Current Affairs
Winter Wonderland
The first snow of the Festive Season fell on Christmas Eve, with many parts of the country receiving a light covering and temperatures plunging well below freezing. There were further heavy falls over the next few days, resulting in the deepest snow covering for five years - 8 to 15 inches with deeper drifts in country areas. With the low temperatures, the snow was soft and covered all the trees as well as the ground, turning the whole country into a winter wonderland. The lowest overnight temperatures were minus 13C/9F - even Edinburgh and Glasgow reached -8C/18F overnight and daytime temperatures hovered around freezing point even in the central Lowlands for many days.
It took some time for roads and rail travel to return to normal. Thousands of passengers were stranded at airports and railway services, already struggling due to track maintenance problems, were badly hit. Main roads were kept open, but often with only single carriageways while minor roads (and many suburban roads where no road gritting took place), were treacherous.
THAT Wedding
The world's media just had to assume that the wedding of Maddona to film director Guy Ritchie had taken place on 22 December as only the invited guests had been present and nobody managed to get any unofficial photos. In due course, however, after all the cameras had departed, copies of the official marriage certificate duly appeared, showing that Stella McCartney, the fashion designer, had been one of the two witnesses. One further mystery remained however - the address given for Guy Ritchie does not exist. Fortunately, this does not invalidate the marriage.
Most Popular Names in Scotland
The General Register Office in Edinburgh has just published the lists of most popular first names chosen by parents for their children born in Scotland during 2000. Once again, Jack is the most popular boy's name and Chloe is the most popular name for a girl (unchanged since 1998). Names which have proved more popular in 2000 include Mathew (up from 13th to 6th) and Ross (up from 17th to 10th). Anna has jumped from 27th in popularity in 1999 to 19th in 2000. In the whole of the 1990s, Ryan, Andrew, David, Scott and James were the top five names for boys (in that order) while for girls, the most popular names were Emma, Lauren, Rebecca, Amy and Sarah. Chloe and Jack have only become popular towards the end of the decade. Full details, including tables for 1900, 1950 and 1975 can be found at the General Register Office Web site.
Scotland Watches the Eclipse
Whenever there are any celestial fireworks to be seen in the night sky, you can usually rely on the Scottish weather to bring in some thick clouds to spoil the show. But on Tuesday, Scotland turned out to be one of the best places to get of a view of the shadow of the earth moving across the moon and creating a reddish glow on its surface for about an hour as light from the sun was filtered and bent round the earth's atmosphere. In days gone by it used to be viewed as a portent of doom and angry gods.
Going Up in Smoke
Figures published by the National Statistics Office show that Scotland is the second highest region of the UK for the amount spent on tobacco. Only the people of Northern Ireland spend slightly more. Spending on cigarettes and tobacco in South-West England is nearly half of the level in Scotland. As a consequence, lung cancer rates are highest in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
US Ambassador's Passion for Scotland
Philip Lader has been US ambassador in Britain for the last three-and-a -half years and is returning to his native South Carolina shortly. During the time he has been here, he has developed an enthusiasm for Scotland and he has possibly seen more of the country than many resident Scots thanks to his marathon trek from John o' Groats in the north to Lands End in Cornwall. He has made well over 30 other visits to Scotland during his spell here, including a retreat Iona, an honorary degree from Glasgow University and a stay in the Eisenhower suite at Culzean Castle. He wryly commented that the low point of his visits to Scotland was playing golf at St Andrews - he won't say what his score was. His mother-in-law wrote a book about her first husband in the 1950s - "A Man Called Peter" - about the Rev Peter Marshall who emigrated from Glasgow to become chaplain of the US senate. It was later made into a film starring the Scottish actor Richard Todd.
First Female Scottish Secretary
With John Reid's departure to be Northern Ireland Secretary (see previous item) Helen Liddell was appointed to be the first woman to hold the post. She is a hard-nosed politician with a reputation for tough talking - her nickname at one time was "Stalin's Granny". Mrs Liddell entered Parliament at Westminster in 1994, having worked earlier in the BBC, the Scottish Trades Union Council and as general-secretary of the Labour Party in Scotland. She also worked for a spell as personnel director at the Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail when they were owned by the tycoon Robert Maxwell. She has been Transport Minister and Minister for Energy in Tony Blair's government but this will be the first time that she has held a Cabinet post. Mrs Liddell's deputy at the Scotland Office will be George Foulkes, the MP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon in Ayrshire.
The State of the Nation
Statistics published this week by the government's Office of National Statistics predict that while UK population will rise from just under 60 million to over 64 million by 2036, the population of Scotland is likely to fall slightly over the same period. The main reason for Scotland's population decline is emigration - 55,000 people left Scotland last year to live in other parts of the UK or abroad. Only 49,000 people moved in to Scotland last year. The Social Trends statistics also show that more Scottish men and women die in most age groups than anywhere else in the UK - due to poor diet, smoking, drinking, lack of exercise and poor housing. Scots spend more time watching TV than anywhere else in Britain. Social security benefits paid to those who cannot or will not work is over 10 billion pounds a year.In 1946-7, there were over 43,000 marriages in Scotland. In 1997 the number had reached just under 30,000 with the biggest reduction in church marriages.
Prestwick Airport Sold
Prestwick International Airport was sold this week by Stagecoach Holdings after months of speculation. The price is estimated to have been about 33 million pounds - a loss of 8 million pounds on the price paid by Stagecoach in 1998. The new owners say that they hope to increase the existing maintenance, repair and overhaul work carried out on the site. While low cost airlines such as Ryanair use Prestwick as a base for its regional network, Prestwick is 30 miles from the population centres of Glasgow and central Scotland. But Prestwick will be one of the few airports in Europe capable of handling the new 550-seat Airbus A380 superjumbo when it enters service in 2004.
Scottish Salmon in the Net
The John West Salmon advert, showing a fisherman trading punches with a bear who has just caught a salmon, has been sweeping the Internet. The bear eventually loses out - despite resorting to clever kick-boxing techniques. The hilarious 30-second sequence has become a cult object on the Web, despite weighing in at 1.4mb (that's the file, not the salmon). The sequence looks as though it was shot in Alaska but in fact it was filmed on the river Dee, near Balmoral, the Queen's summer residence in Scotland. 50,000 people a day are downloading the advert and it has been the top rated advert on Adcritic.com for the last four weeks. The advert was made by a British company on the Invercauld Estate and the bear suit was created by the company which creates the puppets for the Muppets and Sesame Street.
Historical Affairs
Castle Rented for a Bottle of Whisky
Kiessimul Castle on a small island in Castle Bay, off the larger island of Barra, was built to fit the shape of the small islet on which it stands. It was home for centuries to the Clan McNeils of Barra, (it is claimed the first castle was built in 1030), but was sold in 1840 when the chief became bankrupt. The castle was restored by the 45th McNeil chief in 1937 when he returned to the island from his home in America. But the cost of maintenance has become too high so the castle is being leased for a 1,000 years to Historic Scotland with a rent of just one pound - plus a bottle of whisky. The government agency plans to start work in the spring on restoration. Eventually, it is hoped that it will be a tourist attraction which will bring more visitors to the island, including the descendants of the many people of Barra who have left the island over the years.
The illustration of Kiessimul Castle is by courtesy of 
Torchlight Procession
The celebrations to mark the 550th anniversary of the founding of Glasgow University continued this week on Friday with a torchlight procession from Glasgow Cathedral, through the city and out to University Avenue. Around 1,500 students took part, braving the freezing temperatures. One of the participants who participated in a similar procession 50 years ago, to mark the 500th anniversary, was also there on Friday.
Scone To Get Its Stone Back?
To some, it is a lump of sandstone quarried in the area of Oban in the west of Scotland. To others it is a pillow used by Jacob in biblical times. But the Stone of Destiny (or one looking very like it) was used at the coronations of generations of Dalriadic and Scottish kings. It was taken by King Edward I to London at the end of the 13th century and it rested under the throne at the coronations of all subsequent English and British monarchs (including the present Queen). It was returned to Edinburgh Castle in 1996 and is displayed beside the "Honours of Scotland" (the crown, sceptre and ceremonial sword of Scottish kings). But a group of hardline nationalists have petitioned the Scottish Parliament to have the stone taken instead to Perth Museum, arguing that it belongs to the "ancient Caledonians". It was taken to Moot Hill in Scone, near Perth, in 850 when Viking invasions threatened its safety in Kilmartin in Argyll. The stone is currently "on loan" and will be taken back temporarily to Westminster for the coronation of the next British monarch.
The illustration shows King Edward I watching as the Stone of Destiny is carried off to England.
Entertainment
Connery Backs Mary Queen of Scots Film
There were reports this week that an epic film about the life of Mary Queen of Scots, which has been talked about for three years, has been given backing by Sean Connery. This is said to have added considerably to the financial resources to be made available. Described as "Braveheart for girls" the film will concentrate on the power struggles, love affairs and murders which dominated her tempestuous life. Every effort will be made to make the film historically accurate - but as there are many unanswered questions, there is still plenty of room for different interpretations.
BBC Radio Programmes Online
As of Saturday 30th December, BBC Radio Scotland is being streamed live
online via this Web site. The site has details of the daily programmes and being RealAudio you can have it playing in the background while surfing other sites. While RealAudio quality can be variable, this BBC site seems to be of a good standard. So if you want to hear Scottish voices and Scottish news, music and sport, tune in!
A Million Art Lovers
The number of visitors to the National Galleries of Scotland exceeded one million for the first time last year. Attendance figures were up overall at the National Gallery of Scotland, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (pictured here), the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, the Dean Gallery (all in Edinburgh) and Duff House in Banff and Paxton House near Berwick-upon- Tweed, were 16% higher than in 1999 and 25% higher than in 1998. New purchases and special exhibitions have helped to increase visitor numbers. An exhibition of paintings by René Magritte broke all previous attendance records for the Gallery of Modern Art and the present exhibition of Scottish Colourists has already attracted nearly 50,000 visitors. These two exhibitions helped the Gallery of Modern Art to an increase of 79% over the 1999 visitor numbers.
University Dinosaurs
No, not an irreverent description of some University professors, but a new exhibition "Walking With Dinosaurs" at the Hunterian Museum within Glasgow University. To publicise the event, a 43ft long model of Tyrannosaurus Rex has been set up in the grounds outside the Museum, overlooking University Avenue. Fortunately, the one tonne model is located back from the fence, otherwise passing motorists might have been distracted. The model was made by a Glasgow firm of model makers, aptly named "Tooth and Nail". The dinosaur exhibition runs for three months at the Hunterian. It is thought that the dinosaur model is the largest ever made and an application has been made for entry in the Guinness Book of Records.
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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.
January 2001
Although Scotland is a small country (Edinburgh to Inverness is only just over 150 miles) there can often be marked variations in the weather affecting different areas. This was illustrated dramatically this week when easterly winds from the Baltic brought the worst blizzards in a decade to the north and east of Scotland and the higher ground in the Scottish Borders. But in central Scotland, there was only a light covering of snow in the west which then turned to rain after 24 hours. In the east, there was a heavier fall of snow around Edinburgh and the M90 motorway in Fife was blocked for a time.The drifting snow in the north blocked many roads, flights were cancelled and train services were disrupted.
Although he never lived in Scotland, John Prebble wrote many books on Scottish history which proved to be best-sellers. But he always reckoned that his time in Sutherland, Saskatchewan and his teacher, a Miss Campbell, were formative influences on his future writing. Born in England in 1915, he emigrated to Canada with his family, returning to London as a journalist. He joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1940 but refused to be considered for a commission because of his communist views. It was Culloden, published in 1961 which first brought him to the attention of the general public. Books on the Highland Clearances, Glencoe, the Darien Disaster and his survey of Scottish history "The Lion in the North" were all to prove popular. He said that he had not expected his book on the Clearances to sell well in Scotland a he thought all Scots knew about these events, which was probably not the case at the time he wrote the book. His success at popularising Scottish history did not earn him any praise from academics, however, who were frequently critical of his accuracy, selective use of the facts and biases. But Prof. Tom Devine of Aberdeen University acknowledged this week that Prebble had brought a new audience to Scottish history. John Prebble died on Tuesday at the age of 85. His widow has said that his ashes will be spread in Glencoe, as he had wished.
Despite losing the election for the leadership of the Scottish Labour Party, Jack McConnell has been voted "Politician of the Year" by the other Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Surprisingly, neither Henry McLeish, the new First Minister, or John Swinney the new leader of the Scottish National Party, were even nominated. Photo courtesy of the 
It used to be that painting the distinctive metal structure of the Forth Rail Bridge was synonymous with a never ending task. "Like painting the Forth Bridge" implied that as soon as the task was finished, it had to restart again. But no work has taken place for nearly a year after the contractor appointed to carry out the job was dismissed for falling so far behind schedule. Rigblast had won the contract in 1997 but by the end of 1999 they were 18 months behind schedule. Railtrack, the owners of the bridge, say that they are still evaluating a number of competing bids, but they are unlikely to have anyone on site by the end of this year. It will then take at least another two-and-a-half years to do the paint work. But, thanks to modern paint, it is hoped that the bridge will not need to be repainted for another 25 years.
The movement of farm animals around the UK was banned this week after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease was found in animals which were being processed through an abattoir. The disease, which does not affect humans but is extremely infectious to cattle, sheep and pigs, was then confirmed in a number of farms in England and is being investigated in a number of farms in Scotland. All the animals in farms where the disease is found have to be slaughtered immediately. Precautions are being taken to avoid the spread of the disease, with farms laying straw, soaked in disinfectant, in their approach roads. The public are being discouraged from going for walks in the country in an attempt to confine the disease and school children in farming areas are staying at home. This is the first outbreak of foot and mouth disease in UK livestock in over 20 years.
The house in Edinburgh's York Place, which was used by the painter Sir Henry Raeburn, went on the market last week. The property has unusually high north-facing windows which were installed by the artist so that he got the maximum amount of soft light in his studio while he produced his masterly portraits. The house was built in the late 18th century but has been used as office accommodation for many years - the editor of this Newsletter worked there for a spell in the 1980s. Externally, the building has been preserved (it is "A" listed) but internally there is not much left from Raeburn's day. The building is likely to be sold for around a million pounds but any attempts to convert it to a Raeburn museum would cost considerably more than this. Meantime, there are already a number of commercial developers interested in the property.
Perched on the southern shores of Loch Lomond, Balloch Castle and the surrounding estate has seen better days. The country park itself is 200 acres of woodland, parkland and ornamental gardens with pathways which go down to the shores of Loch Lomond. There are lots of corners for quiet picnics and there is a visitor centre in the castle (not the 13th century original - a modern version built in 1808). The estate was bought by Glasgow Corporation in 1915 (the city is nearly 20 miles to the east) as extra lungs for its citizens. But the landscape is looking tired and the once magnificent gardens are almost non-existent. The property has been leased in recent years to West Dunbartonshire Council. With the opening next year of the Lomond Shores development on the other side of the river Leven and talk of a connecting bridge or water taxi, it has been decided to spend 2.3 million pounds regenerating the parkland and restoring the ornamental gardens. It is hoped that this will also take some of the pressure off the Loch Lomond National Park.
A new exhibition of paintings by Andrew Geddes, entitled "A Man of Pure Taste" opened this week at the National Gallery of Scotland. It includes a drawing by Geddes of the moment when Sir Walter Scott rediscovered the Scottish crown jewels on 4 February, 1818. The jewels had disappeared after the Treaty of Union in 1707 and Sir Walter had been given special permission to search for them in Edinburgh Castle. They were found in a sealed room in a large oak chest which had to be broken open as there was longer any key. The rediscovery was regarded as one of the most important events of that time and Geddes, as a noted artist, had been invited to participate so that the scene could be recorded for posterity. The Scottish crown jewels are the oldest in the British Isles and the sceptre was in use from the 15th century until the crowning of King Charles II at Scone in 1651.
After a three month spell in the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, the statue of Elvis Pressley is back in the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. The life-size caricature depicts Elvis in his later years, sporting a chubby paunch. It had been on display in the popular Glasgow gallery for three years before the loan to Edinburgh.
An annual survey of UK retail centres has once again judged Glasgow to be the top shopping centre outside of London, despite the Braehead Shopping Centre (just over the boundary in Renfrew) not being regarded as part of the city. Nottingham and Leeds were 3rd and 4th respectively, with Edinburgh coming in at number 12.
Luxury flats in the former main Post Office building in Glasgow's George Square were snapped up when the sales office opened for the first time last weekend. Property worth more than £10 million was sold in just ten hours with customers making deposits on 48 of the 61 available flats. But five of the six luxury penthouse flats costing £500,000 were still available. Demand for the other flats (starting at one bedroom flats costing £125,000) meant that some buyers queued for 24 hours before the sales office opened.
The western shores of Loch Lomond were the traditional territories of the Colquhoun Clan. The seat of the clan was at Rossdhu (now the beautiful Loch Lomond golf course). The Clan Colquhoun Society of the United Kingdom has been busy creating a clan museum at Luss, on the banks of Loch Lomond. It will open at the end of this month and will display the history of the Clan and its Chiefs as well as the history of pretty village of Luss itself . There are not many Clan Museums in west/central Scotland, so this will be a welcome addition. The illustration is of the Colquhoun clan crest over the gates to Rossdhu House.
A commemorative service is to take place in Galashiels on the Scottish Borders on April 22 to celebrate the opening of Dryburgh Abbey 850 years ago. The service will be a combined one involving the local Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches in Galashiels. Dryburgh was founded in 1150 by Hugh de Moreville, one of the many Anglo-Normans who came north with King David I in the first half of the 12th century.
Because of the bad weather, Kylie Minogue was not able to travel to Dublin for the first concert of her 17-date tour of the British Isles. So her concert in the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow (nicknamed the "Armadillo" because of its shape) this weekend became the launch-pad instead. The pop star has an avid following in Glasgow. And as her career takes off - again - the concert is a sell-out.
The Scottish First Minister, Henry McLeish, met President George W Bush in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington this week. The president spoke of his affection for Scotland and sympathised with the plight of the Scottish farmers hit by the foot and mouth virus. The president has already been to Scotland - he attended a wedding in Glasgow in 1983 before his political career took off. He also spent the summer on a farm in Perthshire - when he was a 13-year-old schoolboy. His father has visited Scotland many times, though never while president. A keen golfer, George Bush senior is a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews.
It is sometimes difficult to identify the April Fool's jokes published in the newspapers from the real news stories. Airlines may well be seizing milk chocolate from travellers boarding planes going abroad "because they might spread foot and mouth disease" but the story in Scotland on Sunday that the Motorway which runs through the heart of Glasgow (see the picture of the section on the Kingston Bridge across the river Clyde) had been given Grade 1 listed status by Historic Scotland as the finest example of urban architecture took some swallowing - despite the gas holders in Granton already being given such an august status. The article pointed to the "sculptures" which had been built at the side of the main artery which runs between Edinburgh and Glasgow and the fact that few cities in Britain offer the benefits of driving through them at high speed. But the local council was said to be concerned that, in theory at least, they would have to get permission from Historic Scotland to repair any potholes or repaint signs on the road.
There had been concerns that the foot and mouth disease outbreak would have an adverse effect on the number of visitors to tourist attractions over the Easter Holiday weekend but many areas reported near normal numbers with some attractions showing an increase on last year. Of course, good sunny weather on Sunday and Monday must have helped. The exception to the encouraging picture was in Dumfries and Galloway, the area in Scotland which has been hardest hit by the number of confirmed cases of the virus. Even there, however, the number of visitors was down on last year but not by as much as some had feared. The Highlands, which have had no confirmed cases of the virus, were perhaps the main beneficiaries with many hotels fully booked. The number of foreign visitors was certainly down but many city Scots have perhaps been reminded about the countryside on their own doorsteps and have decided to take a look.
An opinion poll by the "Scotsman" newspaper shows that more people in Scotland regard themselves as "Scottish" rather than "British". It may be a surprise to people outside of Scotland that the people who live here should regard themselves as anything other than Scottish, but that is one of the quirks of living also in the United Kingdom. Ten years ago around 65% regarded themselves as Scottish; the figure is now 80%. Only 4% felt that they were more British than Scots but 13% opted for being equally British and Scottish. When asked about their opinion of Scotland, 67% thought the country was "modern" as distinct from 14% who thought Scotland was "backward". And more than half of those in the poll used words such as happy, youthful and exciting to describe Scotland.
A collection of rare, old photographs is being auctioned in London by a New York collector and is expected to fetch over £2 million. Included in the sale is a book of old Glasgow photographs taken over 150 years ago by Thomas Annan. They provide an unusual glimpse of the city as it was in those days. Included is one of a dingy, cobblestone alleyway off the High Street with laundry hanging out to dry from nearly every building. Also in the sale are works by the pioneering Scottish photographers David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson.
The trustees of the David Livingstone Memorial at the missionary explorer's birthplace at Blantyre, say that they are running out of options to keep the tourist attraction open. The displays and the cottage where Livingstone was born underwent a major refurbishment last year but hopes of raising cash by selling part of the site to a housing developer are now in the balance. Nearby residents are delighted at that, however, and say that alternative sources of funding need to be found. Livingstone was born at the cottage in 1813 and discovered the Victoria Falls in 1866. His birthplace was saved from demolition in 1929 but unlike a number of such buildings owned by the National Trust (who manage the Blantyre buildings on behalf of the trustees), this facility is owned by a private trust.
250 volunteers who took part in a 10-day study of the paranormal in the ancient subterranean streets and vaults of Edinburgh, have produced results which researchers claim shows that "something is going on". Apparitions, sounds of breathing and unexpected spots of light and green blobs on photos were all "unexplained". The research was part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Described as "one of the most comprehensive attempts to examine evidence of paranormal activity" the experiences and anomalies reported are being examined by psychologists and paranormal experts. The organisers of the "ghost walks" in Edinburgh are not surprised by the findings. They say that they have experienced unusual things like footsteps when no one is there. In the old days, it was argued that methane gas from the stagnant marsh below the castle and the old city were said to be the cause of the "apparitions". But these marshes have long since been drained and converted to Princes Street Gardens. The illustration is of the subterranean Mary King's Court, below the City Chambers in Edinburgh.
It is likely that during the closure of Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery for a £25 million refurbishment, many of the city's treasures will be shipped abroad on touring exhibitions. The city is still short of funding for the renovation and income from lending out the exhibits would be a welcome addition. The illustration here is of one of the museum's famed collection of armour.
A group of Glasgow teenagers scooped the title of Scottish Cheerleader Champions this week and will travel to Nashville, USA to compete in the World Cheerleaders Championships. The team from Pollok and Ibrox are coached by a cheerleader from the Scottish Claymores American-style football team. This week, the Claymores have had a display in Glasgow's George Square to encourage Glaswegians to support the local NFL team - including the Claymore cheerleaders.
Despite taking on additional temporary staff, the Post Office struggled to cope with the volume of census forms being posted back to registrars at the beginning of the week. 650,000 forms were posted in the Glasgow area at the start of the week, but as the envelopes are too large for the electronic sorting machines, they are having to be processed by hand. 130,000 families jumped the gun and posted their forms before the census date, Sunday, 29 April.
The orange fizzy drink called Irn-Bru out-sells both Coca Cola and Pepsi in Scotland - the only country in the developed world where these giant companies are beaten by a local soft drink. And on Saturday, 5 May, Scotland's "other national drink" celebrates its 100th birthday. It was originally called Iron-Brew and became a popular thirst quencher among the men who worked in the steel, heavy engineering and shipyards in and around Glasgow. But after WW2, food labelling legislation meant that although there were traces of iron in the (secret) recipe, it certainly was not brewed in the conventional sense. So the makers, AG Barr, opted for the phonetic spelling of their product - Irn-Bru. As market leaders in Scotland, the company has been working hard at selling their product in England and has set up a factory under license in Russia - vodka and Irn-Bru is known as Red Square. The company have plans to take Irn-Bru to North America but early marketing efforts have not been successful.
The Bank of Scotland has been issuing banknotes for over 300 years. The continuation of this privilege (now only available to three Scottish banks) is jealously guarded but the details of this question appear to have been overlooked in the £28 billion merger with Halifax and the creation of the new "HBOS". Nobody seems to know who the new "Governor" will be (his signature appears on all the notes) and the Court of Session in Edinburgh will have to approve the merger. It is not clear yet whether the new Governor will sit on the board of the new bank. But there is one aspect about the merger and banknotes - new designs will be required unless only cosmetic changes are made to the existing ones. It remains to be seen whether Sir Walter Scott (who was instrumental in the 19th century in ensuring that Scottish bank notes would continue) will continue to be the basis of the new designs.
Many of the popular footpaths in Dumfries and Galloway opened last weekend for the first time since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Mabie Park Farm, where all the livestock were slaughtered four weeks ago, had its busiest day this year. Pollok Country Park in Glasgow (which has a herd of Highland cattle) reopened last weekend too. The warm. sunny weather encouraged thousands of tourists to flock to the seaside and the countryside both over the Bank Holiday last Monday and for the rest of the week. Many attractions reported record numbers of visitors taking advantage of the early spell of good weather.
The long-established Jenners department store in Princes Street, Edinburgh is a city landmark. It was established in 1838 and its 19th century building has seen many expansions over the years, creating a rambling labyrinth which is part of the charm of the store. Last year, Jenners opened a unit at Edinburgh Airport and at the Royal Yacht Britannia visitor centre at Leith. Now the privately-owned company has announced that it is looking at other locations in Scotland - Perth, Inverness, Aberdeen and Glasgow Airport. But there was an angry reaction from the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce when Jenners said that it was not planning to open in Glasgow. This had nothing to do with the Edinburgh/Glasgow rivalry but Jenners described the Glasgow retail market as "saturated".
A well, which is mentioned in Blind Harry's "Life of Wallace" published in 1508, is said to be under threat from encroaching house building. The Society of William Wallace, is already campaigning to buy a derelict farmhouse near the site in the Royston area of Glasgow where Wallace was captured on 5 August 1305. Wallace had been on his way to see the Bishop of Glasgow, Robert Wishart when he was betrayed and captured. The well has been known as Wallace's Well for centuries. A memorial to Wallace was erected nearby in Wallacewell Road in 1900.
Research over the last 20 years at Dunadd in Argyll, the capital of the Scots of Dalriada from the 6th to the 9th centuries, has shown that their kings lived in some luxury and imported herbs, delicate wine glasses and expensive clothing dyes from places as far away as France, the Mediterranean and Turkey. Dunadd was also a centre for the production of highly decorated jewellery made from gold, silver and glass. The Scots were a seafaring people and traded widely.
Edinburgh's famous fountain in Princes Street Gardens is flowing with water again for the first time for nearly five years. The Ross Fountain is a French sculpture which was made near Paris in the 1860s. The elaborately modelled, gold coloured, iron structure was displayed at the Great Exhibition in London and was bought by an Edinburgh gun maker, Daniel Ross. It came to Edinburgh in 1869 - in 122 pieces - and became a landmark in Princes Street Gardens. But broken pipework meant that it has been dry since 1996. A joint project involving Edinburgh City Council and East of Scotland Water has got it going again - with the water being recycled as required by current environmental regulations.
The City of Glasgow is getting a good reputation for its work in restoring the buildings and fountains in the city parks. The Winter Gardens in Glasgow Green and Tollcross Park have already been brought back to their former glory (or even better) and the Kibble Palace in the Kelvingrove Botanic Gardens is to get a complete makeover. The magnificent fountains at Alexandra Park and Kelvingrove Parks are either fully restored or well on the way. Now approval has been given for a feasibility study to examine the restoration of the Winter Garden in Springburn Park. The structure is thought to be the largest Victorian glasshouse in Britain. But since its closure in the 1980s, it has been ravaged by vandals - not one pane of glass remains. It is hoped that Heritage Lottery Fund cash will help to restore the building and allow some of the artefacts from the Springburn Museum (which closed recently) to be put on display again.
Pamela Stephenson, comedian Billy Connolly's wife, is currently carrying out research for a biography of the "Big Yin" and recently turned up at the Glasgow street market known as "The Barras" where Billy bought his first banjo. The instrument became one of his many trademarks but was initially part of his early career as a folk singer with a group known as the "Humblebums". Not far away from the Barras, in the People's Palace Museum on Glasgow Green, the "banana boots" which Billy made famous, both by wearing in his act and in song, are on display in a glass case.
Former US President Bill Clinton paid a visit to Scotland at the end of a lucrative visit to Britain and Ireland. He has been on a "gruelling" schedule of speaking engagements, dinner parties and meetings which are reputed to have earned him $1 million this month. So he relaxed by playing golf at Loch Lomond, St Andrews and Skibo Castle. Even though the tour may not have got much coverage in the US, there were hopes that his visit would boost the tourist industry by demonstrating that the country is very much open for business after the foot-and-mouth outbreak. Mr Clinton has a handicap of 12 (at golf, that is) but took 90 strokes round Loch Lomond (pictured here, courtesy of 
The canal which links the river Clyde in the west and the river Forth in the east, was reopened last weekend with a flotilla of more than 40 boats travelling the 35 miles on the sea-to-sea ship canal for the first time in nearly 40 years. The 200-year-old canal, which runs from Grangemouth to Bowling on the Firth of Clyde, has been renovated as part of the £78 million Millennium Link project. This will see the Union Canal to Edinburgh reopened and the two canals connected by the Falkirk Wheel, the world's first rotating boat lift.
The percentage of people who voted in the General Election on Thursday fell to the lowest level for over 80 years. Turnout in Scotland fell to 58% from over 70% in 1997. In the last General Election, 50 of Scotland's 72 constituencies had a turnout of over 70% but this time only Eastwood, a key marginal seat, had over that figure. A combination of expectation that Tony Blair's Labour Party would win another landslide induced both his supporters and opponents to stay away. Glasgow Shettleston, a safe Labour seat, had the dubious honour of recording the lowest turnout in Scotland - 38.8%
In the end, the make-up of the new Westminster Parliament was little changed from the last election in 1997. In Scotland, Labour again won 56 out of the 72 seats and the Liberal Democrats again won 10 seats. The only change in numbers was that the Conservatives won Galloway and Upper Nithsdale from the Scottish Nationalists. Labour's share of the vote did fall from 45.6% in 1997 to 43.9% this time but both Conservatives (down from 17.5% to 15.6%) and Scottish Nationalists (down from 21.9% to 20.1%). The main beneficiaries were the Liberal Democrats (up from 13% to 16.4%) and the Scottish Socialist Party who gained 3.1% from a zero base in 1997.
The city of Glasgow is proud of its reputation as a friendly city but a honeymoon destination is not something which immediately springs to mind when thinking of the "dear green place". But a guide to the world's top 50 honeymoon destinations ranks Glasgow as 21st - ahead of Rio de Janeiro, Sydney and Italy's Amalfi coast. The travel writers who compiled the book say that a romantic stroll along the banks of the Clyde may not be quite as good as San Francisco Bay or Sydney Harbour but Glasgow has so much to do, excellent theatres and parks, stunning buildings and excellent places to eat and stay and nowhere has a bigger heart than Glasgow. So those stories about Glasgow being the last resting place of the remains of St Valentine might be true after all...
The honours announced as part of the Queen's official birthday this week included another title for three times World Drivers' Champion Jackie Stewart - a knighthood. In addition to his achievements on the track as a racing driver and as manager of a racing team, he has worked strenuously for the Scottish Dyslexia Trust. Stewart won 27 Grand Prix races out of 99 starts and became World Champion in 1969, 1971 and 1973 and was runner-up in 1968 and 1972. He campaigned vigorously for improved safety standards in motor racing, with considerable success.
Computer giant IBM celebrated its 50th anniversary of operating in Scotland this week. Initially punched-card machines (remember them? See the illustration!) were the mainstay of the factory at Spango Valley near Greenock. The site was personally selected by IBM's founder, T J Watson whose roots were in Scotland. Computer assembly began in the early 1980s In recent years the factory has concentrated on IBM's personal computer products and business software development. To mark the operation's 50 years, Prince Charles visited the factory this week.
Although much of Scotland's architectural heritage is being well preserved, the Scottish Civic Trust has just published their latest "Buildings at Risk" report listing 2,000 buildings which it says are empty and derelict. In recent years, the Heritage Lottery Fund has allocated £43 million to restoration projects in Scotland. Buildings which are highlighted in the report include the last remaining tenement block in Glasgow's Gorbals, Mavisbank House in Midlothian designed by William Adam in the 1720s, Ecclesgreig Castle in Kincardineshire and the Gateway Tower at Glasgow's Southern Necropolis (illustrated here). Often the stumbling block is not just money to carry out restoration but future maintenance costs if a suitable use cannot be made of the building.
The 109-year-old Templeton Carpet Factory in Glasgow, now used as a Business Centre, is to be sold by its owners Scottish Enterprise. But this is no ordinary factory. Towards the end of the 19th century, the owners of the site had wanted to build a factory but the Victorian city council kept rejecting their design proposals as being unacceptable for a site which overlooked the open spaces of Glasgow Green. So they recruited a top architect, William Leiper. He came up with a proposal modelled on the Doge's Palace in Venice, using polychromatic brick - orange, yellow, blue, with turrets and arched and circular windows. The business centre is currently half empty and Scottish Enterprise see the possibility of selling it off to a developer who would create up-market luxury flats.
The 550-year-old siege gun named "Mons Meg" is once again on the battlements of Edinburgh Castle. Made in Mons in Belgium it fired missiles weighing 330lbs (150kg) over two and a half miles. It saw action against the English at the siege of Norham Castle in 1497. But its great weight (over six tons) meant that it could only be moved at the rate of three miles a day so it was retired and used only on ceremonial occasions. For a time it was stored at the Tower of London but it returned to Edinburgh Castle in 1829. It was moved indoors (as in this picture) in 1980 to help preserve it but after remedial work it is once again on top of the battlements - much to the delight of tourists.
The Robert Duval film "A Shot for Glory" about football (soccer) in Scotland stars ex-Rangers player Ally McCoist. It was shot in Scotland two years ago, and is to be premiered in Glasgow in October. It will then go on wide release in North America. United International Pictures have bought the distribution rights about the movie which has Kilnockie, a fictional small-town team, reaching the final of the Scottish Cup. 30,000 fans turned up at the Scottish National Stadium at Hampden to act as unpaid "extras" in the crowd scenes. Michael Keaton plays the part of the owner of Kilnockie and Robert Duvall, who directed the film also stars in a film which has been described as being full of the "feel-good" factor. But did Kilnockie beat Rangers and win the Cup? We'll need to see the film to find out.
The Scottish Arts Council published its long awaited "Review of Theatres" this week and it makes dismal reading. It covers ten major Scottish theatres (including Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, shown here) where audiences on average have fallen by 30% between 1994 and 2000 - a figure not helped by a reduction in the number of performances of 34%. The Arts Council support these ten theatres with £3 million each year but that is being cut to £2 million next year unless more government funding can be allocated.. Meantime, the Scottish Executive ministers have expressed support for the creation of a "Scottish National Theatre" - but have so far not indicated where the finance for such a project would come from. A recent opinion poll found that 74% of Scots were opposed to subsidising art with taxpayers money.
