The Rampant Scotland Newsletter - your weekly insight into what has been happening in Scotland, snipped from the Scottish media, for Scots in Scotland and abroad, bringing you news, events plus a Scottish magazine section. Printed with 100% recycled electrons.
Previous editions of this Newsletter are available in the Archive and the Index to the other pages of the Rampant Scotland site is available here.
The Scottish Snippets Newsletter in its original format began in April 1997 and continued in an unbroken series for 591 issues. Although no longer produced in that format there is now a regular update on the new and updated pages on the Rampant Scotland site and also "Scottie's Diary" on an intermittent basis, To receive this, kust send an e-mail to Scottie with "Subscribe Newsletter" in the subject line.
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Historical Affairs - Topical Items from Scotland's Past
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The "Magazine" section includes songs/poems of Scotland, Scottish humour and brief descriptions of Scottish Culture items added recently to the Rampant Scotland Website - with a link to the page where you can find the full feature, if you find the subject of interest to you.
Alexander Hume (1811-1859), the author of the poem below, was a gifted musician and he wrote the beautiful air which is associated with Burn's fine song "Afton Water". Hume was born in Edinburgh and initially earned his living making chairs. A self-taught musician, he became a tenor chorister in St Paul's Episcopal Church and was co-editor of "British Psalmody" to which he contributed a number of fine tunes. But his "convivial habits" lost him one job after another he ended up making a precarious living from his writings in Glasgow. Most ex-patriate Scots will be able to relate to this short poem "The Scottish Emigrant's Farewell" by Hume. Scottish Emigrant Farewell Fareweel, fareweel, my native hame,
Thou land wi' love and freedom crowned,
Though far frae thee, my native shore,
Meaning of unusual words:
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Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
The Black Watch soldiers who have moved up to near Baghdad in an area known as the "Triangle of Death" have been promised that they will be "home by Christmas". But two other Scottish regiments, the Scots Guards and the Royal Scots, have been placed on stand-by to replace them. And the Highlanders, currently training in Germany, are almost certain to be deployed to Iraq early next year. It is ironic that these and other historic regiments are expected to be merged in the near future and their unique history lost as the government tries to reduce costs, a situation which has not gone un-noticed by those campaigning to save the individual regiments. The Scotsman newspaper has joined a high-profile bid to make the government change its mind and retain these Scottish regiments. They are asking readers to send in a coupon printed in the paper - or complete a petition on-line at 
A record number of 53,948 Scots responded between June and September to the Scottish Executive consultation paper on smoking in public places. That was 40 times larger than any other government consultation exercise in Scotland. Scotland has the highest rates of lung cancer in Europe for both men and women, with most cases caused by smoking. So understandably the majority of the submissions to the consultation spoke out in favour of a ban. But restaurant and bar owners are trying to head off legislation which would ban smoking on their premises. They are concerned about losing business and want to have a voluntary code of increasing smoke-free areas and improving ventilation. The Scottish Executive are expected to announce their plans in November.
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland awarded the largest prize in UK architecture to the designers of St Aloysius College's Clavius building, described as "big, tough, unmistakably Glasgow". The building stands next to Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art in Garnethill, in the heart of the city. Unlike many school buildings, this one has external glass walls from floor to ceiling in the classrooms, all of which face north. 
It may not be the same as the days when the river Clyde launched liners and warships as if they were going out of fashion, but Clydeport, the company developing the massive Glasgow Harbour complex, has unveiled plans to create the first new boatyard on the river in living memory. The £1 million centre of excellence is expected to attract a variety of marine businesses, including yacht repairers, chandlers, storage, joiners, carpenters and other sectors of the boat repair industry. It will be located a short distance from the site of the famous John Brown's shipyard at Rothesay Dock in Yoker, transforming a 10-acre brown-field site. Discussions have begun with a number of firms currently operating in Renfrew, which will close because of the Renfrew Riverside development, next to the existing Braehead retail area. They were going to be put out of business but may now have gained a life-line.
More than 558,000 passengers travelled through the 10 airports operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) in the past six months. This represents an 11% increase on the same period in 2003/04. HIAL operates the airports at Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Inverness, Islay, Kirkwall (illustrated here), Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick. The biggest growth was at Inverness, where passenger numbers soared by 21.2%. HIAL now expect to carry over a million passengers in the twelve months to end March 2005.
A £10 million project to build a bridge across the river Clyde has been delayed for a year by a legal campaign by a lone objector who took his case to the High Court in Edinburgh. But this week the project to create the diagonal bridge between the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and the new media office development at Pacific Quay got the green light as the case was thrown out. The diagonal design has meant that is has been dubbed the "squinty bridge" by local Glaswegians. The bridge was a condition of the BBC to move its HQ from Queen Margaret Drive to the new media centre on the south bank of the Clyde. 
Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch Whisky is the world's largest selling scotch whisky and the brand has used an image of a 19th century dandy as its logo since 1908. It depicts the original Johnnie Walker who blended 35 malt and 5 grain whiskies in the 1820s to create the popular drink. But times move on and marketing men are constantly re-inventing even established icons like Johnnie Walker. So the logo has been given a French make-over by haute couture designer Christian Lacroix. The modernised Johnnie has lost his top hat and wears carefully studied messy hair, a hooded black sweatshirt, a large tie dangling on an open shirt and a small, tightly knotted scarf. Though he still walks with the same energetic stride, the modern JW has disposed of his riding boots, whip and tailcoat, and sports a tight red waistcoat on a pair of sleek white jeans. Fortunately, the whisky remains unchanged!
The first world gathering of the Doig clan is taking place over three days at the Stirling Smith Gallery and Museum, starting on November 5. Top Doig at the gathering will be Ken Doig from California who has traced the family trees of all members of the clan society. Stirling was chosen as the venue as it is close to the ancient burial place of the Dog’s (Doigs) of Kilmadock, Doune Castle, Thornhill and Bannockburn. See also 
Scottish fishermen in the North Sea, struggling to make a living, are up against a new threat according to researchers at the Aberdeen Marine Laboratory - fish that learn how to escape from nets. The mesh on fishing nets is designed to allow young fish to escape and continue to grow. But the scientists decided to find out whether they could indeed escape - and whether they learned from the experience. Young haddock were taught to race across a pool for food but when a net was stretched across the water, the fish hung back, even though the mesh would allow them to pass. Then a brave pair swam through, and others followed. In subsequent tests, even with reduced mesh sizes, the fish all swam through. 
Sunshine was yet again in short supply this week - according to the weather statistics, Glasgow recorded less than eleven hours of sun from Sunday to Friday. Overnight, the thermometer fell well below freezing point in many locations across the country but daytime maximum temperatures reached 15C (59F) in Edinburgh on Thursday, though the norm was in the range 11/13C (52/55F). Over Sunday and Monday, Glasgow had an inch of rain and there was more heavy rain on Friday in the west.
The design company which created the Holocaust museum in Washington DC is to mastermind the new £7.25 million Battle of Culloden visitor centre near Inverness. The aim is to tell the story of the battle which saw the end of Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite Uprising in 1746. The conflict is often seen as the defeat of the clansmen by the UK government forces, although the uprising resulted in many clans and families split between the opposing sides as the Jacobites did not have the support of many Scots. The site has been administered by the National Trust for Scotland since 1937 and the organisation admits that the present visitor centre is out of date by modern standards. Last upgraded in 1984, it attracts 200,000 visitors a year. The Scottish Executive has committed £3.75 million to the new visitor centre which it is hoped will open in 2007 as part of Scotland's Year of Highland Culture celebrations.
The famous One o’Clock Gun which sounds out over Edinburgh each day has had to be moved from its normal position on Edinburgh Castle, overlooking Princes Street, to allow refurbishment work to take place. Instead, the gun will fire from the Half Moon Battery for the next two months. That was where the gun was originally located when it began operation in 1861, but it means that it will not be as loud in Edinburgh's New Town and the plume of smoke will not be visible from the streets below. Not that many people these days need an accurate time check from the gun - though many folk do look at their watches when the gunfire is heard. If the wind is in the right direction, the sound can make some shoppers jump!
The smash hit musical Mamma Mia, inspired by the music of the Swedish pop group Abba, is being staged at the Playhouse, Edinburgh, from 12th November 2004 to 29th January 2005. This is the only venue in the UK outside of London where this "ultimate feel-good" show is being performed. The show set a box office record at the Playhouse when it sold over £200,000 of tickets on the first day they were available. There are currently 11 global productions of Mamma Mia, including five in North America (Broadway, Las Vegas, Toronto and two US tours) and an Australasian tour.
For nearly 100 years the Highland Games in Crieff have been held on the town's Market Park. For most of that time, it was no different from many such events held throughout the summer in many locations in Scotland (and in other parts of the world too). In recent years it has attracted more attention because of the participation of "Star Wars" actor Ewan McGregor who comes from the area and whose father and other relatives are involved in the games. The land where they are held has been owned by a company known as the Gathering since 1909, consisting of 25 directors who alone can appoint replacements. The Gathering has now negotiated with a supermarket chain to sell the Market Park and create a new custom-built stadium, running track and playing field half a mile away. But there are many who object to the plan, including those who see it as a betrayal of the town's heritage - and the death-knell for many retailers in the town's High Street.
On Sunday, when Rangers only managed a draw against foot-of-the-table Dundee United, it looked as though Celtic were running away with the SPL title. But then Aberdeen demolished Celtic's unbeaten home record in a mid-week game. While the winning goal was scored in injury time, Aberdeen had been 2-0 ahead after only six minutes of play and Celtic had to fight back. Saturday's results have put Celtic 7 points ahead of rivals Rangers but as the Hoops have played one more game, Rangers could pull within 4 points if they win on Sunday. As they are playing that Aberdeen team, however, anything could happen! At the foot of the SPL, two consecutive wins by Inverness have lifted them to 11 points, above Dundee United (8 points) and Livingston and Dundee (both with 9 points).
Berti Vogts, the beleaguered manager of the Scotland football team (just 8 wins out of 31 international matches during his tenure and two points out of three games in the World Cup qualifying matches), is still in his job. The "long goodbye" stumbled on this week as a projected meeting of the Scottish Football Association board failed to materialise. So Scotland's woeful image on the pitch is being tarnished even more by an SFA which cannot even organise a meeting to discuss the future of the manager. Of course, even if they eventually bite the bullet, there is the little matter of Vogts' contract. He can argue that the poor results are due to the low quality of the players at his disposal and the number of injuries to many first choice members of the team. Vogts has said he wants to continue - and will only depart if he is paid handsomely to agree to that.
Having breathed new life into Heart of Midlothian and weathered the protracted storms of the "will they, won't they" moves away from their traditional ground at Tynecastle, manager Craig Levein has attracted the attention of clubs looking for a replacement manager. English First Division club Leicester are in that position and have made the successful manager an offer he could not refuse. Levein has been manager of Hearts since December 2000 and spent much of his playing career with the club so there would be a combination of a wrench from a club he has been with for so long and a need for pastures new. Then there are the uncertainties ahead if/when Lithuanian Vladimir Romanov takes over control of Hearts. Levein took Hearts to two successive third-place finishes in the SPL but with 12 players out of contract at the end of this season, there must be a question-mark over whether the club will retain the resources to continue to compete successfully at the top level in the SPL.