By Oliver Farrimond Hearts FC have signed a lucrative three-year contract with international sports giants Umbro. The three-year deal will run through to the end of the 2011/12 season, and follows a hugely successful two year trial run. Umbro will design and produce home and away kit s featuring their trademark moisture-management technology, as well [...]
By Oliver Farrimond SCOTLAND’S premier dance troupe X Factor are getting ready for one final fling before jetting off to the USA. Their racy production has received rave reviews and features cross-dressing, suspenders and, of course, plenty of kilts. Their show, called ‘Query’, is a joint production with an American company, and will be hitting [...]
By Michael MacLeod A PUPPY with no nose is struggling to sniff out a home. Just 13 weeks old, cute little Clay was born with tiny nostrils and a deformed ear. And despite her playful nature and huge puppy-dog eyes, she’s been ignored her whole life because of her birth defects. Half a dozen families [...]
By Alexander Lawrie ONE of Scotland’s most famous birds is on the brink of extinction, a leading expert on the species has warned. The number of Capercaillie has fallen by more than half and the amount of birds left could be as low as 700. Dr Robert Moss, the UK’s leading authority on Capercaillie, blames [...]
By Alexander Lawrie BOSSES of an exclusive range of whisky that includes a trendy nude image on the label have been forced to defend their product after it was nominated for the Worst Marketing Campaign in the whisky industry’s version of the Oscars. Erotic Scots photographer Rankin is famous for his naked pictures of girlfriend [...]
By Michael MacLeod SCOTLAND’S armed police officers have been banned from the London Olympics after failing to hit the target in shooting tests. A report, ordered by the Queen, found that only one of Scotland’s eight forces is qualified to join the huge anti-terror operation at the 2012 Games. The report said Scottish officers “would [...]
By Michael MacLeod TWO airline workers have been suspended for sending passengers on the wrong flight. A mix-up saw a team of Norwegian fishing bosses flying from Edinburgh airport to Stornoway instead of Shetland. They were sent on the Loganair plane to Lewis despite not being on the passenger list and without boarding passes. A [...]
By Michael MacLeod SCOTSMEN are being urged to break tradition and wear pants under their kilts – for hygiene purposes. One of the country’s leading kiltmakers, Slanj, is imposing a pants-on policy for anyone renting the Highland dress. But the move provoked anger among purists, who say it will “break women’s hearts.” The firm has [...]
By Michael MacLeod THE Queen has a picture of the Rangers football squad hanging on the walls of Buckingham Palace. A Glasgow MP was stunned to discover the framed photo during a tour of Her Majesty’s home. Now Labour’s Ian Davidson is probing to find out whether Queen Elizabeth is a closet fan of the [...]
By Oliver Farrimond BIG-hearted Scottish TV star Grant Stott is training for the annual Glasgow Bikeathon in memory of his dead best pal. The Forth One presenter is taking part in the 26-mile charity stunt to raise money to find a cure for leukaemia – the disease that killed best friend Moray Fotheringham. The pair [...]
By Oliver Farrimond SCOTTISH singer Sandi Thom has been shamed into a public apology after offending an award-winning British composer. Thom had to call celebrated musician and producer Nitin Swahney and say sorry for comments she made about him during an interview. When discussing the influence of world music on her new album, she remarked [...]
By Oliver Farrimond DRAGON’S Den mogul Duncan Bannatyne has said that he will not leave a penny of his vast fortune to his children. Speaking in an interview, he has said that none of his six children will inherit his £310 million estate, and that all the money will go to charity. He even admitted [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A SCOTTISH power station has been branded the filthiest in Europe. The coal-fired plant at Cockenzie belches out pollution that causes acid rain. A new report by energy watchdog Entec found the East Lothian power generator spews out 50 per-cent more nitrogen oxide than its nearest offender. Longannet power station near Fife [...]
By Cara Sulieman ANIMAL welfare officers have blasted event organisers who want to use live fish to decorate tables at posh dinner parties. The Scottish SPCA say that putting the helpless animals up as decorations leaves them vulnerable to cruelty from drunken revelers. And they have warned that the event organisers could face prosecution and [...]
By Cara Sulieman A LORRY got stuck yesterday after trying to manoeuvre under a railway bridge and catching the crane it was carrying on a low beam. The Beatsons Group lorry was carrying a crane which caught on the under side of the bridge, trapping the driver and his vehicle. The road in Edinburgh was [...]
By Cara Sulieman A TODDLER with leukaemia who touched the heart of Sharleen Spiteri has died in her mother’s arms. Bethanie Thomson, 3, received a stem cell transplant from her baby brother after being diagnosed with the disease aged just six months. But the tragic tot, from Wallyford, East Lothian, lost her fight for life [...]
By Alexander Lawrie A FILIPINO nurse who was jailed for abusing dementia suffering pensioners under his care has been struck from the nursing register. Jeffrey Ednalan’s cruel assaults included stuffing a deodorant can in the mouth of a 95-year-old man to stop him shouting, and two counts of indecent assault including handling a frail 86-year-old [...]
By Oliver Farrimond FEARED French food critic Francois Simon has slammed Gordon Ramsay’s new Parisian restaurant, saying that it serves up ‘photocopier food’. Simon accused the Scottish born master-chef’s dishes of being ‘repetitive’ and ‘not interesting’. His withering remarks will come as bad news to Ramsay, whose culinary empire is reportedly suffering from the effects [...]
By Karrie Gillett FABRIC made in Scotland has been flown to America to be used for curtains in President Obama’s bedroom. The pure wool cloth produced by a Perthshire company has been ordered to make up all the curtains for the Obama private quarters in the White House. America’s First Lady Michelle Obama enlisted the [...]
By Alexander Lawrie A SCOTS-BASED fabric company is producing the world’s most expensive cloth. Holland and Sherry have been based in Peebles for over 100 years and the company is famous for clothing Hollywood A-listers such as Nicole Kidman, George Clooney and Tom Cruise. It has taken the prestigious company five years to gather enough of [...]