Campaign to Save Hospital Succeeds

Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm bowed to public pressure this week and reversed the decision of the Greater Glasgow Health Board to close the Queen Mother's maternity hospital in Glasgow. The "Queen Mum" is a Glasgow institution and the campaign has been full of stories of the life-saving work done there. The hospital will remain open - beside the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill - for at least five years. The health minister has also allocated £100 million for a new "gold standard" hospital which will combine the care of babies and new mothers on one site in Glasgow by 2010. Currently, adult intensive care facilities are not available at the Queen Mother's and, if complications arise during childbirth, they have to be transported off-site. The location of the new combined hospital has not yet been resolved but if it is located beside the Southern General Hospital, it would resolve that problem. Campaigners against the closure, led by the Evening Times newspaper, are delirious about the outcome. Members of the Scottish Parliament who have hospital closures in their own constituencies in a number of locations across Scotland tried to persuade the health minister to invoke a moratorium on all closures but, as before, he has refused to do this on a blanket basis.

Scottish Executive Budget Soars to £30 Billion

The spending plans of the Scottish Executive for the next three years were announced in Parliament this week by the finance minister, Andy Kerr. They show that in the wake of the UK spending review announced earlier by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in London, the Scottish budget will rise to £30.4 billion by 2007/8, up from £25.5 billion this year. Annual spending on the National Health Service will exceed £10 billion over the next few years and Transport spending will increase to £1.9 billion. Capital spending will account for much of that, with new airport rail links, motorway improvements and support for international air routes. By 2007 the government will extend free bus, rail and ferry travel for pensioners to the disabled and all young people in full-time education. The amount allocated to universities will also rise, reaching over £1 billion by 2007.

Prince Scares Pupils

Prince Charles paid a visit to Sabhal Mor Ostaig on the Isle of Skye this week on the same day as a bill to help Gaelic was published in Edinburgh (see item below). The organisation is the only Gaelic-language college in Scotland and he told staff and pupils that their work was vital as Gaelic would die in the world if it dies in Scotland. But he went on to say that if it flourished here, it would send out a message of inspiration and optimism. Later, he visited Sleat Primary School, wearing a kilt in the Lord of the Isles tartan. He was amused when a young pupil ignored protocol and pushed at his impressive sporran - after all, it was shoulder high as far as the youngster was concerned. The prince then said "If you push it too hard, I might disappear." Clearly the young lad was familiar with stories of magic and princes and immediately backed off.

Helping Gaelic Survive

Legislation designed to help the Gaelic language survive and thrive was published by the Scottish Executive this week. The bill is aimed at making it easier for people to use Gaelic and ensure that public bodies - such as councils and health boards - have to take the needs of Gaelic speakers into account. In the Bill, Ḅrd na Gàidhlig will have powers to issue statutory guidance on Gaelic education and its advisory role will be expanded to allow it to advise all public, private and voluntary sector bodies on Gaelic issues. The legislation should secure the status of the language in Scotland, ensuring that - rather than dying out as some have gloomily predicted - it has a long-term future.

Slower Population Decline Predicted

The recent data on births and deaths and immigartion/emigration have led the statisticians in the office of the Registrar General of Scotland to predict that although Scotland's population is continuing to decline, it will not fall below five million mark until 2017. The fall in the number of people in the work-force has prompted the Scottish Executive to launch its "fresh talent" initiative, aimed at encouraging ex-pat Scots to return home and people of other nationalities to make their home in Scotland. The latest figures encouraged First Minister Jack McConnell to claim that the strategy was working. Legitimate immigrants will receive financial support and a relocation advisory service for Scotland will open next month. Scotland's falling population is in contrast to that of the UK as a whole, where numbers are expected to rise from an estimated 59.6 million in 2003, to more than 60 million in 2005, reaching 65.7 million by 2031. From 2007 there will be more pensioners than children aged under 16 for the first time in British history.

Modern Thistle Logo for G8 Summit

When the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the USA and the UK, plus the president of the European Commission, gather for a G8 summit at Gleneagles in Scotland next July, the symbol of their meeting will be a thistle "with a modern twist". The logo will be used at a variety of events during the summit and it was claimed that it would give the G8 meeting a "distinctly Scottish flavour". Unfortunately, the logo was designed by a London-based design company which did not go down too well in Scotland. Many of the previous G8 summits have been the focus for anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist protesters and this one is expected to be no different.

PR Disaster for Tilting Train

British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson of VirginAirlines announced this week that his company had signed an agreement leading to the construction of five "spaceliners" by Rutan, the company that developed SpaceShipOne. This became the first privately developed carrier to go above 100km in June. But on the same day, his rail company launched the "Pendelino" high-speed tilting train on the Glasgow to London "Royal Scot" service - with a fanfare of bagpipes at Glasgow Central station. The train was carrying TV film crews and reporters as well as ordinary fare-paying passengers and was expected to cut 30 minutes from the journey time. Instead, it developed a wheel problem, which meant that it had to limp along at 50mph. It even suffered the ignominy of being shunted into a siding to let faster trains through. At Carlisle, in northern England, passengers had to transfer to another train and eventually arrived at London two hours later than schedule. Some passengers were philosophical about the bad luck and PR disaster but one disgruntled passenger, interviewed at her destination, pronounced to the TV news reporter that the train "wasn't worth a curdy." No doubt the TV producers had to check a Scots dictionary to reassure themselves that she was only comparing the latest technological marvel to a very small coin.

Destination Dubai

Emirates Airlines started its direct service from Glasgow to Dubai in April and the distinctive Airbus A300 wide-body jet passing overhead along the flight-path to Glasgow airport around lunchtime each day has become a familiar sight. It has already taken 60,000 passengers to the Gulf resort and illustrates in a practical way that there is indeed a market for long-haul direct flights from Scotland.

New Aberdeen to Cardiff Air Link

Small Swansea-based airline Air Wales has announced that it is to start a new service from Cardiff in south Wales to Aberdeen, stopping off at Liverpool along the way. The Aberdeen service will take 2 hours 30 minutes - compared to 10-12 hours by road or rail. The airline uses 48-seater ATR-42 aircraft and already flies from Cardiff to London (City Airport), Dublin in Ireland and Amsterdam in Holland.

Glenmorangie Short List

The Macdonald family members who have put up for sale their controlling interest in the malt whisky distiller Glenmorangie, are understood to have drawn up a list of six preferred bidders after receiving over a dozen expressions of interest. The whisky industry was shocked when the intention to sell was announced at the end of August. Companies such as Bacardi-Martini, Pernod_Ricard, Edrington and William Grant are said to have made it onto the short list. Glenmorangie makes the most popular malt whisky in the domestic Scottish market at its Easter Ross distillery, overlooking the Dornoch Firth. The firm sells 1.6 million cases of whisky each year and employs 390 people.

Where's the Beef?

Or rather, where's the beef coming from? Quality Meat Scotland is trying to persuade the Scottish Executive to introduce legislation to force restaurants to divulge the source of their meat in the same way as supermarkets and meat suppliers. They point out that 60% of "Aberdeen Angus beef" actually comes from outside of Scotland, from the US, Argentina, Brazil and England. The breed is found all over the world (America has 40 times more Aberdeen Angus cattle than the UK) so although diners believe that what they are eating comes from Scotland, in the majority of cases it does not. The Scottish Executive is now looking at what can be done under existing food labeling provisions.

Wildlife Stamps

The UK Post Office is certainly not unique in finding that issuing attractive, commemorative stamps is a good money-spinner. Not only do people pay for postage in well in advance by buying larger quantities, they stick them in stamp albums and the Post Office gets the face value of the stamp without having to deliver a letter. But the Post Office didn't realise they were onto such a winner when they brought out an issue of ten first class postage stamps with pictures of rare woodland creatures taken by leading animal photographers. The stamps sold out within days and Post Offices are having to restock to meet the demand. Scottish natural history photographer Laurie Campbell took the images of the badger and the red fox 9seen here) in the series. Other animals featured were the yellow-necked mouse, stoat, naterer's bat, roe deer, pine marten, Scottish wildcat, red squirrel and mole.

Making Edinburgh Top of the Compost Heap

Funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Edinburgh City Council are recruiting 60 green-fingered residents to spread the word about recycling kitchen waste to kick-start a fresh household recycling drive. "Home composting" needs a bit more expertise than garden composting and the volunteers will be trained how to do it properly, before going out and persuading others in their neighbourhood to follow similar methods. The aim is to reduce the amount taken to land-fill sites - and cut the need for peat-based compost. It is estimated that more than one third of household waste is biodegradeable but it usually ends up in plastic bags with all the other waste. The introduction of special wheeled bins for houses with gardens in recent years has meant an increase in the amount being recycled of 50%.

Detour for Renfrew Ferry

A ferry has been carrying people from Renfrew on the south bank of the river Clyde to Yoker on the other side since the 17th century. At one time it also carried vehicles, but is now restricted to passengers only. Around 200,000 people a year use the ferry route but over the years the numbers have been declining. Now Strathclyde Passenger Transport, who operate the service, are looking at the possibility of including the Braehead Shopping centre in the cross-river route. Braehead is less than a mile up-river from the present ferry route and the complex is to be expanded over the next few years with 2,200 new houses in the new seven-acre Riverside Park which will also house the Xscape leisure complex. The Pride of the Clyde ferry service currently runs from Braehead to the city centre taking mainly tourists for a trip along the river, so bringing the Renfrew Ferry to Braehead would complement that.

Library Book Returned - 100 Years Overdue

An Inverness man, who left the area in 1971, recently came across a book for sale in a market in Johannesburg, South Africa, which had clearly been borrowed from a library in his home town back in Scotland. The book was overdue, of course, but by a staggering 96 years, incurring overdue fees of £5,000. "Inverness Sketches 1901 to 1904," by Isabel Harriet Anderson had been presented to Inverness Library by its author in 1908. Soon after, it had been borrowed - and never taken back. The book has now been returned to the library who say it will now be placed in the reference department as it should not have been loaned out in the first place. Needless to say, they have waved goodbye to the overdue fines.

St Mungo Scoops Up the Rubbish

A little boat which plies up and down the river Clyde is making a big impact on the cleanliness of the river as it scoops up rubbish floating on the surface. Named after the patron saint of Glasgow, the St Mungo has filled 259 rubbish skips with 300 tonnes of rubbish ranging from shopping trolleys and trees to a dead cow. The operation has been deemed so successful that Glasgow city Council are considering buying an additional two smaller vessels and extending the service to the Clyde tributaries of the rivers Kelvin and Cart. Wildlife has been returning to the river and cormorants fishing in the water beside the Braehead Shopping Centre have become a common sight. Seals regularly visit the river as far as the river Kelvin and a seal pup has been seen in the Clyde in the centre of the city.

Weather Outlook for October

The weather forecasters have a vast array of computers and historical data to help them with their predictions but they probably don't need any of that to suggest that October's weather in Scotland is going to be "changeable" - some things never change. They do expect temperatures to be above normal, except in Eastern Scotland where it will be nearer the long-term average. There will be some colder interludes during the second and third weeks of the month but the first widespread frost is not expected until the end of the month. The good news is that they expect sunshine to be above normal in northern Scotland - but slightly below normal in the west.

Weather in Scotland This Week

That good Scots word "dreich" meaning dull and dreary springs to mind when describing the weather this week, with only the north-east of the country around Aberdeen getting any prolonged periods of sunshine. There was heavy rain in the west on Thursday but otherwise the rain was mainly light temperatures were mainly around 13/14C (55/57F) although Glasgow did reach 17C (63F) on Tuesday. If the forecasts are right, however, there will be some sunshine at the start of next week but with maximum daytime temperatures dipping to 10C (50F) by Thursday.

This week's illustrations of current flowers in Scotland show both the advancing season and the rainfall this week. All the pictures were taken at the National Trust for Scotland's Inveresk Lodge Garden near Musselburgh, East Lothian. The first picture is of a Pelargonium and below the Autumn/Fall colours are well to the fore in the garden. The Sweet Peas had a lot of moisture on them from the fine drizzle that had been falling earlier in the day. Finally, the first of this year's Winter Flowering Jasmine made a good splash of colour on a largely dull day.

Development Plan for Donaldson's College Unveiled

When it was announced last year that Donaldson's College for the Deaf, one of Edinburgh's finest architectural masterpieces, was to be sold to a developer and converted into apartments, there was some concern expressed about the loss of heritage. The building was designed by William Henry Playfair and completed in 1851, with fine views of the building from the main road leading into Edinburgh from the west. Queen Victoria once described the building as grander than many of her palaces. However, the sale, for £15 million, would allow the college to move to new modern premises in Linlithgow. Now the developer, Cala Homes, has unveiled its detailed plans for the building. There will be 63 luxury flats in the original building with a further 72 modern, futuristic homes built from stone and glass, built in a crescent shape behind it. The former chapel is to be turned into a private cinema and there will be an underground car park. The distinctive grassland in front of the college will remain although landscape improvements are planned.

Indian Boat Celebrates Father of Town Planning

A traditional wooden boat made by Bengali craftsmen earlier this year has arrived in Dundee as part of an art project for schoolchildren. Scottish artist Kenny Murray has been in India working with the Calcutta School of Art and Craft and organised the 'Language of Rivers and Leaves' project. This aims to promote cultural links in memory of Ballater-born Sir Patrick Geddes, who spent the last years of his life in India. 2004 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Victorian thinker and the "father of town planning." The boat was taken to Finzean Primary School in Aberdeenshire.

Concern Over Abbotsford Future

A five-month search of 40 relatives of dame Jean Maxwell-Scott living abroad has failed to produce anyone prepared to take over the running of Abbotsford House, created by Sir Walter Scott near the Borders town of Melrose. It is now looking increasingly likely that the gothic mansion will pass to someone outside of Scott's family for the first time since his death in 1832. The construction of Abbotsford almost bankrupted the novelist and organisations such as the National Trust for Scotland have indicated that as they do not have the genius of Scott to write books to get out of financial difficulties, they would be unable and unwilling to take on the famous landmark. It contains many of Scott's possessions, including a library of 9,000 rare books, Rob Roy's gun and a sword that belonged to King James VI. Two lots of death duties in the last six years have also made a big hole in the finances and visitor numbers have fallen recently - down from 80,000 to 30,000 a year.

Next Week in History

• October 3 1357 - Treaty of Berwick, freeing David II from imprisonment by the English.
• October 3 1594 - Battle of Glenlivet, George Gordon, Earl of Huntly, defeated a Royalist force under 7th Earl of Argyll.
• October 3 1706 - Last Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh before the Union with Westminster.
• October 4 1821- Death of John Rennie, engineer who constructed the Crinan Canal.
• October 4 1929 - Most of United Free Church merged with Church of Scotland.
• October 4 1883 - Boys' Brigade founded in Glasgow.
• October 5 1785 - Balloon flight by Italian aeronaut Vincenzo Lunardi from Heriot's School, Edinburgh to Ceres in Fife.
• October 7 1782 - Birth of Charles McLaren, one of the founders of the "Scotsman" newspaper.
• October 8 1774 - Rev Henry Duncan, founder of the first savings bank, born in the Manse at Lochrutton.
• October 9 1506 - King James IV ratified the Charter incorporating the Surgeons and Barbers.
• October 9 1921 - SS Rowan sank off the Rhinns of Galloway, near Corsewall Point with 34 casualties.
• October 9 1935 - Ornithologist and painter Archibald Thorburn died.
• October 9 1995 - Death of Lord Home of the Hirsel, also known as Sir Alec Douglas-Home, formerly Foreign Secretary and UK Prime Minister.

Double Helpings to Cope with Hogmanay Weather

Having experienced the gale force winds and rain at last year's New Year's eve celebrations in Edinburgh which caused the cancellation of the Hogmanay entertainment and fireworks display in Princes Street, the organisers are making special efforts this year to ensure - as far as they can - that the same thing doesn't happen again at this year's event. The number of stages being used to give the crowds free entertainment have been doubled and all have been designed to withstand the strong winds which caused damage to the Ross bandstand last December 31. There will be something for everyone with top acts providing a range of music from contemporary Scottish and piping to break-dancing and hip-hop. Punk legends Blondie and pop favourites the Scissor Sisters are rumoured to be lined up for the Hogmanay celebrations. Low level pyrotechnics for the fireworks display will be used as these are less likely to fail in bad weather and high winds. The firm behind the spectacular fireworks display at the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics will be masterminding the fireworks from Edinburgh Castle on Hogmanay.

Cineposium Conference for Glasgow

It may not be as glamorous as Venice or Cannes, but Glasgow has beaten off competition from Barcelona, Naples and Fiji to stage next year's Association of Film Commissioners International’s (AFCI) five-day Cineposium conference. This will bring 400 major movie industry players to Scotland and there is always the hope that it will encourage the making of more films in Scotland. Even if that is not achieved, conferences of this size and nature inject around £500,000 into the local economy.

Classic Bites

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra launched its new season with a sell-out event at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall last Saturday with a programme of extracts from the classical works the orchestra will be playing during the winter season. Tickets cost just £5 and that filled every seat and it was standing room only and even that gave out. There were three conductors rotating on the podium as the finale from Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto was followed breathlessly with a thunderous "Mars" from Holst's suite "The Planets". Whether the concert-goers that night return (at full ticket prices), remains to be seen.

Just the Ticket

Scottish Director Ken Loach is featuring Celtic football fans as they travel on the train to a major match in Rome.He is collaborating with Italian and Iranian directors on the movie which has the title "Ticket". It will feature the stars of his earlier film "Sweet Sixteen" including young Martin Compston from Greenock, who is now a regular on the TV drama "Monarch of the Glen." The new film is a low-budget arthouse project which may never feature in the mainstream cinemas but which could be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival next year. Loach's last film was "Ae Fond Kiss", an update on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet story, set in Glasgow.

Sunday and Mid-Week Football Results

Dundee 0 Rangers 2
AC Milan 3 Celtic 1 (European Champions League)
Braga (Portugal) 2 Hearts 2 (UEFA Cup qualifier. Hearts win 5-3 on aggregate)
Rangers 1 Maritimo (Portugal) 0 (UEFA Cup qualifier. 1-1 aggregate. Rangers won penalty shoot-out 4-2)

Bank of Scotland Premierleague Results - 2 October 2004

Aberdeen 1 Dundee 1
Dunfermline 1 Hibernian 1
Dundee United v Celtic, Inverness v Motherwell and Rangers v Kilmarnock will be played on Sunday.

Scottish First Division Results - 2 October 2004

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

BT Scotland Rugby Division 1 Results - 2 October 2004

Currie 30 Aberdeen 21
Hawick 31 Ayr 19
Glasgow Hutchesons' 25 Heriots 5
Biggar 36 Melrose 10
Boroughmuir 41 Watsonians 3
Gala 24 Glasgow Hawks 29

League Tables

Celtic remain at the top of the Scottish Premier League, five points ahead of Rangers and six ahead of Motherwell and Aberdeen. Inverness Caledonian Thistle remain rooted to the foot of the SPL, two points behind Livingston.

Falkirk and Clyde share the same number of points at the top of the First Division with St Mirren two points behind them. Raith Rovers, with one solitary point so far this season are 7 points behind second-from-the-foot Airdrie United.

It was all change at the top of the BT Scotland Rugby Division 1 with Glasgow Hawks leading the pack with 25 points and Biggar in second place with 22. However, Heriots have 21 points and have played one game fewer. At the foot of the division, Aberdeen have only 6 points but have played one game less than Gala who are just one point above them.

Mixed Fortunes in Europe

Scottish teams playing in European contests this week had mixed fortunes. Celtic appeared to be heading for a draw in their European Champions League group match in Italy against AC Milan after fighting back to level the score in the second half. Then, in the last two minutes of the game, Milan delivered a one-two knockout with two goals to make the final score 3-1 on the night. Manager Martin O'Neill tried to sound optimistic about the club's chances to win through this group stage and be playing in the Champions League after Christmas, but the arithmetic is not looking good.

Rangers managed to scrape through to the group stages of the UEFA Cup by defeating Maritimo of Portugal - but only after a penalty shoot-out. Rangers made up the 1-0 deficit in the first leg against Maritimo but after 90 minutes and extra time the aggregate score was 1-1. Rangers won the resultant penalty shoot-out 4-2.

Hearts had an excellent 2-2 draw in Portugal in their UEFA Cup qualifier and go through to the group stages by 5-3 on aggregate. In the group stages, Hearts will not be drawn in the same section as Rangers due to the seeding system.

Sell-Out International

All 52,000 seats have been sold at Hampden Park next Saturday for Scotland's World Cup qualifier against Norway. Around 6,000 Norwegian supporters are expected at the match so the Tartan Army of Scots supporters will not have it all their own way. Scotland began the campaign with a goalless draw against Slovenia on September 8 and will have to do better if they are to make any progress.

Meat in the European Sandwich

Celtic and Rangers will be in the midst of the group stages of the European Champions League and UEFA Cup in November and the two rival teams will find themselves facing one another twice in the same month. Their next Premier League fixture against one another is scheduled for November 20 but the draw for the quarter-finals of the CIS Cup will see them pitted against one another, probably on Wednesday November 10.

Double Award for Motherwell

Motherwell's Terry Butcher has been named Bank of Scotland Premierleague Manager of the Month for September. And the club's striker Scott McDonald has picked up the player's award after scoring four times in three league games.

Hibernian Slash Debt

Edinburgh's Hibernian Football Club have revealed that they have cut their debt from £16 million last year to around £10 million. This was not achieved by lowering costs and increasing income. The club made a loss of £1.9 million this year compared to being £278,000 down last year (when they made a profit on a player transfer deal). But the sale of an old car park to a property developer allowed the club to write off £6 million of debt.

Scotland to Host Mountain Bike World Championships

It was announced this week that Fort William, in the Scottish Highlands, has won its bid to host the Mountain Bike World Championships in September 2007, despite strong competition from Canada and Australia. For the mountain bike disciplines of Downhill, 4-Cross and Trials, the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships is the most important and prestigious international competition in the calendar. 700 plus competitors from more than 45 nations worldwide will compete across the four mountain bike disciplines for a total of 14 World Championship titles. The Nevis Range ski area and Leanachan Forest, Fort William has previously hosted rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup for the last three years and will do so again in 2005. It has established itself as one of the best mountain bike competition venues in the world, with a reputation for high standards, good organisation and excellent courses. But the profile, scale, complexity and importance of hosting the Mountain Bike World Championships is about four times that of a round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series. It is anticipated that the World Championships will attract more than 40,000 spectators on the key days of competition and there will be significant levels of international media coverage, including live TV broadcasts.
Picture credit - Andy McAndlish.