Current Affairs
New Era for Glasgow's Council Housing
After five years of argument and debate, the publicly owned housing administered by Glasgow City Council was transferred this week to the new not-for-profit Glasgow Housing Association (GHA). Over 81,000 houses are involved and the new body has an investment programme of £1.4 billion over the next ten years. This will be one of the largest public sector housing modernisation projects in Europe. GHA will also spend £7 million more each year on maintenance than the City Council allocated last year. Local housing organisations will be set up to ensure that the voices of the local communities are heard in running their homes.
Most Common Name in Scotland
Smith, Brown and Wilson are the top three surnames in Scotland, according to a survey carried out by the General Register Office for Scotland for the years 1999-2001. There has been little change in the most frequently found surnames over the last 140 years. Smith has been the most common surname in all surveys since that covering the early years of civil registration. Over 1 in 8 surnames in Scotland begin with Mac/Mc but patterns of surnames differ widely in different geographical areas. The top 10 Surnames in Scotland, using a sample of over 335,000 names from registrations in 1999, 2000 and 2001 are, in sequence: Smith, Brown, Wilson, Campbell, Stewart, Thomson, Robertson, Anderson, MacDonald and Scott. The top ten names account for 7.9 per cent and the top 20 account for 12.4 per cent of all the names. Information on the top 10 surnames in Scotland by area is available at http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/grosweb/grosweb.nsf/pages/01surnames together with analysis of surnames from the 1901 Census.
100 Fishing Boats Disappear from Radar Screens
More than 100 Scottish fishing boats switched off satellite monitoring equipment for 24 hours this week, meaning that they could not be tracked by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. The move was part of a protest about the draconian reduction in the quotas of fish catches. But government officials said the fishermen could be prosecuted and could be liable for hefty fines. Fishing boats are required to register their position at sea every two hours and failure to do so can result in fines of up to £50,000.
New Parliament Flushed With Success
The toilets in the new Scottish Parliament building in Holyrood will be flushed with water from ancient springs from below the building, rather than the public water supply (which is treated to the same standard as drinking water). It is estimated that this will save 10.5 million litres of mains supply water at a saving of over £10,000 a year. The parliament will also use its own supply of water for the cooling system. The area in which the new parliament is being built was once called Watergate as it supplied much of the water for the old city of Edinburgh. But somehow, Watergate doesn't have quite the same ring these days....
Food Festival in Gourmet Glasgow
Top chefs in some of Glasgow's best restaurants will be given free rein to create gourmet menus every day between July 16 and August 13 in a new festival named "GourmetGlasgow". Seventeen restaurants, including The Buttery (pictured here) and the Ubiquitous Chip, have signed up for the event. It is being promoted by Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board and sponsors include Laurent-Perrier who will offer diners a free glass of champagne and a glass of red or white wine and Auchentoshan Distillery who will provide a malt whisky at the end of each meal.Menus will range from four courses to seven, and costs are likely to be in the range £40 to £60 per head.
Cold Shoulder for Nudist Beach in Aberdeen
Billy Connolly reduces audiences to tears with his stories of being forced to paddle in the freezing North Sea while on holiday in Aberdeen - while off-shore oil workers wouldn't step outside without survival suits. But the British Nudist magazine has had the bare faced cheek to call on Aberdeen City Council to designate part of its long beach for skinny-dipping. Visitors to the beach were asked by newspaper reporters what they thought of the idea. Huddled underneath scarves, anoraks and gloves, they were sceptical about how popular such an initiative would be, with suggestions that anyone trying it would die of pneumonia. The Meteorological Office also poured cold water on the idea, pointing out that the average summer temperature was 18C/64F at the warmest part of the day. Onshore sea breezes also make it feel even colder than that.
Windfarm Warning
The leading environmental watchdog, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), has issued a report calling for more research into the environmental impact of large off-shore windfarms. There has been a rise in interest in these due to the opposition from protest groups about the creation of windfarms on land. The report draws attention to the plan for 120 turbines generating 500MW in the Moray Firth. Dolphins and other cetaceans could be affected by the development and there has been insufficient research into the impact.The SNH report also raises issues concerning devices for harnessing tidal power.
A Hard Tablet to Swallow
An announcement that Nestlé, the world's largest manufacturer of condensed milk, was to stop production in the UK led to panic buying in supermarkets. Media reports had suggested that the announcement meant that it would no longer be available in the UK. Condensed milk is the basic ingredient of "tablet" - a sugary confection which is particularly popular in Scotland. It is as popular in Scotland as Mars bars and is often sold in tourist shops, in various flavours, as well as supermarkets. But as manufacturers of tablet voiced their concerns at the "disaster", Nestlé assured them that although UK production would cease, the product would still be available - imported from France.
Budget Airlines Boost Edinburgh Tourism
A survey of tourists coming to Edinburgh has shown that nearly half of those visiting the capital are on long weekend breaks. The number arriving by air has more than doubled in the last three years, as travellers take advantage of low-cost airlines. The number of younger visitors has also increased with 49% under the age of 35.
Historical Affairs
Lifeline for Historic Ship
The Glenlee tall ship, which is moored on the river Clyde at Stobcross Quay in Glasgow, has become a city landmark as it is visible from the busy Clydeside Expressway. But the ship and the Maritime Museum beside it does not attract enough visitors and lacks the cash to carry out urgent maintenance. This is necessary before it is moved to a new location beside a relocated Transport Museum as part of the Glasgow Harbour development. So to help the Clyde Maritime Trust, the Glasgow City Council has agreed to wipe out a £750,000 loan. The Glenlee was built on the Clyde in 1896 and is the last sailing vessel of its type in the UK. The Trust has tried to operate on a commercial basis without financial support from the council or other public bodies. But with so many free visitor attractions in Glasgow, visitor numbers have not been sufficient to make the project financially viable. As part of the Glasgow Harbour and the new Transport Museum, however, its future as part of Glasgow's industrial and cultural heritage should be secure.
Shetland Bus Remembered
During the Second World War, thousands of Norwegians took the dangerous sea trip from their occupied country to Shetland - a journey which became known as the "Shetland Bus". Although initially it was an escape route, it eventually became a two-way service as supplies and agents sailed back to Norway. After the war was over, most Norwegians returned to their homeland, but quite a number remained on Scotland's northernmost islands. Now a Norwegian photo-journalist has produced a book telling of their experiences. Photos have been supplied by the Norwegian North Sea Traffic Museum in Televåg, a tiny fishing settlement which suffered terrible reprisals for its support of the Shetland Bus.
Warlike Border Logo Defended
The logo representing the Scottish Borders Council includes a fierce Border reiver (outlaw) complete with steel helmet, spear and war-horse. It has lasted a number of local government restructurings and adorns local council stationery and livery. But there has been a recent suggestion that the warrior image confuses visitors to this now tranquil corner of Scotland. The idea of doing away with the historical references to the area's turbulent past, outlaws and murderers, has got some locals looking out their pikes again. While it has been argued that the logo does not provide a vibrant modern image, there are others who claim that it is the reivers who are still a selling point for tourism in the region. Sir Walter Scott portrayed them as glamorous heroes, though that was very much a bit of early spin doctoring.
Return to Darien
A 50-strong team of British archaeologists are to visit the site of the 17th century Scottish colony at Darien on the Panama isthmus. The settlement was established in 1698 to challenge the trade and influence of England. A small town named New Edinburgh was created but by 1700 it had been abandoned leaving the backers, mainly Scottish business men, with huge losses. The Union of the Parliaments in 1707 was pushed through in part as a result of a financial inducement to those who had lost money in the Darien project. The archaeological expedition is being organised by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and the Scientific Exploration Society and will coincide with the centenary of the creation of the state of Panama.
Burns Cottage Saved by Lottery Cash
The 18th century thatched cottage in which Robert Burns was born and which is now a museum, has been saved from closure after an 11th hour rescue package was put in place by the Lottery Heritage Fund. The trustees of the Burns National Heritage Park at Alloway in Ayrshire have been struggling for some time to pay for essential maintenance in the face of trading at a loss. Now, an immediate grant of £50,000 is to be made which will keep the attraction going while a team of architects, surveyors and conservationists draw up a detailed plan for the complete conservation and preservation of the cottage and museum. It is estimated that over £2 million will be required to put it on a firm footing. In recent years, leaks in the roof have resulted in damage to the Burns family bible, with its handwritten entries. The Burns Collection has over 300 manuscripts connected with Scotland's national poet.
King James VI and the Union of the Crowns
A BBC2 TV documentary this week, marking the Union of the Crowns on March 24, 1603, paid tribute to the way in which King James VI of Scotland was instrumental in bringing together England and Scotland, two nations who had been frequently at war for over the previous 300 years. King James inherited the throne when Queen Elizabeth I died and he had a vision of a United Kingdom which he pursued vigorously. Although he failed to persuade the English Parliament to combine with that of Scotland (that would not happen for another 100 years), he introduced the Union Jack flag (a combination of English, Scottish and later Irish flags) and encouraged Scots and English protestants to settle in Ulster (the so-called "Plantations"). The king also produced male heirs who would ensure the succession and thus avoid any conflict on his death. King James was also responsible for a new authorised version of the Old Testament which has survived for centuries. Initially there was resentment and even fights between the Scottish nobles brought to London by James and their English counterparts at court. Of course, other historians, with nationalist bias,would prefer to focus on the negative aspects of the reign of King James VI.
Entertainment
Kelvingrove Stuffed, Not Stuffy
The Kelvingrove in Glasgow is the most visited Art Gallery and Museum in the UK outside of London. Financed in 1901 by local businessmen, it continues to be supported by the local people through local taxation, rather than central government grants. It is estimated that the building and its collections are now worth £565 million. But the art section will be closing on 17 March and the museum section on 30 June in preparation for a £25 million transformation which will not be completed until February 2006. By then, it will have been upgraded to a state of the art building with 50% more public display areas than at present. It is hoped that the number of visitors each year will then nearly double to over two million. At the moment, two-thirds of visitors never leave the museum on the ground floor to see the huge art collection upstairs. When it reopens, with both the basement and top floor available, the two collections will be mixed - with, for example, Old Masters displayed beside armour and other objects of the same period.
Harry Potter Really Sets Heather on Fire
Over the years, journalists have no doubt frequently written about how the Harry Potter stories have figuratively "set the heather on fire." But now sparks from the steam engine being used as Hogwarts Express in the filming of the latest Harry Potter book near the Glenfinnan Viaduct literally set the heather moorland alight. Firefighters had to battle for many hours to put out the fire near the railway line between Fort William and Mallaig in the west coast of Scotland. The Warner Brothers film crew helped out by chartering a helicopter to water bomb the blaze. The fire started during the filming of scenes for "The Prisoner of Azkaban". This year, February has been an unusually dry month and so the fire spread rapidly due to the dead bracken being very dry.
Pagan Festival's Unholy Row
The pagan festival on Edinburgh's Calton Hill to greet Beltane's Day (the 1st May) involves 300 painted dancers, fire-eaters, jugglers, a torch-light procession, bonfire and painted performers. The event has attracted a growing audience, with 14,000 attending in 2002. But the City Council insists on full observance of health and safety requirements for this free show and insurance costs keep escalating. The organisers get no help with funding from the Council or the local tourism agencies to meet the costs. "Voluntary contributions" are requested from those attending but these averaged less than 20p per person last year. Now the insistence by the city council that the organisers pay for a temporary lease of Calton Hill has forced the society to cancel this year's event. There are hints, however, that it might be staged somewhere else - but the Calton Hill venue created an excellent backdrop and had a good catchment area to attract a good audience.
The illustration of the Beltane Fire Festival is copyright of Christophe Mercier.
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