Scots language lessons as the word ‘unionist’ is banned by unionists
A senior Treasury minister has banned the word "unionist" in an attempt to foster more positive language in the fight against Scottish independence. Danny Alexander, a Scottish Liberal Democrat MP and...
View ArticleScottish broadband take-up rate lower than in UK, says Ofcom report
Scotland’s digital divide is growing wider, with broadband take-up lagging behind the rest of the UK. The Ofcom Communications Market Report: Scotland says that only 61 per cent of homes have...
View ArticleFestival or fantasy? – some thoughts as Edinburgh readies itself
By John Knox As I sat watching the dress rehearsal for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, I found myself wondering again – as I do each year – about the relationship between this, the world’s greatest arts...
View ArticleFriday song: Glenn Mulcaire’s Cavalcade
The Sensational Alex Salmond Band have produced another video to promote their new album. This week’s topical offering, written and performed by Tommy Mackay, Fife comedian of the year, is Glenn...
View ArticleWeir’s Week: Dhoni’s good deed and some (alleged) prodding
By Stewart Weir Saturday It is still summer, even if Scottish football has started, or stalled. After kicking off during the second week of the Glasgow Fair, bizarrely, Celtic have this weekend off to...
View ArticleThe 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival – a preview
By Elizabeth McQuillan Charlotte Square Gardens in Edinburgh is currently undergoing the annual transformation where it emerges as a home – or should that be tome? – of literary talent, the book...
View ArticleScotland leave little room for error in World Cup warm-ups
It shouldn’t really come as any surprise that Twickenham is an 82,000 sell-out for tomorrow’s game against Wales, while Murrayfield will do well to get 30,000 in through the turnstiles for the visit of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
RBS reports massive half-year loss following Greek debt exposure
The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 84 per cent owned by the UK taxpayer, has become the latest to fall victim to the Greek debt crisis. RBS reported a half-year loss this morning after writing down...
View ArticleChess championship ends amid ‘gay equality’ T-shirt controversy
Yesterday saw the conclusion of this year’s British chess championship, a fortnight-long event held in Sheffield. This was generally deemed to have been an interesting tournament with some good,...
View ArticleScotland provide some positives amid the recriminations
To follow the bard’s advice, it is no bad thing to “see oursels as ithers see us”. And, as far as Scotland's 10–6 victory over Ireland at Murrayfield yesterday is concerned, the Irish don’t seem to...
View ArticleOpinion: Has Project Merlin hit the target for small businesses?
By Colin Borland It’s been quite a few days. Banks reporting big losses, stock markets tumbling, financial institutions wary about each other’s exposure to bad debts. Stop me if any of this sounds...
View ArticleBe careful out there: the Edinburgh Festival is a dangerous time
By Diane Maclean As Edinburgh once more puts on its glad rags and prepares for the deluge, it would be inhospitable of us here at The Caledonian Mercury not to pre-warn visitors of a few hidden dangers...
View ArticleOpinion: Our vital voluntary organisations are not ‘fake charities’
Martin Sime is director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, and writes a monthly column for The Caledonian Mercury. Last week, the website False Economy, backed by the TUC, released...
View ArticleWill it be the Fisherfield 4, 5, 6 or 7? Possible Munro changes coming
Tomorrow morning will be noteworthy for anyone with an interest in the Munros – the list of 3,000-foot Scottish hills first published in 1891 by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, courtesy of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charities face massive funding cuts, according to new report
A report published today by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) suggests that charities in England and Wales are facing a cut in their funding to the tune of £2.8bn over the next...
View ArticleSo the number of Munros drops from 283 to 282? Er… no it doesn’t
The results of the July hill-height surveys by the Munro Society (TMS) have now been published. Three hills were surveyed on 4, 6 and 8 July – all in the remote Fisherfield area and all either just...
View ArticleUseful Scots word: wean
By Betty Kirkpatrick The Edinburgh Fringe is underway and people are flocking from all over the world to see the multifarious events. They even come from Glasgow and some of them bring their weans....
View ArticleThree-parent families, a grandfather aged 29: this is the modern world
By Alex Wood The family is changing rapidly and enormously. One recent press article introduced three adults and a child whose relationship would have been unimaginable in the 1960s, or even in the...
View ArticleCity centres are being looted – but there is ‘systematic’ rural theft, too
A report from NFU Mutual claims that criminals are "systematically" targeting rural areas. It says there has been a 67 per cent increase in "agri-crime" over the last two years in Scotland, and this is...
View ArticleFrom clinics to potholes: Dr Ian Clarke, Ugandan politician
By Andrew Macdonell in South Africa With the exception of David Livingstone, probably the most well-known white doctor associated with Uganda is Nicholas Garrigan, the fictional Scottish doctor in the...
View Article