Madeira is better known for its fortified wine and elderly tourists than its Maritimo football team. But Rangers seemed to have soaked up the local atmosphere to such an extent that in their UEFA Cup qualifier, first leg match, they failed to cope with the Portuguese side, a team regarded as "minnows" in European football. In the end, Rangers manager Alex McLeish must have been grateful for not losing by a greater margin. Defensively, Maritimo leaked almost as badly as Rangers but they managed to score the only goal of the match. Both sides had plenty of chances to score a barrow-load, but failed to put the ball in the back of the net. Failure to do better in the second leg could see the manager's job being put on the line.

Hearts Conquer Murrayfield

Maybe now that Hearts have played - and convincingly won - their first competitive match at Murrayfield, their fans resistance to moving from the traditional ground at Tynecastle to the national rugby stadium may soften. More than 18,000 turned up to cheer their team on in the UEFA Cup qualifier, first leg against Portuguese side SC Braga, more in hope than certainty about the outcome. But the team responded to the unfamiliar surroundings and fully deserved their 3-1 victory, with goals from Webster, Hartley and Kisnorbo.

Sell-Out for Norwegian International?

Scotland football supporters appear to be undaunted by the disappointing goalless draw against Slovenia in the first of the qualifying matches for the next World Cup. Over 38,000 hopeful fans turned up for that match at Hampden but ticket sales for the next game against Norway (on October 9) have taken off strongly. Nearly 30,000 seats have been sold already. Norwegians have snapped up 6,000 tickets and the Scottish Football association must be hoping that there will be a sell-out for the crucial match.

Rangers Cut Their Losses

Despite an increase in turnover of 16.5% and slashing losses from £29.6 million to £5.9 million compared to last year, Rangers Football Club are still facing a debt mountain of around £72 million. The club has plans for a rights issue of £57 million (with $50 million of that underwritten by Rangers chairman David Murray, via his company, Murray International Holdings), which would cut that to £15 million. Last year's performance was helped by qualifying for the European Champions League. Having failed to achieve that this year, Rangers are now struggling to make headway in the UEFA Cup.

Andrew Wins US Junior Tennis Open Championship

Andrew Murray, a 17-year-old from Dunblane in Stirlingshire became the first British winner of the US Junior Tennis Open Championship last Sunday at Flushing Meadows. Previous winners of that contest have been such legends as Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg and Andy Roddick - Boris Becker could only manage the runners-up spot in the early stages of his career. Andrew had a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory over his German opponent. He has previously reached the boys' quarter-finals of the French open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2003. He has been picked as a member of the Great Britain Davis Cup squad. The young Scot appears to not only have the talent but the temperament to make the grade as a professional tennis player.

The Fairway to Success

According to government figures, revenue from golf tourism has tripled to £300 million over the last four years. Scotland has always had a reputation as the "home of golf" not just because of famous courses like St Andrews and Gleneagles but because of the large numbers of fine golf courses in all parts of the country. These facilities are used by both residents and visitors alike and measures have been taken to encourage both types of golfers. There have been special promotions to make Scotland a "must-visit" destination with imaginative marketing. And "Clubgolf" gives Scottish youngsters the opportunity to try the sport at school, club and community linked centres which introduce golf to 50,000 9-year-olds every year. The scheme is supported by Scottish Executive funding of £500,000 per year through Sportscotland and this will continue until 2009.