New GDP figures – disappointing but not entirely unexpected
Today’s figures on economic growth make slightly disappointing if not entirely unexpected reading. With gross domestic product (GDP) down to just 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year, it...
View ArticleCalorie intake lower where menus provide figures, research shows
Customers at several major fast food chains, including McDonald's, were more inclined to buy lower-calorie meals after the introduction of a menu labelling system in the US, researchers have found....
View ArticleThrills, spills and scenery: motorbike trials come to Nevis Range
It’s one of the main events of the motorcycling year. This weekend, the 2011 SPEA FIM Trial World Championship arrives at Nevis Range, seven miles north-east of Fort William, for the sixth round of the...
View ArticleThe joy of slime-covered jodhpurs: diary of a Pony Club Mum
By Elizabeth McQuillan I only wanted to watch my daughter ride at the Pony Club show. In fact, I had showered and changed out of my smelly jodhpurs, put on some smarter summer apparel, and arrived in...
View ArticleEuro, pound or groat? The nationalist dilemma over Scottish currency
The argument over the currency for an independent Scotland used to be so simple. Back in the pre-crash days, when the euro was solid and Ireland – Scotland’s then-independent model of choice – was...
View ArticleIt’s a year until the Olympics – to within 0.0027322404371584699453
“Yes, we’re here, because 365 days to go, the London Olympics starts 12 months today…” – the generally on the ball Garry Richardson reporting from the Olympic Park for the Today programme, BBC Radio 4,...
View ArticleScottish manufacturing struggles in ‘fragile and challenging’ recovery
After the recent disappointing figures on both the Scottish and UK economies, the latest Industrial Trends Survey from CBI Scotland show that Scottish manufacturers face a tough year ahead. The survey...
View ArticleSix days on, what lessons should we learn from the Norway attacks?
By John Knox Like most people, I suspect, my first reaction to the Norwegian attacks was one of shock. Then came anger. Then came shame and guilt, that one of my species, and in a nice neighbouring...
View ArticleUseful Gaelic word: sùil
sùil – eye Listen to the pronunciation guide Short and simple, and a very common word. Sùil is eye and the plural is sùilean. In addition, the word has a meaning in the Gaelic phrase for "look". When...
View ArticleHow the comma butterfly almost came to a full stop in Scotland
By Elizabeth McQuillan Next time you are in the garden, keep an eye out for a rather rare orange creature, the comma butterfly. It takes its name from the only white marking on its underside, which...
View ArticleWeir’s Week: Twitter spats, bad acting and a steeplechase stramash
By Stewart Weir Saturday Usain Bolt aside, athletics has been up against it in recent times, drugs putting a question mark against everyone. So those in charge of the sport have tried all kinds of...
View ArticleShame on the Olympic whingers, will they ever get what it’s all about?
There are few more depressing sights than Scottish politicians living up to their national stereotype of griping, gurning and complaining that they have been – yet again – hard done by. The “whit aboot...
View ArticleFriday song: Piers Morgan – in his own words
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band have, once again, produced a video to promote their new album. This week’s topical offering is entitled Piers Morgan – in his own words. It is written and performed by...
View ArticleNever mind the Balkans, Copacabana here we come – well, maybe
By Stewart Weir I recall the World Cup of 1998 as if it were yesterday. Facing Brazil in the opening game, the colourful opening ceremony, Dario G’s Carnival de Paris, Tom Boyd’s own goal Craig...
View ArticleVideo: The Portobello Regatta, 30–31 July, 2011
The Scottish Coastal Rowing Project is continuing to gather momentum, with a growing number of boats in the water and the competition hotting up. There have been regattas held around the coast all...
View ArticleTrailblaze: electronic tags meet long distances and fine scenery
By Matthew Shelley One joy of running, they say, is that – shoes and shorts aside – it hardly costs anything. That’s true up to a point, but where there’s a hobby (or an obsessive habit), there’s room...
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Architectural appointment brings Edinburgh BioQuarter a step closer
It seems to have been a long time in the development, but the Edinburgh BioQuarter is coming closer to opening. Home to the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM), the quarter is on schedule...
View ArticleFishing versus fishing: island fishermen fight back against fish farms
It is a tale of fishing versus fishing, a particularly Scottish battle between old-fashioned techniques and a modern industry – and one in which, at least so far, the traditionalists seem to be...
View ArticleScarp 1952, Harris 2010 – a tale of two Hebridean weddings
The small island of Scarp, sitting just off the Harris coastline in the Western Isles, lies deserted, the last inhabitants having left in July 1971. Stuck out in the Atlantic, it was a beautiful and...
View ArticleJefferies out, Sérgio in: yet more comings and goings at Hearts
By Stewart Weir “I wonder who we’ll get next?” That was the throwaway line from a Hearts player a few years ago, not in the hours after Tynecastle owner Vladimir Romanov had jettisoned another...
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