Page 2 - James Pirie News

With the rest of the UK under endless umbrella of dry and astonishingly hot weather the call of Scotland is something to behold. The weather in both the nation’s capital and the second city Glasgow is, well let’s say Scottish. The temperature is 16° degrees cooler than the embattled south. Last week was the day of the emergency voice message and text on the dangers of wildfires, but Scottish weather...

My missus says that when I playing tennis I run like a baby hippo. Now I’m over 6 foot and nobody would describe me as an elegant mover, but it’s a bit rich as I am pretty fast, dodgy knee allowing! But if you are interested in baby hippos in general then you will be as excited as I am with the news that there is a new arrival at Edinburgh and it is a baby pygmy hippopotamus. The new calf was born...

It’s been awhile since I last had to sit an exam but unfortunately it isn’t the case for Scottish school children who got their exam results this week. The results for results for National, Higher and Advanced Higher exams were for the most part good news. Naturally these days female students did better than the boys, but there was plenty of success on the male side too and a record number of young...

Have you been watching the curious, but charming telly series Drops of God on AppleTV? It’s the story of a deranged Frenchman who pits two strangers against each other for his multi-million dollar wine collection and it’s in English, French and Japanese and you know what it works. It’s full of twists and turns and is really a thriller wrapped up in a love of wine. I even learned a new word, oenophile...

The 2012 London Olympic games saw what looked like Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth II  parachuting down from a helicopter in Danny Boyles’ remarkable opening event and this year’s Commonwealth Games saw King Charles and Queen Camilla emerge blinking from Doctor Who’s Tardis at the beginning of the competition. And a giant flying Tunnock’s teacake was the closing part of the opening ceremony. I wish...

Do you have a bucket list, the outrageous ideas of what you should be packing into life? Is it hang gliding off a Monro, scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef, or checking out Pompeii all alone with just a guide? I think I might have given myself away on the last as that’s on my bucket list. But when you get to the age of 99 not out the wishes are a bit more temperate. One resident of that great...

We were very lucky last year and managed to afford a break in the winter away from the cold to the lovely island of St Lucia in the Caribbean. We’d been there before because we are great tennis fans we could play in the warmth to our heart content. But last year it wasn’t to be. I caught a nasty virus and was confined to the room and the missus, a hardier soul, did a deal of sea swimming until rashes...

Many is the time I’ve talked about the visionary TV series Outlander which starred great Scot Sam Heughan in a history bending time travel show about the Highlands. The series has sparked huge tourist interest in the nation and the economy has benefited greatly from the series. Sam has ventured into whisky production and now the nation’s favourite son is trying his hand at being a DJ. The Glasgow Games...

If you are of a certain age you’ll remember the film Chariots of Fire in which a Scottish sprinter, Eric Liddell, triumphed in the Olympics at a time when life was very different. A Devout Christian Liddell wouldn’t join the 100 metres heat as they were held on a Sunday, the Sabbath. So instead he elected to run in an unfamiliar event the 400 metres and guess what he won! And now in the great tradition...

It’s been a big year for dog news in the nation, what with the theft of a dog becoming a specific criminal offence after a slew of dogknappings across the country. This was  due to the increased popularity of dog owning after the COVID19 pandemic.

The ability of Scottish dogs to win our hearts remains undimmed. A dog from West Lothian has gone viral after confusing some cows with her unique mooing-like...