Scottish Kindness Defeats Nazi Sympathies-

A seasonal Thought – Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot

Should Auld Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
On auld lang syne.

Nazi Sees Error of His Ways

A former German SS soldier, Heinrich...

This Is the Age of the Train –

Flying Scots Men and Women Get Train Boost

At last there is to be a direct link between the centre of Glasgow and Glasgow Airport as the last plan was abandoned in 2009. The new link will hopefully see the horrendous overuse of the very congested M8 shrink once the link is up and running in 2023. Although the airport lacks one distinction for all fans of the “King”, the...

Ginnovation: UK Gin Sales Will Outstrip Scotch Whisky by 2020 –

But at Least It Will Be Scottish Gin

The relentless growth of gin is so strong that by 2020 the sales of gin will be greater than that of our national pride and joy Scotch. Luckily it is almost all made in Scotland and yes as usual I am getting my information from one of those surveys. This time it is those good people at Euromonitor...

Worrying Times with Scottish Post Offices –

Closures, Closures, Closures

For those of us who need the post office on a regular basis the trek to the nearest office can now sometimes be unnecessarily long. My take on post offices is a bit jaundiced at the moment. I have just moved as you might remember and in the last place we lived we were all surprised in the queue for posting when the police came...

Check Your Wallet –

You May Instantly Be £20,000 Richer

I don’t know if you have seen them yet, but there are a bunch of new and nasty fivers in circulation from across the border. They are near impossible to keep in order, difficult to count and upset vegetarians; but now there is another reason to look out for them –rather than the Scottish fiver. If you remember the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the...

 Queensferry Crossing Nears Completion-

Third Bridge to Span Forth Shockingly on Schedule

Now I am used to Scottish transport bad news stories so it was with good cheer that I heard that despite recent storms the new Forth Road Bridge is in time for delivery, as they say in May. It is a bridge sir not a letter; by Jove they have made a minced meal of the language. And by the way I thought they were...

The Gallery Strikes Back –

A New Hope for Garden Art Gallery

As you might remember I wrote about the likely closure of Inverleith House a contemporary art gallery in Edinburgh  and well it seems the outcry from the public, stars of the art world and Hollywood heavy hitters may have swayed the guardians of the gallery.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) decision prompted a public protest and...

Scotland’s Best Building Choice Leads to Elitist Outcry –

A Clash of Ideas and Taste

The Scots are a practical minded bunch and when they were asked to name their favourite Scotttish building of the last hundred years they put a few posh noses out of joint.  On the short list of 400 buildings there were crackers like the former ballroom and Grade A Listed Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, the Dundee...

Aberdeen: What Did Santa Leave up the Chimney?

Extremely Rare World Map Not a Dampener

Well it is that time of year isn’t it? Things going up and down chimneys like a fiddler’s elbow. On Christmas Eve the kids will be watching Santa’s ride round the world on the NORAD website. If you haven’t done it yet then do it this year, it tracks the red dressed bearded man’s flight with the sunrise across the...

CSI in the Glens –

The Science Tracking the Bird Killers

If like me you are a fan of Rizzoli and Isles then you are also a fan of forensic science. The series is set in Boston, USA, and it features two glamorous female investigators and a Scotsman Adam Sinclair who plays Dr. Kent Drake in a combo that twins the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Medical Examiner's Office and the Boston Police Departents...