Stooshie Issue 5 Published June 21 2014

JUNE 21 2014 issue no.5 ❘ £2.50

W NE NE ZI GA MA

the

Self-assembly

Stooshie Sturgeon says build your own constitution

T h e b e st o f S c ott i sh m e d i a – n e w s

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opinion

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d e bat e

Games baton – sports symbol or political weapon?

The X Factor

Will big names sway Scotland’s future?

Hampden’s last gasp?

Is it game over for national stadium?

Checkpoint Charlies

Murray mania builds for Wimbledon

Passport Office in chaos

Recall: R26 – 27-June-14

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21-Jun-14

Scotland in days

Here we go again...

www.thestooshie.co.uk

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Going off message online

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Hampden’s future: Home or away?

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People: Painter takes a swipe at modern art

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Stooshie of the Week: Will highprofile backers influence the indy vote?

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Review and Preview: What’s hot and what’s not around Scotland

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Editor’s Round-up: That was the week that waS

Welcome to The Stooshie, the magazine that brings you the big stories and most incisive comment from across Scotland over the past seven days.

In a week where cyber bullying became the big story, we scoured media old and new to find the best stories and opinion from Scotland’s top columnists.

This week we discover how two women – one famous, one unknown – became targets for the most vituperative members of the online hordes.

We also examined what lessons can be learned from the Mortonhall Crematorium scandal and countdown to the start of the Commonwealth Games.

Elsewhere, Pope Francis, Hillary Clinton and Chinese premier Li Keqiang joined the roll-call of the great and the good sharing their opinions on Scottish independence. Our Stooshie of the Week asks if these pronouncements from on high will make a difference when people enter the voting booths on September 18.

And we also dig into Hampden’s future as home of the national game, if it has one that is, and find out what the passport crisis means for your holiday plans.

We also have the best sport and business news while Fred MacAulay enjoys a close encounter with a sporting superstar.

Read, digest and enjoy!

SCOTTISH WORD OF THE WEEK

heid noun ❘ hi d ❘ 1. Scots word for head. A “heid the baw” is a slang term for an idiot.

Usage: “Oan ma heid” “There are enough heid the baws out there...” (page four)

We really like...

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Fred Said: Our man MacAulay bares all...

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■ Graffiti artist Jano Hornik hard at work creating a giant mural of Dennis the Menace and Desperate Dan in Dundee. Evening Telegraph

Editor-in-chief: Richard Neville Editor: Steve Bargeton Deputy editor: Catriona MacInnes Art director: Aileen Wilkie Content manager: Rory Weller Editorial: Craig Smith, Stefan Morkis, Alastair Bennett Contributors: Brian Donaldson, Robert McNeil, Lucy Penman, James Williamson, Graham Huband

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4 l news

MAIN EVENTS

Reality check after online war of words turns nasty Pleas for calm after online debate grows increasingly heated ■ JK Rowling is “a bitch”.

A young mother is accused of exploiting her children, including one with cerebral palsy, for political gain: the stone has been lifted on the online independence debate and nobody likes what is wriggling underneath.

Both sides have complained about instances of outrageous online behaviour but recent events like these revealed online spats are even uglier than first imagined.

It began when First Minister Alex Salmond’s chief spin

doctor Campbell Gunn used information gleaned from a pro-nationalist website to try to traduce a Better Together supporter to a journalist.

Unfortunately, a key part of that information, that Clare Lally was related to former Glagow Lord Provost Pat Lally, was wrong. Mr Gunn apologised but is fighting to stay in a job.

JK Rowling was then subjected to torrents of online abuse for making her proUnion stance clear. Police say offenders may be prosecuted.

EDITORIALS SAY

COMMENTATORS SAY

Those who have hurled “horrible, misogynistic abuse” at Clare Lally and JK Rowling are nothing but “inadequates” according to the Sunday Mail.

It said that while there are undoubtedly “morons on either side” of the independence debate, most of the “brainless wonders” appear to be on the Yes camp’s side.

It concludes that if politicians such as Alex Salmond do not have the will to tackle them, then perhaps it is time the police does.

While a small number of people may be responsible for much of the worst abuse online, The Scotsman said it is still “bullying in an attempt to pervert the democratic process”.

It added that people who shout out obscenities in public would be arrested for breach of the peace. “The cyber version of this intimidation,” said the paper, “should be treated similarly”.

Sister paper Scotland on Sunday said the frenzied activity online may be detracting from a much greater problem – divisions being caused by the referendum.

It said a poll found that two out of every five Scots say their family is divided over what direction Scotland’s future should take.

The paper ultimately concluded: “It is in no one’s interest to win the referendum and have as the prize a Scotland at war with itself.”

Public debate must not be allowed to descend to a level dictated by a few “cyber bullies” the Right Reverend John Chalmers, current Moderator of the Church of Scotland, wrote in The Scotsman.

He said he had received emails from people on both sides of the independence debate trying to pressurise him into taking one side or the other.

“If I was at all a sensitive chiel I would think I was being bullied,” he said.

John Niven also called for “greater civility” in his column in the Sunday Mail. Although an outspoken critic of the UK government and a Yes supporter, he fears “almost civil war battle lines” being drawn.

Over at The Sunday Times, Sir Tom Hunter said it will be a tragedy if, with the entire world watching, the debate is hijacked by a vocal online minority he described as “cybernutters”.

The Scottish Sun’s political editor Andrew Nicoll told readers former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars had suggested some of the “anonymous nutters” posting offensive messages may be posted by “double agents” trying to undermine the Yes campaign.

Nicoll said this is possible but unlikely. “There are enough heid the baws out there anyway and no real need to invent any more,” he said.

Mortonhall: public inquiry call Parents demand full public inquiry after report into baby ashes scandal recommends new laws to protect parents ■ A report into the Mortonhall baby ashes scandal has made 64 recommendations to “avoid repetition of past failures”.

The independent Infant Cremation Commission, chaired by former High Court judge Lord Bonomy, was set up after it emerged Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh had buried the the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

ashes of babies without informing the parents.

The report proposes creating a statutory definition of “ashes” and regulating the cremation of babies of less than 24 weeks gestation.

Parents affected by the scandal are continuing to demand a full public inquiry into what went wrong.

EDITORIALS SAY Plans to launch a national investigation team to probe all the allegations made by parents was welcomed by The Scotsman.

It said it was “heartening” that the official response has finally “been equal to the enormity of the loss and hurt felt by parents”.

It added that former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini is the right person to head the investigation team.

However, The Courier said her team must not be allowed to

MAIN EVENTS

Commonwealth countdown Excitement builds with a month to go, but transport strike threatens Games disruption ■ Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games is now just over a month away, and the spotlight is set to fall on Scotland’s largest city like rarely before.

But while we won’t know if things will run smoothly for the athletes until the Games get underway, organisers will be hoping some ‘off-the-field’ issues do not deflect from the sporting action itself.

There have been fears the Games may be used as a weapon in the independence debate, perhaps borne out following Foreign Secretary William Hague’s “Team GB” gaffe in the Commons on Tuesday which was seized upon by both sides.

Elsewhere, Games and Sport Secretary Shona Robison was forced to call for a quick resolution to disputes which could lead to strikes during the Games. Staff at First Bus called off a ballot but SPT Subway will vote on action before the end of June over pay, while train drivers’ union Aslef has been in talks with ScotRail about bonuses for staff working long hours.

face any obstructions as they seek answers. Councils and health boards must provide answers “with speed and honesty”, said the paper.

If the investigation fails to provide answers that satisfy the affected families then The Herald said “a full public inquiry should then be considered”.

The paper concluded that while “nothing can undo the pain” the Mortonhall Ashes scandal has caused families, “some good will have come out of it if these measures can ensure it never happens again”.

EDITORIALS SAY

COMMENTATORS SAY

Seeing the Games baton reach Scotland was described as “fantastic” by the Daily Record, who called on the nation to “get out and give a cheer as the baton whizzes by your neck of the woods”.

Very few papers devoted leader columns to specific fears over strike action, although The Scotsman noted sport and politics often do not mix.

“Scotland is set for a highly charged summer on the world stage,” it said, and suggested there is a “line to be drawn between national promotion of the Games and politicisation of the event”.

Politics overshadowed the 1986 Edinburgh Games, it added, urging ministers to take “special care this summer to avoid crossing the line”.

The Edinburgh Evening News added the Games will “undoubtedly inspire” but admitted the “trick will be how to ensure this lasts past the summer holidays”.

The Herald’s Doug Gillon said the formation of Scotland’s biggest ever team “should provide ample opportunity to inspire a nation intent on making a name for itself on the eve of a potential historic political watershed”.

He added that politicising the Games “is to be lamented though perhaps inevitable”, but suggested those “beating the drum of independence ideology will screw no more effort from those wearing the Scottish vest”. “‘Doing it for the jersey’ is mostly rhetoric,” he added.

But judo hopeful Chris Sherrington, writing in the Scottish Daily Mail, suggested excitement is building and said Scotland could surpass the record medal haul of 33 achieved 28 years ago.

He said: “If you thought we were strong in the past, delivering a lot of medals, you wait until we hit Glasgow.

We’re going to tear it up.”

COMMENTATORS SAY The baby ashes scandal may have started in Edinburgh, but it has affected families across Scotland.

Writing in The Scotsman, Alastair Dalton reminded readers that after the discovery staff at Mortonhall had disposed of the ashes of babies after telling parents no remains were left “led to investigations in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Fife”.

And he said Dame Eilish Angiolini’s original report into what went wrong at

Mortonhall “found systematic failures in the running of the crematorium led to parents being told there were no ashes to scatter”.

In The Times, Jeremy Watson noted that Lord Bonomy’s report also “urged hospitals, funeral parlours and crematoriums to keep better records when babies died”.

Jospehine Di Folco, who had two stillborn sons, welcomed the report in the Daily Record.

But she added parents will continue to fight for answers.

“It’s not over yet,” she said.

news l 5 on the bright side ■ A plan to inject a sense of pride into staff at Edinburgh City Council “spectacularly came unstuck”, reported the Scottish Daily Mail.

Giant whiteboards and pens were provided to staff to encourage feedback, but council chiefs were greeted with “more forthright options”.

“Stop wasting council taxpayers’ money on internal propaganda” and “absolute waste of money” were among the messages left.

■ A musical composed by Liza Minelli’s ex-husband based on the life of Robert Burns is to finally hit the stage, reported The Scottish Sun. One Fond Kiss was largely written by David Gest and Michael Jackson at the King of Pop’s house in California.

■ A runaway cat was reunited with its owners after being found 200 miles away from home.

Elvis vanished from his Glasgow home 11 months ago but, as The Scottish Sun’s Sam Whyte revealed, the missing moggy turned up in Blackpool.

“You can imagine the shock,” owner Janey Kirkwood said.

■ Scots are better off by more than £100 each month than they were three months ago, claimed The Herald.

People now have 9% of their take home salary left each month, up from 4% in the previous quarter.

■ US tycoon Donald Trump (below) has pledged to plough £100 million into the historic Scottish golf course he has just bought.

Turnberry will be renamed Trump Turnberry as part of the deal, which was formally completed on Monday.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

6 l news

POLITICS

Unionist parties promise devo satisfaction Unionist party leaders pledge more fiscal powers for Holyrood after a No vote

indy BRIEFS 1. Independent thinktank The Pensions Policy Institute said Scotland may struggle to pay the same rate of pension as the rest of the UK after independence.

2. Nine former principals of Scottish universities signed a letter that backed Scotland staying in the UK. They said research funding could be at risk if Scotland votes Yes. 3. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned Scots could face a “significantly higher” television licence fee after independence.

■ The leaders of Scotland’s main opposition party leaders have pledged Holyrood will receive more fiscal powers if the country rejects independence.

The Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders – Johann Lamont, Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie (below) – also said they want the Scottish Parliament to have responsibility over social security. It means whichever party wins the General Election has committed to extending the Scottish Parliament’s powers.

The SNP Scottish Government believes full independence is needed for Scotland to fully prosper.

A joint statement from the three leaders said: “We believe that Scotland should have a stronger Scottish Parliament while retaining full representation for Scotland at Westminster.” Although each party has their own views on what powers should be devolved, they all agree greater fiscal control is necessary.

4. Better Together leader Alistair Darling has said it is “laughable” to think UK Research Council funding for universities would not be affected by independence.

5. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has said the Scottish Government must reveal the “secret information” it has on the estimated set-up costs for an independent Scotland. the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

COMMENTATORS SAY While there are “significant differences” between the unionist parties on their plans for devolving more powers to the Scottish Parliament, The Herald was reasonably impressed by the pledge.

Although the paper noted that “fine words have been spoken before on the subject” only for nothing to happen, notably when Sir Alec Douglas-Home promised more powers before the 1979 referendum, it said a commitment from all the main opposition parties “should be in a different league”.

While it noted there will be plenty of “cynicism” over the agreement, The Herald said whatever happens in September the end result will be a Scotland with “significantly more powers”.

And although it bemoaned the lack of “a detailed plan” it said the pitch might just convince undecided voters

“who want more than the status quo but who have doubts about independence”.

Writing in the same paper, Ben Thomson, chairman of Reform Scotland, said the three parties should have combined “the best bits” of their respective policies on greater devolution as this would have allowed them “to legitimately point to a seismic change and a clear alternative for those considering supporting independence”.

However, he said there is still time for the three parties to come together “and offer a really dynamic vision for Scotland after the referendum”.

Meanwhile, The Scotsman said the vagueness of the pledge means that, as with much in the debate, “there are still many, big unanswered questions”.

The announcement was made at the National Monument in Edinburgh, presumably because the three party leaders were “looking for symbolism”, wrote Peter MacMahon on STV’s online blog. He warned: “Their opponents might point out that the monument was never completed and is known by some as ‘Edinburgh’s Disgrace’.”

“Where the extremists are fighting, they have to be countered hard, with force.”

“People across the Middle East are now reaping what Tony Blair sowed in 2003.”

Tony Blair,

Alex Salmond,

Former Prime Minister

First Minister

POLITICS Big guns say No, Queen stays mum

Sturgeon’s constitution call ■ Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (above) has called on Scots to have their say on how the country should be run if there is a vote for independence in September.

She said Scots should comment on the recently published Scottish Independence Bill so they can help decide what should be included in an independent Scotland’s constitution.

She said a “temporary constitution” would operate from the date of independence until a permanent written one that reflects the wishes of the Scottish people is in place.

Any interim constitution would include plans for the removal of Trident missiles from Scotland as well as measures to strengthen human rights protection.

Ms Sturgeon said the UK is the only country in the EU or Commonwealth that does not have a constitution set out in law.

She said the constitution would be “our declaration of independence”.

She added: “A written constitution is an important part of a nation’s identity – it defines who we are and sets out the values that we hold dear.”

■ First Barack Obama stepped up to the plate, now former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (below) and the Pope and Chinese premier Li Keqiang have gone into bat for the Union.

Speaking to the BBC, Mrs Clinton said she would “hate” for the rest of the UK to “lose Scotland”. Mrs Clinton, who has an honorary degree from St Andrews University, said she believes that Scottish independence would be “a loss for both sides”.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis also appeared to come out in support of the UK when he told an interview with a Catalonian newspaper that “any division concerns me”.

Mr Li said he wanted a “united United Kingdom” when asked about Scotland on a visit to the UK. However, it has emerged the Queen has turned down two pleas from Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene in the referendum debate.

Private Eye magazine said her private secretary Sir Christopher Geidt has set up a special task force to ensure she stays neutral.

news l 7

indy BRIEFS 1. Former Scottish Trades Union Congress president Pat Kelly has said he will vote Yes. He believes independence will help Labour find its “moral compass”.

2. First Minister Alex Salmond has unveiled plans to devolve more power to Scotland’s islands after independence.

Scots keen to keep Trident

Salmond lambasts Blair

■ More Scots believe the UK’s Trident nuclear missiles should remain in Scotland after independence than think they should be removed.

According to the latest British Social Attitudes survey from NatCen, 41% of Scots think the UK’s nuclear weapons submarines should remain at Faslane, compared to 37% who want them removed.

The SNP Scottish Government has said the removal of Trident submarines from Scotland in the event of a Yes vote is nonnegotiable.

■ First Minister Alex Salmond has accused Tony Blair of “breathtaking amnesia” and “washing his hands of responsibility” after the former Prime Minister claimed the crisis in Iraq has nothing to do with the 2003 invasion of the country.

Mr Blair said the violent insurgency was a result of the West’s failure to intervene in Syria.

Mr Salmond said “no reinterpretation of history” could absolve Mr Blair of responsibility for the crisis.

“We could have saved a great deal of hardship, a great deal of difficulty for the Scottish economy, if we had borrowed in 2010 to encourage recovery.”

“God knows what Scotland would be like if all these po-faced Nationalists were in charge of an independent Scotland; there would never be a joke told anywhere.”

“Federalism is the logical conclusion of all this – but that is the decision for people in England to make.”

John Swinney,

Danny Alexander,

Alistair Carmichael,

Finance Secretary

Chief Treasury Secretary

Scottish Secretary

3. Support for independence is at a record high, according to a new Panelbase poll commissioned. It found 43% of people will vote for independence, compared to 47% against.

4. More than two-thirds of people in England and Wales believe Scotland should be allowed to keep the pound after independence, according to the British Social Attitudes survey.

5. First Minister Alex Salmond has said after independence the SNP would scrap council tax and replace it with a local income tax.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

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SEVEN BY SEVEN

news l 9

What’s the Hampden Roar? – is Scotland deserting its national home?

SEVEN QUESTIONS YOU REALLY WANT TO ASK 1. What’s the story? Is the football team really contemplating moving away from Hampden?

Well, in the words attributed to one famous ex-footballer: mebbes aye, mebbes naw.

Though probablies naw. The Scottish Football Association’s lease on the famous sporting arena expires in 2020 and it has hired a consultancy firm to examine various options.

Consultants’ reports invariably consist of several options, including one loopy outlier.

It’s the loopy outlier that always makes the headlines. Though acquiring the freehold is perhaps the real loopy outlier here.

2. Never mind loopy outliers, is there a horse’s mouth on the premises?

What is it saying?

Well, they don’t come any more orally equestrian than SFA chief executive Stewart Regan in this regard, and he has stressed that, while the organisation was examining all its options, the process is at “a very early stage”.

Glasgow’s Evening Times quoted him further as he said it would be “hugely misleading” to suggest the SFA is focusing on a move away.

3. So they’re moving away then. Only kidding. But does the Tartan Army, by any slight chance, have anything to say about this matter?

You betcha. They vented their fury on the Daily Record’s Sports Hotline, with Aberdonian James Keith opining: “Scotland and Hampden are just meant to be together. It would be an absolute disgrace if the SFA stop playing our matches there.”

London-based Ian Campbell added: “If Scotland are to be separated from Hampden then everybody involved with the SFA should be run out of town.”

HAMPDEN IN NUMBERS

52,063

Number of spectators that Hampden holds.

149,415

Record crowd, for a Scotland v England match in 1937.

£59m

Cost of last redevelopment in 1999.

2

Goals scored in first cup final at original Hampden (by Queen’s Park against Clydesdale, who got 0) in 1874.

9

Number of times (at least) that Scotland played in primrose yellow and pink between 1881 and 1951.

102

Record number of Scotland caps won by Hampden hero Kenny Dalglish.

4. Still making up their minds then. What do Scotland’s football legends say?

They too say: ‘No way, José”, or even Jimmé.

Former goalscoring hero Joe Jordan told the Daily Record Hampden had a “special aura”, not to mention the aural advantage of the “Hampden roar”. Former defender Gordon McQueen told the Scottish Daily Express he’d be “aghast” if Scotland left Hampden.

5. Where else could play home to the national team?

In a surprise development, Aberdeen’s Evening Express noted Pittodrie as a possibility, and Glasgow’s Evening Times highlighted Celtic Park.

BBC News said these two plus Rangers’ Ibrox stadium Ibrox in Glasgow, Hibs’ Easter Road in Edinburgh, and the capital’s national rugby venue Murrayfield were also being considered.

6. Does the national stadium have to be in Glasgow?

Well, arguably, Glasgow is Scotland’s football capital, and the national stadium has been there for 111 years. That said, the stadium is not universally popular. Many fans on club forums express dislike of it, saying its low-tiered, deeply recessed stands, coupled with the dreaded running track round the pitch, make for a poor atmosphere.

But, in spiritual terms, it’s the place Scottish fans call home.

7. So, the fans are sick as parrots — obviously — and, hopefully, this’ll be a game of two halves. Any other football clichés you’d like to include before the final whistle?

Yup. It ain’t over till the fat fan sings. And at the moment it looks he’ll be giving it: “One Hampden Park, there’s only one Hampden Park.”

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

10 l news

AROUND SCOTLAND

1 HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS Apology for bench stunt

John O’Groats: Scotland’s ugly duckling

A group of walkers raising money for charity have apologised for cementing a garden bench in place on the summit of Ben Nevis, the John Muir Trust has said.

The group left the seat so others who climb the mountain could rest on it.

Once maligned as one of Scotland’s most dismal places, John O’Groats has scooped a prestigious architecture award.

The village won the 2010 Carbuncle Award, given to the most “dismal” town in Scotland by Urban Realm, but refused to accept the award.

Now, after a £6 million redevelopment, The Inn at John O’Groats has won the Regeneration Award at the Scottish Design Awards 2014. The Inn was the only Highland building among 27 vying for the national award.

2 GLASGOW & WEST Spit and polish for Citizens

Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre, one of the oldest theatres in Scotland, has been awarded £800,000 from Glasgow City Council to help pay for a planned £16 million refurbishment.

Councillors have also promised another £4m to come.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has already awarded £4.9m to the project.

The redevelopment, due to begin in 2016, includes upgrading the Victorian auditorium, installing a new foyer and transforming the exterior.

The theatre opened in 1878.

Actors such as Stanley Baxter, Bill Paterson and Gary Oldman have all trod its boards.

Hospital cleared over deaths

An independent review into the deaths of three babies has cleared Lanarkshire’s Wishaw General hospital of any failures.

The review was ordered over allegations that short-staffing at the hospital’s neo-natal unit led to the deaths in 2013 and 2014.

It concluded that there was no evidence that inadequate staffing had contributed towards the babies’ deaths.

The report said although staff were sometimes stressed the babies had received a high standard of care.

The report was ordered by the chief executive of NHS Lanarkshire following reports earlier this year that alleged staffing levels in the neo-natal unit were too low.

1

5

“Unprecedented” outbreak Health Secretary Alex Neil described the scale of a norovirus outbreak in a hospital’s A&E department as “unprecedented.”

NHS Lanarkshire apologised over the outbreak at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride, which left two wards closed and a further four placed under restrictions.

2 3

3 SOUTH SCOTLAND Bid to beat doorstep crime

The proposals, developed by the local Doorstep Crime Dumfries and Galloway is set to introduce new guidelines to tackle Partnership, comes after a trial saw street signs and door stickers doorstep crime.

In a bid to deter bogus workers, used to deter doorstep callers.

The zones will only be high-pressure sellers, thieves and introduced where there is fraudsters, the council is being overwhelming support from asked to back a policy on “no residents. cold caller zones”. the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

Transport hub construction begins Construction work has started on a £5.2m transport interchange in Galashiels as part of the Borders to Edinburgh railway project.

The hub will help connect the railway with a new bus station and pedestrian access to the town centre.

Scottish Borders Council leader David Parker, pictured on the left at the groundbreaking ceremony, said the project will be a “gateway” to the region.

news l 11

AROUND SCOTLAND 4 NORTH EAST, ORKNEY & SHETLAND

Wad of cash in rubbish bin

Bucking bronco plan kicked into touch

An Aberdeen nightclub has dropped plans to install a bucking bronco, hot tubs and bouncy castles after carrying out a risk assessment.

Nightclub owners the Epic Group had applied to Aberdeen City Council for permission to install the entertainment features at Pearl Lounge on Dee Street.

But the application was withdrawn before it could go before councillors.

A company spokesman said: “We got the risk assessment done and have decided to wait and see how other places fare first.”

Those “other places” include Korova on Aberdeen’s Bridge Street, which has applied for permission for a hot tub and rodeo equipment, including a bucking bronco.

Police objected to both applications.

War memorial planned

5 TAYSIDE & CENTRAL Dundee to bring “sophistication” to docklands

4

Several thousand pounds of cash was discovered in a public bin in Stonehaven.

Passers-by found the wad of banknotes and handed it into the police.

Police were remaining tightlipped about where the money was found, but did reveal that the discovery was made at a public building in the town.

Local councillor Graeme Clark said: “Well done to whoever handed it in to police.”

Plans for a 400-berth pleasure marina on Dundee’s waterfront have been unveiled.

Dundee City Council director of city development Mike Galloway said the marina would bring “sophistication” to the waterfront and would allow luxury boats to dock in the city.

He said that although the City Council would pay to create the marina they would seek an outside operator to run it.

Mr Galloway (left) said this would allow the council to recoup its initial outlay.

And he said the marina would help boost tourism in Dundee.

So far more than £500 million has been spent on the redevelopment of Dundee’s waterfront.

Plans have been announced to erect a new memorial to Scotland’s war dead in Perth to tie in with the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. The names of more than 9,000 fallen could be recorded on a wall at Balhousie Castle, spiritual home of the Black Watch.

The project, coordinated by the Black Watch Castle and Museum, is reliant on securing around £10,000 of lottery and grant funding.

If it goes ahead, the project would begin in September, when the first soldiers of the Black Watch took part in fighting a century ago.

6 EDINBURGH, FIFE & EAST 6

Hardie heads probe

Game of Thrones creator leads Book Festival cast list

The inquiry into the Edinburgh trams fiasco will be chaired by former Lord Advocate Lord Hardie.

The inquiry, announced in Parliament by First Minister Alex Salmond, will attempt to find out why the £776 million project suffered serious delays and went so badly over-budget.

The long-awaited tram system started running on May 31 after six years of disruption to large areas of the city and anger over repeated cost increases.

The spy who lived above me

Game of Thrones author George RR Martin (below) is leading a stellar cast of big names appearing at this summer’s Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Martin’s fellow fantasy writer Diana Gabaldon, creator of the Outlander series, will also be hosting an event.

Other headliners at the festival, which runs from August 9-25, include Martin Amis, Will Self, Scots broadcasters Kirsty Wark and James Naughtie, actor turned crime writer John Gordon Sinclair and Pakistani activisit Malala Yousafzai.

Festival director Nick Barley said he expects queues for Martin’s book signing to stretch “halfway across Edinburgh”.

A Fife councillor has said he believes a Russian spy may have lived in his attic during the Cold War. Rosyth councillor Pat Callaghan discovered a cache of Soviet propaganda posters hidden in a secret office big enough for a table and chair.

Mr Callaghan said the spy could have gathered intelligence on military operations that took place at nearby Pitreavie Castle.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

12 l news

AROUND BRITAIN

1 NORTHERN IRELAND

2 NORTH ENGLAND

Open boost for NI

Policing flags

Posties opt out

Police pull tail of tiger trade in Sheffield

The return of the Open championship to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland (below) is being hailed as a massive tourism boost.

The course is expected to host the event in 2019 after rejoining the rota of Open courses.

A police decision to clamp down on flags in a mixed area of Belfast has been called the “most significant” change in flag policy.

Police will treat the erection of loyalist flags in the Ballynafeigh area of the Ormeau Road as a breach of the peace. Dr Dominic Bryan said, while important, the move would be hard to enforce.

Postal workers in Lancashire were allowed not to deliver promotional copies of The Sun due to ongoing anger over its coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

Copies of the paper were not distributed in Liverpool. Six west Lancashire postmen who were at the game also got dispensation not to deliver them.

A 28-year-old Sheffield woman was arrested following the recovery of tiger claws and teeth from her home.

Police are investigating the trade of tiger derivatives online.

She was released on bail pending further enquiries.

3 MIDLANDS & EAST Elephant named after cancer fundraiser

1

The first ever elephant to be born at West Midlands Safari Park has been named Sutton after cancer fundraiser Stephen Sutton, who died in May. Stephen raised £4.2 million for Teenage Cancer Trust. Of the 5,000 suggestions received for the baby elephant’s name, more than 4,000 were for “Stephen” or “Sutton”.

2

4 WALES

Snap inspections call Prime Minister David Cameron has backed calls for no-notice Ofsted inspections in response to fears of an Islamist influence in several Birmingham schools.

He said education watchdog Ofsted is best placed to respond quickly to concerns raised by parents. Five schools were branded “inadequate” by Ofsted after an investigation into claims of an alleged Islamist takeover.

Ice caused fatal airport crash A plane crash at Caernarfon airport that killed a passenger may have been caused by ice in the engine, a report has said.

Iain Nuttall (37) from Blackburn, died when the Piper Cherokee flown by his father lost power and hit a tree at the airfield in May 2013.

The Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) said there was no mechanical fault.

3 4

Firms fined over girl’s death Two firms have been fined a total of £110,000 after a five-year-old girl was crushed to death by an electric gate. Karolina Golabek died after safety features on the gate near her home in Bridgend failed in July 2010.

John Glen Installation Services and Tremorfa admitted failing to follow safety guidelines.

5 SOUTH WEST ENGLAND Privacy concerns storm Residents of a Devon town whose seawall was damaged by winter storms claim plans to repair the seawall (right) will invade their privacy.

Network Rail wants to increase the height of the wall in Dawlish to protect the main railway line but residents fear pedestrians walking along it will see into their homes. the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

5

6

6 LONDON & SOUTH EAST Taxi protest backfires

Mayor approves water cannon

Cab drivers in London staged a city centre blockade in protest at a new app that allows customers to book a minicab via their phones – and find out the exact fare.

The app, called Uber, said new user registrations by 850% following the “go-slow” demonstration which brought much of London to a standstill.

Similar protests took place in Madrid and other cities.

London mayor Boris Johnson has approved the Metropolitan Police’s plan to buy three water cannon.

Prime Minister David Cameron has also backed the plan but Home Secretary Theresa May and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg have both expressed concerns.

The three cannon are being purchased from the German Federal Police for £218,000.

PEOPLE

news l 13

Like father, like son?

■ His famous dad may be one of the Yes campaign’s highest-profile supporters, but Jason Connery is sitting on the fence.

The young Connery told the Daily Record that his father Sean’s influence won’t sway him one way or another when it comes to the independence vote, as they “never discuss politics with one another”.

Prayers for lost sailor ■ A memorial was held for a Scots sailor missing since 2012.

Timmy MacColl vanished on a port visit to Dubai and was declared dead by the Royal Navy. But his mum Sheena says the family will never give up hope.

Little pony, big problem ■ An Aberdeenshire woman has admitted spending more than £20,000 on collecting My Little Pony toys.

The Scottish Daily Mail revealed how Elaine Morris (40) “reignited her childhood obsession” for the plastic ponies in 2005 and now has thousands of them.

Scots painter Byrne speaks out Artist thinks art schools should go back to the drawing board

Wullie set up a Lads v Dads fitba’ game for Father’s Day...but it was the younger generation left standing!

■ One of Scotland’s best-known painters claimed the “emptiness” of contemporary art may have contributed to the fire that ripped through Glasgow School of Art earlier this month.

John Byrne identified a projector as a possible cause of the devastating blaze but questioned why the equipment is even needed nowadays, suggesting art schools should go back to basics.

“If it was a box of paints that exploded, I would have undersood, but a projector?” he told The Times’ Tom Knowles.

“They don’t teach drawing at arts schools anymore: it’s tragic, they’re producing egos and toys. It’s all emptiness and play and ‘make an impact’, and that’s not what art is about. It comes from your soul. If it hasn’t got soul, it’s f**k all good,” he said.

A Glasgow alumnus, Byrne was speaking at the launch of ‘Sitting Ducks’, a retrospective of his work at the Scottish National Gallery (see page 26).

Got canoe, will travel ■ A Scottish explorer is set to paddle across Scotland in a collapsible canoe.

Craig Mathieson will undertake the five-day expedition with his son as preparation for a trip to Arctic Greenland next year.

Honour at last for Scots explorer Orkney-born Arctic pioneer, whose name was blackened in Victorian Britain, to have memorial plaque in Abbey

■ A Scottish explorer who died more than 120 years ago is to be honoured with a plaque at Westminster Abbey.

The Times reported that John Rae, who is credited with finding the crucial part of the Northwest Passage, the

sea route around the top of the North American continent, will be honoured later this year.

Rae, who was born in Orkney in 1813, was discredited after he solved one of the great mysteries of the 19th century, what happened to the Franklin Expedition of 1845.

Rae’s revelation that the last of the crew had turned to cannibalism to survive shocked Victorian society, and led Franklin’s widow to turn to Charles Dickens to help

blacken Rae’s name.

Ship’s doctor Rae, who emigrated to Canada as a young man, never recovered his reputation, but following a campaign his memorial plaque will be located near a bust of Franklin in the Abbey.

Orkney and Shetland MP and Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said: “It was important to try and get this recognition for Rae in the heart of the British establishment.”

Happy ending ■ A Scot reported missing in Australia for two weeks was found safe and well.

Jonathan Ansell was discovered sleeping rough in Melbourne just days after “distraught” mum Judith flew 10,000 miles to Oz to track him down.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

14 l news

BEST OF SCOTTISH COMMENT

Refusing to be intimidated

Iraq consequence of massive failures

Catriona Stewart

Jane Kinninmont

The Herald

Scotland on Sunday

■ Thousands of people took part in a midnight march through Glasgow in response to a series of sex attacks on women in the city.

The event, called These Streets Are Made For Walking, led Catriona Stewart to consider why more is not done to protect women walking at night.

She said she “refuses to be scared” walking at night but admits that women “trade safety tips back and forth like young boys trade Panini cards”.

Stewart said that women have “a constant fear of attack” but “the onus” is on them to keep themselves safe.

Instead, she said parents should teach their sons to consider how their behaviour may affect or intimidate others.

She said: “As well as harrying at women to keep themselves safe we need men to teach boys what it is like to be a self-respecting man.”

She said this would include men speaking out against “inappropriate jokes” and making it “clear cat-calling is an embarrassment”.

Stewart added women should not have to feel lucky after making it home at night.

■ The “immediate cause” of the chaos and devastation in Iraq is the ongoing civil war in Syria, but its roots stretch back much further.

Writing in Scotland on Sunday, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs Jane Kinninmont said the violence “reflects failures at every level – domestic, regional and international”.

She said the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (Isis), which has been linked to al-Qaeda, “could not have made such progress if Iraq’s own nation building had not gone so badly wrong”.

And she said Iraq working with Iran to combat Isis runs the risk of alienating Iraqi Sunnis, already angry at the country’s Shiite-led government.

Kinninmont warned: “Yet again, Iraqis will be tempted to take refuse in ethnic and sectarian identities as the state fails to protect them.”

Ultimately she said “repeated western interventions” are to blame for the creation of a “weak state” where there is a “violent style” of politics and for encouraging “canny but brutal elites”.

Unseemly scramble for scalp

And while that does not make him “immune” from making mistakes, Picken said Gunn was not “the orchestrator of hate-filled internet attacks”.

In fact, Picken said Campbell’s email could not be compared to the “revolting Andrew Picken abuse” sent in the direction of The Sunday Post JK Rowling for her pro-union intervention.

What really got Picken’s ■ Campbell Gunn (above) once patrolled the corridors of goat was that the politicians Holyrood as political editor of demanding Gunn’s resignation are aware of this, which, he The Sunday Post. said, “makes their feverish Now he has turned from high-horse criticism all the poacher to gamekeeper more contemptible”. and joined the Scottish He said spin doctors will Government as a special regularly approach journalists adviser to First Minister Alex to “try to kill a story or Salmond. discredit an opponent” and But he returned to the front what Gunn did differently was pages after emailing The “to put it in writing”.

Daily Telegraph about Better He concluded that online Together supporter Clare abuse from both sides in Lally. the debate is “vile” and that Andrew Picken, his “politicians have to unite to successor as political editor reject these abusers”. at The Sunday Post, said “the Picken said “Campbell Gunn email was clearly designed to is not one of them”, even raise doubts about Ms Lally’s though he was wrong to send neutrality” but everyone in an email trying to discredit Holyrood knows Gunn is “as Mrs Lally. honest as the day is long”.

HAUD YER WHEESHT! ■ A quarter of Glaswegians have admitted to booking a hotel room using their mobile phone during a date – thinking they are going to ‘get lucky’ that same night.

According to the survey conducted by lastminute.com, West Coasters are more gallus if they think they are going to score – with just six per cent of people in Edinburgh reportedly trying the same technique.

The Scottish Sun carried an article featuring dating coach James Preece, who told features editor Katy Dochety that West the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

Coasters “have the edge” when it comes to dating because they are so friendly.

“They believe they are lucky and that’s when you’re more likely to get lucky,” he said.

“Your typical Glaswegian is more willing to just strike up a conversation with a complete stranger at a bus stop.”

The Scottish Daily Mail also highlighted the survey’s findings that the older generation is more inclined to book a hotel when a date is going well.

16 l news Independence will free England

Deborah Orr The Guardian

■ The “kneejerk, sentimental, victim-mentality, hate-theEnglish-colonisers patriotism” displayed by some ardent Scottish nationalists is the country’s “most unappealing” product, said Deborah Orr in The Guardian.

But while she said ”naked, angry nationalism” is the most “abject” argument in favour of independence, it is a “paradox” that the only way Scots can actually overcome it is by leaving the UK. And, she said, this would lead to dramatic change in England’s political landscape too.

Orr said the success of the SNP was “because Scotland got so fed up with being part of a two-party state” and reasoned that “if Scotland leaves the union, the

BEST OF briTISH comment collapse of political stability in England will accelerate” before concluding that “a pro-independence vote is a pro-democracy vote”.

Orr said that the UK needs “stronger local government and a smaller Westminster”.

And while she is “no Scottish nationalist”, Orr said she is “enthusiastic about responsive and democratic government, transparent and accountable”. The refusal to put “devo max” on the referendum ballot paper shows, she said, that “Westminster simply doesn’t want to improve UK democracy”.

If, Orr said, Westminster had been willing to grant more autonomy in Scotland and other parts of the UK there would not be such a demand for Scottish independence.

She added that she “irked” by the argument from No campaigners that Scotland “isn’t capable of independence”.

She said those who make that argument fail to realise that independence “is not about being rich or poor, successful or unsuccessful” it is all about “self-governance”.

Federalism stuck on the agenda

A shared history not to be forgotten

Martin Kettle

Iain Duncan Smith

The Guardian

The Daily Teelgraph

■ Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown should not be above criticism, nor is he always right, said Martin Kettle in The Guardian.

But, said Kettle, he was correct about at least one thing during his intervention into the referendum debate: that “the social union is, and must remain, at the core of a valid United Kingdom” if there is a No vote.

Kettle said that if Scotland opts to stay in the United Kingdom there needs to be “a union of common social interests between people and nations”.

And he said that in his new book My Scotland, Our Britain, Mr Brown accepts “some form” of federalism is “inevitable”.

According to Kettle, Mr Brown does not propose full federalism, where England would have its own parliament, because “there is little desire” for it.

Instead, he would reform the House of Lords as a “means of entrenching the rights of the nations and regions”. Kettle does not agree with all Mr Brown’s conclusions but said the “F-word” cannot now be removed from the agenda.

■ The UK’s Secretary of State for Work and Pensions set out a heartfelt case for Scotland remaining part of the UK in The Daily Telegraph.

Smith, whose father was Scottish, said he will be travelling to Scotland later this year to bury his mother’s ashes alongside those of his father and “within sight of the graves of his ancestors”.

He said that despite all the “critical facts” regarding issues such as currency, people will vote “with their hearts”.

He said that all parts of the UK retained their “distinct identities while cleaving to the sense of unity with each other”.

Smith gave the example of sport, were the constituent countries of the UK compete “passionately” against one another but can come together for events like the Olympics or Wimbledon.

He also discussed the UK’s shared social history and its role in two world wars. “More recently,” he said, “when the sound of the pipes drifted across the evening wind in Helmland province, with British troops under fire, it was not only the Scots who stood taller and dared to hope against the odds.”

HAUD YER WHEESHT! ■ It’s not unusual for people to have a flutter on the World Cup, but staff at an Edinburgh pub have more than most riding on the outcome.

For 13 workers at The Three Sisters pub in the city’s Cowgate have vowed to legally change their names to members of the Brazil team if the host nation goes on to win the competition.

The Scotsman’s Lisa Mitchell told how manager Sharon Norris decided to make it “interesting” for the staff by raising the the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

suggestion, and the unlucky 13 have agreed to change their names by deed poll for a minimum of nine months – including changing their drivers’ licence, passport and credit cards.

Manager Sharon will become Givanildo Vieira de Souza (better known as Hulk), while general manager Donal Hurrell will take the name of head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Now the bold bet has been made, the paper said staff are “getting nervous” as the hot favourites to lift the trophy progress.

18 l news

everybody’s talking about...

No passport control

Passport service in crisis over applications backlog 1. What’s going on?

3. How long should it take?

Thousands of people risk being unable to go on holidays they have already booked because of a massive backlog in the number of applications being processed by the Passport Office.

Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted there is a backlog of around 30,000 applications although some have said the true figure could be nearer 500,000.

Renewing a passport should only take three weeks although it can take twice that for an entirely new passport to be issued.

Home Secretary Theresa May said 97% of applications are being processed within three weeks, although there have been reports of some people waiting more than two months.

2. What caused the delay?

Depending on who you listen to, the backlog has been caused by either an unprecedented demand, cost cutting or the current rosiness of the economy.

The Passport Office said there had been a huge surge in the number of applications for new passports or to renew old ones, 350,000 up on this time last year, while government ministers said demand was so high because the economy is picking up and people want to spend their money jetting off on holiday.

But British expats tell a different story. They say the closure of seven international processing centres is to blame. Now that all this paperwork is being carried out in the UK, there has been a significant rise in processing times.

The Public and Commercial Services Union says the decision to close 20 Passport Offices over the past five years, with the loss of 300 jobs, is responsible.

4. So what’s being done?

The first thing to happen was staff at Passport Offices in Belfast, Durham and Liverpool were told to relax checks on passports for foreign nationals in order to speed up processing times.

Government ministers clamped down on that pretty smartish when it became public knowledge and security fears were raised.

Now additional staff have been taken and others redeployed in a bid to clear the backlog.

Theresa May has also introduce a raft of new emergency measures such as waiving the fee for its one day premium service for renewing passports if there is a desperate need to travel or where

renewing a passport has been delayed “through no fault of the person’s own”.

5. Phew, I’m heading off tomorrow.

Can I pop down and renew my passport today?

That’s not an emergency unless a lack of Vitamin D counts as one.

6. What’s the situation like in Scotland?

Not great.

Lynn Henderson from the PCS told The Scotsman that Scots could suffer the most as schools here are about to break off on holiday.

If the backlog isn’t cleared then Scots who need to get or renew a passport could be the ones who miss out the most, and travel insurance normally doesn’t cover failing to have a valid passport.

7. Oh oh.

That’s right. Fife mum-of-six Elizabeth Dey’s plans to honeymoon in Amsterdam were thrown into doubt but her case was raised in parliament by local MP Thomas Docherty and Theresa May then promised to intervene personally. Or, as is more likely, have a minion do it.

8. So all’s well that ends well?

Put it this way: if you are waiting on a passport, phone the Passport Service and ask if you can switch to the premium service so you can get it in your hands quickly. If not, it’s maybe time to panic.

Passports in numbers

£72.50 Cost of renewing a standard adult passport

the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

3.3 million Number of passport applications received this year

news l 19

BOFFINS

Killer in the shallow seas Prehistoric croc’s big tooth put the bite on prey

Gluten study ■ Aberdeen University researchers are to investigate if a glutenfree diet benefits health.

Their study will examine if eliminating wheat leads to less bloating and more energy, and also its effect on healthregulating organisms in the gut.

Dr Alex Johnstone, of the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, said: “Gluten-free diets are prescribed for people diagnosed with coeliac disease, in which the gut has a response to wheat. But more people are choosing to remove wheat because of the positive impact they believe it has on their sense of wellbeing.”

■ A prehistoric crocodile’s fossilised tooth has been verified as the largest of its kind ever found in the UK. Researchers from Edinburgh University and the Natural History Museum in London identified the 5.5 centimetre tooth as belonging to a prehistoric relative of modern crocodiles known as Dakosaurus maximus.

Dakosaurus grew to 4.5 metres long and swam in the shallow seas covering Europe 152 million years ago.

The tooth, which has a broken tip, was found near Chesil Beach in Dorset and came to the scientists’ attention after being bought at an online auction by a fossil collector.

Scientists say the unusual shape of the animal’s skull and teeth suggests it ate similar prey to today’s killer whales, using broad jaws to swallow fish whole.

Dr Mark Young, of Edinburgh’s School of Biological Sciences, said that, despite its large teeth, Dakosaurus was not the top marine predator of the Late Jurassic period, when the shallow seas were “exceptionally dangerous”.

Time for a visit to exhibition ■ Victorian ideas of time are explored in a new exhibition at King’s Museum in the Old Aberdeen Town House.

The exhibition, organised by students on Aberdeen University’s MLitt degree in Museum Studies, charts changing ideas about time during Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 through to 1901.

Student curator Chris Dobbs said: “The exhibition looks at aspects of the era such as time-keeping, memorabilia, capturing a moment in time, collecting objects, and looking back at ancient civilisations.”

The exhibition, which runs until December 19, will also feature talks on topics ranging from opium in the Victorian era to the Victorians’ interest in classical antiquities.

Tree bumblebees are spreading north at a rate of ■ Rising global

temperatures could result in the world’s oceans releasing more carbon dioxide, which would cause further climate change, The Herald reported.

Edinburgh University scientists studied plankton fossils in 26,000-year-old sediment core from the Gulf of California to see how their CO2 absorption changed over time.

4,500

square miles a year.

They first arrived from continental Europe 13 years ago but have now been found 20 miles north of Glasgow.

Unusually for bees, they nest in tree hollows or bird boxes.

Love on the wing takes bushcrickets higher ■ Scientists have discovered new ‘Supersonus’ insects which have the animal kingdom’s highest pitched love call. The team from the universities of Strathclyde, Lincoln and Toronto located the new genus, with three species of katydid, in the rainforests of Colombia and Ecuador.

Katydids, or bushcrickets, are known for acoustic communication in which the male produces sound by rubbing its wings together to attract distant females for mating.

Tests showed the males’ calling songs reached 150 kHz. The nominal human hearing range ends at around 20 kHz. Hence the name ‘Supersonus’ for the new genus.

Dr James Windmill, from Strathclyde’s Centre of Ultrasonic Engineering, said: “These insects can produce ultrasonic calls in air. Understanding how nature’s systems do this can give us inspiration for our engineered ultrasonics.”

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

20 l

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS Whose oil is it anyway?

best of the week

Told you so...

■ If events in Iraq and Libya are insufficient verification of the warnings put forward by those against intervening in those countries, then history has no career as a teacher. Events in Syria and in Ukraine suggest that the same interventionism by western interests is duplicating the chaos occurring in Iraq, Syria, and indeed, by all accounts, in Afghanistan.

Whatever benefits there are for Scotland in belonging in a UK government, this foreign policy cannot be one of them. As for Syria, where there are constant bleats about refugees, and from governments that are supplying weaponry enabling the conflict to continue, enough said.

Some international observers insist there is a foreign policy with chaos as its aim, and the more you look at what is happening the less improbable this becomes.

■ This month sees the 80th anniversary of the passing of the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934.

Largely forgotten today, this was the first great state nationalisation in peacetime.

It provided that petroleum and gas found in Great Britain would belong, not to landowners, not to corporations holding mineral rights, nor to sectional interests, but to the state.

Landowners could not prevent reasonable access to find and exploit oil and they would not be compensated for the discovery of oil below their land.

In 1934, apart from a small plot near Dalkeith, it was thought that the oil would be found in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Sussex and Dorset.

Yet, though the act was promoted by a Scot, Sir Ramsay Macdonald, and supported by Scottish MPs, there was never any suggestion made that this was to be England’s oil and not shared with Scotland.

That we were quite happy 80 years ago to share “England’s oil” is no great argument to inform our debates about resources today. Yet it does give a faint whiff of hypocrisy to claims that “Scotland’s oil” should

Ian Johnstone, 84 Forman Drive, Peterhead The Herald the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

not have been shared with England. Is it too much to hope that this anniversary might encourage a better sense of proportion when these issues are discussed today?

Russell Vallance, Douglas Drive, Helensburgh The Herald

Space at a premium ■ Last Sunday we headed by car to Braehead shopping centre. We headed into the multi-storey car park but found the ground level full, apart from 15 bays for the disabled – all empty.

The first floor was full and a barrier prevented access to the second floor because they were giving driving lessons to 11 to 17-year-olds. We headed for the next Braehead car park where we drove around for 10 minutes. There were no spaces... apart from plenty of empty disabled bays.

I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but who collates the data to determine the number of disabled bays?

It’s very frustrating for other drivers.

with personal experience are very positive, whereas negative letters are strangely abstract, based on generalisations.

I spent three months in the hands of NHS and social workers in the past year and occasionally I try to think of something negative to say, no matter how trivial, just as an exercise. So far, I have come up with nothing at all.

Sean Nee, Edinburgh The Independent

Cut nose off to spite face?

■ Perth and Kinross Council are planning to replace the current 240L green bins with 140L bins in order to reduce the amount of waste being disposed of by landfill. How do they propose to dispose of the consequently redundant 240L bins? Landfill?

GM Lindsay, Whinfield Gardens, Kinross The Courier

Save your energy

Don’t knock it...

■ If the SNP could guarantee that an independent Scotland would get energy giants to treat their customers with an ounce of dignity, this No voter would change sides in a flash.

■ I notice a pattern in correspondence on patient care in the NHS. People

Eric Brand, Edinburgh The Scotsman

David Brennan, Paisley, Renfrewshire Scottish Daily Mail

that’s debatable ■ I am a Norwegian who has been living in the UK for 10 years and I understand the SNP looks at Norway as an example of how Scotland will be after independence.

When pro-independence Scots look to Norway as a role model it’s obvious they only see what they want to see and largely ignore the facts. It took us a long time to accumulate the wealth we now enjoy, and it wasn’t just a result of oil. Remember also that Norway voted on its independence in 1814, and the financial depression in the years that followed was the worst on record.

It is also worth considering the downsides of living in such a wealthy country as consumer prices are astronomical. VAT stands at 25%, you pay £9 for a pint in the pub, and the price for a new, five-door Vauxhall Corsa is £20,490.

Finally, if an independent Scotland succeeds it will be because it is totally

united. When Norway wanted independence, 99.5% of the population voted Yes, I don’t see that sort of unity in Scotland today, and for that reason alone there should not be a referendum at all.

Hakkon Blakstad, Moore Street, London The Scotsman ■ I agree fully independence is no silver bullet to achieve a Scandinavian-style society and it will take many years of dedicated hard work to achieve it.

However, I support independence for Scotland not because it will guarantee it becoming as equal and as prosperous as Norway, but because I today see it as the best first step it can take towards it.

Christian Wulff, Whiteacres Road, Glasgow The Scotsman Letters have been edited

l 21

THE WEE PAPERS

A taste of...

Border Telegraph

Under-age drink warning ■ Police have urged parents to warn their children about the dangers of alcohol after it emerged that underage drinking sessions were being organised on social media.

Children as young as 13 have been involved in the sessions in Galashiels, which attract up to 50 youths at a time.

Fruitful report

SPORT Ex-Hibs man signs ■ Gala Fairydean Rovers have signed former Hibs and Inverness Caley midfielder Darran Thomson.

The 30-year-old came through the Hibs ranks along with the football club’s “Golden Generation”, players like Scott Brown and Steven Whittaker. Gala boss Steve Noble said Thomson was “the kind of player we need”.

Double rugby treat ■ Local rugby fans have a cross-border double bill to look forward to, the Telegraph reported.

Edinburgh will face both Leicester Tigers and Newcastle Falcons at Greenyards in August.

Edinburgh managing director David Davies said the club wanted to play for its local Borders supporters.

■ Orchards in the Borders are failing to capitalise on commercial opportunities for their produce, according to a report by Scottish Natural Heritage.

SNH said fruit was mostly used within the family for jam, given away or left on the ground.

This was both “a significant waste of resource and a latent opportunity”.

Poo-etic licence ■ Poetry fans and locals were outraged after an enormous pile of manure was dumped on the footpath to a popular landmark above the village of Ashkirk.

The Will Ogilvie Cairn, commemorating the Borders poet, attracts many visitors every year.

A community council spokeswoman said the manure had caused “a lot of anger”.

Rally bad driving ■ A Russian competitor in the Gumball 3000 international public road rally almost caused a head-on smash as he overtook a line of cars on the notorious A702 Dolphinton Straight.

Vyacheslav Tonakanyan (38) was fined £600 at Selkirk Sheriff Court and banned from driving in the UK for two years.

Dozens of supercars had taken part in the rally in Edinburgh.

Cleaner stole cash ■ A cleaner who stole £15,000 from a pensioner with health difficulties has been jailed for 15 months.

Jedburgh Sheriff Court heard that Teresa Brown (44) was trusted with her 68-year-old client’s bank card and Personal Identification Number so that she could do his shopping and withdraw her wages.

THE BIG STORY Langlee gets its pharmacy ■ After two years of wrangling, Langlee has a dedicated pharmacy at last, the Telegraph’s Andrew Keddie reported.

The Pharmacy Practices Committee (PPC), an independent arm of NHS Borders, gave the go-ahead for Lanarkshire-based Elixir Healthcare Ltd to operate in the district.

The firm first applied for permission in August 2012 but ran into opposition from Galashiels and Langlee Community Council, the local residents’ association and another pharmacy group.

The community council believed Langlee was already well served by other pharmacies in Galashiels, and fears were also raised about anti-social behaviour by drug addicts requiring the heroin substitute methadone.

However, the PPC decided an area the size of Langlee should have its own pharmacy.

Alison Wilson, director of pharmacy for NHS Borders, welcomed the decision, saying “services should be accessible and as close to the person’s community as possible”.

EVENING ALL Edinburgh Evening News

Evening Express

Evening Times

■ A mystery knitter

■ Visitors are steering

■ Airline passengers’ lives ■ Inverclyde Council

protesting against the capital’s new trams has struck again. The ‘yarnbomber’ adorned an entire tram stop in a woollen blanket.

Benches and a ticketing machine were covered with crochet work with slogans such as “£1 billion down the drain” and “Still a tramway to hell”.

clear of the north-east because of high hotel prices and a lack of rooms.

Last year, 125,000 people travelled to Aberdeen on business, but only 68,000 came for holidays. However, more hotel rooms coming on stream could provide better opportunities.

are being endangered by hooligans using laser pens to dazzle pilots. Almost 300 incidents have been reported at Glasgow Airport in the past five years.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said the practice was “incredibly dangerous and totally unacceptable”.

Greenock Telegraph could soon cease to exist because the rate of population decline threatens to make it unsustainable as a unit of administration.

Inverclyde’s population is set to plummet to 65,014 by 2037, a drop of 20% on the 2011 census figure, and the fastest projected decline in Scotland.

Evening Telegraph ■ A Dundee woman

suffered a heart attack a week after a beggar punched her in the face.

William Hawkins was sentenced to 10 months in jail for assaulting Pauline Smith after she refused to give him money.

The victim said her heart attack was a result of the stress linked to the assault.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

22 l

VIEW POINTS: THE BEST OF THE REST

NEWS BLOGS Glass is still half-empty

By Clare Sharp ❘ The Conversation The recent Social Attitudes Survey published by the Scottish Government may have shown Scots are more aware of the harmful effects of alcohol than they were but there is still a long way to go, said Clare Sharp on The Conversation. Sharp said the survey showed most Scots do not approve of getting drunk but that 41% drink more than government guidelines. She added that although there has been an “encouraging” rise in awareness about the dangers of alcohol, many Scots still hold “permissive” views towards it.

■ Victoria Azarenka takes a turn in the umpire’s

chair during the rally for Bally exhibition match in honour of the late Elena Baltacha.

■ Comedian Rhona Cameron carries the Queen’s Baton at the Forth Rail Bridge as preparations for Glasgow 2014 continue.

www.theconversation.com

Why throw Nazis into the mix?

By Gerry Hassan ❘ Scottish Review Claims about the SNP’s historic ties to fascism left Gerry Hassan confused on the Scottish Review. He wondered if it was the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings which prompted so much comment about Arthur Donaldson or Hugh MacDiarmid’s sympathies before and during the Second World War. He said that while it has to be “acknowledged” there were “sinister elements” within the SNP at the time, the same could be said of other parties but no one tries to “define” them by what happened then.

■ Student Alexander Jensen with work from the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) degree show.

www.scottishreview.net

Devolve power to cities, not countries

By Alexandra Jones ❘ Guardian Professional Rather than debating what Scotland could look like after independence, focus should be placed on how it would affect different urban and rural parts of the country, said Alexandra Jones, head of the Centre for Cities thinktank on The Guardian’s online Professional blog.

She said centralising policies will not help Glasgow, which should instead look to Manchester to see what can happen when more power is devolved to a city. www.theguardian.com/guardian-professional

“Do not feed the fury chimps”

By Alex Massie ❘ Spectator Blogs Cybernats may have been making the headlines but, writing on The Spectator blog, Alex Massie said their impact has been overstated. He said although there are few who do not “despair” at some comments, his best advice is “not to feed the fury chimps”. www.blogs.spectator.co.uk the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

■ Competitors got themselves caked in mud during the Tough Mudder event in Dalkeith Country Park near Edinburgh.

■ A swarm of bees caused a bit of a buzz in Glasgow City Centre, with Police Scotland even called in to deal with the situation.

NEWS TWEETS #pope Doubt will be seeing this pope get a invite to Scotland anytime soon after this.

Even the pontiff is now voicing fears over Scottish independence.

My, my the waves little old Scotland is making.

Pope: “There is independence by emancipation and indy by secession.”

Wouldn’t disagree.

Scotland clearly former.

Mike Ewing @MikeEwing

Alasdair Bremner @ADBremner

Iain Macwhirter @iainmacwhirter

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VIEW POINTS: THE BEST OF THE REST good week Not bad for some...

An osprey at a Stirlingshire reserve has found itself caught in a “love triangle”, BBC Scotland revealed.

Drunkie, the resident male osprey at The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre in the Trossachs, set up nests with two females.

New home of cricket Stirling could soon become the home of Scottish cricket with the construction of a “world class” new facility.

The proposed move would see the sporting body relocate from Edinburgh to New Williamfield.

■ Our word cloud amalgamates all the week’s news from the Scottish papers, with greatest prominence given to the most frequently used words.

GOSSIP OF THE WEEK

bad week

Judy serves up an ace

Sales slump for shops Shops across Scotland have seen a drop in sales in the past month.

Like-for-like sales were down by 2.7%, despite footfall being up on the previous year.

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) said the figures reflected customers’ caution.

Homes set for demolition An entire estate blighted by gas leaks could be razed, said The Scotsman.

Dozens could lose their homes at a development in Gorebridge due to fears carbon dioxide is leaking into properties from former coal mines.

Braveheart ‘haunted’ Mel Making the movie Braveheart ‘haunted’ Mel Gibson, the Daily Record revealed.

Gibson admitted he kept putting the film off as he was too busy making other projects, and added he would find himself “lying in bed constructing shot lists” for the William Wallace story which won him Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.

Judy Murray hit back at claims she is a pushy parent just because she is a woman.

In an interview with the Radio Times, Andy Murray’s mum hit back after Boris Becker suggested the Wimbledon champion would be better off without her in his team.

“There’s something about a competitive mum, especially when the children are male,” she said. “Boris had a go at me a couple of years ago...I thought ‘I’ve never met you.

You don’t know anything about us’.”

Panic ‘helped comedian Bridges off the booze’ Comedian Kevin Bridges revealed that a panic attack on a plane prompted him to quit drinking for his Australian tour.

Bridges told Scotland Now he boarded a plane to Oz while hungover but panicked while ­thinking about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight in the news at the time.

He said: “I blame the booze.

“So I did the whole Australian tour teetotal and I just enjoyed it.”

‘24’ star causes a stir Jack Bauer is a Celtic fan... allegedly.

Kiefer Sutherland, star of hit show ‘24’, was pictured in several papers wearing the new Celtic away top – although Scots co-star Ross McCall put him up to it.

World tour for Who Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi will visit five continents in 12 days in August to promote the BBC show, revealed the Scottish Daily Express.

UNBELIEVABLE. They’re chucking everything at Scotland now. What next? The Ayatollah says no?

The Pope is from Argentina – wonder how he feels about the Falklands? Self determination for them – not Scotland!

Quite funny and ironic that even the pope thinks Scotland should remain apart of the union.

When Blair/Pope/ Obama suggest #Scotland should say No to independence, I am wondering why Yes is damaging to rest of the #UK and the #EU.

We defied a pope in the time of Bruce and won independence.

He excommunicated the whole of Scotland. See Scot history.

Gordon MacMillan @SuperGeeMac

Isobel Waller @Isobel Waller

Nathanial Hadden @Nathanial Hadden

Dr Paul McMichael @PaulMcMichael2

Willie Stewart @ayrshirewillie 21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

24 l

Stooshie of the week

aye or ay ❘ eye ❘

1. means yes.

Usage: “Aye, this is magic for the Naws.”

■ In Rocky movies, the climactic fight usually unfolds the same way.

After trading punches for round after round, Rocky Balboa summons up a final burst of strength and delivers a knock-out punch.

The referendum campaign has been a lot like one of Rocky’s fights, only played at one hundredth of the speed.

Day after day, week after week and month after month voters have been subjected to a soul-sapping list of contrary figures. Both sides have tried to out-bamboozle the electorate without any danger of landing a killer blow.

And herein lies the rub.

People just do not trust politicians or their waffle.

Whether it is expenses scandals, dodgy dossiers or not living up to manifesto promises, people have lost faith in their elected representatives, seeing them as nothing more than career politicians.

This may be unfair. There have been scores of dodgy politicians but most are genuinely motivated by what they think is best for the people they represent. Sadly, however, that sometimes expresses itself solely through a slavish devotion to the party line.

And it’s here celebrities come in. On any given issue, there is a 99.9% chance we know what a politician will say. The line is spun and repeated ad nauseam and often word for word on TV, radio and online.

Celebrities at least express a view which is their own.

Not everyone will be as eloquent as JK Rowling, or have the authority of a Barack Obama or a Hillary Clinton, but many appear a lot more in touch with what matters to the general public than most politicians.

This is a problem. When a multi-millionairess author is better able to express the concerns of ordinary Scots than most MPs and MSPs, those politicians need to ask themselves what they are doing wrong.

In fact, one could stretch the point even further and say UKIP’s success is less to do with their politics than the celebrity of Nigel Farage and his “cheeky chappy” persona.

But celebrities’ biggest influence is likely to be less what they say and more the reaction to it. Unfortunately for the Yes campaign, the knuckle-draggers who heaped abuse on JK Rowling will have done more to convince many undecideds how to vote than any politician ever could.

The X-Factor: will JK Rowling or Irvine Welsh decide the referendum?

Can celebrity support really change minds?

AS ITHERS SEE US!

O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!

To a Louse ❘ Robert Burns the Year, became “a perfect Robert Everett-Green, viewing gallery for a disaster in Toronto’s The that has shaken the city and Globe and Mail, looked at made headlines around the the aftermath of the fire that world. ravaged the world-famous “The Reid stands directly Glasgow School of Art. opposite the GSA’s Charles He said that in a bitter irony, Rennie Mackintosh the Art School’s recentlymasterpiece that was partially opened Seona Reid building, gutted by fire while students recently voted Building of the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

watched through windows that were in part designed to keep them mindful of the clarity, toughness and austere beauty of the famous structure across the lane.”

He said that Glasgow’s connection to the stricken building goes deep.

“The city has never quite

shaken its now outdated reputation as the classic Victorian slum town, in spite of several efforts at rebranding.

Mackintosh draws attention to Glasgow’s formidable cultural and intellectual heritage, and has become associated with the city internationally.”

Moves are afoot to restore the building, including the world-famous library, with government support already pledged.

“But the Mack can’t be restored quickly enough for Glasgow, which is preparing for the July 23 opening of its latest rebranding occasion, the Commonwealth Games.”

l 25

Stooshie of the week

naw

❘ naw ❘

1. means no or not.

Usage: “Naw, this’ll change hee haw.”

Business leaders and economists are warning that Scotland “does not have the financial strength to prosper alone”, wrote Danny Hakim of the International New York Times.

Hakim attended a proindependence meeting in Beith, where an independent Scotland’s economic prospects were talked up by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

However, he contrasted this with the view of many analysts who he said claimed: “The economy would lean heavily on revenue from North Sea oil, which has been falling,

and Scotland’s government spending outpaces that of the rest of Britain.

“The financial implications weigh heavily on the debate.

Top British government officials have ruled out sharing the pound with an independent Scotland, though their resolve has been questioned. Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, has said it would be ‘extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Scotland to join the European Union. That raised the question of whether Scotland would be left to create its own potentially volatile new currency.”

However, he also pointed out

■ “Let’s bomb Russia” screamed zany comedian Kenny Everett to the adoring throng at the 1983 Young Conservative conference.

Whipped up by the frenzied audience, he followed up this faux pas with “let’s kick (then Labour leader) Michael Foot’s stick away”. Hilarious, don’t you think?

The incident was, of course, a huge embarrassment to the Thatcher government.

And it was a classic example of the dangers of mixing showbiz and politics.

Politicians of all hues cling to the mistaken belief that celebrity endorsement will result in votes for them.

In the independence debate the Yes and No camps have trotted out, among others, JK Rowling, Sir Sean Connery, David Bowie, Brian Cox, Sir Alex Ferguson, Frankie Boyle, Susan Boyle and Alan Cumming to pronounce on our constitutional future.

There are various problems with this.

Firstly, there is no evidence that celebrities have any impact on voting intentions, other than short-term profile raising.

In fact, it can prove counterproductive. Political analyst Professor John Curtice pointed out that actor Alan Cumming was prominent in the Yes

Scotland launch two years ago.

But he does not have a vote in Scotland, and his intervention could be perceived as negative.

Also, for the politicians, courting the fickle celebrity world may come back to bite them, a la Kenny Everett.

Tony Blair rode the Cool Britannia wave, rubbing shoulders with stars from the world of sport, music and film.

But he wasn’t looking so cool when most of them turned against him, with Noel Gallagher being most scathing.

So celebrity endorsement is a double-edged sword for politicians and adds little to the debate over Scotland’s future.

Professor Curtice, quoted in The Guardian, put it perfectly.

“Remember the [proproportional representation] AV Yes campaign. They thought they could fight their campaign simply by using celebrities and got nowhere.

“The referendum is not on a subject people know very little about: this is a serious debate which touches on people’s values and have been arguing about for 40 years.”

So please, politicians, stop trivialising this debate by fixating on celebrities.

Just concentrate on the issues and give us the information we need to make the biggest decision of our lives.

that “the governing Scottish National Party sees a vibrant future for an independent Scotland”.

doesn’t move along with the same intensity. His characters in this book don’t possess the same authority or dark humour that made much of his previous work so compelling,” he said.

Scots author Irvine Welsh told JP O’Malley of the Irish Examiner that the two female main characters of new novel are “more like me that anything I’ve ever written”.

They were discussing Welsh’s first all-Americannovel, The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins.

O’Malley did not compare the book favourably to the author’s previous work.

“Welsh’s latest offering just

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

26 l

REVIEW & Preview

STAGE

La Tragédie Comique REVIEWED TRAVERSE THEATRE, EDINBURGH Touring until June 27 ■ Bypassing any notions that contemporary theatre is all about social commentary, Plutôt la Vie’s La Tragédie Comique is a meditation on the art of theatre itself.

Trapped within a minimalist set (a cushion and a curtain), solo actor Tim Licata is either

Perfect Days PITLOCHRY FESTIVAL THEATRE Until October 16 ■ Liz Lochhead wrote Perfect Days in the late 90s, but the play manages to feel fresh even if the world has moved on with remarkable speed. Some contemporary references are thrown in, mainly in connection with our technological environment, but the core themes remain relevant today.

Barbs Marshall (Helen Logan) is a celebrity hairdresser who is practically deafened by the loud ticking of her biological clock. On the brink of her 40s and still single, she wrestles with the pros and cons of relationships and motherhood, with the assistance of her gay soulmate Brendan (Scott Armstrong).

Joyce McMillan in The Scotsman reflected on the then and now of Lochhead’s play: “In 1998, the world was less shadowed by global conflict, and perhaps a shade more hopeful. Yet Lochhead’s powerful romantic-comedy-with-adifference focuses so powerfully on the central dilemma of modern women’s lives – whether to become mothers, and if so with whom, and when – that it remains as timely and wellobserved as ever.” And writing in The Times, Allan Radcliffe focussed on the strong performances at the play’s heart: “It’s left to the sparky central pairing of Logan and Armstrong to invest the dialogue with the depth and nuance required to provoke a heartfelt emotional response.”

Dawn French PAVILION THEATRE, GLASGOW Run ended ■ In a week that witnessed the loss of Rik Mayall, one of alternative comedy’s other livewire talents, the similarly aged Dawn French, made some appearances north of the border as part of her 30 Million Minutes tour.

EXHIBITIONS John Byrne: Sitting Ducks SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, EDINBURGH Until October 19 ■ A man who straddles the worlds of theatre and art (and TV for those who remember Tutti Frutti), John Byrne gets the retrospective treatment with Sitting Ducks. As well as self-portraits and family the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

playing a character or a representation of himself (a fake nose is the visual signifier to the audience to tell them who he is being at any given moment).

For 90 minutes, Licata takes the fourth wall, demolishes it, rebuilds it and then demolishes it all over again. Joyce McMillan in The Scotsman was rather beguiled: “Tragédie Comique contains some fine flights of poetic writing, particularly where the performer begins to lead his actor on a quest for Time, and for Love.” While reviewing in The Times, Allan Radcliffe insisted that “the play becomes a magical mystery tour of dreams, emotions and reflections on the artifice of theatre and the importance of creative play”. And Mary Brennan in The Herald simply stated: “Character of Actor, he is master of all he conveys.”

She’s performed live in front of us before but that was always part of her iconic double act with Jennifer Saunders.

Here, she braved the audience on her lonesome in a show that was less about her work and more about a life lived away from screen and stage.

So, she had anecdotes aplenty (some funny, some sad) about her father, her grandmother and ex-husband and fellow comic Lenny Henry.

In a very positive review for The Scotsman, Jay Richardson remarked that “she also effectively uses her experiences to make wider social commentary, on a media that hounds a child because of its parents’ fame or speculates incessantly upon a woman’s fluctuating weight”.

pictures, there are images of Tilda Swinton, Billy Connolly, and Robbie Coltrane. As Neil Cooper said in The List, some of the paintings are lucky to be in existence: “There’s the recent rediscovery of sketches for a mural Byrne painted on a gable end in Partick in the 1970s, which were found in a skip next to the old Third Eye Centre.”

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REVIEW & Preview FILM

Oculus (15) Starring: Karen Gillan, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane ■ For those who remember the 1970s portmanteau British horrors, the demonic mirror seemed to crop up so often that you began to think it was a recurring actor rather than a repeated storyline. And here it makes a comeback in this chiller from the people who brought you such treats

Average rating 5/10

Belle (12A) Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson ■ It’s 10 years since former Grange Hill star Amma Asante’s debut movie, A Way Of Life, had critics hailing her as a future bright light of British film.

The long wait for her next feature work has resulted in reviewers offering their general approval.

Set in late 18th century England, it’s based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate daughter of a British naval officer and an African slave, whose largely protected upbringing finally comes into stark conflict with the outside world.

Siobhan Synnot in Scotland on Sunday dubbed it “an uneasy mash-up you might call ‘Going Downtown Abbey’, with some very noticeable supporting work from anachronistic Wonderbras”, while The Herald’s Alison Rowat was full of praise for the “wisebeyond-her-years performance of Mbatha-Raw. “Faced with a stately home’s worth of character actors who have been doing this kind of lark for years, she glides through the picture as if to the genre born, bringing a freshness, intelligence and edge to proceedings,” she said.

Allan Hunter in The List was the most impressed of all, believing it to be “an elegantly assured, emotionally charged historical drama that illuminates a defining moment in the fight against the slave trade through a personal voyage of self discovery.”

The Young And Prodigious TS Spivet (12A) Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Kyle Catlett, Callum Keith Rennie ■ French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet charmed the world with Amélie and here the same tactics are poured into The Young And Prodigious TS Spivet.

Average rating 6/10

Jim Lambie FRUITMARKET, EDINBURGH June 27 to October 19 ■ A welcome retrospective of installation artist Lambie’s work features his multicoloured floors and mirrored ladders as well as a video of him smoking in the dark. As Fruitmarket director Fiona Bradley told The List, “like all

as Paranormal Activity and Insidious.

Ex-Doctor Who sidekick Karen Gillan plays a woman who is determined to prove her family was torn apart by supernatural forces hidden within a rather ornate mirror.

Scotland on Sunday’s Siobhan Synnot was taken by ‘Amy Pond’ stating that “Gillan invests her character with energy but the film struggles to generate enough shocks and twists to sustain its length”.

James Mottram at The List added that it’s “compelling to watch, even if the gruesome finale... can be seen a mile off”, while Chris Fyvie at The Skinny opined that “some really uncomfortable sequences and a refreshingly ballsy denouement produce an overall inventive and fun B movie”.

It’s the tale of a junior cartographer who one day sets off from home to accept an award from the Smithsonian.

Unfortunately, they don’t know he’s a child and he doesn’t bother telling his parents where he’s off to.

In Scotland on Sunday, Siobhan Synnot was largely bowled over and said that “its rabid inventiveness never bores.”

For The Herald, Alison Rowat described it as a “many-layered tale”, while James Mottram in The List flagged up a slight doubt stating that “Jeunet fans will surely lap it up, particularly those who loved Amélie, but others may find it all a bit much”.

Average rating 7/10 great art it seems simple, but it reaches out to connect with you in complex and often unexpected ways”.

Glasgow School Of Art Degree Shows VARIOUS VENUES, GLASGOW Until June 22 ■ Some of the art which survived the Glasgow School

Of Art fire has been showing at venues such as the Glue Factory and McLellan Galleries. The Herald’s Jan Patience speculated on ‘what if?’: “The public would have been roaming around the Mack, sampling the occasionally inspired, often crazy and sometimes plain weird delights of these students’ shows.”

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

28 l THIS WEEK

SCOTS on the box

REVIEW & preview

Worth catching…

Another crime series in The Killing vein concludes this week, while we pore over the events of 1314 and find out just what makes Glasgow pure dead brilliant.

TV: Amber

BBC Four ❘ Tuesday June 24 ■ The way some people talk you’d think that no one had ever written a compelling murder mystery series until Sarah Lund picked out her first woolly jumper. There’s no doubting that The Killing (and later, The Bridge) was exceptional, but why does every crime programme have to be dubbed ‘the next Killing’?

Shetland and Hinterland have been the new Scottish and Welsh Killings, respectively, and now Amber is, predictably, the Irish version. Very few reviews of Amber (which concludes this week) were able to reach their last line without some mention of that now defunct Scandi show but, in The Herald, Mark Smith was wary of a trend in such atmospheric crime dramas: “It turned us into voyeurs, which is what happens in modern crime series, with their focus on the crime and its effects, in a way it didn’t in classic crime series, with their focus on detection.”

I Belong To Glasgow BBC One Scotland, Friday June 27, 10.35pm ■ What is it about Glasgow that makes it so special? Four popular entertainment figures from the city take a look at Glasgow and its people with Alex Norton, Sanjeev Kohli and Elaine C Smith getting their hands on the controls in later episodes.

Karen Dunbar (she of Chewin’ The Fat fame) kicks things off here by taking us on a journey through her life to let us know just how important Glasgow has been to her.

From her childhood in Ayrshire, where she dreamed of going to the “golden city over the hill”, to her successful career in television, Karen tells of Glasgow’s positive impact on her.

Having arrived in the city to escape the homophobia she was experiencing in her home town, she settled into a more welcoming scene and here she talks to the new generation of young gay people to find out their experiences in Glasgow.

Dunbar also looks at a “typical” Glasgow diet and visits a community garden in Milton where young people are being taught about healthy eating, before rounding off by hosting a singalong at Central Station.

RADIO: Bannockburn Begins

Bryan Burnett GET IT ON

Radio 3 Sunday June 22, 6.45pm ■ On its 700th anniversary, novelist Louise Welsh explores some of the meanings, both ancient and modern, revolving around the Battle of Bannockburn. What exactly was it that people fought for on that day in 1314 and why did it later take on such a life of its own?

BBC Scotland’s request show played songs referencing countries at the World Cup

Debbie Harry

Billy Bragg

The Shins

French Kissin’ In The USA

A New England

Australia

Sash

Frank Sinatra They’ve Got An Awful Lot Of Coffee In Brazil

The Coasters

Ecuador

Julie Covington Don’t Cry For Me Argentina

Down In Mexico

Alphaville

Malcolm McLaren

Big In Japan

Double Dutch

■ Get It On ❘ Weekdays at 6.10pm

RADIO: A Charles Paris Mystery: Corporate Bodies Radio 4 Wednesday June 25, 11.30am ■ Bill Nighy returns as Charles Paris, a dipsomaniac-cumamateur detective in this dramatisation based on Simon Brett’s novel. Charles is making decent cash from appearing as a forklift operator in a corporate video but things go awry when the forklift is used to commit a murder.

the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

Louise White morning call The following questions were asked on BBC Scotland’s weekday Morning Call programme ■ Do you still have any unanswered questions about the referendum?

■ Is there anything wrong with drinking simply in order to get drunk?

■ Should legislation be brought in to tackle bullying?

■ Why do some people make divorced parents feel guilty?

■ Does Scotland need a national football stadium?

■ Morning call ❘ Weekdays at 8.50am

l 29

REVIEW & preview

The best of this week’s books

SCOTTISH BESTSELLERS

A Tasmanian-set historical drama tops the Stooshie reading pile plus JK Rowling is back in disguise, Julia Donaldson gets adapted and Trixie tries to escape the Highlands.

HARD BACK 1. Fighting Spirit

RECOMMENDED

by Fernando Ricksen with Vincent De Vries

The Last Tiger

2. The Sex Lives Of Siamese Twins

by Tony Black

■ To date, Tony Black is best known for a series of gritty urban crime thrillers set in Edinburgh, starring former journo turned amateur sleuth, Gus Dury. The Last Tiger is something of a departure as he moves into historical fiction territory.

Set in the Tasmania of 1910, the story is told through the innocent eyes of a 12-year-old boy called Myko, a Lithuanian immigrant who is suitably entranced by the legendary status of the local Tasmanian tigers. Everything seems to be going swimmingly for him, until conflict arrives when his father is forced to take a job trapping these iconic beasts.

Reviewing for The Big Issue in Scotland, fellow Edinburgh crime scribe Doug Johnstone wrote: “This change of pace into historical fiction is unexpected but very well executed. Delivered with insight, this tale of society’s outsiders is poignant and moving.”

by Irvine Welsh

3. Bannockburn

by Alistair Moffat

4. The Last Refuge

by Craig Robertson

5. Robert The Bruce

by James Robertson and Jill Calder

6. Shredded

by Ian Fraser

7. The Great Tapestry Of Scotland

by Alistair Moffat and Andrew Crummy

8. 50 People Who Screwed Up Scotland

by Allan Brown

Mammon’s Kingdom

I Am China

by David Marquand

by Xiaolu Guo

■ In this new book by the political philosopher and former Labour MP, we hear how the cult of the individual and the rampant nature of the free market has largely destroyed the public realm.

George Kerevan in The Scotsman has plenty respect for the author. “Now edging 80, Marquand has been toiling in the boiler rooms of British leftwing politics for more than half a century,” he said. “This latest book shows his brain cells are still firing.”

■ Iona Kirkpatrick is a Scottish translator trying to make sense of mysterious documents obtained by a London publishing house which appear to reveal details of a curious love affair. Todd McEwen in The Herald was less than taken with the novel: “There’s a stubborn opacity to the prose, which is strewn not with incident but with what the author plainly believes to be emotional triggers, though they come across as Tin Pan Alley clichés.”

LOOK OUT FOR...

■ Julia Donaldson’s Stick Man is to be turned into a half-hour animated film by Magic Light Pictures. This is the fourth time the company has adapted the former Children’s Laureate’s work for the screen after the success of The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child and Room On The Broom.

■ JK Rowling’s second book under nom de plume Robert Galbraith is The Silkworm.

Set in 2010, the wonderfully named private detective Cormoran Strike investigates the disappearance of author Owen Quine after his latest novel takes a swipe at his publisher and agent.

For Faughie’s Sake

9. Where Memories Go

by Laura Marney

by Michael Tierney

■ In this follow-up to No Wonder I Take A Drink, Laura Marney re-introduces us to Trixie, a Glaswegian who is attempting to buy herself a safe passage back to her home town from a Highland village, which gives her little cause for satisfaction.

A highly impressed Ceris Aston in The Skinny was moved to remark: “Blunt, honest and perceptive, For Faughie’s Sake brings much needed warmth and humour to the independence debate.”

by Sally Magnusson

10. The First Game With My Father

PAPER BACK 1. Extraordinary People

by Peter May

2. There Was A Wee Lassie Who Swallowed A Midgie

by Rebecca Colby and Kate McLelland

3. Bertie’s Guide To Life And Mothers

by Alexander McCall Smith

4. Katie In Scotland

by James Mayhew

5. Blood Whispers

by John Gordon Sinclair

6. Saints Of The Shadow Bible

by Ian Rankin

7. Road To Referendum

by Iain Macwhirter

8. The Quarry

by Iain Banks

9. The Bird That Did Not Sing

by Alex Gray

10. Scotland ‘74

by Richard Gordon ■ Lists from Waterstones 21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

30 l CHEF’S CORNER

RAYMOND STERPAIO Head Chef, Doubletree

by Hilton, Dundee

Tayside is famous for the quality of its soft fruit and this is the peak time to enjoy them, wrote chef Raymond Sterpaio in The Courier.

He recommended picking your own berries to ensure that you get the best of the bunch.

Not only are they likely to be cheaper but also tastier and fresher.

Berries can make wonderful rich sauces for red meats such as steak and venison but they can also be used to make light and easy desserts.

Raymond advised readers to give their freshly picked berries a simple dressing of honey and orange garnished with mint leaves.

tastiest FOOD & Drink Mexican moves in Glasgow ■ Topolobamba is a soonto-open Glasgow restaurant which promises a “true taste of Mexico”.

The St Vincent Street venture is scheduled to open next month before the launch of the Commonwealth Games on the 23rd of July.

Speaking to STV Glasgow, Topolobamba owner Paul Sloan said: “The Commonwealth visitors will love it.

“There are a few venues like this in London, however, there’s been nothing like Topolabamba in Glasgow before.”

Mr Sloan is also part of the team behind the rapidly expanding Pinto group of restaurants.

While Pinto is a fast casual brand, Topolobamba will be more of a destination restaurant aimed at young professionals. It has been described as “casual but not too casual”.

Fine wine fetches £400k ■ A second batch of Sir Alex Ferguson’s wine collection has been sold for just under £400,000.

The wine was sold at auction in London.

One of the bottles, a magnum of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2002 Burgundy, went for £16,450.

The first auction from Sir Alex’s cellars was sold in Hong Kong for £2.2m.

Thaikhun in Aberdeen ■ Thai street food is coming to Aberdeen as Thaikhun gears up for a July launch in the city’s Union Square.

Owned by the Thai Leisure Group, which also owns the Chaophraya, Chaobaby, Yeerah and Palm Sugar brands, the first Thaikhun launched in Manchester in May. The Aberdeen restaurant will be the group’s second launch and the first in Scotland.

Food fraud fines ■ Health officials have called for the new Food Standards Scotland to take a tougher approach to food frauds, according to the Scottish Sunday Express.

Up to one third of food products are not what they claim to be.

William Hamilton, a senior environmental health officer at Glasgow City Council, said: “I would like to see a slightly more aggressive role being taken... administrative fines or fixed-penalty notices would be a boon to us.”

BrewDog in Dundee ■ BrewDog has launched their first Dundee bar in Panmure Street. The new venture is the company’s fourth bar in Scotland and the 18th bar worldwide to be opened by the brewery since 2010. Named as the UK’s fastest growing drink brand last year, BrewDog launched in 2007.

WINE OF THE WEEK Coconova Brut NV Brazil is more than football and samba With the World Cup well underway, Brazilian food and drink have been prominent.

Writing in the Scottish Sunday Express, Jamie Goode has been singing the praises of Coconova Brut NV from the Vale de Sáo Francisco.

Described as “a lively fizz”, the wine comes from the Brazilian tropics. “Attractive, bright and grapey” with “bags of character”, the 12% ABV wine is said to be good value at £9 from Marks and Spencer. the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

RECIPE of the week

Pork and coriander dumplings From Jian Wang of Chop Chop, Morrison Street and Commercial Street, Edinburgh.

Known for serving authentic northern Chinese food, Chop Chop serves several different flavours of dumpling.

Ingredients (25 dumplings) Dough case: ■ 170g plain strong white flour ■ 70ml water to bind For the filling: ■ 80g medium size pork mince (lean mince) from the shoulder ■ ¼ bunch coriander ■ 40g spring onion ■ ½ head of ginger ■ Soy sauce ■ 12ml malt vinegar ■ ¼ tsp sesame oil For the dumpling dip: ■ 8 tbsp light soy sauce ■ 4 tbsp malt vinegar ■ 1 tsp chilli oil ■ 2 tsp crushed garlic Method 1. Boil two litres of water.

2. Make the dough and divide into pieces of about 9g each. Using a rolling pin, roll and flatten each piece into a circle of approximately 10cm radius to form a dough case.

3. Mix filling ingredients together and scoop 1 tsp of the filling onto dough case. Fold case over into a semicircle and squeeze the open edges together to create a crescent moon shaped dumpling. Repeat until you have several dumplings.

4. Place dumplings in boiling water and stir gently on a rolling boil. When dumplings float, continue to stir gently for five minutes. Drain and serve.

THE BEST RESTAURANT REVIEWS

Glassrooms Cafe Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, Perth PH1 5HZ www.horsecross.co.uk ■ The three course pre-theatre menu drew applause, if not a standing ovation, from The Courier’s reviewer.

The menu showed “imagination” with a starter of ham and cauliflower terrine which was “rich and fresh” while roasted and candied beetroot benefited from the “crunch and tang” of goat cheese bon-bons. Maple-glazed pork fillet had a

Iglu

The Poachers Lounge

2b Jamaica St, Edinburgh EH3 6HH www.theiglu.com

Castlecary Village, Cumbernauld, G68 0HD www.castlecaryhotel.com

Although he had happy memories of Iglu, and applauded this restaurant’s ethical sourcing, Richard Bath thought his lunchtime meal was distinctly patchy. The lack of a lunch menu meant the Scotland on Sunday writer ordered from a “pricey” evening menu offering “slim pickings”.

A “cheery waitress” could not soften the blow of unimpressive crispy squid and “over-spiced” vegetable soup. A chicken and ham pie suffered the same over seasoning. More happily, a piece of hake was “perfect” but let down by “bland” potatoes.

“Good intentions” hampered by poor “execution” was the final verdict.

Score: 5/10 | Scotland on Sunday

Both service and food were “first class” when The Evening Times’ Dinertec lunched at The Poachers Lounge.

From a two course £10.95 offer, the Dinertec thought that a starter of pea and ham soup was “tasty and satisfying” while service was “bright and cheery”.

The bar’s “legendary” steak pie featured “chunky, mouth watering meat”. The house burger was just as warmly received with the reviewer describing it as a “big piece of ground beef” which was “well seasoned” and accompanied by “chunky” chips. The bar has a “lot going for it” concluded the ‘Tec. Score: N/A | The Evening Times

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good flavour and was ably supported by a chickpea and tomato stew with “an inspired mix of flavour and texture”. A confit duck leg shone thanks to its natural flavour rather than “heavy sauce or seasoning”.

Stem ginger sponge was judged to have “star quality” and a macerated strawberry parfait delivered “excellent berries and balsamic kick”. A lengthy wait between main courses and desserts was rectified without worrying about the curtain going up on the evening’s opera. “Value for money”, “charming service” and food that displayed “tasty and creative touches” made this meal an enjoyable performance.

Score: 36/50 | The Courier

The Catch At Fins Restaurant

Gastro Grub – The Restaurant at Chapelton Inn

Fencefoot Farm, A78, Fairlie www.fencebay.co.uk

18 Shawton Road, Chapelton, Strathaven, ML10 6RY

Overcooked scallops in a seafood and bacon gratin were among the reasons why The Herald’s Ron Mackenna reckoned that this unassuming restaurant was not “the finished article”.

Fortunately, a “magnificent” bowl of Cullen skink and a “beautifully delicate” dish of lightly smoked haddock fillets with spinach and melted cheddar were “two of the best dishes” to have passed his lips all year. On balance, mused Ron, they should shout louder about their sourcing and culinary skills. To eat well here, stick to simple seafood choices which have not been “mucked about” is his advice. ❘Score: 21/30 | The Herald

Writing in The Scottish Sun, Tam Cowan was almost lost for words at the “beautifully presented food” and the great value offered by the market menu at this recently opened and busy Lanarkshire restaurant.

Wild mushrooms on toasted brioche had the critic “raving” as did a “moist and tender” rump steak. A free-range “chicken Kiev” was “melt-inthe-mouth juicy”. Although the £3 charged for a side of handcut chips made Cowan flinch, they were “easily the best” he has eaten this year. A slight grumble about a dessert of tempura strawberries was the sole “tiny criticism”. ❘Score: 28/30 | The Scottish Sun 21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

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PROPERTY

INSIDE OUT – our Pick of the Scottish Market

Briglands, Rumbling Bridge, Kinross Offers Over: £1.25m Savills ❘ www.savills.com n A wonderful example of the work of that most celebrated architect of the Scottish Style – Sir Robert Lorimer. The house was remodelled and extended in two stages, firstly in 1897-8 and then in 1908. Lorimer’s free adaptation of 17th century Scottish

architecture enabled the use of the forms and details that came to typify his work. Steep roofs, crow step gables, carved animal heads, stone topped dormer windows, relief carving, a sundial, turrets with ogee roofs, fine ironwork, a well and a basin fountain are all to be found in this example of his early work. Lorimer also laid out the gardens, remodelling existing outbuildings and forming a walled garden to the south-west of the house.

BIG BUDGET

Wellpark, Bridge of Allan Offers Over: £1.75m

10-14 Spylaw Bank Road, Edinburgh Offers Over: £1.195m

Savills ❘ www.savills.com

Knight Frank ❘ www.KnightFrank.com

n A Category B-listed neo-Jacobean mansion house dating from 1872, Wellpark takes its name from a historic well which dates from the days when Bridge of Allan was a spa town. The property has been upgraded and extended by the present owner. the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

n Dating from circa 1880, Hollybank is a charming late Victorian, stone-built detached house, which is understood to have originally been the former residence of the local mill manager. A clever combination of period detail and modern design.

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PROPERTY

Loughborough Road Kirkcaldy

Pagan Osborne

Pagan Osborne

Offers over: £415,000

Offers over: £345,000

An impressive family home providing adaptable accommodation over two levels and a study on the third floor.

❘ www.paganosborne,com

Weaver Cottage Kilconquhar

Superb five bedroom villa set within landscaped garden grounds with delightful views towards the River Forth.

7 Wester Balrymonth Steading St Andrews

18 Bowling Green Road Cupar

Pagan Osborne

Offers over: £325,000

Offers over: £340,000 Impressive four-bedroom house set within an exclusive development near St Andrews.

Pagan Osborne ❘ www.paganosborne.com

❘ www.paganosborne.com

❘ www.paganosborne.com

FANTASTIC FIFE

This detached bungalow is set within a cul-de-sac in a desirable area and has been refurbished to a high standard.

CLIMBING THE LADDER

116 Queensferry Road, Edinburgh Offers Over: £210,000

55a Aberdour Road, Burntisland Offers Over: £159,950

Coulters ❘ www.coultersproperty.co.uk

McEwan Fraser Legal ❘ www.mcewanfraserlegal.co.uk

n An attractive top-floor two-bedroom duplex apartment with a large roof terrace with sweeping views of the capital and Edinburgh Castle. It is also has a dining room, kitchen, garage and lift access.

n A spacious detached villa situated in the delightful coastal town of Burntisland. The property is tastefully decorated throughout and formed over two levels with views of the Forth over Burntisland and to the Binn Hill.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

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the best travel writing

TRAVEL SCOTLAND

Alison Gray The Scotsman

Gleneagles, Scotland

■ The Ryder Cup takes place at The Gleneagles Hotel in September but this “jewel in Scotland’s tourist crown” offers more than golf, wrote Alison Gray in The Scotsman.

Having celebrated its 90th birthday this year, Gleneagles has a “palpable buzz” about it. Eating in the Strathearn restaurant is like a “piece of theatre”, namely Downton Abbey. The Art Deco bar is just as eye-catching and serves whisky-based drinks like the 1921, a cocktail which is “redolent of the Jazz Age”.

The view from Gray’s balcony included the Ochil Hills while a large bath was complemented by a double-

sized shower which provides a “reassuringly forceful jet”.

The hotel’s Spa by Espa provided some non-golfing diversions. Gray recommended the Hydration Facial as offering “55 minutes of essential oilscented bliss”, and liked how the spa was not crowded and had an “actually relaxing” relaxation area. Geared towards families, the main leisure pool area has been redeveloped.

A separate pool with “low lighting” provides a more “laid-back experience” while an outdoor Onsen pool is heated so guests can enjoy fresh air whatever the weather.

While golf is definitely “coming home” in September, other outdoor pursuits include clay pigeon shooting, off roading and falconry.

TRAVEL BRITAIN

TRAVEL EUROPE

TRAVEL THE WORLD

Sandy Balls, New Forest

Dublin, Ireland

Baku, Azerbaijan

Sean Bennett ❘ Scottish Sunday Express

Brian Gallagher ❘ Daily Record

Michael McHugh ❘ The Courier

■ A busy, family holiday in a lodge at Sandy Balls village was so good that Sean Bennett has “already booked our return trip”.

The New Forest’s wild ponies were a hit with Bennett’s young daughter, who also enjoyed children’s jet-skiing – a “batterypowered version of the real thing” – and a barbecue on a balmy evening. On-site restaurants include the Pizza in the Piazza and “posher fare” in the Woodside Inn.

■ While appreciating the “ideal location” of the Maldron Hotel, Gallagher also enjoyed views from the rooftop bar at the Marker Hotel. He advised booking tickets for The Laughter Lounge, particularly if comedian Willie White is on. Davy Byrne’s pub, featured in James Joyce’s Ulysses, was a highlight in an “informative” literary walking tour, while a pint of “the black stuff” crowned a “fascinating” and “hands on” visit to the Guinness Storehouse.

■ Located between Georgia and Iran, Azerbaijan is known as “The Land of Fire”.

And flames were certainly a recurring feature of McHugh’s article. From the natural gas fire emerging from a “split in the earth” at Yanar Dag mountain, to the fire burning at the Eternal Flame Memorial to war dead, many of this oil rich country’s sights seem to be alight. Even the journalist’s luxurious Fairmont Hotel was in the 800ft tall Baku Flame Towers.

TRAVEL NEWS Join the carnival

The Edinburgh Festival Carnival returns for a third year on Sunday July 20.

The Carnival Parade will begin at 2pm at the top of The Mound. From 2.30-4.30pm, musicians, costumed dancers and circus acrobats will perform

in Princes Street Gardens.

Adults and children can join the Parade after taking part in a series of carnival workshops running in Edinburgh during July. Teaching carnival skills such as costume-making, drumming and dancing classes, the workshops are run by organisers of the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival.

the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

Holiday cottage romance

According to a survey commissioned by holiday cottage specialists, thelittledomain.com, couples in the UK would choose a cottage over a hotel for a romantic holiday.

Of the 1,000 couples asked, 64% opted for a holiday cottage. These findings follow a survey by the Glasgow City

Marketing Bureau which claimed that the perfect romantic weekend away consisted of a two-hour lie-in, six hours exploring and eight hours eating and drinking. Easier to do in a cottage than a hotel where a lie-in can lead to an awkward encounter with the cleaner, suggested thelittledomain.com.

THE BEST OF the great outdoors the garden experts Wimbledon treat is fruit for all

Slugs don’t like coffee ■ Coffee grounds can be used to keep slugs and snails off plants, said the Sunday Mail’s Carol Klein.

She said she puts “coffee grounds in a circle around plants” to keep slugs and snails away but added it is important the grounds “don’t touch the stems”. She said they can be added to compost or, diluted, used as feed for some plants.

■ Whether growing them in pots or in the ground, The Herald’s Dave Allan said strawberries are a fruit every gardener should grow.

He said that “unlike most fruit” strawberries will provide a crop in their first year.

Allan said strawberries will “crop well” during their second and third years and are “worth keeping on for a fourth one”.

But he warned that after that the plants will need to be removed before “they become riddled by viruses and are therefore weak and stunted”.

He also said the plants require plenty of room and so no more than three should be placed in a 30-litre pot.

A little tough love goes a long way ■ One of the keys to becoming a “good gardener” is not becoming “too sentimental” about your plants, said The Scotsman’s Jo Whittingham.

She said gardeners “who dare not deadhead, flinch when it comes to pruning, or won’t uproot something too large for its allotted space” risk sacrificing plants to those that are “more vigorous”, even if uprooting healthy plants seems “horribly cruel”.

OOT AND ABOOT! Off the beaten track

Picture perfect

■ One of the many joys of the Fife Coastal Path is “the attractive towns and villages it passes through,” according to Roger Smith in The Herald.

But he said the path between Kinghorn and Burntisland “follows the main road for almost two miles”.

He found an alternative route further inland which led him to Kinghorn Loch and gave “excellent views” to Edinburgh.

■ Wildlife photography is an artform in itself, but the Sunday Mail’s Fiona Russell said a new course teaching the basics to beginners made an immediate difference to her skills.

She took part in a daylong course run by of Argyll-based Loch Vision Wildlife Photography and said the first lesson she learned was to put her camera down.

According to instructor Phillip Price, the key to

taking a good photograph is finding the right subject and setting.

Only once a location has been properly scouted does Price recommend taking a photograph, and only then after thinking “about the frame, background and sunlight”.

Russell said she hoped to produce one good photo from her day by Loch Awe but came away with “half a dozen” that are “better than anything” she has taken using an automatic setting.

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NATURE’S BEST ■ A threat to bird life has halted plans for a £220 million windfarm development in the heart of the Highlands.

The Times reported that more than 200 campaigners had opposed the plans by SSE to erect 47 turbines in the Strathy South area of the Flow Country in Caithness, Opponents claim that the development would threaten the habitat of birds such as the greenshank and red-throated diver (pictured below) and it will now be the subject of a public inquiry after it was opposed by councillors.

Pete Gordon of the RSPB, which had objected to the plans along with Scottish Natural Heritage, said, “We would encourage the SSE to drop this site in favour of other proposals which are less damaging.

“This would be right in the middle of the Flow Country, where work is being done to restore the area.”

Colin Nicol of SSE said the decision was very disappointing.

“The fact that we had committed to one of the biggest conservation management programmes ever seen in the Flow Country is very significant,” he said.

Weather Wettest – Baltasound, Shetland 16.2mm

Warmest

– Glasgow 25C (77F)

Sunniest

– Kirkwall, Orkney 12.7hrs

Coldest

– Tulloch Bridge, Lochaber 4C (39F)

That was the weather that was: Not everyone saw the sun this week, but it appears that summer has finally arrived.

Scotland basked in its hottest day of the year on Tuesday as the mercury rose higher than hotspots like Madrid in Spain and Bologna in Italy, while much of the rest of the UK had to make do with cloudier skies.

Having said that, Scotland Now told the story of one Scot down in London who was a bit perturbed at the heat down south – so perturbed in fact that he stripped down to his boxer shorts.

The website revealed how Mungo Strachan “began travelling in his kecks in protest at the heat on London Underground”.

“Not surprisingly, the Scot got some funny looks – and plenty of requests for pictures,” it added.

Mungo (23) noted: “I’m a Scotsman so these temperatures for me are tropical.”

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

l 37

CONSUMER

Three of the best...digital cameras

TRIED AND TESTED

The standalone camera market is making its comeback, as people finally realise smartphones are great for snaps on social media but top quality images require dedicated devices. From compact cameras to weightier DSLR units, here are three of the best.

World C u

p

sporty gifts

Adidas Brazuca Official Match Ball FIFA World Cup 2014 £100 adidas.co.uk Now that the World Cup is well underway, youngsters and adults alike can emulate the samba stars with the official match ball used in the tournament.

FujiFilm FinePix F900EXR £159.99

Ricoh WG-4 £289.99

Nikon 1 S2 Compact £379.99

This little belter is almost half its launch RRP, but a year on, can still (easily) hold its own with later arrivals. Inside, you get a very decent 20x zoom lens plus 16 megapixel images and a load of feature options to tweak your shots. On-board WiFi makes it easy to send images to your tablet or PC for saving and sharing, too.

If you’re inclined to be a tad clumsy with your gadgetry, this Ricoh is the one for you. The 16 megapixel WG-4 is built to put up with water, bumps, knocks and shocks, and (for those not clumsy but inclined to extreme adventuring), it can also work in freezing temperatures and underwater to depths of up to 14 metres.

There isn’t a viewfinder but you’ll soon get over that when you see what the 14.2 megapixel sensor does offer; shooting at speed and delivering 20 frames per second in autofocus and up to 60 in fixed focus. These are specs to make bigger and more expensive cameras weep – and a built-in flash just adds to their woes.

www.amazon.co.uk

www.currys.co.uk

www.jessops.com

Football Bouquet £5 Morrisons

Ideal for saying sorry to socalled ‘World Cup widows’, Morrisons have released a football-themed floral bouquet.

England Inflatable Chair £15.29 amazon.co.uk

Perfect for sitting down on to watch 90 minutes (or more) of football. It is emblazoned with a St George’s flag though, which might put some people – depending on who they are supporting in Brazil – off.

DRIVE TIME

Peugeot 308 SW Price from £16,845

Vauxhall Insignia Price from £17,000

Seat Leon ST Price from £23,380

Alisdair Suttie ❘ The Sunday Post

Jonathan Crouch ❘ The Press and Journal

Jack McKeown ❘ The Courier

The Peugeot 309 is the small estate that makes a “big impression”.

The French firm may be a “stalwart of compact estates”, but its latest version is “by far its best”.

It is “very generous” in terms of space – “if you can’t fit all of your luggage or DIY buys into a 308 SW, you need a van” – and even Peugeot’s “unusual” raised main instrument pod “works much better in the 308 than in its 208 little sister”.

It may be small, but the SW’s engine is “big on punch and refinement to make it a good choice for keen drivers”.

Put it all together and the Peugeot 308 SW is the “best small estate available”.

You could “tackle a mountain trail in the Country Tourer version or the Nurburgring in the tarmac-burning VXR variant”, but this car has been built for “typical families and temperate middle management folk”.

The main rival to the Ford Mondeo, “sharp pricing, smart styling and low running costs” continue to make the Insignia very attractive to buyers.

The latest model “isn’t completely new”, but it “feels that way behind the wheel thanks to all the fresh cabin info-tainment and the higher quality feel”.

The experience Vauxhall boasts in making four-seater family cars since 1903 “really shows”.

Styling-wise, it’s one of the “prettier” estate cars on the market, retaining the same sharp, angular looks as the hatchback it’s based on.

There are clever touches, including a moveable boot floor, handles in the boot that flip the rear seats down, and a folding front passenger seat that allows longer items to be transported.

The Leon ST isn’t the “last word in roominess” – “rivals from Honda and Skoda can boast larger carrying capacities” – but it employs a number of clever tricks to maximise how useful the space it has is.

It’s an estate for “those who want a bit of style with their practicality”.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

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BUSINESS & FINANCE Hired, Fired & RETIRED

Future of North Sea oil and gas sector in spotlight A momentous week for the UK Continental Shelf as industry leaders gathered to map out future of North Sea production and politicians vied for the upper hand in the energy debate.

■ A new regulator and the go-ahead for a new £1.5 billion North Sea field development meant it was no ordinary week for the oil and gas sector.

With the indy referendum looming, the Holyrood and Westminster administrations pulled out the big guns for Oil & Gas UK’s annual conference.

The UK Government took the early initiative with the green light for Premier Oil’s massive Catcher field.

First Minister Alex Salmond then pledged the Scottish Government would part-fund a new industry regulator, 24 hours before Treasury chief Danny Alexander confirmed the watchdog would be based in the Granite City.

A warning that “radical change” is needed to maximise production on the UKCS rounded off a heady few days.

An influential economic think tank has uprated its growth forecast for the Scottish economy to

2.4%

The EY Scottish ITEM Club had previously predicted a 1.7% increase in GDP north of the border in 2014.

NEWSPAPERS SAY The Scotsman’s business correspondent Gareth Mackie said approval for the Catcher field could boost the North Sea’s “dwindling output” by seven per cent.

The paper said the field was expected to produce 96 million barrels of oil in its lifetime and its development would create more than 1,000 jobs.

Mr Mackie quoted Energy Minister Michael Fallon who said the consent for Catcher showed there continued to be an “extraordinary level of interest” in the UK Continental Shelf.

Mark Williamson at the Herald focused on Edinburghbased Cairn Energy’s interest in Catcher, which is worth 15,000 barrels a day at peak.

The ITEM Club said Scotland was on track for its best year since the recessionary downturn of 2008.

The group said an upturn in consumer confidence and improvement in the global economy had boosted Scotland’s prospects.

The prediction came as the Bank of Scotland’s latest monthly jobs report showed a pick up in staff placements during May.

the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

He said the approval was a “vindication” of the company’s decision to “return to its North Sea roots”.

The P&J provided extensive conference coverage with Ryan Crighton noting Alex Salmond’s pledge that Aberdeen would co-host a new energy ministry with Glasgow under independence.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told the paper’s Erikka Askeland the UK Government would introduce further tax breaks to stimulate investment across the North Sea. The paper also picked up on comments by UK Oil & Gas chief executive Malcolm Webb calling for “radical change” in how business was done on the UKCS. The Courier also reported Mr Webb’s view that anyone who thought the North Sea was operating on a par with other major global oil players was simply kidding themselves.

Mr Webb said improvements in regulation, taxation and conduct were required.

“We simply cannot go on like this,” he told the paper.

■ Ex-Whyte & Mackay chief executive John Beard has joined the board of growing drinks retailer The Whisky Shop as a non-executive director.

The firm currently operates 23 specialist stores and Mr Beard will help support its ambitious growth plans.

■ Expanding Scottish technology consultancy FarrPoint secured two new key recruits in tech and security specialist David Myatt and network consultant Simon Bennett.

The Edinburgh group’s CEO Andrew Muir told The Herald the appointments came at a “very exciting time of growth” for the business.

■ Legal firm Balfour & Manson has moved to appoint two new partners in Ann Logan and Julie Clarke-Spence.

The law firm, which can trace its roots back to 1888, now has six female partners out of 18, a figure well above the industry average.

■ Professional services firm Deloitte appointed Ross Millar as head of its Scottish investment management regulatory practice.

BUSINESS & finance WEEK IN NUMBERS

25%

The rise in active Twitter users in the 12 months to April.

The Guardian’s Dominic Rushe said the figure was down from 47% and 102% in the previous two years. The slowdown came as it was revealed that Chief Operating Officer Ali Rowghani had resigned from the social media giant.

£700m

The amount of extra retail sales generated by the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

Scottish Retail Consortium director David Lonsdale said the Brazil tournament along with the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup was set to provide a “welcome fillip” for shops in Scotland.

50

The anniversary currently being celebrated by Coca-Cola’s bottling plant at East Kilbride. The Herald reported the soft drinks giant was investing £2.2m on new plant for the site including a “robotic palletiser”.

Operations director Jim Duddy told the paper that Coca-Cola Enterprises was dedicated to manufacturing in Scotland and was investing for the long-term.

Overcharging warning Payday loans in focus ■ Consumers are being left out of pocket because of a lack of competition in the payday lending market.

Analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority of more than 15 million loans taken out between 2012 and 2013 found customers were typically paying between £5 and £10 too much for cash advances.

3.1%

The amount by which footfall on Scotland’s high streets fell last month. Springboard trotted out the perennial favourite excuse of poor weather as the reason behind the fall.

The Daily Telegraph’s James Titcomb reported that Wonga, CashEuroNet and Dollar accounted for 70% of total lending in one month last year.

He said the CMA was proposing to set up a price comparison website to let borrowers assess the deals on offer whilst also requiring greater disclosure from lenders.

New cyber threat hits firms Network Rail profits soared to more than £1 billion over the past 12 months.

The group, which owns and operates Scotland’s rail infrastructure, said it had invested more than

£20m

per day in its UK network.

But just 90% of trains operated on time in the period.

■ Thousands of pounds have been stolen from Scottish firms after they were targeted by a new online scam.

The Press and Journal’s Business Editor Ryan Crighton said the virus worked by remotely taking victims computers and their confidential files “hostage” before a demand was made for a ransom payment.

The paper reported three local companies had been subjected to cyber attacks in recent weeks, with one business losing £15,000 in just 15 minutes.

Sean Thomson of Aberdeen IT firm Indigo Technologies said there was no “magic cure” once a computer had been corrupted.

The Scotsman’s Terry Murden said cybercrime was big business and no-one was immune to being attacked.

He suggested firm’s needed to make cyber security a specific board level responsibility.

COMMENTATORS SAY

6,889

The number of former Comet employees who were not collectively consulted about losing their jobs during the company’s collapse. An employment tribunal case brought following the retailer’s demise paved the way for a £10m payout to former staff.

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Turbulence behind airline?

■ The chief executive of Flybe hailed the airline’s “re-birth” after the carrier posted its first profit for four years.

The operator, which flies from 13 Scottish airports and which provides lifeline services to the Outer Isles, posted a pre-tax profit of £8.1m in the year to March after booking a £41.1m loss 12 months earlier.

The airline has undergone a major restructuring since CEO Saad Hammad joined last year.

The Courier said Flybe’s return to profit represented a “great step forwards” for the “ailing” airline.

The paper quoted chairman Simon Laffin’s view that Flybe was emerging from a period of “retrenchment.”

However Business Editor Graham Huband noted that the firm’s improved bottom line had come at considerable cost with 1,100 staff having left the company under swingeing cost-cutting measures.

The Scotsman said the firm was eyeing opportunities for its “white label” business which operates planes on behalf of third-party carriers.

The Daily Telegraph’s Nathalie Thomson said the “seat belt signs” had finally been switched off at the airline as it moved back into profit.

talking heads “SSE announced this late afternoon on the first day of the World Cup. It is clear they are embarassed about this eye-watering figure, and so they should be.”

Labour MP and energy select committee member John Robertson reacts to news that SSE chief executive Alistair PhillipsDavies took home a pay package of £2.7m last year. The Daily Mail’s Rob Davies said the figure was made up of a basic salary of £702,000 plus share options and a £1.3m pension contribution.

“I’m absolutely delighted that they’ve got planning permission.

It’s another step towards making sure Sullom Voe is there long after my retirement age.”

Councillor Andrea Manson is pleased that a new £500m “gas sweetening plant” has been given the go-ahead at the Shetland oil terminal.

“What happens at Prestwick is very important to us.

Prestwick being propped up through subsidies and playing in the same space for passengers as us is not a level playing field.”

Glasgow Airport MD Amanda McMillan tells Kristy Dorsey clarity over the Ayrshire airport’s future is needed now it is in public ownership.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

l 41

SPORT Plenty to ponder for Cotter after Scots struggle to victory

Blatter defies calls to go, and wonders if World Cup could move into Outer Space ■ As the World Cup got under way, pressure was mounting on FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

The governing body of world football had been rocked by allegations of corruption surrounding Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup. However, at a FIFA Congress in Brazil, the 78-year-old Swiss dismissed UK newspapers as “racist” for reporting the allegations.

Keith Jackson in the Daily Record said that despite mounting calls for Blatter to go, FIFA’s member associations rejected proposals to introduce term and age limits for executives, leaving the door open for a a fifth term.

Jackson then reported that Blatter moved from “the utterly ridiculous to full-scale howling at the moon” by suggesting the World Cup could one day move into outer space.

“We shall wonder if one day

our game is played on other planets and then one day we won’t have the World Cup, we will have interplanetary contests,” Blatter mused.

SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan and FA chairman Greg Dyke were among those urging Blatter to leave at the end of his term next year.

Regan told BBC Scotland: “In 2011, UEFA members made it clear that we believed that a change of leadership was needed at the end of Mr Blatter’s current term. The Scottish FA continues to hold that belief.”

Dyke confronted Blatter directly at the Congress: “I regard the comments you made about the allegations in the British media as totally unacceptable.

“They have nothing to do with racism – they are allegations of corruption. They need to be investigated.”

■ New Scotland rugby coach Vern Cotter had planty to ponder after his side limped to an unconvincing 19-17 win over Canada in Toronto.

The Scots struggled to impose themselves throughout and Cotter acknowledged that a late red card for Canadian flanker Jebb Sinclair turned the game in his team’s favour.

The bruising encounter also left the Scots with a lengthy injury list. Former skipper Kelly Brown and fellow flanker Alasdair Strokosch were ruled out of the forthcoming matches against Argentina and South Africa.

Steve Scott in The Courier said the performance against Canada, following a patchy win over the USA, did not augur well for tougher tests ahead.

“Damage limitation may be the only realistic aim, as one suspects that not even a repeat of Saturday’s outrageous luck will help Scotland win either test.”

OTHER NEWS Under-20s end with win Scotland’s under-20 rugby team pipped Italy 21-18 in the IRB Junior World Cup in New Zealand.

Tries from James Ritchie, Neil Irvine-Hess and Darcy Rae sealed the victory, which secured the Scots’ top flight status and guaranteed a place in next year’s tournament in Italy.

WWE Scot released Superstar Scots wrestler Drew McIntrye has not had his contract renewed by WWE bosses after seven years.

McIntyre, who has a degree in criminology, was among 10 wrestlers to be released. He was best known for performing in the 3MB stable.

Koeman targets van Dijk Dutch manager Ronald Koeman was lining up Celtic stopper Vigril van Dijk as his first signing as Southampton manager.

The 22-year-old has impressed since arriving at Celtic Park from FC Gronigen last year.

Koeman is believed to be a long-term admirer of the Holland Under-21 star after he netted in both fixtures against his Feyenoord side in 2012.

Ninth place for Florence World champion David Florence, from Aberdeen, finished ninth in the canoe slalom World Cup in Slovenia.

Florence had won the previous World Cup race in London.

HAUD YER WHEESHT! ■ Had enough of the World Cup yet?

Didn’t think so...

So why not go the whole hog and devote six weeks of your life to learning more about the beautiful game?

For The Scottish Sun revealed that football fans now have the perfect excuse for “booking seats in front of the box” – an academic course on the World Cup. Edinburgh University have launched an online module entitled More Than a Game, meaning those already glued to the action in

Brazil can “claim to be swotting up” before the lessons begin in October.

“This course recognises that football is an international language,” said Professor Grant Jarvie, from Edinburgh University.

“From Mandela to Messi (right) and the people’s game to global spectacle, we will place learners at the heart of this football journey.”

The paper’s editorial welcomed the news, but noted the one thing lecturers won’t be teaching is who to support.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

42 l

SPORT Fans’ anger as Green plots Ibrox return

Can lightning strike twice at SW19?

Murray going for glory again at Wimbledon However, in the semi he was resoundingly hammered by Rafael Nadal, in a game where Murray didn’t seem to believe he could beat the nine-time French Open Champion.

That deflating experience was followed up by a disappointing third-round loss on the grass of Queen’s Club to Czech veteran Radek Stepanek.

Murray put that defeat down to rustiness on grass after a gruelling clay court season, and it may be pertinent that prior to last year’s Wimbledon victory, he had pulled out of the French Open because of

injury, allowing him more time to fine-tune his grass game.

This year, that fine-tuning will be in the hands of new coach Amelie Mauresmo, who has been appointed for the grass court season.

However, Murray was confident that his Queen’s defeat was a blip and could even help him, by allowing him more time to practise before his Wimbledon defence.

Murray sounds confident and, having won Olympic gold and the men’s title on Centre Court, he know he can do it again.

Don’t bet against him.

Garros was unbearable, she ■ Murray will “not be too ain’t seen nothing yet.” bothered” by his surprise Ramsay agrees that his defeat at Queen’s Club”, early exit at Queen’s could wrote Alix Ramsay in The be a positive. “Murray just Scotsman, who said that needs time on the practice even in defeat, playing “nearly courts to make the necessary two hours trying to tame a adjustments to his game. And wily old tactician (Stepanek) losing merely gives him more was a reasonable workout”. time to do that.

She also said that after just “The long-range weather two days working with Amelie forecast is good and the Mauresmo, it was far too early forecast for Murray is looking to gauge the impact of the equally rosy.” new coach.

The Herald’s Simon Cambers However, she said last year’s victory would pile the pressure agreed that Murray still has a great chance to win again at on Murray, and Mauresmo, at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon.

“The Scot lost his opening “Now that he is the match at Queen’s Club in defending champion, 2012 and still went on to everyone knows that he can reach the Wimbledon final, win in SW19. Now it is his so it’s hardly a precursor for duty to win it again. And doom.” if Mauresmo thought the Writing in The Times, Neil pressure on her at Roland the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

Harmon said Mauresmo learned all there is to know about the challenges of coaching her new charge at Queen’s Club.

“He won, he lost; he was fine, he was horrible; he played the important points with measured calm, he played them so badly; he took his chances, he muffed them; he was interested, he appeared uninterested.

Welcome to Murray’s world, Miss Mauresmo.”

However, Harmon believed Murray will be a man transformed when it comes to Wimbledon.

“No panic is required in his tennis game. Mauresmo knows that his mood will change when he walks out onto Centre Court as defending champion.”

■ Andy Murray heads into his defence of the Wimbledon crown this week in a state of flux, with a brand new coach and doubts over whether his game is at a level that will allow him to triumph again.

A back operation at the end of last year took its toll on Murray, who fell down the rankings to number eight in the world.

Recently, he has shown signs of coming back to form, with an encouraging run at the French Open taking him to the semi-final, equalling his best performance at Rolland Garros.

COMMENTATORS SAY

■ Rangers fans reacted with fury to the news that former chief executive Charles Green was looking for a return to Ibrox. The BBC reported that Green was preparing a bid to take control of Rangers.

Green led a consortium which bought Rangers’ assets in May 2012 and then raised £22m from a share issue, but resigned from his post last year.

He returned briefly as a consultant before selling his shareholding.

Chris Graham of the Union of Fans told The Daily Record: “It would be spectacularly arrogant of Green to think he could waltz back into Ibrox.”

Quick FIRE ■ Double Olympic champion Mo Farah confirmed he intends to compete for England in the 5,000 and 10,000m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The Daily Telegraph

■ Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins could race in both the road and track events at Glasgow 2014 to prepare for the 2016 Olympics.

BBC Scotland

■ Ex-Celtic boss Neil Lennon is on the shortlist to take over at Dubai club Al Shabab Al Arabi.

Daily Record

SPORT

good week

QUOTES

Alan Irvine

“Canada deserved to win and we stole it. It was ugly but we’ll take it.”

West Brom fans were left bemused when the club sprang a surprise by naming the 55-year-old former Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday manager as their new boss.

Irvine was given a 12-month contract and will take up his post after he has officially signed off from his current role as Everton’s academy manager.

Barry Ferguson

Sean Lamont The Scotland back was scathing about the performance in Toronto

■ The final athletes selected to represent Team Scotland at the Glasgow 2014 were announced at Stirling Castle.

The former Rangers and Scotland captain was appointed player-manager of second division Clyde.

Ferguson, who had spent the second half of the season in change of English Championship side Blackpool, will replace Jim Duffy, who left to take over at Morton.

Ferguson is reported to have signed a contract until 2017.

BAD week

Stephen Gallacher

The Scot missed the cut at the US Open at Pinehurst after carding rounds of 73 and 74 to finish on seven over par.

Fellow Scot Chris Doak also failed to qualify for the last two rounds of the event, won by Germany’s Martin Kaymer.

Murray coy over Hibs ■ Hibs received over 40 applications for their vacant manager’s job, with chief executive Leeann Dempster admitting the club have also targeted potential recruits who did not apply.

Favourite to take over at Easter Road following the sacking of Terry Butcher is Ian Murray, but the former club captain told Iain Collin of The Scotsman that he would have to

think about his “long-term ambitions” if he was offered the job.

Murray (33) has made a promising start to his managerial career at Dumbarton, narrowly missing out on securing a play-off spot.

But he insisted it was wrong to assume he would take the Hibs job if it was offered to him.

“Of course it’s an attractive job, but you also have to think about your long-term ambitions and where you want to go.

“I know I’m going to be labelled because I’m ex-Hibs, but it’s not a closed-book case.”

Meanwhile, The Scottish Sun reported that former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had emerged as a surprise contender for the Easter Road hotseat.

John McEnroe

A showcase tennis championship featuring the triple Wimbledon champion and Tim Henman was cancelled at two days’ notice after organisers went into liquidation. Brodies Champions of Tennis was scheduled to take place at Edinburgh’s Raeburn Place.

l 43

“It had a major effect on the result. It was a bit of a get-out-of-jail card.”

Vern Cotter Coach on the red card that turned the game

“I started off my career at Southampton, but Aberdeen was the biggest club I was at.”

Paul Sheerin On leaving Arbroath to take over Aberdeen’s Under 20 set-up.

“It is not just a bunch of crap players getting a lucky break with their careers.”

■ Tennis stars gathered at The Queen’s Club in London for the Rally for Bally exhibition match in honour of Elena Baltacha.

jamie Murray Andy’s brother fires back at John McEnroe’s criticism of doubles 21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

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SPORT

OFF

What a wonderful World Cup ■ The World Cup in Brazil got off to a rip-roaring start, with an early avalanche of goals leading to hopes that it could be a tournament to remember.

Hosts Brazil won the opening game against Croatia 3-1, though they were given a helping hand by a controversial penalty award.

England played well in their opening game against Italy, though they went down 2-1.

But the big shock was when defending champions Spain were trounced 5-1 by Holland, a performance which impressed Scotland manager

Gordon Strachan, writing for the Daily Record.

“I look at Holland and think they’ve a real chance as long as they can keep Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben fit because it’s the top players who really make the difference at this level,” he said.

Strachan also had kind words for England.

“Losing to Italy was a bad start for England, but there was a lot to admire about how they played,” he continued.

“I liked Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge trying to beat people, for example. But

the bottom line is that England were beaten by a midfield masterclass from Andrea Pirlo.”

Staying in a hotel near Rio’s Copacabana beach was a revelation for Strachan.

“There must be four kilometres of nets for people playing head tennis and volleyball,” he concluded.

“Everyone plays – all ages, women and men – and they’re brilliant at it.

“I’m now convinced coaches should set up sand areas for players to train because it works at your core strengths.”

COMMENTATORS SAY have seen him play he has ■ Hugh McIlvanney of The performed a long way short of Sunday Times was not greatness.” conviced about Brazil’s McIlvanney concluded that title-winning credentials after the samba nation’s fans will watching their opening day end up being disappointed. victory over Croatia.

“Brazil will improve, perhaps He said that the victory owed dramatically, on last week’s much to the “benevolence” of the referee in awarding them a form but even if Neymar and dubious penalty, harshly ruling Oscar turn on the style they seem under-equipped to out a Croatian goal and failing swagger to a sixth world title.” to punish Brazil’s Neymar for John Greechan of the “thrusting a forearm into Luka Scottish Daily Mail said that Modric’s face” with more than the tournament’s exhilarating a yellow card. start was the perfect answer McIlvanney was also to those who claim that sceptical about whether international football is in its Neymar could live up to his death throes. superstar billing, despite two “What a start we have goals in the opening game.

“Neymar has yet to proclaim witnessed. What a collective himself able to have a shaping declaration of intent we impact on the 2014 finals,” have seen from a host of he wrote, adding that “on international teams. Briefly, the numerous occasions I amid all the off-field scandal the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

and on-field cynicism, football appears to be on the brink of recovering its mojo.”

Greechan hoped Gordon Strachan would learn from the all-out attacking philosophy being adopted my so many teams.

But he warned the Scotland boss not to follow the English model.

“Sure, England played with more oomph and verve than many expected.

“Yet Roy Hodgson’s best plans foundered on the familiarly stylish obstacle of Andrea Pirlo.

“The Italian continues to prove that being able to charge about the park in a Danny Welbeck style is no substitute for skill, vision and a deep understanding of the game.”

THE BALL

■ BBC Scotland’s Stuart Cosgrove and Tam Cowan were joined in the studio this week by Ronnie McDevitt, author of a new biography of former Scotland boss Ally MacLeod.

■ Topics discussed on the show included dodgy referees complete with vanishing sprays, while listeners were asked if they could discuss Scotland’s infamous 1978 World Cup campaign without mentioning the words ‘Archie’ or ‘Gemmill’.

■ Team of the week was the Wine XI, featuring Rosé Mourinho, Rowan Vine and Cork City.

Bring back booze to grounds, say fans ■ Scottish fans want to end the booze ban at football grounds. The National Fans’ Survey showed 62% of supporters want to be able to drink at games.

The ban was introduced after the 1980 Scottish Cup Final, which ended with drunken battles between Old Firm fans on the pitch.

Paul Goodwin of Supporters Direct Scotland (above) said: “It’s unfair rugby fans can drink at matches and we can’t.

“People say ‘You can’t do it because there will be hooliganism.’

“But there was a big problem with hooliganism in Germany and they’ve done it successfully.”

SPORT

good week

QUOTES

John Collins

Celtic appointed the former Scotland midfielder as assistant to new manager Ronny Deila. Collins played 229 times for the club in his career, which also took him to Hibs, Monaco, Everton and Fulham.

Collins, who has managed Hibs and Charleroi and been director of football at Livingston, said he was “grateful to Ronny for offering me this wonderful opportunity”.

“I think if I were the dad of sons I wouldn’t have been noticed.”

Judy Murray Andy’s mum says she has been branded pushy because she is a woman

■ Scots Kim Little (left) and Gemma Fay leave the field dejected after losing 3-1 to Sweden in a World Cup qualifier at Fir Park.

Peter Houston

HEADLINES

The former Dundee United boss (pictured below) is back in football management after being unveiled as the new manager of Championship side Falkirk.

Houston had been working as a scout with Celtic after leaving Tannadice by mutual consent in January last year.

Colin Hendry The former Scotland captain has left his role as coach of the Blackburn Rovers Under-21 side.

The 46-year-old had returned to Ewood Park in 2012 as a first-team coach before moving into the new role under manager Gary Bowyer.

“We have made a pitch of what Aberdeen can be as a club for Kris. He has a few other options and wants to consider them.”

Derek McINESS Dons boss on his bid to sign out of contract striker Kris Boyd

Football: Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster looks certain to leave Celtic Park this summer, said The Scottish Daily Mail.

Southampton joined the list of teams interested in the keeper, who is part of the England World Cup squad.

Focus on SPFL fixtures

BAD week

l 45

■ SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster has promised fans “terrific entertainment” after the 2014/15 fixtures were published.

Aberdeen hosting Dundee United and Dundee’s home game against Kilmarnock are the pick of the Premiership openers on August 9, while Celtic begin their title defence away to St Johnstone four days later.

Big games in the Championship include Rangers v Hearts on the first and final days of the season, while Hearts are away to local rivals Hibs in week two.

Football: Hibs announced a new partnership with Lowland League Spartans designed to help potential young stars of the future fulfil their potential.

SHINTY: Newtonmore beat local rivals Kingussie 4-1 in the quarter final of the Artemis MacAulay Cup. Meanwhile, Lovat and Glen Urquhart will contest the RBS MacTavish Cup Final at Bught Park, Inverness, this weekend.

JUDO: Tain’s Connie Ramsay got a pre-Commonwealth games boost by winning bronze at the European judo cup in Slovenia.

“What a race! It was fantastic to be involved behing the scenes and it was a real nail-biter.”

Allan McNish The former driver on working for Audi as they won at Le Mans

“Our shirt sponsors should reflect the aspiration to be the best family club in Scotland.”

IAN MURRAY mp Foundation of Hearts chairman after club ditched payday loan firm Wonga as sponsor

Vince Lunny The SFA’s first ever compliance officer left his job after three years.

Lunny, a lawyer who has frequently been at the centre of controversy, is believed to be planning to train as an advocate.

■ To mark 100 days until the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, 100 golfers chipped on to the 18th green of the PGA Centenary Course.

21 June 2014 ❘ the stooshie

46 l

COMMENT

FRED SAID Comedian, broadcaster and presenter

FRED MACAULAY

Media over-exposure too much for Fred Athletics legend’s wardrobe malfunction raises curtain on Commonwealth Games

■ “Francis Daley Thompson”, in the voice of David Coleman, was all I could think of as I met our most famous Decathlete.

Three Commonwealth gold medals to his name, so more than qualified to bring the Queen’s Baton over the bridge in Coldstream from England to Scotland. I was there, MC-ing proceedings in front of a small select (invited) audience. You might have seen me on BBC Breakfast tidying up microphone stands.

He’s in good shape Daley, so it should be no surprise that he received a hero’s welcome when we decamped to show the baton off to the thousands (hundreds) of locals who couldn’t make it onto the bridge (uninvited). There we joined Jenni Falconer, who

Clarifications and corrections The Stooshie is committed to journalism of the highest standards and we aim to produce our magazine with accuracy, honesty and fairness. Our journalists adhere to the DC Thomson company values of integrity, respect, commitment and creativity. We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice which is enforced by the Press Complaints Commission. It is our policy to publish clarifications and corrections when necessary and as quickly as possible. You can contact us by email at: editor@thestooshie.co.uk or by writing to: The Readers’ Editor, The Stooshie, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.

the stooshie ❘ www.thestooshie.co.uk

interviewed various Games dignitaries.

Daley had Tweeted that he was going to be wearing shorts, but here he was in his trackie, so Jenni was understandably disappointed.

Not one to see a young lady distressed, Daley dropped his trackie bottoms to show Jenni and the crowd his shorts.

At this point there was only myself and wheelchair athlete Sami Kinghorn behind Daley.

Let’s say he showed a little too much of himself to us.

Inadvertently. I hope. Poor Sami’s eyes were at the worst possible level. She dissolved in laughter. I took it upon myself to advise the crowd and suggested that Daley had just used sign language to indicate that he’d been up since the crack of dawn.

Charity challenges are a real test of endurance for Fred’s fans ■ I was sorry to read that the charity adventurer Niall Iain Macdonald had failed in his attempt to row single-handedly (but using both hands) across the Atlantic from New York to his home on Stornoway.

Brave man.

I’ve done a few slogs in the name of charity and applaud him for even trying to complete the 3,400 mile crossing.

It would have made my walk up the West Highland Way a couple of years ago seem a bit like an afternoon stroll.

Although, in my defence I did go the extra mile.

Which was pointless, there’s nothing a mile beyond Fort William.

No, I decided to put on a stand-up gig every night to raise a wee bit extra.

Terrible miscalculation.

What I hadn’t taken account of was that most people on the West Highland Way were walking the route at the same pace as I was.

I had the same audience five nights in a row!

I used my whole comedy repertoire.

By night five I was citing proverbs and tap dancing.

Information about the Code of Practice can be obtained from The Press Complaints Commission at Halton House, 20/23 High Holborn, London EC1N 2JD or email complaints@pcc.org.uk or call 0845 6002757 or 0207 8310022.

Published in Great Britain by D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, 185 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2HS. © D. C. Thomson & Co., Ltd, 2014. Distributed by Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU. Tel: +44(0) 20 3148 3300 Fax: +44(0) 20 3148 8105 Website: www. marketforce.co.uk

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