By Oliver Farrimond FREEMASONS at the Edinburgh Masonic Club have made a historic decision to allow women members, rolling back half a century of tradition. The club’s 1,100 masons voted the motion through last month – a decision ten years in the making. The first women members will go through the club’s doors on April [...]
By Oliver Farrimond TRADE unions have staged a dramatic mock funeral outside the Scottish Parliament in protest over mounting job losses. Scores of angry demonstrators, dressed all in black, marched behind a horse-drawn carriage complete with coffin, sending the sombre message that Scotland’s voluntary sector was in danger of dying. Union representatives are due to [...]
By Cara Sulieman THE under pressure Chief Executive of one of Scotland’s biggest banks has written an open letter to his customers in an attempt to reassure them. Stephen Hester, Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, placed his letter in national papers yesterday in order to boost consumer confidence. In it he named [...]
By Cara Sulieman POLICE hunting alleged Rangers fans who rioted during last year’s UEFA cup final say they have now identified all 49 suspects after a UK-wide appeal. Greater Manchester Police carried out more dawn raids yesterday across the country as a part of Operation Gale and arrested seven men, bringing the total detained so [...]
By Cara Sulieman POLICE are appealing for help trying to track down a man who has gone missing after he failed to show up at his local pub. Sixty-nine year old Jim Greig hasn’t been seen or heard from since last week by family or staff at his regular pub. He is a well-known figure [...]
By Cara Sulieman THE GREAT grandson of the founder of Scotland’s national drink has announced he is stepping down from the company. Robin Barr, 71, will retire as chairman of A.G. Barr, the makers of Irn Bru, at the AGM in May. After almost half a century on the board, Barr will still stay involved [...]
Cara Sulieman SCOTLAND is bucking the trend and drinking more of Ireland’s favourite drink, despite plummeting sales. Guinness reported a sharp decline in sales in both Ireland and the UK earlier this month, with the lowest sales in ten years. But Scottish pubs aren’t feeling the pinch and say sales of the black stout have [...]
By Alexander Lawrie A SLEAZY teacher at one of Scotland’s top fee-paying schools has been caught watching pornography websites – while he was teaching a class of 13 year-olds. Dr Jeremy Dobson, 35, a physics teacher at the exclusive Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen, accessed restricted websites which featured pictures of naked and half-naked female [...]
By Alexander Lawrie SOCIAL networking sites Bebo, Facebook and Twitter have a new tartan rival to contend with. Two tech-savvy Scots teens have come up with a new social blogging platform that could help turn them into online millionaires. Scott Campbell and Nathan Adam, both 13, from Aberdeen, decided to launch the ScotBlog.net website after [...]
By Paul Thornton A CUT-PRICE restaurant for MSPs has provoked fury after it was revealed the meals it serves are subsidised by £12 a plate. The members’ restaurant in the Scottish Parliament serves up fine dining for Scottish politicians and their guests but massive staffing costs means last year it ran at a loss of [...]
By Michael MacLeod A WOMAN died of a heart attack while yobs launched fireworks at the helpless ambulance worker who was trying to get into her home to save her. Winnie Jones, a 57 year-old mum of three, was deprived of vital medical care for ten minutes while the unaided paramedic waited for back up. [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A LEADING Scottish whisky maker is setting its sights on the Far East. Bruichladdich Distilllery Company is jetting off to the China on a trade mission later this month. The Isle of Islay-based firm hope to target the notoriously thirsty Chinese whisky market. Bruichladdich Distillery Company is one of the fastest growing [...]
By Oliver Farrimond THE NEW head of content at STV has vowed to make the channel even more Scottish. TV chief Alan Clements, who is married to Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, said that he wants STV to be “the heart of Scotland”. Clements’ masterplan features a flood of new Scottish programmes, including a rundown of [...]
By Oliver Farrimond EDINBURGH’S first ever hotel is set to re-open its doors following an extensive modern makeover. The Apex Waterloo Hotel opens today, 190 years after the building was unveiled as Edinburgh’s first ever purpose-built hotel. Originally known as the Waterloo Hotel, the 187-bedroom building has played a key role in Edinburgh’s cultural history, [...]
By Alexander Lawrie A MECHANIC had a lucky escape yesterday when a camper van he had been called to recover blew up – just yards from where a fire crew was conducting a practice session. And the fortunate worker had double luck on his side as the incident took place right outside Edinburgh’s main police [...]
By Alexander Lawrie SCOTS rocker Shirley Manson has denied claims she is quitting the music business to concentrate on her acting career. The Garbage star was reported this week as to being “disillusioned” with the music business. But the Edinburgh-born singer has hit back on her Facebook blog by saying the rumours are “a load [...]
By Michael MacLeod BARGAIN bus trips from Scotland have helped to build a hospital in Africa. Megabus and Stagecoach founder Ann Gloag used the money from thousands of cheap £1 journeys to pay for a crumbling Liberian hospital to be rebuilt. And the Scots entrepreneur has now been honoured by the country’s president for her [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A nationwide exhibition of priceless contemporary art opened it’s doors for the first time at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Throughout 2009, 18 museums and galleries across the UK will be showing over 30 Artist Rooms from the collection created by dealer and collector Anthony d’Offay. Acquired by Tate and [...]
By Alexander Lawrie A HEROIC Scots postman who was severely injured fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan has won an award for outstanding bravery. Iain Macdonald, 38, was on tour with his TA unit in the Helman province last year when he was hit by flying shrapnel during a rocket-propelled grenade attack. The injured Sergeant brushed [...]
By Paul Thornton A COMPANY boss has been ordered to do community service after he admitted his part in a mid-air bust-up while flying home from a Spanish island. David Hamilton, 35, was a passenger on a Globespan flight from Gran Canaria to Edinburgh when he had an argument with another holiday-maker. He claims he [...]