Monthly Archives: February 2016

Camping is Dead Long Live Glamping

The Horrors of Camping Banished

I have just had to explain the concept of “Glamping” to my missus, who is definitively against the ordinary sort of camping in Scotland’s pre Spring chill. But maybe I have changed her mind with the pleasures of log cabins as Hobbit retreats, or gypsy caravans without the wheels and log fires and recharging places for her iPhone.  ...

The Sweet Scent of Success – For the Woman in Your Life

It’s a Modern Invention

Did you know that perfume is a fairly modern invention and has only been around since the late nineteenth century? Before that only simple scents like lavender water or rose water were available. A century or so earlier some kindly soul had invented Eau de Cologne which was designed to disguise the smell of unwashed bodies...

Mary Somerville Gets a Tenner

Scots Scientist First Woman

Scots scientist Mary Somerville was the mother of six children, but found the time to become a world famous mathematician and scientist and she will be the first woman whose image has adorned the Royal Bank of Scotland’s banknotes, other than the queen.

Mary Not so Contrary Was a Great Scot

Mary played a pivotal role in the discovery of the...

Mother’s Pride – Early Mother’s Day Present

Woman Gets Parking Ticket Gift

With a sick child having difficulty breathing Mairi Holden wasted no time worrying about parking when she dashed her son Oscar aged 4 to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. She gave no thought to anything except the well being of the kiddie, but when she got back after a long fraught night at the hospital she saw she had been...

Goggle at Google Cheek

Scotch Defence for Embattled Internet Giant

Now you and I can’t fathom the comings and goings of the tax authorities and the corporate monsters that by and large control our daily lives. But sometimes we can raise an eyebrow at their cheek. The government in London are in hot water because they haven’t kicked the HMRC sweetheart deal with Google into touch. No, instead they initially...

Orkney Bogged Down in Smallest room

In Loo of Payment

It seems that Scandinavians are stranger creatures than we may have previously thought as a local former public loo goes on sale in Orkney. The toilet is a snug 28 ft by 9ft and loiters near the home of the late great George Mackay Brown in Stromness,  a town name of course which is pure Scandinavian in itself.  The loo is being sold by the...

Dogs Are Smarter Than We Think

Dog IQ Test Now In

A team based in the capital have revealed new tests that measure your pooches IQ.  Scientists at Edinburgh University have been testing Border Collies and we can now tell how clever these amazing animals are. The tests will help us understand the link between health and intelligence. As we move to a more sedentary lifestyle and exercise less it is...

Baby Time in the Murray Household

It’s a Girl!

Well the wait is over and a little while ago Andy and Kim, or rather Kim and Andy had a baby girl, weighing in at 8lb 10oz, not sure what that is in kilos! After he lost to Novak in Melbourne Andy was on the plane two hours later to see his wife and now a bonny baby. Kim and Andy married in his home town of Dunblane last August and all seems to be well...

Flying Scotsman Flies Again

First Ton up Locomotive

As I write this the world famous Flying Scotsman is travelling on the West Coast Main Line after a ten year restoration programme that has cost £4.2m.  It is a mighty sight I am sure. The loco was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, and dubbed the Flying Scotsman on 24 February 1923. But it wasn’t until the following year with the British Empire Exhibition...

24 Hour Opening Ceases at Major Supermarket

24 Hour Opening Still the Order of the Day at J P

In a week that saw the ending of supermarket giant Tesco’s 24 a day opening across the UK, including 4 stores in Scotland and an Aberdeen man escaping prison for trying to evade police officers on a stolen mobility scooter at 5 miles an hour it seems a good time to reassure our readers that the James Pirie...